Showing papers in "Cambridge Review of International Affairs in 2015"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors review the evolution of Africa's regulatory codes in the mining sector, which has undergone what Bonnie Campbell describes as three generations of liberalization since the 1980s and highlight new voluntary, regional and transnational initiatives, driven by a host of heterogeneous actors from Africa and abroad, which constitute a "fourth" generation of mining codes and natural resource governance practices that place primary emphasis on transparency and accountability by both mining companies and host governments.
Abstract: A burgeoning interest among academics, policy-makers and civil society groups has developed concerning Africa's extractive sector and particularly its mining codes, which are now at the centre of a wider policy debate over natural resource governance and economic development on the continent. This article reviews the evolution of Africa's regulatory codes in the mining sector, which has undergone what Bonnie Campbell describes as ‘three generations’ of liberalization since the 1980s. We also highlight new voluntary, regional and transnational initiatives, driven by a host of heterogeneous actors from Africa and abroad, which constitute a ‘fourth’ generation of mining codes and natural resource governance practices that place primary emphasis on transparency and accountability by both mining companies and host governments. This new generation of natural resource governance initiatives presents new opportunities as well as unique challenges, particularly with the growing role of emerging economies such as t...
54 citations
41 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, Massad's Islam in liberalism is a breathtakingly critical reading of the ways in which Islam is produced in activist and academic discourses about democracy, women's rights and sexuality.
Abstract: Joseph Massad's Islam in liberalism is a breathtakingly critical reading of the ways in which Islam is produced in activist and academic discourses about democracy, women's rights and sexuality. Th...
41 citations
TL;DR: The authors investigates the risk involved in the narratives of non-Western international relations theory (IRT) by focusing on a similar historical case in Japan and reveals the risk of uncritically accepted geographical division, and particularly focuses on the discourses of the Kyoto School's theory of world history as an example of nonwestern narratives in the past, which was to ‘overcome’ the Western civilization similar to the contemporary non-western IRT.
Abstract: This paper investigates the risk presumably involved in the narratives of non-Western international relations theory (IRT) by focusing on a similar historical case in Japan. It reveals the risk of uncritically accepted geographical division, and particularly focuses on the discourses of the Kyoto School's theory of world history as an example of non-Western narratives in the past, which was to ‘overcome’ the Western civilization similar to the contemporary non-Western IRT. However, they are also infamous for providing justification for the wartime regime in Japan for their aggression in the Asian continent. What is the connection between their philosophy and support for the imperialist regime? If there is a connection between them, is there any possibility of the resurrection of the same results in the case of non-Western IRT? To answer these questions, the article introduces the philosophy of Tosaka Jun who was critical of the School but, unlike Kyoto School philosophers, stubbornly fought against the ma...
37 citations
TL;DR: The authors reviewed the most recent developments in Chinese and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) approaches to development finance to Africa and argued that although the revival of China's development finance does not fundamentally alter the power relations between African countries and their financiers, as the tendency now is towards convergence and cooperation between China and Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donors, which could have created policy space as it did prior to the end of the Cold War.
Abstract: The revival of China's interest in Africa is often highlighted as being an opportunity to provide African governments with a choice between development partners that may strengthen negotiation leverage and thereby carve out policy space to define and implement policies that affect social and economic development. This article critically reviews the most recent developments in Chinese and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) approaches to development finance to Africa. It argues that although we can detect a number of incidents that point towards more policy space for African governments, the revival of China's development finance does not fundamentally alter the power relations between African countries and their financiers, as the tendency now is towards convergence and cooperation between China and Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donors—not divergence and competition, which could have created policy space as it did prior to the end of the Cold War. This follows the trend o...
37 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that structural and cultural violence makes mass atrocities possible, and remains intact in spite of truth and accountability, and argue that it is this type of violence which should become the central focus of transitional justice.
Abstract: After over six decades of evolution, transitional justice remains focused on courts and commissions, evidenced by the allocation of international attention and resources. This is understandable given that courts and commissions are ideal platforms to hold perpetrators to account. While violent individuals and events can be addressed through courts and commission, what cannot be adequately addressed is the structural and cultural violence that makes mass atrocities possible, and remains intact in spite of truth and accountability. Structural and cultural violence manifests as systemic vulnerability and dehumanization, and it is this type of built-in violence that continues to plague countries where transitional justice has been pursued, for example the criminalization and repression of communities in South Africa, or the forced evictions that occur daily throughout Cambodia. This article argues that it is this type of violence which should become the central focus of transitional justice.
