Showing papers on "International relations published in 1971"

Transnational Relations and World Politics: An Introduction

Abstract: Students and practitioners of international politics have traditionally concentrated their attention on relationships between states. The state, regarded as an actor with purposes and power, is the basic unit of action; its main agents are the diplomat and soldier. The interplay of govern-mental policies yields the pattern of behavior that students of international politics attempt to understand and that practitioners attempt to adjust to or control. Since force, violence, and threats thereof are at the core of this interplay, the struggle for power, whether as end or necessary means, is the distinguishing mark of politics among nations. Most political scientists and many diplomats seem to accept this view of reality, and a state-centric view of world affairs prevails.

The Macedonian Syndrome An Historical Model of International Relations and Political Development

Abstract: This study was undertaken in an effort to use data from European history to develop a model that might prove useful for describing, explaining, and predicting the patterns of political development and international behavior of some of the newly independent states of Asia and Africa. My interest in exploring the experiences of several European states grew out of dissatisfaction with efforts to build development theories exclusively upon knowledge of the contemporary developing areas in which the outcomes are unknown, where the periods of time with which we can work are often too short for testing any long-term development theories, and where we are often unable to distinguish between short-term, momentary changes and long-term, persistent patterns of growth or decay.

In defense of the national interest : a critical examination of American foreign policy

Abstract: A landmark in the study of international relations, this reprint of the 1951 Alfred Knopf publication calls on Americans to recognize the primacy of national interest in the formulation of foreign policy. A controversial thesis in 1951, this statement of ideas has stood the test of time well into the 1980s. The author argued that it was essential to relearn on a continuing basis the enduring principles of international politics. He never abandoned the conviction that the national interest, expanded and redefined to make possible the mitigation and relief of novel and unprecedented threats to human survival, was fundamental.

“Prisoner's Dilemma” and “Chicken” Models in International Politics

Abstract: This is a preprint of an article published in International Studies Quarterly, published by Oxford University Press.

The Politics of Transnational Economic Relations

Abstract: These two statements—the first by a Canadian nationalist, the second by a former United States undersecretary of state—express a dominant theme of contemporary writings on international relations. International society, we are told, is increasingly rent between its economic and its political organization. On the one hand, powerful economic and technical forces are creating a highly integrated transnational economy, blurring the traditional significance of national boundaries. On the other hand, the nationstate continues to command men's loyalties and to be the basic unit of political decision. As one writer has put the issue, “The conflict of our era is between ethnocentric nationalism and geocentric technology.”

The Demand for International Reserves: A Critical Review of the Literature

Abstract: This working paper was prepared by the author while serving in the Research Department, Office of the Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, U.S. Treasury, Washington, D.C., on leave from Simon Fraser University. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author. The U.S. Treasury Department does not necessarily agree or disagree with these views. The author acknowledges gratefully the comments of P. Clark, J. Makin, P. Kenen, M. Keran, and W. Schmidt made on an earlier draft of this paper.

Transnational Relations and World Politics: A Conclusion

Abstract: World politics is changing, but our conceptual paradigms have not kept pace. The classic state-centric paradigm assumes that states are the only significant actors in world politics and that they act as units. Diverse domestic interests have effects on international politics only through governmental foreign policy channels. Intersocietal interactions are relegated to a category of secondary importance–the “environment” of interstate politics. As Karl Kaiser has pointed out, the reality of international politics has never totally corresponded to this model. Nevertheless, the model was approximated in the eighteenth century when foreign policy decisions were taken by small groups of persons acting within an environment that was less obtrusive and complex than the present one.

Transnational Politics: Toward a Theory of Multinational Politics

Abstract: The concept of “international politics” which is central to a large sector of political science, indeed its label, is increasingly being called into question. Those processes which can no longer be clearly assigned either to states or—as suggested by the model of “inter-national politics”—to the area between states are gaining in importance in international affairs. Some examples of these processes are the direct horizontal transactions between societal actors of different nation-states, transactions which bypass the institutions of government but strongly affect their margin of maneuver; the various forms of mutual penetration of formally separate entities; and the growing activities of a number of nonstate actors. Many theories which are connected with the model of international politics, above all that of sovereignty but also subordinate constructs such as the doctrine of separation of powers, should likewise be called into question.

An Introduction to International Relations

Abstract: Part 1 Introduction: 1 What Is International Relations? Part 2 Micro-international relations: 2 The Actors 3 Foreign Policy as the Pursuit of the National Interest 4 Influences on Foreign Policy-making - The Domestic Environment 5 Influences on Foreign Policy-making - the International Environment, 6 Means of Achieving Objectives 7 The Processes of Policy-making Part 3 Macro-international relations: 8 International Systems 9 State Systems 10 Behavioural Systems 11 System Transformation Part 4 Micro-macro linkages: 12 The Micro-macro Conceptualisation 13 Some Other International Relations Conceptualisations Conclusion Further Reading Index

The Politics of International Currencies

Abstract: As a direct result of growing economic interdependence and of the accelerating expansion of the international economy and its increasing impact on national economic life, it seems highly probable that diplomacy and international relations among governments will be more and more concerned in the future with financial and monetary matters.

