Showing papers on "International relations published in 1976"

Perception and misperception in international politics

Abstract: This study of perception and misperception in foreign policy was a landmark in the application of cognitive psychology to political decision making. The New York Times called it, in an article published nearly ten years after the book's appearance, "the seminal statement of principles underlying political psychology." The perspective established by Jervis remains an important counterpoint to structural explanations of international politics, and from it has developed a large literature on the psychology of leaders and the problems of decision making under conditions of incomplete information, stress, and cognitive bias. Jervis begins by describing the process of perception (for example, how decision makers learn from history) and then explores common forms of misperception (such as overestimating one's influence). Finally, he tests his ideas through a number of important events in international relations from nineteenth- and twentieth-century European history. In a contemporary application of Jervis's ideas, some argue that Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990 in part because he misread the signals of American leaders with regard to the independence of Kuwait. Also, leaders of the United States and Iraq in the run-up to the most recent Gulf War might have been operating under cognitive biases that made them value certain kinds of information more than others, whether or not the information was true. Jervis proved that, once a leader believed something, that perception would influence the way the leader perceived all other relevant information.

International relations and domestic structures: Foreign economic policies of advanced industrial states

Abstract: Recent writings on problems of the international economy have focused attention primarily on changes in the international system. This paper attempts to show that foreign economic policy can be understood only if domestic factors are systematically included in the analysis. The paper's first part groups the recent literature into three paradigms which distinguish between three international effects. The second part offers a comparison of the differences between a state-centered policy network in France and a society-centered network in the United States. The third part of the paper combines the arguments of the first two and analyzes French and American commercial, financial, and energy policies as the outcome of both international effects and domestic structures. These case studies show that domestic factors must be included in an analysis of foreign economic policies. The paper's main results are analyzed further in its fourth part.

Three approaches to the measurement of power in international relations

Abstract: There are three main approaches to the observation and measurement of power: 1) control over resources, 2) control over actors, and 3) control over events and outcomes. The control over events and outcomes approach emerges as the best approach to the measurement of power in contemporary international politics because: 1) it is the only approach which takes into account the possibility of interdependence and collective action, 2) it is more general than the other two approaches, and 3) it produces a type of analysis which has both descriptive and normative advantages. I will discuss each of these approaches at length and criticize them. I will argue that the third approach is superior to the other two for the measurement of power in contemporary international politics because it is better suited to situations in which interdependence and collective action can be derived from the third.

The Substance and Study of Borders in International Relations Research

Abstract: While international borders are important in understanding the “shape” of the international system and are part of those structural characteristics which affect the interaction opportunities of nations, little attention has been paid to their conceptualization, operationalization, and measurement. This paper undertakes four tasks to help fill this gap. The first is to indicate the potentially theoretical role that borders may play in international relations, discussing the relationships between distance/contiguity and interaction opportunities. The second task entails the conceptualization and measurement of international borders. The third task involves using the data derived from this framework to describe the international system in terms of borders for the period 1946‐1965. The fourth task is to indicate the utility of a border data set by addressing questions which have been posed in the international relations literature. Research results are presented for several questions concerning the relationships between borders and war, borders and alliances, and the diffusion of war.

The politics of global economic relations

Abstract: 1. Introduction: Economic Transformations and World Politics. 2. World Trade Dilemmas. 3. The Global Monetary Order: Interdependence and Dominance. 4. The Multinational Corporation: Challenge to the International System. 5. Aid Relations Between Rich and Poor States. 6. Technology and International Relations. 7. Strategies for States in the Periphery of the Global Economy. 8. Foreign Economic Policy Making in the United States. 9. The International Political Economy: Contemporary Trends.

