Showing papers in "European Journal of International Relations in 2010"
TL;DR: This paper explore the logic of habit and its consequences for several fundamental puzzles in IR theory, and propose a different interpretation of cooperation, security dilemmas, enduring rivalries, and security communities in international politics.
Abstract: IR theory is dominated by the logics of consequentialism and appropriateness. But Max Weber offered four logics of choice, not just two. Beyond the instrumental rationality of Zweckrationalitat and the normative rationality of Wertrationalitat are affect and habit. Drawing on Weber, James, Dewey, and Bourdieu, and habit’s microfoundations in neurocognitive psychology, I explore the logic of habit and its consequences for several fundamental puzzles in IR theory. The logic of habit necessarily precludes rationality, agency, and uncertainty, and so offers a different interpretation of cooperation, security dilemmas, enduring rivalries, and security communities in international politics. The logic of habit also fills a gap in mainstream constructivism’s theorization of intersubjective structures, returning the taken-for-granted lifeworld to the center of attention.
348 citations
TL;DR: In the last decade, policy-makers, the media and academic research have been increasingly discussing the new role of emerging powers in the world economy and in global governance as discussed by the authors, where countries such as Brazil, China, India and South Africa as well as Germany, Japan and Russia have been assigned a greater influence in economic as well and political matters in their regions and in world politics.
Abstract: In the last decade, policy-makers, the media and academic research have been increasingly discussing the new role of emerging powers in the world economy and in global governance. Countries such as Brazil, China, India and South Africa as well as Germany, Japan and Russia have been assigned a greater influence in economic as well as political matters in their regions and in world politics. Often labelled as ‘regional powers’, ‘middle powers’ or ‘would-be great powers’ (Hurrell 2006; Nolte 2006), ‘uncertain powers’ (Maull 2006: 281), and ‘new titans’ (The Economist 2006), these countries are today widely perceived as pivotal states in international relations. The reasons for the assignment of a new role and often of increased power to these states are their demographic and geographic size, their economic and military capacities and their political aspirations. The countries defined here under the rubric of ‘emerging powers’ dominate their neighbours in terms of power over resources, that is, population, territory, military capacity and gross domestic product. In addition, they articulate a wish to change the distribution of power in the international system and to assume leadership roles in global governance.
159 citations
TL;DR: Foucault's concept of governmentality goes beyond the narrow limits of state power to look at how these societies employ more subtle methods of power exercised through a network of institutions.
Abstract: Foucault’s concept of governmentality goes beyond the narrow limits of state power to look at how these societies employ more subtle methods of power exercised through a network of institutions, pr...
150 citations
TL;DR: Differentiation is about how to distinguish and analyse the components that make up any social whole: are all the components essentially the same, or are they distinguishable by status or function? as mentioned in this paper argues that this approach provides a framing for IR theory that is more general and integrative than narrower theories derived from economics or political science.
Abstract: This article sets out an analytical framework of differentiation derived from sociology and anthropology and argues that it can and should be applied to international relations (IR) theory. Differentiation is about how to distinguish and analyse the components that make up any social whole: are all the components essentially the same, or are they distinguishable by status or function? We argue that this approach provides a framing for IR theory that is more general and integrative than narrower theories derived from economics or political science. We show why this set of ideas has so far not been given much consideration within IR, and how and why the one encounter between IR and sociology that might have changed this - Waltz's transposition of anarchy and functional differentiation from Durkheim - failed to do so. We set out in some detail how differentiation theory bears on the subject matter of IR arguing that this set of ideas offers new ways of looking not only at the understanding of structure in IR, but also at structural change and world history. We argue that differentiation holds out to IR a major possibility for theoretical development. What is handed on from anthropology and sociology is mainly designed for smaller and simpler subject matters than that of IR. In adapting differentiation theory to its more complex, layered subject matter, IR can develop it into something new and more powerful for social theory as a whole.