34 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors define a level of analysis as a social structure that is examined for its effects on another social structure or on the same social structure, and show that the methodological issue of which levels of analysis a researcher employs is separate from the ontological issue of whether the theoretical lens is atomistic or holistic at any given level.
Abstract: The objective of this article is to clarify the significance and usefulness of levels of analysis, a central IR concept, but one often used unproblematically. I argue that a level of analysis should be defined as a social structure that is examined for its effects on another social structure, or on the same social structure. Therefore, levels of analysis are also relational, meaning that one is defined, in part, in terms of its associated unit of analysis. Because this definition conceptualizes levels of analysis as methodological tools rather than ontological postulates, it is consistent with a wide range of positions on the agent-structure debate. More specifically, I show that the methodological issue of which levels of analysis a researcher employs is separate from the ontological issue of whether the theoretical lens is atomistic (reductionist) or holistic at any given level. One implication of this definition is that researchers need not view their ontological commitments as overly methodologically ...
33 citations
TL;DR: This article argued that the concept of human dignity is better understood as an essentially contested concept, which can explain not only the theoretical disagreements about the concept, but also its current place within the international legal regime.
Abstract: This article argues that the concept of human dignity is better understood as an essentially contested concept. Following Walter Bryce Gallie's original definition of essential contestability in 1956 and the subsequent additions made by several authors over the years, it argues that describing human dignity in such terms helps to explain not only the theoretical disagreements about the concept, but also its current place within the international legal regime. The essentially contested concept framework is therefore not only accurate in describing the global phenomenon of human dignity (the latter fulfilling the seven criteria set out by Gallie regarding this framework), but also useful in doing so. The article concludes that for human dignity to properly perform its supposed function, it needs to become ‘decontested’, something that can only happen following the recognition of its theoretical structure.
26 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, Sayyid engages in a compelling manner with many of the "spectres" that haunt Muslim modernity, and the book is an exercise in critical Muslim studies.
Abstract: This is a very interesting book: ‘an exercise in Critical Muslim Studies’, as the author calls it (14). Sayyid engages in a compelling manner with many of the ‘spectres’ that haunt Muslim modernity...
24 citations
TL;DR: While the 2008 financial crisis may have been the first time European critics of neoliberalism were ever confronted in any immediate sense with an experience of the authoritarian consensuality of c... as discussed by the authors
Abstract: While the 2008 financial crisis may have been the first time European critics of neoliberalism were ever confronted in any immediate sense with an experience of the authoritarian consensuality of c...
23 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the substance of EU democracy promotion from a comparative point of view and from a perspective placing under inquiry the meaning of the idea of liberal democracy itself.
Abstract: This piece examines the substance of EU democracy promotion from a comparative point of view and from a perspective placing under inquiry the meaning of the idea of liberal democracy itself. Instead of assuming that the democratic ideal that the EU promotes (‘liberal democracy’) has a clear, fixed meaning, the article examines in detail what actually constitutes the ‘ideal of democracy’ at the heart of EU democracy promotion, and compares this vision to that which informs the democracy promotion of the US. It argues that interesting differences, and shifts and oscillations, in the models of liberal democracy that the EU and the US promote exist and that these are important to note in order for us to fully appreciate how the substance of EU and US democracy support can be shaped by conceptual and ideological debate on the meaning of democracy. This dynamic is particularly relevant today, in the context of the recent attempts to develop transatlantic dialogue on democracy support. This dialogue, it is sugge...
TL;DR: In this paper, a framework for evaluating the actorness of non-state actors is proposed, based on three principles of autonomy, representation, and influence, with the potential to play a uniquely stimulating role in the shifting of power.
Abstract: This article begins with the assumption that the most important shift that is taking place in contemporary global politics is the shift in polity power from the predominance of the state to the rising importance of nonstate actors. It goes on to argue that disciplinary understandings of this shift and, in particular, the nature of the actors driving it, remain dispersed. This article aims, therefore, to provide a framework for evaluating the global political potential—or actorness—of one type of nonstate actor, the violent nonstate actor, positing it as that most overtly challenging states' authority, and therefore with the potential to play a uniquely stimulating role in the shifting of power. Based on three principles of autonomy, representation and influence, the framework provides broad criteria for understanding violent nonstate actors, as well as a means for evaluating violent nonstate actorness and for exploring its potential in global politics.
TL;DR: The tragic history of the Kurds in the twentieth century stems from the denial of their aspirations to statehood following the First World War and the breakdown of the Ottoman Empire as discussed by the authors, as a result,...
