Showing papers in "Global Change, Peace & Security in 1997"

Moral norms in world politics 1

Abstract: A vibrant corpus of contemporary works on the role of moral norms in world politics offers a challenge to realism that cannot be dismissed on the usual grounds that normative theorizing is confined to speculations about the way the world should be and not demonstrable explanations of the way it “really is.” I argue that this research agenda demonstrates that empirically‐oriented scholarship on morality can successfully provide a bridge of explanatory terrain to engage their realist skeptics while taking advantage of some of the strengths of more interpretive styles of analysis. I make this case by examining the link between interests and norms, the relationship between domestic and international norms and the issue of relativism, epistemological issues involved in the study of intersubjective phenomena such as norms, and how contemporary normative works demonstrate the efficacy of norms. I argue that through their engagement of such questions, constructivist approaches generally offer an agenda f...

Unregulated population flows in East Asia: A new security

Abstract: The large‐scale, unregulated movement of people within and across national borders is a security issue of growing importance for the developing states of East Asia and one which will increasingly occupy their foreign policy and national security establishements in the 21st century. The number of refugees, displaced persons and illegal labour migrants has increased dramatically in the past two decades. There are now 28 million people world wide and 5–6 million regionally who form a multi‐ethnic migrant diaspora largely outside the control of governments. This article examines the underlying causes of illegal migration and refugee movements in East Asia and analyses the impact of these unregulated flows of people on East Asia's security environment.

The abolition of extended nuclear deterrence in Northeast Asia

Abstract: This article critically assesses the future of policies of extended nuclear deterrence in Northeast Asia. The article questions the relevance of Cold War nuclear deterrence policies in the post‐Cold War world, focusing on the obsolescence of past theoretical and historical justifications of such policies given fundamental changes in both actual nuclear force deployments and general political conditions. The operating premise of the article is that extended nuclear deterrence in Northeast Asia is already eroding, in fact if not in policy, insofar as changing force structures and political conditions have worked to undermine the credibility of extended deterrent threats. The article considers present security circumstances in light of the actual status of the policy of extended nuclear deterrence, and assesses the potential security implications of explicitly revoking such policies. The article concludes that such a policy shift could serve greatly to reduce incentives for proliferation in the regi...

Critique of violent rationales

Abstract: A Review Article of Critique of Nonviolent Politics: From Mahatma Gandhi to the Anti‐Nuclear Movement by Howard Ryan http://netwood.net/∼hryan, 1996.

A common security and NOD regime for the Asia‐pacific?

Abstract: This article falls into two parts: First, a theoretical introduction to common (or cooperative) security and its military implications, i.e. ‘non‐offensive defence’ (NOD). Secondly, an analysis of the implications for the Asia‐Pacific ‘region’, subdivided into three ‘security complexes’: North‐East Asia (NEA), South‐East Asia (SEA) and the Pacific (PAC). Even though the region as a whole (with the partial exception of NEA) is not found to be excessively militarized, some destabilizing trends are identified. Presumably, a switch to NOD would help keep the Asia‐Pacific pacific. To this end, a number of concrete suggestions are advanced, pertaining both to the political relations among states and to their military postures, nuclear as well as conventional.

Ocean governance in the Asean region and the United Nations convention on the law of the sea

Abstract: Attempts at implementing the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea highlight the importance of integrating global, regional and national approaches to sustainable development. The institutionalisation of norms relating to ocean governance at the global level represents a new chapter in international law. However, the comprehensive implementation of the UNCLOS principle of sustainable development will require the further development of parallel, complimentary regional institutions. This article will focus on ocean governance initiatives within the ASEAN region and connect these with global trends in order to shed light on the prospects for the development of truly effective institutions promoting sustainable development of the oceans

Alternative security approaches in the South Pacific

Abstract: Island peoples in the South Pacific region face a multidimensional array of threats in the Post Cold War area, including serious environmental and resource problems, internal instability associated with militarism, and continued forms of colonial and neocolonial control. Despite undoubted progress in regionalization, as evident in the role of the South Pacific Forum and Forum Secretariat, and the creation of a regional regulatory framework based on the Rarotonga Treaty, and SPREP, Waigani and Driftnet Conventions, much still needs to be done to strengthen and extend regional structures and regulatory regimes. Proposals advanced include: the need for a major regional conference, involving both governmental and NGOs, to consider a formal charter for regional bodies; and such possibilities as establishing a regional parliament, regional cooperative security council, peace and security resource centre, and regional peacekeeping force. In the case of regional regulation, it is further proposed that th...

The subject of security is the subject of security: APEC and the globalization of capital 1

Abstract: The profound transformations, dilemmas, and questions that our planet faces today, particularly under the sign of global capitalism, call for a fundamental rethinking of the meaning of security ‐ fundamental because, it cannot be detached from the basic claims of political identity. In fact, the question of re‐thinking the meaning of, and, re‐constituting the practices of security may be understood in terms of an exploration of the character and location of the “political,” where “political” is understood in terms of three practices of identity: “culture,” “democracy,” and, “governance.” In the Asia‐Pacific, these practices are articulated under the specific conditions of global capitalism best exemplified in the rituals of the Asia Pacific Economic Consultation (APEC). In order to move through and beyond the “security dilemma” posed by global capitalism in the region, a cultural politics of struggles is necessary, constituted by a “cultural interpretation” of the globalization of capital, an ins...