133 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the contribution that international societies have made to global civilizing processes that harness such solidarities to restrain the human capacity to cause violent and non-violent harm to distant peoples.
Abstract: Increased social power over the millennia has led to remarkable achievements in varied spheres of endeavour while introducing new possibilities for more destructive forms of harm over greater distances. Efforts to create moral frameworks to protect persons from senseless harm have been critical replies to the ambiguities of human interconnectedness. Over the millennia, societies have become entangled in global ‘civilizing processes’ such as the systems of communication that now encompass humanity as a whole, enabling different peoples to become better attuned to each other. Societies of states have immense significance for that long-term development. They have been arenas in which independent communities have discovered the prospects for, as well as the constraints on, agreements on norms that can be anchored in the most readily available points of solidarity between strangers — those vulnerabilities to mental and physical suffering that are shared by human beings everywhere. The recovery of ‘universal history from a cosmopolitan point of view’ can examine the contribution that international societies have made to global civilizing processes that harness such solidarities to restrain the human capacity to cause violent and non-violent harm to distant peoples. It can support the normative project of promoting global civilizing processes that employ unprecedented levels of collective power to reduce the tragic effects of the ambiguities that have accompanied long-term trends towards higher levels of human interconnectedness.
86 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assess an important rational design hypothesis, that uncertainty leads to flexible institutions, by analyzing the negotiations behind the climate change regime and by considering two distinct institutional outcomes across time.
Abstract: Recent International Relations scholarship offers valuable rational choice explanations for the design of international institutions. However, the rational design literature has relied heavily on institutional outcomes as evidence for testing models. Such studies must be complemented by research designs that analyze the decisions and bargaining that drive design choices in order to expose causal mechanisms and test a wider range of observable implications. I assess an important rational design hypothesis, that uncertainty leads to flexible institutions, by analyzing the negotiations behind the climate change regime and by considering two distinct institutional outcomes across time. While the hypothesis receives considerable support, significant behavior and outcomes do not conform to its logic. I propose refinements for rational design theory in general and work on uncertainty and flexibility in particular. Rational choice theory speaks to the process of institutional design and should not content itself ...
84 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a framework for understanding order within Regional Security Complexes (RSCs), focused upon the importance of regional powers, and highlight three specific roles and sets of orientations that when examined in the context of structural factors, provide a clearer picture of security orders in RSCs.
Abstract: In this article we propose a framework for understanding order within Regional Security Complexes (RSCs), focused upon the importance of regional powers. We argue that there are three factors to consider in adequately explaining regional security with respect to the influence of regional powers: structure, regional power roles, and regional power orientations. The first factor emphasizes the necessary but not sufficient attributes of power and capability for understanding regional security dynamics. The last two factors stress the importance of regional power behavior as being critical to the security process. To this end we highlight three specific roles and sets of orientations that when examined in the context of structural factors, provide a clearer picture of security orders in RSCs.
73 citations
TL;DR: The same mechanism that links regime type to compliance, namely electoral competition, also explains variation in compliance among democracies as mentioned in this paper, which is because the nature of electoral competition varies across democratic systems.
Abstract: A growing body of literature argues that democracies are more likely to comply with international agreements than authoritarian states. However, substantial variation exists in the compliance behaviour of democracies. How can this variation be explained? The same mechanism that links regime type to compliance, namely electoral competition, also explains variation in compliance among democracies. This is because the nature of electoral competition varies across democratic systems. An analysis of democratic GATT/WTO member countries from 1980 to 2003 reveals that governments elected via majoritarian electoral rules and/or single-member districts are more likely to violate GATT/WTO agreements than those elected via proportional electoral rules and/or multi-member districts.
64 citations
TL;DR: This article reviewed the prevailing explanations, assumptions, and research on why humanitarian actors experience security threats and concluded that an epistemic gap exists between one stream that focuses primarily on documenting violence against aid workers and a second literature that proposes explanations, or deep causes, often without corresponding empirical evidence.
