Book•
Theory of International Politics
01 Jan 1979-
About: The article was published on 1979-01-01 and is currently open access. It has received 7932 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Global politics & International relations.
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: In this article, a nonlinear mathematical model of international competition is presented in which the transition from predictable laminar to unpredictable turbulent flow is the model manifestation of a transition from cold to hot war in the world system being modelled.
Abstract: One of the reasons advanced for the absence of a major war between the two superpowers during the forty-five years of their enmity since World War II is that the world system in which they functioned was essentially bipolar and hence, presumably, inherently more stable than previous multipolar worlds. Given the recent decline in the power of the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. relative to the rest of the world, it is important to test the validity of this presumption. A nonlinear mathematical model of international competition is presented in which the transition from predictable laminar to unpredictable turbulent flow is the model manifestation of the transition from cold to hot war in the world system being modelled. The model is a tripolar competition which arises continuously from a bipolar system as a coupling parameter is varied. Thus the realm of nonchaotic, stable, competition can be examined as a function of the coupling parameter. It is found that the regime of stability decreases as the system complexity...
90 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the role of non-state actors in placing and controlling the landmine-ban issue on the international arms control agenda, which eventually changed state behavior toward landmines.
Abstract: This article examines the role ngos have played in placing and controlling the landmine-ban issue on the international arms control agenda, which eventually changed state behavior toward landmines. It develops a framework for agenda setting to examine how and why ngos were successful in this role. More importantly, the article also examines how ngos were able to generate state action toward the support of the Ottawa Treaty banning antipersonnel landmines, which marked the first time a weapon in widespread use has been banned. The article makes two interrelated arguments. First, ngos initiated the landmine ban by placing it on the international arms control agenda, which gained intense media and public attention for the cause. The ngos accomplished their goal by utilizing cognitive attribution strategies to educate the public about the minimal military utility of landmines and the humanitarian problems they pose. Second, ngos changed states' perception toward the legality and use of landmines once the issue was on the agenda by highlighting the horrible effects and disproportionate consequences of landmine use, playing leadership games with influential individuals and states, and claiming that anti-ban states were using incoherent arguments. In comparison, ngos have not been included in the agenda-setting processes of most other major arms control and disarmament treaties, which typically are negotiated at the behest of major powers. These arguments address the broader question of agency in world politics by showing potential conditions of how ngos can instigate governments to address issues in a way that may culminate in international law.
90 citations
TL;DR: This article developed a network explanation for how states achieve cooperation in the face of persistent coordination and collaboration problems, focusing on bilateral cooperation agreements and showed that states are more likely to create bilateral agreements if they share agreements with common third parties, accede to more agreements in general, and share important exogenous characteristics with current bilateral partners.
Abstract: Cooperation helps states realize mutual gains, but mistrust and disagreements over institutional design inhibit cooperation This article develops a network explanation for how states achieve cooperation in the face of persistent coordination and collaboration problems The analysis focuses on bilateral cooperation agreements, a vast body of treaties spanning multiple issue areas Bilateral agreements constitute an evolving network of cooperative ties This network defines the strategic environment in which states bargain over new agreements, endogenously influencing subsequent bilateral endeavors by revealing strategically valuable information about states’ trustworthiness and preferences over institutional design, while also generating externalities that incentivize bilateral partnerships Inferential network analysis shows that states are more likely to create bilateral agreements if they (1) share agreements with common third parties, (2) accede to more agreements in general, and/or (3) share important exogenous characteristics with current bilateral partners These network dynamics drive bilateral cooperation in everything from commodities to cultural exchange to fisheries
90 citations
Book•
06 May 2010TL;DR: The nature of securitisation theory, the rise of US environmental security, and the moral evaluation of environmental security.
Abstract: In 1993 the first Clinton administration declared environmental security a national security issue, but by the end of the Bush administrations environmental security had vanished from the government's agenda. This book uses changing US environmental security policy to propose a revised securitisation theory, one that both allows insights into the intentions of key actors and enables moral evaluations in the environmental sector of security. Security and the Environment brings together the subject of environmental security and the Copenhagen School's securitisation theory. Drawing on original interviews with former key players in United States environmental security, Rita Floyd makes a significant and original contribution to environmental security studies and security studies more generally. This book will be of interest to international relations scholars and political practitioners concerned with security, as well as students of international environmental politics and US policy-making.
89 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined the empirical record prior to the industrial revolution to see whether the power transition and hegemonic stability theory holds for that period, and they found strong support for power transition contention that a rough equality of power between rival sides increases the likelihood of war.
Abstract: This study extends recent research on the power transition and hegemonic stability theory to the preindustrial era. It improves on the original power transition theory by relaxing an assumption and by extending the empirical domain. Unlike the original power transition theory, the revised version is not restricted to the period after the industrial revolution and can therefore be applied to the preindustrial era. This study examines the empirical record prior to the industrial revolution to see whether the power transition and hegemonic stability theory holds for that period. The data for 1648 to 1815 indicate strong support for the power transition contention that a rough equality of power between rival sides increases the likelihood of war. That is, when the challenging great power, with its allies' support, catches up with the dominant power, great power war is most likely.
89 citations
References
More filters
5,295 citations
01 Jan 1976
TL;DR: For centuries knowledge meant proven knowledge, proven either by the power of the intellect or by the evidence of the senses as discussed by the authors. But the notion of proven knowledge was questioned by the sceptics more than two thousand years ago; but they were browbeaten into confusion by the glory of Newtonian physics.
Abstract: For centuries knowledge meant proven knowledge — proven either by the power of the intellect or by the evidence of the senses. Wisdom and intellectual integrity demanded that one must desist from unproven utterances and minimize, even in thought, the gap between speculation and established knowledge. The proving power of the intellect or the senses was questioned by the sceptics more than two thousand years ago; but they were browbeaten into confusion by the glory of Newtonian physics. Einstein’s results again turned the tables and now very few philosophers or scientists still think that scientific knowledge is, or can be, proven knowledge. But few realize that with this the whole classical structure of intellectual values falls in ruins and has to be replaced: one cannot simply water down the ideal of proven truth - as some logical empiricists do — to the ideal of’probable truth’1 or — as some sociologists of knowledge do — to ‘truth by [changing] consensus’.2
4,969 citations
4,163 citations
17 Feb 1966
TL;DR: This book contains the collected and unified material necessary for the presentation of such branches of modern cybernetics as the theory of electronic digital computers, Theory of discrete automata, theory of discrete self-organizing systems, automation of thought processes, theoryof image recognition, etc.
Abstract: : This book contains the collected and unified material necessary for the presentation of such branches of modern cybernetics as the theory of electronic digital computers, theory of discrete automata, theory of discrete self-organizing systems, automation of thought processes, theory of image recognition, etc. Discussions are given of the fundamentals of the theory of boolean functions, algorithm theory, principles of the design of electronic digital computers and universal algorithmical languages, fundamentals of perceptron theory, some theoretical questions of the theory of self-organizing systems. Many fundamental results in mathematical logic and algorithm theory are presented in summary form, without detailed proofs, and in some cases without any proof. The book is intended for a broad audience of mathematicians and scientists of many specialties who wish to acquaint themselves with the problems of modern cybernetics.
2,922 citations