Showing papers in "Cambridge Review of International Affairs in 2016"
TL;DR: It is suggested that securitization is ‘successful’ only when the identification of a threat that justifies a response is followed by a change of behaviour by a relevant agent and the action taken is justified by thesecuritizing actor with reference to the threat they identified and declared in the securITizing move.
Abstract: This paper is concerned with two interrelated problems in the Copenhagen School’s (CS’s) securitization theory. The first is the challenge that non-exceptional security polices pose to the theory, which starts from the assumption that securitization is ‘successful’ only when extraordinary emergency measures are adopted. The second arises not from what factors define securitization’s ‘success’, but rather from who does so. Securitization theory suffers from a constructivist deficit because the criterion for the ‘success’ of securitization is set by scholars, whereas a more ‘radically constructivist [theory] regarding security’ would require practitioners to be in charge of defining the ‘success’ of securitization. The paper offers a solution to both of these problems by suggesting that securitization is ‘successful’ only when (1) the identification of a threat that justifies a response (securitizing move) is followed by (2) a change of behaviour (action) by a relevant agent (that is, the securitizi...
82 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined how Turkey was affected by the conflict spillover effects of the Syrian civil war and its escalation in the last two years with the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) threat and the changing nature of the Kurdish insurgency.
Abstract: This article examines how Turkey was affected by the conflict spillover effects of the Syrian civil war and its escalation in the last two years with the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) threat and the changing nature of the Kurdish insurgency. It seeks to assess the degree of the transnationalization of the Syrian civil war and its spread to Turkey by employing a theoretical framework borrowed from the conflict clustering literature. The first part will introduce the dual-embedded theoretical framework with its division of conflict spillover effects as “intentional” and “unintentional”. The second part tries to apply this dual-track framework to the Turkish case and, thus, seeks to test the conflict spillover factors on Turkey. The third part focuses on the two specific and major spillovers of the Syrian civil war, the ISIS threat and the rise of an embedded Kurdish insurgency, namely Democratic Union Party (PYD or Partiya Yekitiya Demokrat)-Peoples Protection Units (Yekineyen P...
51 citations
TL;DR: The rise of other powers will make it more difficult for anyone, incl... as mentioned in this paper, to continue the American century, but its continuation will not look like it did in the twentieth century.
Abstract: Is the “American century” over? No, says Joseph S Nye, but its continuation will not look like it did in the twentieth century. The rise of other powers will make it more difficult for anyone, incl...
49 citations
TL;DR: The authors analyzes how different interpretations of Max Weber's work on the state and legitimacy have materialized in contemporary research on international state-building, and how they have been applied in practice.
Abstract: This article analyzes how different interpretations of Max Weber’s work on the state and legitimacy have materialized in contemporary research on—and practice of—international state-building. We ar...
45 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors have brought together an impressive array of experts and policymakers to explain and analyse the establishment of the EU's diplomatic service and present a wealth of useful information.
Abstract: The authors have brought together an impressive array of experts and policymakers to explain and analyse the establishment of the EU’s diplomatic service. There is a wealth of useful information in...
43 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the notion of "lateralisms" and how various modes of engagement (namely bilateralism, regionalism and multilateralism) relate to one another.
Abstract: This article investigates the notion of ‘lateralisms’ and how various modes of engagement (namely bilateralism, regionalism and multilateralism) relate to one another. It begins with a careful analysis of the evolution of ‘lateralisms’ and their (in)compatibility at the global level, building on the existing literature from multiple research disciplines. The second part of this article focuses specifically on the European Union's (EU's) foreign policy approach. The author puts forward two main hypotheses. First, the EU has performed a rebalancing act between bilateralism and regionalism/multilateralism over the last decade in favour of the former, notably through the deepening of its so-called ‘strategic partnerships’. Second, this enhanced bilateralism is not necessarily compatible with other ‘lateralisms’, as it can at times undermine regional integration processes or the building of an effective multilateral order. The author eventually formulates some recommendations to ensure that bilateral partnersh...
