Showing papers in "Cooperation and Conflict in 2007"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors introduce the idea of brands to debates about Nordic models and identity, and show how a Nordic brand was marketed during the Cold War, but has since been challenged and undermined by a number of pressures.
Abstract: This article introduces the idea of brands to debates about Nordic models and identity. Understanding brands to be more strategic and stable than identities, the article shows how a Nordic brand was marketed during the Cold War, but has since been challenged and undermined by a number of pressures. Central to the Nordic brand have been ideas of Nordic ‘exceptionalism’—of the Nordics as being different from or better than the norm—and of the Nordic experience, norms and values as a model to be copied by others. In the post-Cold War period, key aspects of the Nordic brand have been challenged. On the one hand, elements of the Nordic elite appear to have forsaken the brand. On the other, broader recognition of a distinct Nordic brand is being undermined with the melding of Nordic with European practices and processes. The article concludes by asking whether the decline of the Nordic brand matters and further explores the link between Nordicity as a brand and as an identity.
130 citations
TL;DR: The political debate about the role of business in armed conflicts has increasingly raised expectations as to governance contributions by private corporations in the fields of conflict prevention, conflict prevention and conflict resolution as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The political debate about the role of business in armed conflicts has increasingly raised expectations as to governance contributions by private corporations in the fields of conflict prevention, ...
81 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated how this international region has developed over time with reference to the conception of regions as understood in region-building discourse and concluded that the regional superstructure includes conceptions of the North that draw on images developed in historical exploration and research, shaped by a discourse of the Arctic representing North American more than Nordic understandings.
Abstract: The Arctic has emerged as a region in international cooperation during the past 20—30 years, as manifest in the creation of the Arctic Council and its predecessor, the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy, and in the incidence of a host of scientific and political cooperation projects. The region now includes eight states over the circumpolar area; namely, the United States, Russia, Canada and the Nordic countries. How this international region has developed over time is investigated with reference to the conception of regions as understood in region-building discourse. Accordingly, the Arctic as a region that is not natural or given but as constructed by and for particular actors and interests is studied. It is concluded that the regional superstructure includes conceptions of the North that draw on images developed in historical exploration and research, shaped by a discourse of the Arctic representing North American more than Nordic understandings.
70 citations
TL;DR: Sweden's self-narrative is that of an outward-looking internationalist state whose commitments to justice and equality are not confined to co-nationals as discussed by the authors, which distinguishes Swedish internationalism.
Abstract: Sweden’s self-narrative is that of an outward-looking internationalist state whose commitments to justice and equality are not confined to co-nationals. What distinguishes Swedish internationalism,...
64 citations
TL;DR: This article argued that the Nordic normative legacy and the experience of nation-and state-building and construction of national identity were important in the construction of the welfare state, and the socio-political history of that model is crucially important in providing understanding of the linkages in ideational inspiration across these different policy sectors.
Abstract: The ‘Nordic model’ is often seen to exist in political economy, where, according to many commentators, the main components of the model have been the universal welfare state, centralized wage-bargaining structures and high level of taxation. However, the argument in this article is that the ‘Nordic model’ should be seen as a broader concept, ranging from social and economic policy to foreign and security policy. In addition, the central claim here is that the socio-political history of that model is crucially important in providing understanding of the linkages in ideational inspiration across these different policy sectors. The ‘Nordic normative legacy’ and the experience of nation- and state-building and construction of national identity were important in the construction of the welfare state. However, the ‘Nordic model’ was traditionally based on a form of ‘welfare state nationalism’ that is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain in the ‘global age’. The main problem comes from confronting the chal...
61 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines the predicaments and paradoxes of identity politics in Cyprus and suggests that the Cyprus problem provides a moral alibi for the pursuit of problematic regulations and practices against individuals caught between the dominant ethnic identities, even though there also exist windows of opportunity and resistance on the ground.
Abstract: This article examines the predicaments and paradoxes of identity politics in Cyprus. It looks at the historical alliance of colonial practices and nationalist rationales that brought about a static bicommunal system, establishing the basis for inter-ethnic conflict, or what became known as the `Cyprus problem'. The advent of modern governmentality, dividing and classifying the Cypriot population, helped, in addition, to solidify fluid and ambiguous ethno-religious boundaries, making it more difficult for individuals to use ethno-religious identities flexibly and pragmatically, including their use as a tactic to resist the policies of consecutive regimes of power. The article suggests that the 'Cyprus problem' provides a moral alibi for the pursuit of a range of problematic regulations and practices against individuals caught between the dominant ethnic identities, even though there also exist windows of opportunity and resistance on the ground. The article focuses on the genealogy and presence of hybrid c...