Abstract: The brutal murder of 17 national staff members of Action Contre le Faim (ACF) in Sri Lanka in August 2006 and ambushes, kidnappings, and murders of aid workers elsewhere have captured headlines. This article reviews the prevailing explanations, assumptions, and research on why humanitarian actors experience security threats. The scholarly literature on humanitarian action is fecund and abundant, yet no comparative review of the research on humanitarian security and scholarly sources on humanitarian action exists to date. The central argument here is twofold. First, an epistemic gap exists between one stream that focuses primarily on documenting violence against aid workers — a proximate cause approach — while a second literature proposes explanations, or deep causes, often without corresponding empirical evidence. Moreover, the deep cause literature emphasizes external, changing global conditions to the neglect of other possible micro and internal explanations. Both of these have negative implications for our understanding of and therefore strategies to address security threats against aid workers.
61 citations
TL;DR: In an attempt to broaden our perspective on IR theory formation, the authors seeks to highlight the significance of ideology and argue that the development of a Russian theory of international relations responds to the old debate on the Russian idea, and three distinct ideological traditions that had been introduced to the national discourse in the mid-19th century.
Abstract: In an attempt to broaden our perspective on IR theory formation, this article seeks to highlight the significance of ideology. Consistent with the recently revived sociology of knowledge tradition in international studies, we view IR scholarship as grounded in certain social and ideological conditions. Although some scholars have studied the political, ideological, and epistemological biases of Western, particularly American, civilization, in order to achieve a better understanding of global patterns of knowledge formation it is important to look at cases beyond the West. We therefore look at the formation of IR knowledge in Russia, and we argue that the development of a Russian theory of international relations responds to the old debate on the ‘Russian idea,’ and three distinct ideological traditions that had been introduced to the national discourse in the mid-19th century. Focusing on theories and concepts of the international system, regional order, and foreign policy, as developed by Russian scholar...
60 citations
TL;DR: The authors argued that the greater the emotional attachment a leader has to an object, the less flexible she is in foreign policy toward that object, and used this model to explain a critical puzzle in IR: Israel's decision to pursue and sign the 1993 Oslo Accords.
Abstract: Although the important role of emotions in decision-making has been highlighted in the psychology, neural science, and decision research literatures, this conclusion has not been widely adopted in foreign policy analysis and International Relations (IR). Of the work that has been done, much of it has been focused on public perceptions and the impact on foreign policy, but not on elites and the actual decisions of foreign policy. This article seeks to address this imbalance by examining the role of one element of emotion — affect — on key foreign policy decision-makers. It argues that the greater the emotional attachment a leader has to an object, the less flexible she is in foreign policy toward that object. The model is used to explain a critical puzzle in IR: Israel’s decision to pursue and sign the 1993 Oslo Accords.
TL;DR: In this article, a re-examination of the notion of sovereignty as traditionally understood is presented, where the power or importance of physical territory does not disappear but rather becomes subsumed under ongoing political contestation over the symbolic meanings of physical space more generally.
Abstract: This article engages the ongoing theoretical debates in IR through a re-examination of sovereignty as traditionally understood. Despite a growing theoretical turn in IR towards more general investigations of institutions, much uncertainty and ambiguity as to how to best incorporate new issues and actors which transcend traditional state-centred politics remains. How can IR theory sufficiently take into account ‘other’ political actors which are neither NGOs nor states and cannot easily be categorized according to traditional dichotomies? Rather than concluding that sovereignty is in a state of demise, this political inquiry deconstructs and abstracts sovereignty from its Westphalian limitations. Instead, sovereignty is relocated from bounded state territories to the process of collective political identity and institution construction. Throughout this process, the power or importance of physical territory does not disappear but rather becomes subsumed under ongoing political contestation over the symbolic meanings of physical space more generally.