42 citations
TL;DR: Autessere's latest book as discussed by the authors is an account of the pitfalls that accompany the insularity that often characterizes expatriate communities in peace operations and in humanitarian and development.
Abstract: Severine Autessere’s latest book is an account of the pitfalls that accompany the insularity that often characterizes expatriate communities in peace operations and in humanitarian and development ...
39 citations
TL;DR: Moreov et al. as mentioned in this paper introduced the socio-anthropological concept of international representations to examine the relationship between a civilizational rhetoric, the West European and the international politics of otherization and containment of Southeast Europe, and an essentialist and timeless bias in international relations theory, including both radical and constructivist trends.
Abstract: This article introduces the socio-anthropological concept of international representations to examine the relationship between a civilizational rhetoric, the West European and the international politics of otherization and containment of Southeast Europe, and an essentialist and timeless bias in international relations theory, including both radical and constructivist trends. We first explore the different narrative perspectives on the Balkan wars from the beginning to the end of the twentieth century. Their subsequent problematization is aimed at challenging the way they have constructed commonplace and time-worn representations, which international society shares with different consequences in international affairs. This is a limited conception since international representations as a socio-anthropological concept are always socially, culturally and politically constructed, contested and negotiated. They do not neutrally refer to a reality in the world; they create a reality of their own. Moreov...
38 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reveal the significance of 1999 as a crucial point that has urged both Brussels and New Delhi to significantly alter both their outlook on global life and on each other.
Abstract: While formally labelled as ‘strategic’, the European Union (EU)–India partnership is more often than not described as ‘lukewarm’ and ‘reluctant’. Thus, by process-tracing the EU–India relationship, this article reveals the significance of 1999 as a crucial point that has urged both Brussels and New Delhi to significantly alter both their outlook on global life and on each other. The bilateral relationship will be shown to be a story of two actors aspiring to global prominence, who—to their mutual frustration—find themselves consigned and constrained to play a leading role only in their respective neighbourhoods. The bilateral relationship seems only to reinforce this marginalization in global affairs, as neither of the strategic partners considers the other significant enough to develop meaningful relations with them.
33 citations
TL;DR: One of the striking revolutions in international relations of the last three decades is the rapid expansion of an organized international "humanitarian system" as mentioned in this paper, which represents the self-cons...
Abstract: One of the striking revolutions in international relations of the last three decades is the rapid expansion of an organized international “humanitarian system”. This system represents the self-cons...
30 citations
TL;DR: The strategic partnerships of the European Union as an instrument of global action: Rationale and Implications as mentioned in this paper is part of and draws on a research project entitled 'The Strategic Partnerships as an Instrument of Global Action' (PTDC/CPJ-CPO/11325/2009), funded by the Portuguese Foundation of Science and Technology.
Abstract: This article, together with contributions on the cases of Brazil, Ukraine and Israel, is part of and draws on a research project entitled 'The Strategic Partnerships of the European Union as an Instrument of Global Action: Rationale and Implications' (PTDC/CPJ-CPO/11325/2009), funded by the Portuguese Foundation of Science and Technology and coordinated by Laura C Ferreira-Pereira.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used data from the entire period of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) to analyse how the practice of alignment influences international relations in Europe.
Abstract: Since the mid-1990s, selected neighbours have in impressive numbers aligned with European Union (EU) foreign policy sanctions. However, much more than for any other sanctions case, neighbours have declined joining recent measures against Russia/Ukraine. This article uses freshly gathered data from the entire period of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) to analyse how the practice of alignment influences international relations in Europe. Thereby, the article demonstrates that: (1) sanctions are not a two-party game, but an instrument that impacts broadly on relations with third countries; (2) alignment with sanctions not only articulates similarity, but contributes to normative polarization in wider Europe; (3) for a high-salience case such as Russia sanctions, neighbours are reluctant to be instrumentalized for EU foreign policy purposes.