57 citations
TL;DR: For example, the authors argues that Denmark has become much more closely aligned with the United States in foreign policy since the 2001 Election of the first Fogh Rasmussen government, arguing that Denmark is no longer consistent with the Nordic internationalist tradition and adopting active internationalism after 1989.
Abstract: With domestic political cultures in which the values of solidarity, equity and social justice figure large and a long history of internationalism in foreign policy, the Nordic states offer themselves as prototypical ‘good international citizens’. Danish foreign policy long had a passive quality to it, nonetheless it has been broadly consistent with the Nordic internationalist tradition, especially with the adoption of ‘active internationalism’ after 1989. Since the 2001 Election of the first Fogh Rasmussen government, however, the ethico-political rationales underpinning Danish internationalism appear to be changing at the same time as Denmark has enacted a controversially much more restrictive and, critics argue, strongly culturally framed immigration and refugee policy. Although the Fogh Rasmussen governments have not abandoned internationalism, and key aspects of current Danish foreign policy resonate fully with the Nordic internationalist tradition, Denmark is now much more closely aligned with the US...
43 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the role of cultural shift, as defined by Inglehart, in the major change in Israeli foreign policy embodied in the Oslo Accords is analyzed. But they do not provide an empirical explanation.
Abstract: This article analyses the role of cultural shift, as defined by Inglehart, in the major change in Israeli foreign policy embodied in the Oslo Accords. Aside from providing an empirical explanation,...
31 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the use and unfolding of the security argument in the context of the European Union's (EU) new security doctrine and the devising of an explicit neighbourhood policy.
Abstract: Several new ways of security-speak are about to enter the European scene. The article seeks to identity these by investigating the use and unfolding of the security argument in the context of the European Union’s (EU) new security doctrine and the devising of an explicit neighbourhood policy. In addition to tracing the way the plot structure underpinning the EU is changing, alternative options are sought by tapping into the potential offered by the way security works in the case of the Nordic constellation. Juxtaposing of the EU and the Nordic entity is also there in order to challenge the increasingly closed and non-negotiable European configuration and to open it up for critical scrutiny.
30 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a critical re-examination of the concept of world order is presented, focusing on US hegemony and neo-liberalism, military geographies and the spaces of marginalization and resistance.
Abstract: This article offers a critical re-examination of the concept of world order. Taking our cue from Georg Sorensen's recent article in this journal entitled `What Kind of World Order?' we begin by unpacking the concept of order itself. We distinguish two principal meanings of the term: one analytical and descriptive (order as non-randomness) and one value-laden and normative (order as stability and the absence of violent conflict). In debates about world order, these two meanings are often blurred. Drawing on William Connolly's critique of the descriptive-normative distinction, we suggest that this blurring occurs in part because world order is an `essentially contested concept'. Practices of ordering typically involve the production of specific spatializations, yet questions of space and spatiality are largely absent from discussions of world order. In the second part of the article, therefore, we address this absence through a discussion of geo-politics, focusing on US hegemony and neo-liberalism, military geographies and the spaces of marginalization and resistance. The article concludes with some reflections on the political implications of a spatialized account of world order.
22 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyze not only the operational changes in the Greek counter-terrorist strategy that began to materialize at the turn of the millennium, but also the deep-rooted conceptual changes that led to the inclusion of terrorism in Greek security agenda for the first time.
Abstract: After 27 years of stalemate and inability to make any progress in dealing with domestic terrorism, in 2002 the Greek police finally arrested members of the 'Revolutionary Organization November 17', the most lethal terrorist group ever to operate in Greece The arrest of the terrorists raised several questions that have not yet been satisfactorily answered Why did Greece take so long before a decisive strike against domestic, left-wing terrorism was recorded? What were the factors that led to the arrest of the terrorists? In answering these questions it is necessary to analyse not just the operational changes in the Greek counter-terrorist strategy that began to materialize at the turn of the millennium, but also the deep-rooted conceptual changes that led to the inclusion of terrorism in the Greek security agenda for the first time I utilize and extend the theory of 'securitization' as developed by the Copenhagen school, and argue that the state's failure to curtail terrorist activity in Greece resulted from the erroneous belief that terrorism was not a direct threat to Greek security In turn, the belated securitization of terrorism was the key to the arrest of the terrorists that held Greece hostage for almost three decades
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors develop an informal model in which decision-makers can hold different prior beliefs and preferences, and investigate this model's usefulness by analyzing how the United States responded to more cooperative foreign policy signals initiated by the Soviet Union under Gorbachev.