Logic, Politics and Foreign Policy Processes: A Critique of the Bureaucratic Politics Model

Abstract: S OCIOLOGISTS of academic life might find a useful case study in the ascendancy of the 'bureaucratic politics model' as a source of explanations for writers in international politics. It has now become common for such writers to acknowledge the existence of domestic political factors by reference to this model; a creation usually credited to Graham Allison and Morton Halperin.' It is taken to be validated every time aspects of an international event can be partially explained by a lobbying air force, an ambitious ambassador, an elitist foreign office, a campaigning politician or a devious intelligence agency. Sociologists examining this phenomenon might well look to, a number of factors: the widespread cynicism about the! formation of foreign policy encouraged by the Vietnam debacle; the belief held by some American officials that other governments might be manipulated by playing off their intemal factions against each other; and the existence of a large number of former bureaucratic practitioners in university departments of government after the departure of the Johnson Administration. The model has been presented as an analytical breakthrough that recognises a critical variable in the determination of policy that has hitherto been neglected by most analysts. The reason for this neglect is detected in the widespread adoption of an alternative model which has: as its central feature the exclusion of this critical variable. At the start of his book Allison offers the following initial proposition:

The international role of “domestic” bureaucracy

Abstract: Many agencies of the United States Government with nominally “domestic” mandates play important roles in international affairs, and collaborate extensively with other governments and international organizations in the performance of their tasks. In some areas, these agencies rather than intergovernmental organizations play key management roles. Data gathered from a variety of sources indicate the extensiveness of this involvement, and suggest that it continues to expand, although not in linear fashion. Certain trends in governmental reorganization, such as those in the Agriculture Department, suggest similar patterns to those observed in business firms as they become more heavily involved abroad. More attention needs to be paid to international networks involving “domestic” governmental bureaucracies and governmental agencies traditionally oriented toward international affairs. From a conceptual point of view, we should think of “international organization” as including not only formally intergovernmental organizations, but all officials who participate significantly in these networks.

Europe and Africa: Decolonization or Dependency

Abstract: FIFTEEN years after most of Africa received its independence, Europe is still present and influential in the continent. The Euro pean presence has, however, shifted from overt and direct to more subtle forms. While military occupation and sovereign control over African territories have all but been eliminated, political in fluence, economic preponderance, and cultural conditioning remain. Britain and France, and with them the rest of the European Commu nity, maintain a relatively high level of aid and investment, trade dominance, and a sizable flow of teachers, businessmen, statesmen, tourists and technical assistants. Perhaps most symbolically signif icant of all, the long-nurtured dream of an institutionalized Eur African community was finally inaugurated on February 28, 1975, when the convention of trade and cooperation was signed at Lom? between the European Nine and the then-37 independent Black African states (plus nine islands and enclaves in the Caribbean and the Pacific). Thus, Eur-African relations are a matter of continuity and change, but judgments of them vary considerably, according to the impor tance given to one or the other of these two elements. To some, the successor of colonialism is neocolonialism and dependency; for others, what is taking place is gradual disengagement, and the multilateral ization of ties to the developed nations. The first look askance at the continuing presence, comparing it with an ideal of total mastery of one's destiny; to them the change seems trivial, or worse, insidious. The second emphasize actual changes, the moves toward indepen dence, and see them as part of a continuing process. The best perspec tive obviously is the one that can encompass and provide an explana tion for the largest number of facts. The dependency approach is now widely used in analyzing Third World developmental problems. According to this school of thought the attainment of political sovereignty masks the reality of continued dependence on world economic structures, and calculations of power and interest within this dependency relationship explain underdevel opment. Impatient with the slow progress of African states toward development and the real difficulty for new nations in narrowing the gap that separates them from the industrial states, dependency an alysts locate the source of the new nations' developmental problems

The Illusion of Peace: International Relations in Europe, 1918-1933

Abstract: Map1: Europe in 1914 Map 2: Europe in 1925 Map 3: Weimar Germany Map 4: Eastern Europe in 1925 The Pursuit of Peace The Effort to Enforce the Peace The Revision of the Peace The Years of Illusion The Crumbling of Illusion The End of Old Illusions Chronological Table Bibliography Notes and References Index