Abstract: The tragic history of the Kurds in the twentieth century stems from the denial of their aspirations to statehood following the First World War and the breakdown of the Ottoman Empire. As a result, ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore what type of international power the EU wields, how interregionalism is embedded in that power, and how it is deployed, and highlight the EU's articulation of power in inter-regional relations and reflect upon its mixed success.
Abstract: Relations between the European Union (EU) and regional subgroups in Latin America (Mercosur, the Andean Community and Central America) are clear examples of ‘pure interregionalism’ and provide evidence of the EU's active promotion of regional integration. Within the context of these cases, this article explores what type of international power the EU wields, how interregionalism is embedded in that power, and how it is deployed. Combining strands of literature on EU–Latin American relations, interregionalism, EU external policy and power provides a framework within which interregionalism can be understood as an important normative and practical tool for the EU's external power projection. Drawing on official documentation and interviews with key individuals, the paper highlights the EU's articulation of power in interregional relations and reflects upon its mixed success. It concludes that, while imperial qualities and aspirations can be observed in the EU's penchant for interregionalism, the transformati...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined alternative understandings of democracy and democracy promotion advanced by the US, EU, Russia and China in Central Asia using frame analysis, and assessed the implications of alternative representations of democracy promotion and competing models of governance for the prospects of democratization.
Abstract: This study examines alternative understandings of democracy and democracy promotion advanced by the US, EU, Russia and China in Central Asia using frame analysis. In the context of this study, ‘frames’ refer to the relatively cohesive sets of beliefs, categories and value judgements as well as specific ways in which these ideas are packaged for the targets of international democratization. The study assesses the implications of alternative representations of democracy promotion and competing models of governance for the prospects of democratization in Central Asia. It concludes that the substance of US and EU democracy promotion in Central Asia has neglected the cultural and political contexts of these states, while the Russian and Chinese models of governance and development have provided a better match to the interests of the ruling elites.
TL;DR: The other resource curse may be an overlooked driver: a lingering assumption that mineral resources should straightforwardly provide significant revenue streams for public goods, inputs for industrial transformation, and extensive employment as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Since 2010, many African governments have challenged twenty years of extractive sector liberalization that has played a key role in unlocking mineral riches and attracting foreign direct investment. The potential for extractives to drive economic structural transformation is intuitively attractive, the Africa Mining Vision (2009) document providing a primary template. Geological inheritance alone, however, is not a panacea for economic development, industrialization or poverty alleviation. While much attention to the ‘resource curse’ has identified the problem of excessive rent-seeking and the consequent impact on elite consolidation, democracy, governance and macroeconomic distortions, a more fundamental problem, the ‘other resource curse’, may be an overlooked driver: a lingering assumption that mineral resources should straightforwardly provide significant revenue streams for public goods, inputs for industrial transformation, and extensive employment. Geology alone is neither conducive nor antithetica...
TL;DR: In this paper, it is observed how the voices that offered a positive response to the election of Donald Trump were the same as those that offered negative responses to the same opponents of the election.
Abstract: If democracy promotion is a ‘fashionable international art’ (Burnell 2000, 339), then there are many artists involved in it. It is impressive to observe, for instance, how the voices that offered a...
TL;DR: This paper used an English School approach to examine the European colonization of Africa between 1871 and 1908 and provided additional empirical insights into the relationship between world society, international society and international institutions.
Abstract: This article utilizes an English School approach to examine the European colonization of Africa between 1871 and 1908. Drawing upon Clark's framework for understanding the relationship between world society, international society and international institutions, it argues that the colonization of Africa was very much dependent upon the activity of non-state actors who essentially pushed European states into the formal colonization of the African interior. Such a case sheds important light on the destructive role world society has played in international politics, a topic which has received no attention in the English School literature. Moreover the study provides additional empirical insights into the relationship between world society, international society and international institutions, while also bringing much needed empirical discussion of colonization into the English School catalogue.
TL;DR: The last book from one of the most prominent figures of twentieth-century diplomacy as discussed by the authors is likely to be the last book written by a man who is now 91 years old, which makes the book's lucidity and intellectual confidence r...
Abstract: This is likely to be the last book from one of the most prominent figures of twentieth-century diplomacy. That its author is now 91 years old makes the book's lucidity and intellectual confidence r...
TL;DR: In this article, the role of discourse structuration in managing policymaking in a contested and controversial policy domain is emphasized, partially facilitated by institutional changes in the Lisbon Treaty, but mainly due to policy entrepreneurship in facilitating consensus.