Abstract: The study of international conflict and cooperation has long drawn on game theory for insights. Recent developments have made the assumptions of game theory more realistic. Particularly important is the development of signaling games, which analyze situations when decision-makers lack complete information about their environment. Signaling game logic has been applied to many areas of international politics in the past decade, including decisions to go to war, crisis bargaining, international economic negotiations, regional integration, and the foreign policies of democratic states. The signaling games approach assumes that states are unitary actors with a single preference ordering and set of beliefs. I relax this assumption by developing an informal model in which decision-makers can hold different prior beliefs and preferences, and investigate this model's usefulness by analyzing how the United States responded to the more cooperative foreign policy signals initiated by the Soviet Union under Gorbachev....
TL;DR: The European Union and the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) are very different regions that have come to seemingly analogous compromises as far as the operation of their common markets is concerned.
Abstract: The European Union (EU) and the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) are very different regions that have come to seemingly analogous compromises as far as the operation of their common markets is concerned. Like the EU, Mercosur seems to confirm the textbook logic of integration development from a free trade area to a customs union and then to a common market. Does this mean that well-developed theories of European integration that emphasize certain properties of the European region are useless in explaining and predicting the Mercosur process? This article proposes a framework for comparison of the two blocs that uses selected theories of European integration: neofunctionalism, liberal inter-governmentalism, social constructivism and neo-realism. The framework is applied to the examination of intra-regional cohesion of the two interstate cooperative groups. Comparison of the two unions demonstrates that, despite similar institutional structures and partial set-ups of the common markets, they are qualit...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the relationship between practice, ideas and foreign policy and conclude that conflict prevention was a powerful idea because it was morally appealing and persuasive as well as successfully demonstrated in practice.
Abstract: The story of how conflict prevention became an integral and legitimate part of Swedish foreign policy illustrates the relationship between successful practices and powerful ideas. This article suggests that the demonstration of an idea in practice empowers the idea and contributes not only to its selection, but also to its framing and institutionalization within foreign policy. Hence, the article sets out to explore the relationships between practice, ideas and foreign policy. Adopting a social constructivist perspective, the article provides a detailed process-tracing of the construction of a Swedish conflict prevention policy and concludes that conflict prevention was a powerful idea because it was morally appealing and persuasive as well as successfully demonstrated in practice. In fact, preventive practices spearheaded the advancement of the conflict prevention idea. In addition, the idea resonated with the Swedish foreign policy elite, with commonly held values and with the traditional Swedish foreign policy that stressed internationalism and solidarity. (Less)
TL;DR: In this article, the creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was analyzed in light of its potential for creating and institutionalizing justice norms in international society.
Abstract: This article analyses the creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in light of its potential for creating and institutionalizing justice norms in international society. The theoretical and analytical framework is based on the English School of International Relations and its central conflict between order and justice. The framework integrates a constructivist approach and the `norm life-cycle' to explain the dynamic process of norm emergence and institutionalization in international society. I argue that establishing the ICTY, despite a number of problems resulting from the way it was set up, constituted an important precedent for multilateral action towards institutionalizing respect for the rule of law and principles of individual justice. This suggests that these norms are being taken increasingly seriously and are being given priority over other fundamental principles of order, such as sovereignty and non-intervention. The ICTY's establishment constitutes a sign...
TL;DR: The importance of trust and its different dimensions emerged as the central theme in a study of international environmental cooperation in northwestern Russia as mentioned in this paper, where Russian and Nordic participants were interviewed in the winter 2003-2004 and spring 2006 with the aim of gathering their views and experiences on cooperation.
Abstract: In this article, I discuss trust and its manifestations in international environmental cooperation. A lack of trust in the capacity of states and other actors to tackle environmental issues leads to international environmental insecurity. Awareness of such incapacities is widespread and is increasing in `modern risk societies'. Trust is often understood as the rational and intentional efforts of parties to treat one another as trustworthy counterparts and to ignore discretion, but it is also habitual. Trust is based on the socialization of agents into certain practices. The importance of trust and its different dimensions emerged as the central theme in a study of international environmental cooperation in northwestern Russia. Russian and Nordic participants were interviewed in the winter 2003—2004 and spring 2006 with the aim of gathering their views and experiences on cooperation. The interviewees were mainly representatives of regional and national administrations and non-governmental organizations. In...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the role-perception and operation of European Commission officials towards Northern Ireland and the peace process and find that there is a relative gap in the theoretical liter...