TL;DR: The authors proposes an alternative pluralist theoretical framework to assess the functions of strategic partnership in European Union foreign policy discourse, arguing that strategic partnership is a meaningful concept that must be analysed on the levels of systemic foreign policy conceptualization and bilateral interaction of units.
Abstract: ‘Strategic partnership’ is a frequently used term in the vocabulary of international politics. However, there is a lack of theoretical problematization of the nature and meaning of this concept in the academic literature. Analysts frequently take it to be either a descriptive term or a meaningless instrument of political rhetoric. This leads to analyses that insist on evaluating the appropriateness of the use of this term and distinguishing between ‘real strategic partnerships’ and the rest. This article proposes an alternative pluralist theoretical framework to assess the functions of ‘strategic partnership’ in European Union foreign policy discourse. It argues that ‘strategic partnership’ is a meaningful concept that must be analysed on the levels of systemic foreign policy conceptualization and bilateral interaction of units. The paper turns to a language-based approach to discuss three functions of ‘strategic partnership’: (i) as a label and mechanism of differentiation and hierarchization, (i...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the extent to which autonomous sanctions are designed to affect those individuals and elites responsible for the behaviour the EU aims to condemn, and examine diverse practices in three established sanctions strands of the EU, development aid suspensions, Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) sanctions and GSP withdrawals.
Abstract: The emergence of targeted sanctions in the mid-1990s was due to the humanitarian impact of embargoes, which were deemed unacceptable and compelled senders to shift to measures designed to affect only wrongdoers. Twenty years on, the present paper considers the extent to which autonomous sanctions are designed to affect those individuals and elites responsible for the behaviour the EU aims to condemn. How faithful has the EU remained to this concept in its sanctions policy? The enquiry scrutinizes diverse practices in three established sanctions strands of the EU, development aid suspensions, Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) sanctions and Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) withdrawals. It shows that it has been more faithfully implemented in some strands of EU sanctions than in others. Specifically in the flagship CFSP sanctions practice, the due process motivated court challenges of its blacklists have led the EU to modify selection criteria in a way that renders them potentially les...
TL;DR: Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, and Brazilian Ministry of Defense.
Abstract: Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico
e Tecnologico, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, and Brazilian Ministry
of Defense.
TL;DR: The crisis of 2007-2008 and the highly uneven and politically contentious economic'recovery' that followed it have accentuated neoliberalism's ability to mutate and adapt itself to new challenges as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The crisis of 2007–2008 and the highly uneven and politically contentious economic ‘recovery’ that followed it have accentuated neoliberalism’s ability to mutate and adapt itself to new challenges....
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the change in a country's foreign policy is contingent upon its willingness and capability to actively promote its interests and the method a country might employ to implement its foreign policy as a function of these two factors as well.
Abstract: The level of activism in Turkey's foreign policy has reached unprecedented levels during the country's modern history. This increased activism contrasts starkly with Turkey's characteristically traditional status quo orientation evinced during the Cold War. This study aims to establish a theoretical foundation to explain this multifaceted change in Turkish foreign policy. In doing so, it contends that the ‘two-good’ theory of foreign policy renders considerable analytical leverage for contextualizing recent changes in Turkish foreign policy. The theory posits that change in a country's foreign policy is contingent upon its willingness and capability to actively promote its interests. Furthermore, the ‘two-good’ theory postulates the method a country might employ to implement its foreign policy is a function of these two factors as well. The theory leads to two testable hypotheses regarding Turkish foreign policy. This study supports these hypotheses with qualitative and quantitative evidence.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the evolution of the European Union-Russia relationship to understand whether Russia's violations of Ukraine's territorial integrity in 2014 destroyed the EU-Russia strategic partnership.