Abstract: Most of the scholarly literature on European Union immigration policymaking has emphasized the predominance of governmental actors. The major changes entailed in the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, however, imply a significant increase in supranationalism and necessitate rethinking earlier conclusions. Exploring the concomitant rise of policy entrepreneurship traits in the actions taken by the European Commission, this article emphasizes the role of discourse structuration in managing policymaking in a contested and controversial policy domain. The Commission is thus gaining more influence and importance, partially facilitated by institutional changes in the Lisbon Treaty, but mainly due to astute policy entrepreneurship in facilitating consensus. Framing problems in a fashion that maximizes potential agreement by member state governments facilitates political agreement regarding potentially divisive policy proposals. Discursive elements are created and circulated that are designed to appeal, render political impleme...
TL;DR: In this paper, a more nuanced mapping of priorities and strategies is offered, which distinguishes between those measures designed to engage civil society (developmental), those focusing on institutions and elite level change (political), and interventions specifically designed to promote closer interaction between government and nongovernmental actors.
Abstract: From the perspective of Kosovo, this article contributes to a growing literature focusing on the substance of donor-driven democracy promotion. Drawing on extensive empirical research between 2010 and 2012, the research provides greater insights into which donors are providing what sort of assistance; how the content and focus of aid are decided and formulated; and the behaviour of the European Union (EU) and other large donors compared with small bilaterals and private foundations. By including the category of ‘governance-oriented’ assistance to classify donor initiatives, a more nuanced mapping of priorities and strategies is offered, which distinguishes between those measures designed to engage civil society (developmental), those focusing on institutions and elite level change (political), and interventions specifically designed to promote closer interaction between government and nongovernmental actors. The conclusion reached is that, although overall levels of aid to Kosovo have remained relatively ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors find that the EU's model has not played a defining role for the substantive priorities of the Eastern European democracy promoters, who have instead borrowed from their own democratization models practices that they understand to fit the needs of recipients.
Abstract: The EU is one of the most prominent democracy promoters in the world today. It has played an especially important role in the democratization of its Eastern European member states. Given the acknowledged success and legitimacy of EU democracy promotion in these countries, it could be expected that when they themselves began promoting democracy, they would borrow from the EU's democracy promotion model. Yet this paper finds that the EU's model has not played a defining role for the substantive priorities of the Eastern European democracy promoters. They have instead borrowed from their own democratization models practices that they understand to fit the needs of recipients. This article not only adds to the literature on the Europeanization of member state policies but also contributes both empirically and theoretically to the literature on the foreign policy of democracy promotion. The article theorizes the factors shaping the substance of democracy promotion—how important international ‘best practices’ a...
TL;DR: The authors argues that South Korean IR academia's recent quest for an independent, self-reliant national school of IR with universal applicability still appears to be operating under a colonial mentality, either treating Korea as a mere test bed for mainstream rationalist IR approaches or mimicking the character of hegemonic IR theory.
Abstract: This article aims to conduct a critical appraisal of two major discourses in South Korea on how to construct its national school of international relations (IR) in the global academic field. This article argues that South Korean IR academia's recent quest for an independent, self-reliant national school of IR with universal applicability still appears to be operating under a colonial mentality, either treating Korea as a mere test bed for mainstream rationalist IR approaches or mimicking the character of hegemonic IR theory, thereby reaffirming it. The normative consequences of seeking to promote a national rival to dominant theorizing provide an interesting case study on the sometimes hidden politics of IR scholarship.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a new theory of war that is grounded in the insights of Clausewitz on the social nature of conflict. And they develop and modify this basic framework by arguing that the social organization of the actors has a determining role in predicting the stakes of war, which helps us understand some key problems in the political science literature on war and conflict.
Abstract: This article presents a new theory of war that is grounded in the insights of Clausewitz on the social nature of conflict. Clausewitz had argued that war is a political process; he therefore distinguished between ‘war’—understood in political terms—and warfare—understood as fighting. He then created a typology covering a spectrum of war ranging from total to limited, the political stakes of a conflict determining where it would fall on the spectrum. I develop and modify this basic framework by arguing that the social organization of the actors has a determining role in predicting the stakes of war. I then show how this framework helps us understand some key problems in the political science literature on war and conflict. I attempt to show two main things: (1) that there are different types of wars (and that these differences are not necessarily related to the standing of the actors, i.e. the presence or absence of sovereignty); and (2) that how war and warfare are related is more complicated than previou...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the role of counter-insurgency (COIN) in the military, security and political discourse of the major Western powers, questioning whether COIN's precepts account for its claimed successes and whether they offer valid policy prescriptions.