TL;DR: While the WTO secretariat, key delegations, several NGOs, and industry publicly present the 30 August 2003 WTO Decision as an attempt to reconcile intellectual property with access to medicines, the authors show that their enthusiastic public statements contrast deeply with their internal, cynical beliefs.
Abstract: While the WTO secretariat, key delegations, several NGOs, and industry publicly present the 30 August 2003 WTO Decision as an attempt to reconcile intellectual property with access to medicines, our research shows otherwise. We draw on qualitative analyses of 54 interviews and a lexicometric analysis of press releases to show that their enthusiastic public statements contrast deeply with their internal, cynical beliefs. Most of these actors not only consider the WTO Decision to be fundamentally flawed but claim to have known this prior to its adoption. We argue that a procedural norm of consensus-seeking impeded traditional bargaining over this sensitive issue and that distrust among participants hindered truth-seeking deliberation. Caught between strategic and communicative actions, state and non-state actors found themselves trapped in their own rhetoric of reconciling intellectual property with access to medicines. They realized that the appearance of a solution, rather than a functional solution, prov...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine whether there is an environmental version of the Kantian peace; that is, whether democracies that trade and are bound by international treaties are less likely to harm each other environmentally.
Abstract: We examine whether there is an environmental version of the Kantian peace; that is, whether democracies that trade and are bound by international treaties are less likely to harm each other environmentally. Specifically, we study five factors that are likely to help in reducing beggar-thy-neighbour behaviour in terms of transboundary pollution: democracy, supranational institutions, trade relations, stringency of domestic environmental policy and international environmental commitment. The empirical focus is on upstream–downstream water pollution in Europe in 1970–2003. The observed effects of the five variables differ considerably across forms of pollution and definitions of beggar-thy-neighbour behaviour. Some of our explanatory variables contribute to reducing beggar-thy-neighbour behaviour. Hence there is some empirical support for the environmental Kantian argument. Nonetheless, state behaviour in this area remains characterized by free-riding incentives; the forces of democracy, trade and national and international regulation and institutions do not easily produce decent international behaviour.
TL;DR: In this paper, the world government has, very recently, resumed its place as the subject of serious investigation by leading scholars in International Relations, economics and political theory, and this has been the case for many years.
Abstract: World government has, very recently, resumed its place as the subject of serious investigation by leading scholars in International Relations, economics and political theory. Prompted variously by ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors introduce a theory of rational persuasion, which they call functional persuasion theory, and demonstrate that argument-based changes in bargaining positions are entirely belief-driven and are not due to a reformulation of agents' preferences, as constructivists hold.
Abstract: Throughout the last two decades international negotiations have been predominantly analysed from the perspective of rationalist bargaining theory. But most recently, constructivists have pointed to a different mechanism that may facilitate agreement among multiple parties: processes of argumentation. Indeed, numerous empirical studies were successful in showing that words have the power to change the initial bargaining position of an actor and thereby impact on the outcome of multilateral negotiations. Rationalists have so far been unable to capture this important role of argumentative talk within their conceptual framework. Therefore, this article introduces a theory of rational persuasion, which I call functional persuasion theory. According to this theory argument-based changes in bargaining positions are entirely belief-driven and are not due to a reformulation of agents’ preferences, as constructivists hold. The explanatory power of functional persuasion theory is demonstrated in the empirical part o...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the literature on new wars as it evolved in Germany, Great Britain and the USA, and derive five hypotheses concerning characteristics of new wars: (1) the erosion of the state's monopoly on the use of force; (2) the political economy of "new wars", (3) "New wars" as asymmetric wars; (4) ''new wars'' as identity-based wars; and ''terrorism'' within the framework of ''New wars''.
Abstract: This article examines the literature on ‘new wars’ as it evolved in Germany, Great Britain and the USA. In order to gain an overview of this heterogeneous field of research five hypotheses are derived concerning characteristics of ‘new wars’: (1) the erosion of the state’s monopoly on the use of force; (2) the political economy of ‘new wars’; (3) ‘new wars’ as asymmetric wars; (4) ‘new wars’ as identity-based wars; and (5) terrorism within the framework of ‘new wars’. The concluding section addresses critiques, provides a brief summary and proposes future research.