Power, Status, and International War

Abstract: Reference to the existence of a hierarchy or pecking order in the international system is a commonplace in the traditional literature of international relations and in the folklore of diplomacy The widespread use of such terms as 'superpower', 'major power' or less flatteringly 'banana republic' reminds us that the society of nations is by no means classless Even so self-consciously egalitarian a body as the United Nations makes a formal, constitutional distinction between ordinary state members and the privileged few the permanent members of the Security Council Some scholars those whose major theoretical focus is the concept of power have attempted to specify the criteria which determine national placement on this rank-ordering, and to determine how this placement is related to national behaviori Nonetheless, stratification and hierarchy in the international system have not received anything like the attention paid to the corresponding phenomena at the societal level of analysis In recognition of this fact, a number of recent studies have attempted to draw upon the conceptual and empirical ricbness of the sociological literature on this subject to illuminate the situation at the international level In particular, Galtung2 and others have focused attention on the concept of rank-disequilibrium or status inconsistency and its possible usefulness as an explanatory concept in the study of international conflict Many sociological studies indicate that atti tudes are affected not only by an individual's overall position in the social hierarchy, but also by the degree to which an individual's rankings on the major dimensions of his status set correspond Individuals with inconsistent rankings for example, persons whose income and job status do not match up to their education and skills experience frustration in their social relationships and as a consequence manifest a greater degree of dissatisfaction and aggressiveness in their social and political behavior3 Galtung has suggested that the relationship between status inconsistency and conflict behavior may be found in the international system as well Nations which rank high on such 'achieved' statuses as economic and military capacity, yet are denied a correspondingly high rank on 'ascribed' ones such as recognition and prestige, appear to resent their lot If this refusal to grant status is persistent and severe, the nation concerned can develop a good deal of generalized hostility towards its coevals as the example of presentday China seems to indicate While the few empirical studies undertaken thus far lend some support to this hypothesis, they cannot be considered by any means conclusive Fossum4 has discovered a relationship between national status inconsistency and military coups d'etat in Latin America, but did not examine the external conflict behavior of the nations in his study Midlarsky5 addresses himself to inter-nation conflict, finding it to be associated with inconsistencies among the rates of change of a nation's various status positions over the period 1870-1945 He does not, however, examine the relationship of conflict behavior to status inconsistency per se East6 undertakes such an examination, but it is based on only 17 annual observations within a time period (1948-1964) which can handly be considered representative of either the preceding or subsequent periods It would seem, then,

Thinking about threats

Abstract: The development of a science of threat systems is a desirable but slow-dangerously slow-process (cf. Boulding, 1963). The uneven evolution of this science has given it several characteristics of doubtful value. In the first place, "strategic thinking" has acquired military connotations. When a student of international politics refers to "the strategists," he usually has in mind those who are primarily concerned with military policy-and he expects other students of international politics to know that this is what he has in mind. Although there are many nonmilitary situations in international politics in which the ability of one nation to gain its ends depends to an important degree on what other nations do (cf. Schelling, 1960, p. 5), such situations are rarely viewed as "strategic." Even within the field of military affairs, the term "strategic thinking" usually connotes a concern with nuclear deterrence policies. Although the valuable contributions to theorizing about threats by students of nuclear strategy must be acknowledged, it would be undesirable to treat such theories as the exclusive province of such scholars. In addition to its military connotations, the concept of strategic thought has become associated with game theory. Thinking about threats, however, is too important to be left to the game theorists. For example, after a highly stimulating discussion of "fractional threats," Schelling (1960, p. 184) talks about them as if the importance of his discussion lay in having found a rationale for such tactics in game theory terms. But what if Schelling had failed to find a niche in game theory for fractional threats? Should we then forget about them? Such tactics are clearly phenomena of the real world. Many students of international politics can benefit from Schelling's imaginative discussions regardless of their implications for game theory. This might be called the problem of "how to steal without getting caught"that is, how can the student of international politics "steal" Schellings's ideas without getting caught by Schelling's game theory orientation? For many students of international politics, the primary significance of Schelling's work lies in improved understanding of the real world, not in his contributions to the game theory. Threats pervade human relations and should not be discussed solely in terms of nuclear deterrence or game theory. The purpose of this paper is to broaden the context within which threats are discussed by looking at selected aspects of recent thinking about threats from a more general perspective than that of either game theory or nuclear strategy. The discussion will focus on: (1) the basic concept of threat, (2) the relationship between threats and promises, (3) the coerciveness of threats, (4) the costs of threats, (5) the role of ambiguity in threat systems, and (6) the relationship between threats and the concept of deterrence.

