Karl Gustafsson

Bio: Karl Gustafsson is an academic researcher from Stockholm University. The author has contributed to research in topics: International relations & Ontological security. The author has an hindex of 13, co-authored 27 publications receiving 429 citations. Previous affiliations of Karl Gustafsson include Swedish Institute of International Affairs & Lund University.

Is Patriotism Distinct from Nationalism? The Meaning of “Patriotism” in China in the 2000s.

Abstract: Since the 1990s, vigorous debate concerning a number of key issues has taken place within the study of Chinese nationalism. Scholars have tended to differentiate between diverse types of nationalism. For example, many studies distinguish between a malign nationalism on the one hand and a benign patriotism on the other. The strongest evidence for such a distinction can be found in survey research, which has demonstrated that patriotism, meaning love for the country, is empirically distinct from nationalism, i.e. the belief in the superiority of one’s country over other countries. In this paper, I take issue with this distinction. I argue that even though such surveys have contributed important insights to our understanding of Chinese national identity, the sharp distinction between patriotism and nationalism risks obfuscating the more important question of what actors are willing to do in the name of patriotism. If people are prepared to die and kill out of love for the country,the distinction between a benign patriotism and a malign nationalism cannot be so easily upheld. Based on a case study of the popular protests against Japan in China in autumn 2012, the Chinese media and government’s response, as well as the content of Chinese patriotic education, I demonstrate that the meaning of patriotism is a key aspect of Chinese identity politics, which has hitherto not been granted sufficient attention. (Less)

Why is anxiety’s positive potential so rarely realised? Creativity and change in international politics

Abstract: Bahar Rumelili’s article in this forum raises several important issues related to the study of anxiety in International Relations (IR). One of these is that anxiety can facilitate a redefinition of identities and break with long-held feelings of animosity in favour of new, emancipatory and more conciliatory ways of being. However, empirically it seems that attempts to deal with anxiety through securitisation and populist and nationalist frameworks that offer ideological and moral certainty tend to be more successful. Why is the kind of novel change in international politics that existentialists suggest anxiety has the potential to bring about relatively rare? This article reflects on this question and explores the links between anxiety and creativity by consulting the work of the existentialist anxiety theorists Rollo May and Paul Tillich. It outlines how anxiety is related to creativity and suggests that part of the answer to the question addressed in this article is that creative and novel ideas are often seen as threatening, while familiar ideas appear easier to embrace. The article also argues that IR, and the practice of international politics that it informs, has long been dominated by ideas that impede initiatives seeking to face anxiety.

The History Problem: The Politics of War Commemoration in East Asia

Abstract: The History Problem: The Politics of War Commemoration in East Asia, by Hiro Saito. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2016

Middle Kingdom and Empire of the Rising Sun: Sino-Japanese relations, past and present

Abstract: June Teufel Dreyer’s new book Middle Kingdom and Empire of the Rising Sun: Sino-Japanese relations, past and present is accessibly written and suitable for a broad audience. The book consists of th...

Pride, not Prejudice: National Identity as a Pacifying Force in East Asia By Eunbin Chung. University of Michigan Press, 2022. 334 pages. Hardback, US$85.00, ISBN: 978-0-472-13294-2. Paperback, $39.95, ISBN: 978-0-472-03905-0. Ebook, open access, ISBN: 978-0-472-90293-4.

Abstract: Pride, not Prejudice: National Identity as a Pacifying Force in East Asia By Eunbin Chung. University of Michigan Press, 2022. 334 pages. Hardback, US39.95, ISBN: 978-0-472-03905-0. Ebook, open access, ISBN: 978-0-472-90293-4.

存在的勇气 = The courage to be

Abstract: Originally published more than fifty years ago, The Courage to Be has become a classic of twentieth-century religious and philosophical thought. The great Christian existentialist thinker Paul Tillich describes the dilemma of modern man and points a way to the conquest of the problem of anxiety. This edition includes a new introduction by Harvey Cox that situates the book within the theological conversation into which it first appeared and conveys its continued relevance in the current century. "The brilliance, the wealth of illustration, and the aptness of personal application ...make the reading of these chapters an exciting experience."--W. Norman Pittenger, New York Times Book Review "A lucid and arresting book."--Frances Witherspoon, New York Herald Tribune "Clear, uncluttered thinking and lucid writing mark Mr. Tillich's study as a distinguished and readable one."--American Scholar Selected as one of the Books of the Century by the New York Public Library

The craft of research

Abstract: Since 1995, more than 150,000 students and researchers have turned to "The Craft of Research" for clear and helpful guidance on how to conduct research and report it effectively. Now, master teachers Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb and Joseph M. Williams present a completely revised and updated version of their classic handbook. Like its predecessor, this new edition reflects the way researchers actually work: in a complex circuit of thinking, writing, revising and rethinking. It shows how each part of this process influences the others and how a successful research report is an orchestrated conversation between a researcher and a reader. Along with many other topics, "The Craft of Research" explains how to build an argument that motivates readers to accept a claim; how to anticipate the reservations of thoughtful yet critical readers and to respond to them appropriately; and how to create introductions and conclusions that answer that most demanding question, "So what?" This popular book retains its five-part structure. Part 1 provides an orientation to the research process and begins the discussion of what motivates researchers and their readers. Part 2 focuses on finding a topic, planning the project and locating appropriate sources. This section is brought up to date with new information on the role of the Internet in research, including how to find and evaluate sources, avoid their misuse and test their reliability. Part 3 explains the art of making an argument and supporting it. The authors have extensively revised this section to present the structure of an argument in clearer and more accessible terms than in the first edition. New distinctions are made among "reasons", "evidence", and "reports of evidence". The concepts of "qualifications and rebuttals" are recast as "acknowledgement and response". Part 4 covers drafting and revising, and offers new information on the visual representation of data. Part 5 concludes the book with an updated discussion of the ethics of research, as well as an expanded bibliography that includes many electronic sources. The new edition retains the accessibility, insights and directness that have made "The Craft of Research" a useful guide for anyone doing research, from students in high school through advanced graduate study to business people and government employees. The authors demonstrate convincingly that researching and reporting skills can be learned and used by all who undertake research projects.

국제정치이론 = Theory of international politics

Abstract: Therefore, the seeker after the truth is not one who studies the writings of the ancients and, following his natural disposition, puts his trust in them, but rather the one who suspects his faith in them and questions what he gathers from them, the one who submits to argument and demonstration, and not to the sayings of a human being whose nature is fraught with all kinds of imperfection and de‹ciency. Thus the duty of the man who investigates the writings of scientists, if learning the truth is his goal, is to make himself the enemy of all that he reads, and, applying his mind to the core and margins of its content, attack it from every side. He should also suspect himself as he performs his critical examination of it, so that he may avoid falling into either prejudice or leniency. (Ibn al-Haytham)1