Abstract: The main aim of this article is to examine the role-perception and operation of European Commission officials towards Northern Ireland and the peace process. A relative gap in the theoretical liter...
TL;DR: The authors traces the emergence of the divide where Norway and Denmark are concerned through a reading of the concept of "realm" (rike), and asks when Norway evolved a foreign policy (as distinct from a non-discriminating foreign/domestic one).
Abstract: The emergence of the modern state and the European states system limned the inside of a state different from its outside. Inside the state, peace and progress could be furthered by means of disciplinary power, while outside the state, anarchy reigned. Academic disciplines such as political theory, International Relations and International History treat this divide as foundational, and so the knowledge they produce contributes to its reproduction. The article traces the emergence of the divide where Norway and Denmark are concerned through a reading of the concept of ‘realm’ (rike), and asks when Norway evolved a foreign policy (as distinct from a non-discriminating foreign/domestic one). There are two extant views. A legal view starts from sovereignty and fixes the date at 1905, whereas a nationalistic view popular with historians treats it as originary to the political entity of Norway, which means that it may be dated back some thousand years or so. Treating discriminating institutions such as foreign m...
TL;DR: Feminist methodology comprises various theoretical positions, disciplinary backgrounds and areas of focus, but uniting them is their principal emphasis on knowledge production, particularly when and where knowledge is situated and exercised, as well as how and by whom.
Abstract: Feminist methodology comprises various theoretical positions, disciplinary backgrounds and areas of focus, but uniting them is their principal emphasis on knowledge production, particularly when and where knowledge is situated and exercised, as well as how and by whom (cf. De Lauretis, 1984; Butler, 1990; Harding, 1993; Zalewski, 2000). Methodological development of the relatively young field of feminist International Relations (IR), however, has been gradual since the mid-1980s, when Cynthia Enloe published her groundbreaking work on gender and militarism Does Khaki Become You? (1988). Her most recent work, Globalization & Militarism (2007), discussed in this essay, is her fifth monograph on feminist IR. In Feminist Methodologies for International Relations (2006), edited by Brooke A.Ackerly, Maria Stern and Jacqui True, pioneers such as J. Ann Tickner, Marysia Zalewski, Carol Cohn and Christine Sylvester contribute to a critical discussion of feminist methodological issues in IR.
TL;DR: In this article, the role of values and norms in EU foreign policy and thus question one, but it also addresses the limits of morally influenced foreign policies, and with emphasis on the EU's responsibilities in its foreign policy, the Mayer-Vogt volume confronts the question of how states should behave in their external relations.
Abstract: The books reviewed here belong in a field of research — morality, norms and foreign policy — that is currently receiving quite a lot of scholarly attention. But they also lean upon a venerable tradition. Authors such as Stanley Hoffman, George Kennan, Hans Morgenthau, Terry Nardin and Arnold Wolfers have all produced classical treatises on ‘norms and ethics in foreign policy’. In The Handbook of International Relations, Andrew Hurrell (2002: 137) differentiates between three traditions within the field, focusing on: (1) the role that normative ideas may have for foreign policy behaviour, (2) what nations should do in their foreign policies, and (3) the extent to which ‘moral behaviour’ is constrained by political realities. The books under review in this essay clearly relate to these broad questions. With emphasis on the EU’s responsibilities in its foreign policy, the Mayer–Vogt volume confronts the question of how states should behave in their external relations, but it also touches on the first question. The Lucarelli–Manners volume is focused on the role of values and norms in EU foreign policy and thus question one, but it also addresses the limits of morally influenced foreign policies. The two volumes are timely in their publication and together contribute to filling a gap in the study of EU external relations. As pointed out by both Sonja Lucarelli and Henri Vogt, there are many good reasons for discussing the role of norms, values and responsibilities in EU external relations: the EU has been characterized by many observers as a ‘different great power’, especially when compared to the US, and many articles have been devoted to the debate on the EU as a ‘civilian’ or ‘normative’ power (for an overview, see Orbie, 2006). Its own
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Fanon has always been read as an apostle of violence and much of this owed to Sartre's Preface to Fanon's work, The Wretched of the Earth as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Frantz Fanon has always been read as an apostle of violence — much of this owed to Sartre's Preface to Fanon's work, The Wretched of the Earth. There are, however, more nuanced possible readings of...