TL;DR: This paper found that US professional military education (US PME) provided the initial infrastructure needed to begin domestic military education programs that encouraged civilian control of the military in emerging democracies, such as Argentina, Greece, and Taiwan.
Abstract: United States Professional Military Education (US PME) has commonly been blamed for training some of the worst abusers of human rights — Latin American dictators and thugs like Argentina’s Leopoldo Galtieri and Panama’s Manuel Noriega, Timorese counterinsurgents, and even some officers who would eventually serve the Taliban in Afghanistan. We test this conventional wisdom using both large-N analyses and case studies of Argentina, Greece, and Taiwan. Our large-N results suggest that US PME trained foreign officers prove to be an important stabilizing force during times of democratic transition. Our case studies uncover very few cases of US PME officers linked to human rights abuses; interestingly, in each of our cases, the US PME trained officers provided the initial infrastructure needed to begin domestic military education programs that encouraged civilian control of the military in emerging democracies.
TL;DR: The authors developed a framework for analysing the distinctive national trajectories of European varieties of capitalism under the conditioning of "the international" through a critical engagement with two prominent historical materialist literatures, transnational historical materialism and uneven and combined development.
Abstract: This article develops a framework for analysing the distinctive national trajectories of European varieties of capitalism under the conditioning of ‘the international’. It does so through a critical engagement with two prominent historical materialist literatures — transnational historical materialism and uneven and combined development. I argue that, in contrast to these contributions, a nationally-oriented perspective utilizing Antonio Gramsci’s writings on ‘common sense’ has greater potential for narrowing the optic from broader concerns to fine-grained analysis. In particular, I focus on how articulations between the national and the international are constitutive of how humans make sense of the material basis for their existence.The Dutch variety of capitalism is then examined in order to demonstrate the advantages of utilizing this ‘common sense’ framework for political economy analysis.
TL;DR: The authors deconstructs British claims to ethical foreign policy since 1997, reading these claims against themselves and against contemporary humanitarian intervention literature, finding that Britain's ethical framework, the "doctrine of international community" which justifies interventions in Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan, is undone by the anomalous, yet exemplary, invasion of Iraq.
Abstract: Ethical foreign policy persists as a problem of international relations, especially regarding humanitarian intervention However, despite apparent international upheavals, the debate about the ethics of humanitarian intervention has remained fundamentally unchanged To escape the limits of this debate, this article deconstructs British claims to ethical foreign policy since 1997, reading these claims against themselves and against contemporary humanitarian intervention literature It finds that Britain’s ethical framework, the ‘doctrine of international community’, which justifies interventions in Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan, is undone by the anomalous, yet exemplary, invasion of Iraq This demonstrates the politics of ethical foreign policy: first, that any intervention, no matter how ‘ethical’ or ‘right’, produces suffering and death; and, second, that we cannot know for sure whether we are doing the right thing by intervening Embracing, rather than effacing, the political nature of ethical foreign policy opens up a more intellectually honest and positive potential future for relating to the foreign in a responsible manner
TL;DR: In this paper, it is argued that double tax avoidance exhibits the strategic structure of a coordination game with a distributive conflict, and that bilateral bargaining can best accommodate countries' concerns for the distribution of tax revenues and other economic benefits connected to the tax base.
Abstract: Why do states cooperate bilaterally or multilaterally? This article addresses the issue using the example of international double tax avoidance. It is argued that double tax avoidance exhibits the strategic structure of a coordination game with a distributive conflict. The distribution of tax revenues depends on the asymmetry of investment flows between treaty partners. Since investment flows are defined dyadically, bilateral bargaining can best accommodate countries’ concerns for the distribution of tax revenues and other economic benefits connected to the tax base. Moreover, because there are no serious externality problems with bilateral agreement, this solution is also viable. At the same time, there is a need for a multilateral organization to disseminate information and shared practices in the form of a model convention that provides a focal point for bilateral negotiations. This solution minimizes transaction costs. Since agreements are self-enforcing in coordination games there is no need for thir...