Abstract: This article investigates the evolution of the European Union (EU)–Russia relationship to understand whether Russia’s violations of Ukraine’s territorial integrity in 2014 destroyed the EU–Russia strategic partnership. It uncovers fundamental differences in three key sectors—security, trade and energy—and regarding the broader design of their contractual relationship. Despite the appearance to the contrary, their relationship was never a well-functioning ‘partnership of choice’. Structural asymmetries contradictory approaches to and fundamentally different understandings of the role and utility of their relationship affected the EU–Russia relationship from the very beginning. The widening gaps were not addressed nor were the differences of the two actors acknowledged, let alone overcome. The confrontation over Ukraine was therefore not the cause but rather a symptom of deeply rooted problems. The blame for talking past each other and engaging in a marriage of convenience, rather than a real partne...
TL;DR: The United States is also experiencing a rise in social inequality associated with a decline in savings that is a fundamental cause of its current-account deficit with China as discussed by the authors, and the liberal US policy for cost outsourcing to China has a complicated impact on employment and an adverse effect on inequality.
Abstract: China has witnessed a continual drop in the labour income share of its gross domestic product (GDP) and a steep rise in income that has caused a savings glut and high investments. China’s shrinking domestic demand indicates that its output growth must increasingly rely on expanded manufacturing exports to the US. China’s state accommodation for US offshoring further aggravates trade imbalances between the two countries. The United States is also experiencing a rise in social inequality associated with a decline in savings that is a fundamental cause of its current-account deficit with China. The swelling US service sector interacts with a high ratio of consumption to income, and the liberal US policy for cost outsourcing to China has a complicated impact on employment and an adverse effect on inequality.
TL;DR: In this paper, an alternative perspective to existing accounts of Turkey's new foreign policy is presented, which locates recent transformations in Turkey's broader strategies of social reproduction, and argues that, contrary to claims about Turkey's "axis shift" and its changing foreign policies have in fact never been pro-Western or pro-American.
Abstract: Turkey’s foreign policy activism has received mixed reviews. Some feel threatened by the alleged increasing Islamization of the country’s foreign policy, sometimes called ‘neo-Ottomanism’, which is seen as a significant revision of Turkey’s traditional transatlanticism. Others see Turkey as a stable democratic role model in a troubled region. This debate on Turkish foreign policy (TFP) remains dominated by a sense of confusion about what appear to be stark contradictions that are difficult to make sense of. Intervening in this debate, this article will develop an alternative perspective to existing accounts of Turkey’s new foreign policy. Offering a historical sociological approach to foreign policy analysis, it locates recent transformations in Turkey’s broader strategies of social reproduction. It subsequently argues that, contrary to claims about Turkey’s ‘axis shift‘, its changing foreign policies have in fact never been pro-Western or pro-American. All foreign policy ‘shifts’ and ‘inconsisten...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the convergence of transatlantic sanction policy against Iran cannot be understood without the pressure employed by Washington and that US pressure has been a key external factor that complemented the EU's internal developments fostering a more coercive approach towards Tehran after the revelation of the Irania...
Abstract: Between 1996 and 2012, cooperation between the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) on Iran sanctions underwent a dramatic shift from open disagreement to almost unanimous consensus. Whereas the US preferred negative sanctions throughout this period, the EU opted at first for using economic incentives and dialogue. The EU’s diverging approach exemplified the overall preference for multilateralism and engagement strategies over unilateral coercive measures. Beginning in 2005, however, European sanction policy towards Iran converged with that of the US. In this article, I argue that the convergence of transatlantic sanction policy against Iran cannot be understood without the pressure employed by Washington. The US pressure campaign consisted of secondary sanctions against European companies. As necessary condition, US pressure has been a key external factor that complemented the EU’s internal developments fostering a more coercive approach towards Tehran after the revelation of the Irania...