National interests and foreign policy: A conceptual framework for analysis and decision-making

Abstract: The term “national interest” has been used by statesmen and scholars since the founding of nation-states to describe the aspirations and goals of sovereign entities in the international arena. Today foreign ministers, military strategists and academicians discuss the vital interests of their countries in ways suggesting that everyone understands precisely what they mean and will draw correct inferences from their use of the term. Nothing could be further from reality. In truth, the study of international politics as well as the art of diplomacy suffer from widespread ambiguity about the meaning of national interest, with the result that some scholars have proposed that the concept be abandoned and replaced by some other phrase. To my mind, this would be an abdication of the scholar's responsibility because, whether we like it or not, the term national interest is so deeply ingrained in the literature of international relations and diplomatic language that it is unlikely to be dismissed from our vocabulary simply because some scholars find it useless. Were we to attempt to substitute some new phrase, we would likely find even less consensus and could become engaged in yet another round of jargon-creation. A better alternative, I suggest, is to strive for a more precise definition of national interest and then provide a conceptual framework in which serious discussion of foreign policy and international politics can become more fruitful. That is the purpose of this paper.

Postimperialism: A Class Analysis of Multinational Corporate Expansion

Abstract: New frontiers for substantive research frequently give rise to theoretical challenges. More often than not, these will in fact be old challenges revived or rediscovered in a new context. Political scientists may well discover a fertile field for research in the phenomenal expansion of multinational business enterprise. Yet the challenges they encounter may not differ in principle from those that have been presented in the past by the growthtbfcorporate enterprise in particular nations. Indeed, the failure of political science to comprehend the modern business corporation is well enough known. As Grant McConnell has written, "the existence of the modern corporation does not accord with longstanding conceptions of political organization, and no theory exists by which it can be reconciled with such conceptions."' The unmistakable relevance of transnational corporations to basic issues of political development and international relations creates a new opportunity for political scientists to face challenges that have been posed but, largely and lamentably, ignored in the past. In this essay, three issues that arise from the problem of corporate power in political theory are identified with reference to pioneering works on corporate power in modern industrial society. These issues, involving economic oligarchy, managerial authority, and class formation, are then transposed to the transnational plane of study. Recent works on transnational enterprise and the problems of development in nonindustrial societies indicate that these questions may now be studied on a broader scale than heretofore, at possibly deeper levels of theoretical comprehension.

The Political Economy of the Multinational Corporation: Three Contrasting Perspectives*

Abstract: The books considered in this review essay address themselves to the relationship between the multinational corporation (MNC) and the nationstate, illuminating the three prevailing perspectives on the relationship between international economics and international politics.** My intention in this review essay is to contrast the varying positions of these three books on the implications of the rise of the multinational corporation for the nation-state system. This is perhaps the most critical issue in the burgeoning literature on the multinational corporation and the political economy of international relations.' Moreover, I shall set forth reasons for the success of the multinational corporation and discuss its probable future as a so-called transnational actor. First, however, what is a multinational corporation? Definitions of the multinational corporation are numerous; it is sufficient to note a number of its characteristics. In the first place, multinational corporations make direct investments in foreign countries. In contrast to portfolio investment, which involves the purchase of equities in a firm, direct investment is the establishment of a foreign subsidiary or branch, or the takeover of a foreign

The Most Significant and Important Activity I Have Been Privileged to Engage in during My Years in the Senate

Abstract: After World War II, it was obvious that a new approach to international relations was essential to avoid in discriminate destruction of life and property. It was hoped that man could be diverted from military to cultural pursuits. The Fulbright Act was introduced in 1945 to enable Americans to study abroad at the graduate level and teach in an elementary or secondary school, lecture in a university, or conduct post doctoral research. Similar opportunities are offered to citizens of other countries to attend American-sponsored schools abroad or in the United States. The program's success depends largely on the support and cooperation of private organiza tions and individuals. After 30 years in the U. S. Senate, I re main convinced that educational and cultural exchange offers one of the best means available for improving international understanding. The inadequacy and peril of traditional methods of solving differences among nations and the hydro gen bomb put us on notice to find a better way to deal with ...