TL;DR: The authors argued that international politics has always been an evolutionary system and it has evolved from an offensive realism world to a defensive realism world, and that offensive realism and defensive realism are appropriate grand theories of international politics for two different historical epochs.
Abstract: I advance an endogenous explanation for the systemic transformation of international politics and offer to neatly resolve the debate between offensive realism and defensive realism through a social evolutionary approach. I contend that international politics has always been an evolutionary system and it has evolved from an offensive realism world to a defensive realism world. Consequently, offensive realism and defensive realism are appropriate grand theories of international politics for two different historical epochs. Different grand theories of international politics are for different epochs of international politics, and different epochs of international politics actually need different theories of international politics. Because international politics has always been an evolutionary system, non-evolutionary approaches will be intrinsically incapable of shedding light on the evolution of the system. The science of international politics must be a genuine evolutionary science and students of international politics must ‘give Darwin his due’.
TL;DR: The success of counterterrorism hinges crucially on representat... as discussed by the authors, and the success of counter-terrorism depends on the representativeness of the target's target's language, not only in territory and populations but also in its language.
Abstract: Counterterrorist state forces and terrorist insurgents compete to control not only territory and populations but language.The success of counterterrorism, therefore, hinges crucially on representat...
TL;DR: The Nature of International Society (NIS) by C.A.W. Manning as mentioned in this paper explores the constructivist insights avant-la-lettre displayed in this not so prominent opus on international society.
Abstract: This article analyses C.A.W. Manning’s The Nature of International Society (NIS) by exploring the constructivist insights avant-la-lettre displayed in this not so prominent opus on international society. The article’s objective is twofold. First, to re-establish Manning’s argument, which has been distorted by its successors. That is to say, whereas often identified as a source of inspiration by subsequent generations of English School academics, the British mainstream at the same time appears to have missed out on Manning’s more metatheoretical, socio-linguistic insights. By exploring his message about the link between knowledge, language, meaning and reality, this article secondly addresses the added value of Manning’s work in terms of his analysis of the metaphor of sovereignty games. It is argued that, particularly in the analysis of the constitutive role of language, NIS provides useful insights for the reconvention project of the English School.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors integrate Constructivist use of norms based on individual human agency with the English School's concept of solidarism to make sense of the expansion of international society, a point demonstrated through a study of the apparently anomalous case of Siam.
Abstract: Although norms are important in various schools of international relations theory, there has been relatively little effort to integrate their various uses of the term. Here I seek to bring together the Constructivist use of norms based on individual human agency with the English School’s concept of solidarism. This perspective helps make sense of the expansion of international society, a point demonstrated through a study of the apparently anomalous case of Siam, which achieved sovereignty without developing significant military power. Siamese elites were able to gain inclusion in international society by enacting solidarism with European conceptions of ‘civilized’ behavior and using European conceptions of class to trump preconceptions about race.
TL;DR: In this article, a theoretical and empirical account of the zone of negative peace thought to encompass the 16 states of West Africa from independence through the early 1990s is provided. But the authors do not consider the effect of rival role relationships between states in the region.
Abstract: This article provides a theoretical and empirical account of the zone of negative peace thought to encompass the 16 states of West Africa from independence through the early 1990s. I draw on constructivist theory to argue that the zone of negative peace is a particular kind of interstate culture resulting from the formation of rival role relationships between states in the region. This theoretical approach combined with a compatible empirical measure of rivalry allows a quantitative test of a variety of well-known explanations for the zone of peace phenomenon. The simultaneous equations statistical analysis allows us to model the effect that rival role relationships have on the Lockean culture of anarchy, and vice versa (i.e. the mutual constitution of agents and structures). The results also indicate that a Lockean culture of anarchy, or zone of negative peace, is affected by factors emphasized by realists, liberals, and constructivists in the West African context.