TL;DR: The authors examines the trajectory of contemporary Sino-Indian relations from India's perspective and argues that a troubled history coupled with the structural uncertainties engendered by their simultaneous rise is propelling the two Asian giants into a trajectory that they might find rather difficult to navigate in the coming years.
Abstract: New Delhi has been grappling with the challenge of China's rapid rise for some time now. Even as they sign loftily worded documents year after year, the distrust between China and India is actually growing at an alarming rate. True, economic cooperation and bilateral political as well as socio-cultural exchanges are at an all time high; China is India's largest trading partner. Yet this cooperation has done little to assuage each country's concerns about the other's intentions. The two sides are locked in a classic security dilemma, where any action taken by one is immediately interpreted by the other as a threat to its interests. This article examines the trajectory of contemporary Sino-Indian relations from India's perspective and argues that a troubled history coupled with the structural uncertainties engendered by their simultaneous rise is propelling the two Asian giants into a trajectory that they might find rather difficult to navigate in the coming years. This is an empirical analysis of India's c...
TL;DR: Weber's crucial contribution to the study of states is not his alleged emphasis on the monopoly of violence but his concern with the problem of legitimacy, which is the key to understanding why individuals actually orient an action according to their beliefs in the idea of a state as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: While there has arguably been a partial reception of Weber in international relations (IR), we argue here that his ideas have either been misunderstood or neglected. In order to highlight the most valuable Weberian insights, we focus on two topics of crucial importance to IR. First, in our view, Weber's crucial contribution to the study of states is not his alleged emphasis on the monopoly of violence but his concern with the problem of legitimacy, which is the key to understanding why individuals actually orient an action according to their beliefs in the idea of a state. Second, Weber conducted seminal historical investigations on religion, the rationalization of economic ethics, and organizations that show that the diffusion of isomorphism has little to do with supposedly uninterested and persuasive scientific and professional associations. Instead, more attention should be paid to rational domination and less to reified concepts such as John Meyer's ‘rationalized otherhood’. These arguments are also e...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the changing relationship between the European Union and the two largest countries in its eastern neighbourhood, namely Ukraine and Russia, between 1991 and 2014, taking the differential between the existence of the EU Strategic Partnership (SP) with Russia and the absence of such an arrangement in the relationship with Ukraine as a point of departure.
Abstract: The present contribution explores the changing relationship between the European Union (EU) and the two largest countries in its eastern neighbourhood, namely Ukraine and Russia, between 1991 and 2014. Taking the differential between the existence of the EU Strategic Partnership (SP) with Russia and the absence of such an arrangement in the relationship with Ukraine as a point of departure, it investigates how the EU has dealt with different aspirations and challenges stemming from its two largest eastern neighbours. Adopting the Social Identity Theory perspective, the contribution analyses the interrelationship between the evolution of the EU’s SP approach towards the eastern neighbours and the development of (particular dimensions of) the EU’s identity. It demonstrates how the process of categorization relating to the ideational ‘self’, ‘we’ and ‘other’ took place; and how only the EU’s relationship with Russia and not that with Ukraine has accumulated the discursive markers of a strategic partn...
TL;DR: This paper argued that realist thought is more accurately described as rooted in the tensions characterizing Augustine's anti-heretic diatribes rather than taking inspiration from Schmittian political theology or the ‘Gnostic’ tendencies in Protestant neo-orthodox theology.
Abstract: This paper takes issue with approaches that relate realist political theology exclusively back to its Schmittian and neo-orthodox roots. While not entirely denying those influences, it argues that realist thought is more accurately described as rooted in the tensions characterizing Augustine's anti-heretic diatribes rather than taking inspiration from Schmittian political theology or the ‘Gnostic’ tendencies in Protestant neo-orthodox theology. Augustine's refutation of both the Manichaean Gnostic and the Pelagian solutions to the problem of evil gave rise to a complex understanding of the relationship between human free will and original sin based on a combination of ontological monism and ethical dualism. Building on this heritage, realists can be read as rehearsing Augustine's ambiguous gesture of overcoming Gnosticism with equally uncertain success. In responding to the modern ‘Gnostic’ challenge in terms that recognized the dialectical tension between ontological monism and ethical dualism, realists ...