Abstract: Observers have begun to scrutinize the prominence of counter-insurgency (COIN) in the military, security and political discourse of the major Western powers, questioning whether COIN's precepts account for its claimed successes and whether they offer valid policy prescriptions. The key research questions this study seeks to examine, however, are of a more theoretical nature: what is COIN exactly, what are its conceptual underpinnings and why has what might otherwise be regarded as an obscure military doctrine gained such public notoriety? The examination explores whether COIN can be said to constitute a strategy and analyses the sometimes problematic aspects of COIN theorization. Ultimately, this analysis suggests that when the contemporary discourse of COIN is unpacked and deconstructed the phenomenon presents itself as a number of unrelated ideas that when put together in a single package offer a consoling narrative to both military and political constituencies about the purpose of Western involvement i...
TL;DR: The authors examines the recent rehabilitation of counter-insurgency doctrine, especially as conducted by third party interveners, and examines the dubious bases of the doctrinal justifications driving recent US interventions.
Abstract: The essay examines the recent rehabilitation of counter-insurgency doctrine, especially as conducted by third party interveners. The advent of the refurbished US (United States) Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency field manual, a volume with scholarly self-presentation, is the focal point. This essay is concerned with the dubious bases of the doctrinal justifications driving recent US interventions. The Vietnam War turns out to be the crucial case for American scholars and policy-makers who have construed the history of counter-insurgency there as an unacknowledged success, which today has become the standard account in American International relations scholarship. The essay is a critical examination of this development and of its implications.
TL;DR: In contrast, the authors argued that the substance of EU democracy promotion in UN discourses revolves around an institutional-centric understanding, whereas in EU discourses we see a significant reconceptualization of democracy as a norms-based concept, which does not aim at the government of society but the ethical selfgovernance of socially embedded individuals.
Abstract: In contrasting UN with EU democracy promotion discourses, the article contributes to the debate on the substance of EU democracy promotion by approaching the question of ‘democratic substance’ from the vantage point of sovereignty. For its analytical framing, it draws on relevant aspects of Foucault's work on power. The article suggests that, due to their diverging obligations to sovereignty, the substance of democracy promotion in UN discourses revolves around an institutional-centric understanding, whereas in EU discourses we see a significant reconceptualization of democracy as a norms-based concept. The latter does not aim at the government of society but the ethical self-governance of socially embedded individuals. It is argued that, with the decreasing purchase of democracy as a universal political project and the growing concern with local contexts, the EU's norms-based conception emerges as better equipped to adapt to contemporary challenges of governing. The article concludes with raising some do...
TL;DR: This paper examined the causes of global imbalances by analysing the relationship between income inequality and economic performance and identified a positive link between savings and inequality whenever savings are allocated through the financial market to investment firms for production However, this relationship becomes negative when non-saving households borrow savers' funds for consumption.
Abstract: The recent global financial crisis has generated substantial research interest in the relationships among savings, inequality and global imbalances Our study examines the causes of global imbalances by analysing the relationship between income inequality and economic performance and the relationship between savings imbalances and economic instability We identify a positive link between savings and inequality whenever savings are allocated through the financial market to investment firms for production However, this relationship becomes negative when non-saving households borrow savers' funds for consumption Our findings suggest that income inequality should be reduced in both China and the US to mitigate global imbalances
TL;DR: In this article, emotional psychology can be used to understand why states persist in enduring, expensive conflicts when the costs seem so high, the potential benefits, at best, somewhat ambiguous.
Abstract: Why do states persist in enduring, expensive conflicts when the costs seem so high, the potential benefits, at best, somewhat ambiguous? This article suggests that emotional psychology can provide some insights into this problem. Decision-makers construct a vision of the future that is greatly informed by affect. How they feel in the present has a big impact on their conception of events and their decisions about them. The risks they are prepared to take, the desires they anticipate having in future, the lessons of the past they draw on—all are constructed under the influence of current emotions, and all may encourage the persistence of conflict beyond a point at which more dispassionate minds might desist. This theoretical argument is then illustrated with a discussion of US policy-making in the Vietnam War.
TL;DR: This article found that violence was actually prompted by major increases in wealth among those who benefited when control of the political system became much more valuable, which raised the stakes of political control and underlay the resulting higher levels of violence.
Abstract: Past research has found that globalization and political violence have been linked in both modern and less modern times. Normally, groups that have been disadvantaged or displaced by globalization are seen as responsible for these outbreaks of violence. In the case of the Late Republic of Rome and medieval Italy before the Renaissance, violence was actually prompted by major increases in wealth among those who benefited when control of the political system became much more valuable. The increased value raised the stakes of political control and underlay the resulting higher levels of violence.