On Marxian Thought and the Problem of International Relations

Abstract: My argument is that the very existence of international relations poses a serious, and perhaps intractable, problem for Marxism. This is easy enough to see on the level of empirical politics, and even on the level of ideological controversy, but it is a still too little appreciated issue in the context of a thoroughgoing theoretical analysis of Marxian thought. I would like to offer some tentative remarks on this latter plane. My suggestions are not as conclusive as I would like them to be, but they may at least raise some important and topical questions. Briefly, it is my intention to show that since international relations presuppose the horizontal division of mankind into nations or states, and since Marxian thought postulates the absolute unity of mankind as its ideal, problems relating to horizontal group diversity are much more centrally relevant to the Marxian doctrine than it is usually thought. Not only is there a clear moral argument in Marxian thought against group diversity as such, but the very central tenets of Marxism have a direct, though implicit, reference to the relations between horizontal groups such as nations. I believe, further, that these aspects of Marxian thought have been lost sight of and confused or underemphasized over the years, partly by Marx and Engels themselves at the very start, and partly by their political followers, and (later) academic critics.

The International Court of Justice: Consideration of Requirements for Enhancing its Rôle in the International Legal Order

Abstract: It is commonplace to say that the Court has not lived up to the expectations expressed at its creation, although it could also be said that the governments in and out of the United Nations have not lived up to those expectations. In presenting the Statute of the Court to the Fourth Commission at the United Nations Conference on International Organization, the Rapporteur of its First Committee said that the Committee “Ventures to foresee a significant role for the new Court in the international relations of the future.” He went on to say: “The judicial process will have a central place in the plans of the United Nations for the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means.”1

International System And Foreign Policy Approaches: Implications for Conflict Modelling and Management

Abstract: The quotations from Charles A. McClelland and Graham T. Allison represent two distinct approaches to the study of international relations: (i) international system analysis; and (2) foreign policy analysis. Essentially, international system analysts seek to explain interactions between nations by phenomena such as their prior interactions and the structure of the system. Foreign policy analysts, on the other hand, seek to explain foreign policy behavior as the output of subnational organizations following standard operating procedures or engaging in a problem-solving search. Given the international system and foreign policy approaches as contrasting points of departure, the goals of the present study are:

Inter-nation influence revisited

Abstract: Since 1950 social scientists have made impressive progress in clarifying and operationalizing the concept of power. The disciplines of psychology, sociology, and economics, as well as political science, have contributed to this undertaking. Strangely enough, students of international politics, who have traditionally invested so much time and effort in power analysis, have largely ignored this process. Although students of international politics have continued to analyze power relations and to reformulate the concept of power, they have remained relatively isolated from the thinking of other social scientists on this issue. International theorists2 have neither contributed to nor drawn on the power literature generated by other social scientists. Although there are exceptions to this rule, it is fair to say that one rarely finds references by students of international politics to the standard works on power by Lasswell and Kaplan

The International Relations of the Middle East

Abstract: The pedagogical intentions of a course on the international relations of the Middle East can be said to be threefold: 1) it should convey to the student a minimal amount of factual information about the Middle East, 2) it should possess a degree of analytical focus sufficient to explicate and penetrate beyond sheer information and 3) it ought to possess sufficient conceptual structuring so as to enhance the possibility of the student being able to transcend a) time, i.e., getting beyond the immediate present and b) space, i.e., how is Middle Eastern international relations similar or dissimilar to other areas. All three of these elements are perhaps inevitably present in some degree in any effort to deal with the totality of Middle Eastern international relations but three different kinds of syllabi do appear to emphasize each element. Thus a syllabus which presents Middle Eastern international relations largely in chronological order with an emphasis upon the twentieth century will clearly maximize the students’ factual grasp as well as having the advantage of dealing with events and issues in their “natural” as opposed to analytical relationships. On the other hand, an issue-oriented syllabus would seem to foster analytical focus by increasing the saliency of events and compelling explanation. Finally, the adoption of an abstract conceptual schema and the attempt to apply it in the Middle Eastern situation would seem to hold the promise of getting beyond a preoccupation with the present and past as well as possibly relating the Middle Eastern situation in the student’s mind to other world problem areas. Three alternative syllabi embodying these three different foci are presented here: 1) a chronological one, 2) an issue-oriented one and 3) a conceptually oriented one.

A Status-Field Theory of International Relations

Abstract: : Two theories and considered which are current in theoretical and empirical international relations research. One is field theory, based on the idea that nation similarities and differences cause international behavior. The other is status theory, derived largely from the sociological status literature, which argues that international behavior is cased by status rank and disequilibrium. Both can be combined to postulate that status dependent, dyadic, cooperative, and conflict behavior of economically developed nations is inversely related to their power differences; and that such behavior of economically underdeveloped nations is inversely related to their economic development differences.