TL;DR: Zucman, an assistant professor at University of California, Berkeley, this article, was one of the first economists to generate a public stir with their research, not least with work on taxation.
Abstract: Few economists, especially younger ones, generate a public stir with their research, not least with work on taxation. But Gabriel Zucman, assistant professor at University of California, Berkeley, ...
TL;DR: In this article, a non-conventional analysis of Brazil's participation in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) is presented, which aims to advance an understanding of foreign policy as an identity practice that, especially in moments of domestic identity crisis, helps reinforce and stabilize specific representations of the state self and of those acting in its name.
Abstract: Most of the analysis dealing with so-called “emerging powers” in the field of peace and security seek to explain the intentions and motivations (supposedly) behind these states’ foreign policy and changing normative positions. Several of those studies see foreign policy decisions as the result of rational processes, defined by a “means-and-ends” logic, essentially oriented by preconceived national interests, clear ideational precepts and fixed identities. Through a non-conventional analysis of the participation of Brazil in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), the paper aims to advance an understanding of foreign policy as an identity practice that, especially in moments of domestic identity crisis, helps reinforce and stabilize specific representations of the state self and of those acting in its name. Informed by a post-positivist approach, the case discussed in the paper opens some avenues to explore how interventionism can be analysed beyond traditional foreign policy ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors synthesize the results of two quantitative analyses, one at a macro and the second at a micro level, to shed light on the process of international socialization.
Abstract: This article synthesizes the results of two quantitative analyses, one at a macro and the second at a micro level, to shed light on the process of international socialization. The first analysis examines the seeming adoption of intellectual property norms at the state level while the second looks at the internalization of similar norms at the individual decision maker level. Both pay special attention to foreign education and capacity-building courses as carriers of US norms to developing countries. By triangulating the results of these analyses, we develop a more nuanced view of international socialization processes than analyses centred at only one level. We provide clear evidence that institutionalization of foreign norms often takes place prior to individual persuasion rather than as a result of it. We show that different socialization types (acculturation and persuasion) and the transmission of different idea types (causal and normative beliefs) may simultaneously operate in opposing directio...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the evolving nature of the foreign policy of the European Union (EU) towards Brazil, which gained momentum and became more dynamic and denser after the establishment of a formal strategic partnership (SP) in 2007.
Abstract: This article focuses on the evolving nature of the foreign policy of the European Union (EU) towards Brazil, which gained momentum and became more dynamic and denser after the establishment of a formal strategic partnership (SP) in 2007. It provides a historical overview of the institutional relations between Brussels and Brasilia, before proceeding with an analysis of the main drivers behind this novel development. The study goes on to offer a critical examination of the implementation of the EU–Brazil SP by casting light on both its major achievements and the challenges it has faced. It concludes that the establishment of a formal strategic partnership with Brazil has contributed to the strengthening of the EU’s globally oriented partnership policy and ultimately to the incremental empowerment of the EU necessary to the assertion of its values, objectives and interests on the international stage.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the development of the EU's strategic relationship with China, by exploring the balance amongst three key mechanisms mobilized by the EU: framing, negotiation and management.
Abstract: This article focuses on the development of the EU’s strategic relationship with China, by exploring the balance amongst three key mechanisms mobilized by the EU: framing, negotiation and management. The article outlines these issues in general, relating them to relevant conceptual and theoretical concerns, and then applies them to the EU–China strategic relationship. Through an examination of the framing ideas embodied in key documents, the development of an EU–China “negotiated order”, and the management of cooperation and competition in sectoral and institutional contexts, the article identifies a number of key tensions and requirements for effective coordination, which affect the potential development of an effective EU strategy.