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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.
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TL;DR: It is claimed that this conceptual transposition has the potential to open the current securitization discourse to an alternative perspective and to new avenues of research on the travel, localization and/or gradual evolution/transformation of security meanings.
Abstract: This article confronts the basic idea of securitization with the concept of translation. By critically examining Waever’s deliberately traditionalist and essentialist conceptualization of security a...
83 citations
01 Sep 2016
TL;DR: The concept of "uneven and combined development" was originally coined by Leon Trotsky to theorise Tsarist Russia's distinctive experience of modernity and revolution and has been critically and creatively deployed in two main areas: the provision of a sociological foundation to international theory overcoming the chronic schism between sociological and geopolitical modes of enquiry; and, relatedly, in superseding prevailing Eurocentric approaches in the social sciences.
Abstract: The concept of 'uneven and combined development' was originally coined by Leon Trotsky to theorise Tsarist Russia's distinctive experience of modernity and revolution. But it has re-emerged over the last decade or so as a burgeoning research programme within International Relations (IR) and historical sociology. It has been critically and creatively deployed in two main areas: the provision of a sociological foundation to international theory overcoming the chronic schism between ‘sociological’ and ‘geopolitical’ modes of enquiry; and, relatedly, in superseding prevailing Eurocentric approaches in the social sciences.
This volume is the first to provide a sustained reflection on the idea of uneven and combined development as the intellectual basis for a non-Eurocentric social theory of ‘the international’. It does so through a series of empirically rich and theoretically informed analyses of socio-historical change, political transformation, and intersocietal conflict over the longue duree. The volume thereby aims to demonstrate the unique potentials of uneven and combined development in overcoming IR and historical sociology’s shared inability to theorize the interactive and multilinear character of development.
83 citations
TL;DR: In fact, it is difficult to say much that is peculiar to alliances on the plane of general analysis as discussed by the authors, and therefore, would-be alliance theorists, realizing that they do not really want to write a general theory of international relations, retreat to something manageable.
Abstract: Alliances and alignments are surely among the most central phenomena in international politics. Yet we have no theory about them that remotely approaches the richness of our theories about war, crisis, deterrence, and other manifestations of conflict. What might explain this? Perhaps it is their ubiquity, given their informal as well as their formal manifestations, and consequently the difficulty of isolating them as objects of study. George Liska, in the opening sentences of his Nations in Alliance, which after nearly three decades remains the only comprehensive theoretical treatment, put it this way: "It is impossible to speak of international relations without referring to alliances; the two often merge in all but name. For the same reason, it has always been difficult to say much that is peculiar to alliances on the plane of general analysis." ' Thus, would-be alliance theorists, realizing that they do not really want to write a general theory of international relations, retreat to something manageable-another analysis of NATO, perhaps. However, we do have various partial theories, each focusing on a particular aspect of alliances or approaching them from a distinctive perspective. For example, the theory of collective goods was in vogue during the 1970s
83 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that states often fail to cooperate even when they have compatible preferences because policy-makers make incorrect inferences about the opponent's motives and intentions, a process that can be illuminated by social psychology.
Abstract: With the end of the Cold War, we must wonder whether there were missed opportunities to regulate the arms race and global competition, which nearly bankrupted the United States and contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union. A missed opportunity for agreement is a situation where there was at least one alternative that the parties to a conflict preferred or would have preferred to nonagreement. Hard-core Realists argue that states compete for territory, arms, and influence because they have conflicting national interests. Soft-core Realists maintain that such conflicts are effects of international anarchy and uncertainty, and that states can cooperate contingent on reciprocity. I argue that states often fail to cooperate even when they have compatible preferences because policy-makers make incorrect inferences about the opponent's motives and intentions, a process that can be illuminated by social psychology. I present three alternative explanations of trust and distrust in international relations-rational choice, domestic structures, and social psychology. If policy-makers are prudent, they will assess the other's interests in observing an agreement as well as its reputation. Often, domestic political structures encourage leaders to promote distrust of an external enemy to legitimize their internal rule or foreign policy. Finally, distrust may lead policy-makers to dismiss the other side's cooperative signals or proposals. Distrust can be overcome by making a series of step-by-step agreements in which each side can test the other's good faith at limited cost, or through unilateral concessions as part of a consistent policy.
83 citations
Cites background from "Theory of International Politics"
...Arms races reflect underlying political competition and cannot be significantly dampened by agreement until at least one side moderates or abandons its objectives, usually as a result of its defeat in war or exhaustion (Morgenthau & Thompson, 1985; Waltz, 1979)....
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...States cannot control their arms competition or resolve their differences because they have conflicting goals; states may want the same territory, ally, or status (Morgenthau & Thompson, 1985, p. 424–45; Waltz, 1979, pp. 103–5, 174)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse the Arctic oil and gas interests of the five Arctic littoral states (Russia, USA, Canada, Denmark, and Norway) and argue that this debate has hitherto failed to substantiate the actual stakes of the main actors involved.
Abstract: Neorealist and neoliberal institutionalist explanations for the state and future of the Arctic region dominate the Arctic debate in international relations. While both schools focus on different aspects concerning the current and future state of Arctic affairs – neorealism evokes a confrontational rush for the Arctic’s resources, whereas neoliberal institutionalism propagates the necessary reform of the institutional system governing Arctic issues – both share the underlying assumption of significant and rising stakes towards Arctic commodities. However, this article argues that this debate has hitherto failed to substantiate the actual stakes of the main actors involved. Consequently, many studies make grandiloquent statements about prospects of cooperation and conflict and the appropriate institutional framework for the Arctic region, based on only limited empirical support. This article aims to fill this gap by analysing the Arctic oil and gas interests of the five Arctic littoral states (Russia, USA, ...
83 citations
Cites background from "Theory of International Politics"
...This makes states security anxious and power-seeking to secure their standing among the other states, which can be achieved only through self-help measures (Gilpin, 1981; Waltz, 1979: especially ch. 6, 2000)....
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References
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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