TL;DR: In this article, the explanatory power of competing models of bargaining, rational, normative, and discursive/argumentative, was analyzed in an institutionalized setting, which derives from Turkey's reform process in a sensitive issue area (civil-military relations).
Abstract: By analyzing the case of a bargaining situation in an institutionalized setting, which derives from Turkey’s reform process in a sensitive issue area (civil—military relations), this study assesses the explanatory power of competing models of bargaining: rational, normative, and discursive/argumentative .The bargaining outcome in this case was puzzling because despite the existence of a strongly pro-status quo veto player (i.e. the military), the bargaining processes led to a new status quo.This study shows that the veto player simply failed to prevent a shift to a new status quo because such an action would do substantial damage to the military’s ideational concerns (normative entrapment). The rational model remains under-socialized, while the discursive model is over-socialized in analyzing this bargaining situation. Although the normative model sheds more light on this puzzling outcome, a synthesis between normative and rational models would provide us with much better insight.
TL;DR: The authors argue that the ideational and institutional context in which agents build arguments determines when change is more or less likely, and demonstrate the argument through a study of US Cold War relations with South Africa, Turkey, and Greece.
Abstract: When do humanitarian norms lead great powers, especially democracies, to impose sanctions against strategic partners and allies? I argue that answering more specific questions like this in space and time requires constructivists to focus greater attention on institutional and ideational process. Agents are central to policy change. But the ideational and institutional context in which agents build arguments determines when this change is more or less likely. In this vein, I argue that three factors in liberal states — legislatures, the nature of activist pressure, and strategic ideas — explain when humanitarian norms produce sanctions. I demonstrate the argument through a study of US Cold War relations with South Africa, Turkey, and Greece. Among other contributions, this article demonstrates how attention to process can extend the constructivist agenda into a series of new empirical domains and open avenues for contributions to important policy debates.
TL;DR: This paper argued that the appearance of political violent acts does not represent the end of a dialogue between the violent actors, but rather the emergence of a specific form of dialogue under the subject matter of violence.
Abstract: Through an analysis of Hamas’s suicide missions and Israel’s strategy of ‘shock and awe’, this article advances a concept of ‘violent dialogue.’ Drawing on Gadamer’s work, as well as some of the points that emerge out of the Gadamer—Derrida encounter, this concept is meant to explicate how acts of political violence create a certain type of communion between those engaged in violent conflict. It will suggest that the appearance of political violent acts does not represent the end of a dialogue between the violent actors, but rather the emergence of a specific form of dialogue under the subject matter of violence. It is argued that this communion takes place outside the intentions of the protagonists, and despite their attempts to separate from each other. This is significant for academic analysis of political violence in general, and for our perspective and outlook on the Israeli—Palestinian conflict in particular.
TL;DR: The George W. Bush administration has been compared with the foreign policy of Woodrow Wilson as discussed by the authors, arguing that human rights have been discursively co-opted by both Presidents as a technique of governance in the sense of producing reality by insisting on one specific interpretation of identities and intents.
Abstract: The George W. Bush Administrations presented foreign policy in terms of universal liberal values, including human rights. This has led to a number of scholastic comparisons being drawn with the foreign policy of Woodrow Wilson. This article seeks to contribute to this debate by identifying and accounting for three internal rules common to the human rights discourse expressed by the Wilson and Bush Administrations. Bush is argued to indeed be an inheritor of the Wilsonian legacy but not because the Administrations were characterized by the naive advocacy of idealistic values. Instead, human rights have been discursively co-opted by both Presidents as a technique of governance in the sense of producing reality by insisting on one specific interpretation of identities and intents.