The Media and Foreign Policy

Abstract: The conduct of international relations is greatly influenced by how relationships between countries are perceived, which in turn depends upon communications between countries. Among the main stumbling blocks to improved international relations is the fact, as one of the world's foremost authorities on communications has concluded, 'that the flow of news among nations is thin, that it is unbalanced, with heavy coverage of a few highly developed countries and light coverage of many less-developed ones, and that, in some cases at least, it tends to ignore important events and to distort the reality it presents/1 This was written in 1964. To what extent is it still the case? What are present trends? How does foreign news influence foreign policy? The nature that is, the amount, the quality, the flow of foreign news directly affects those sectors which formulate, carry out, or comment on foreign policy. What are the difficulties facing those who, at various stages, have a say in presenting reporting on foreign affairs? What are the problems arising from the general flow of information in the world and what are their potential effects on international relations?

Nigeria and the great powers: the impact of the civil war on nigerian foreign relations

Abstract: TRADITIONALLY AND FORMALLY, the central theme of Nigeria's foreign policy has always been 'non-alignment'. But, like most Third World countries that profess to be non-aligned, Nigeria's stance is far from being truly independent. Indeed, during the civilian administration, Lagos was openly, though not slavishly, pro-West.' In 1967, however, the exigencies of civil war forced the Federal Military Government to court Moscow. Soviet involvement, on the side of the Federalists, introduced another dimension to the conflict. In a sense it transferred the Sino-Soviet differences to Nigeria, and quite naturally, the Chinese sided with Biafra. As for the Western Powers, while Britain backed Lagos, the United States assumed a dubious neutral posture and France embraced the Biafran cause. It was clear from the political and ideological line-up behind the belligerents, that there was no logical pattern in these foreign involvements. The fact that Britain and the Soviet Union both backed the Federal side, for instance, meant that there was no danger of a cold-war confrontation: but even so there were obvious cold-war instincts at work. While the Soviet Union wanted to establish a foothold in Nigeria, the Western Powers had an eye on the retention, if not the extension, of their influence. Although, the external involvement played a decisive part in the scale, length, and final determination of the conflict, it, nevertheless, served one useful purpose. By enabling Lagos to cultivate and broaden diplomatic links with the Eastern bloc, Nigeria has given more substance to its 'non-alignment' foreign policy. In this article, an attempt will be made to assess the impact of the civil war on Nigeria's relations with the Great Powers. The article is in three sections: the first looks at Nigeria's relations with the Western Powers; the second deals with Nigeria's relations with the Soviet Union and China; and the concluding section attempts an overall assessment of the new 'non-alignment' policy.

International energy issues and options

Abstract: The tension between the particular interests of nation-states and the general interests of the international community, between the principles of interdependence and independence, is manifest in every aspect of the world energy situation -- oil prices, production levels, and embargoes, for example. Consumer nations are inclined to characterize the producers' behavior as myopic, parochial, and nationalistic. The oil producers generally look upon their own actions as vindicating sovereign rights that were trampled by the multinational oil companies and the industrialized world for over a quarter century. The same tension lies at the heart of nuclear power development in which, due to the close connection between nuclear power and nuclear weapons, one nation's pursuit of self-sufficiency may threaten international stability and security. An attempt is made in this review to provide a framework for analysis of the world energy situation from a political viewpoint. Perhaps the most fundamental energy issues are political in nature and international in scope. The political process is the means for making key trade-offs, nationally and internationally, for cheap energy and secure supplies or between self-sufficiency and environmental quality. First, the international political structure is described as it relates to the evolving world energy situation. Then, themore » major international energy issues are discussed under three broad problem headings: national security, the world economy, and the global environment. 26 references. (MCW)« less