Showing papers on "International relations published in 2010"

Climate Capitalism: Global Warming and the Transformation of the Global Economy

Abstract: Confronting climate change is now understood as a problem of 'decarbonising' the global economy: ending our dependence on carbon-based fossil fuels. This book explores whether such a transformation is underway, how it might be accelerated, and the complex politics of this process. Given the dominance of global capitalism and free-market ideologies, decarbonisation is dependent on creating carbon markets and engaging powerful actors in the world of business and finance. Climate Capitalism assesses the huge political dilemmas this poses, and the need to challenge the entrenched power of many corporations, the culture of energy use, and global inequalities in energy consumption. Climate Capitalism is essential reading for anyone wanting to better understand the challenge we face. It will also inform a range of student courses in environmental studies, development studies, international relations, and business programmes.

How to Compare Regional Powers: Analytical Concepts and Research Topics

Abstract: Although the concept of regional power is frequently used in International Relations (IR) literature, there is no consensus regarding the defining characteristics of a regional power. The article discusses different theoretical approaches that address the topic of power hierarchies in international politics and make reference to the concept of regional power. Marking differences as well as common ground with the more traditional concept of 'middle powers', the article outlines an analytical concept of regional powers adequate for contemporary IR research. The analytical dimensions of the framework may be employed to differentiate regional powers from other states and to compare regional powers with regard to their power status or relative power. Furthermore, the article investigates the possible repercussions of the rise of regional powers for international politics and discusses the probable importance and functions of regional governance structures for regional powers.

Beyond paradigms : analytic eclecticism in the study of world politics

Abstract: Analytic Eclecticism.- Eclecticism, Pragmatism, and Paradigms in International Relations.- War and Peace, Security and Insecurity.- Global Political Economy.- Order and Governance: Regional and Global.- Conclusion.

Introduction to "The Trouble With the Congo: Local Violence and the Failure of International Peacebuilding"

Abstract: The Trouble with the Congo suggests a new explanation for international peacebuilding failures in civil wars. Drawing from more than 330 interviews and a year and a half of fi eld research, it develops a case study of the international intervention during the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s unsuccessful transition from war to peace and democracy (2003–2006). Grassroots rivalries over land, resources, and political power motivated widespread violence. However, a dominant peacebuilding culture shaped the intervention strategy in a way that precluded action on local confl icts, ultimately dooming the international efforts to end the deadliest confl ict since World War II. Most international actors interpreted continued fi ghting as the consequence of national and regional tensions alone. Diplomats and United Nations staff viewed intervention at the macro levels as their only legitimate responsibility. The dominant culture constructed local peacebuilding as such an unimportant, unfamiliar, and unmanageable task that neither shocking events nor resistance from certain individuals could convince international actors to reevaluate their understanding of violence and intervention. Through this in-depth analysis , The Trouble with the Congo proposes innovative ways to address civil wars in Africa and beyond.

International Relations Theories: Discipline and Diversity

Abstract: Written by leading figures in the field, the third edition of this successful text provides an up-to-date and comprehensive account of all the major theories of international relations, supporting them with case study examples.While some of the theories discussed are complex, the authors convey them in a clear and accessible manner, with the use of engaging pedagogical features, making this an ideal introduction to international relations theories. A new chapter on Critical Theory has been added to allow more coverage for this approach and alternative understandings, such as post-colonialism and environmentalism, have chapters devoted to them, unlike other textbooks. Chapters have also been updated to reflect recently published work and the case studies have been revisited to include considerations of new developments in world politics.

The Rise of Muslim Foreign Fighters: Islam and the Globalization of Jihad

Abstract: Why has transnational war volunteering increased so dramatically in the Muslim world since 1980? Standard explanations, which emphasize US-Saudi support for the 1980s Afghan mujahideen, the growth of Islamism, or the spread of Wahhabism are insufficient The increase in transnational war volunteering is better explained as the product of a pan-Islamic identity movement that grew strong in the 1970s Arab world from elite competition among exiled Islamists in international Islamic organizations and Muslim regimes Seeking political relevance and increased budgets, Hijaz-based international activists propagated an alarmist discourse about external threats to the Muslim nation and established a global network of Islamic charities This “soft” pan-Islamic discourse and network enabled Arabs invested in the 1980s Afghanistan war to recruit fighters in the name of inter-Muslim solidarity The Arab-Afghan mobilization in turn produced a foreign fighter movement that still exists today, as a phenomenon partly di

Treaty Compliance and Violation

Abstract: International law has enjoyed a recent renaissance as an important subfield of study within international relations. Two trends are evident in the recent literature. First, the obsession with theoretical labels is on the decline. Second, empirical, especially quantitative, work is burgeoning. This article reviews the literature in four issues areas—security, war, and peace; international trade; protection of the environment; and human rights—and concludes we have a much stronger basis for assessing claims about compliance and violation now than was the case only a few years ago. Still, the literature suffers from a few weaknesses, including problems of selection and endogeneity of treaties themselves and an enduring state-centric focus, despite the fact that researchers recognize that nonstate and substate actors influence treaty behavior. Nonetheless, the quality and quantity of new work demonstrates that international law has regained an important place in the study of international politics.

International Statebuilding : The Rise of Post-Liberal Governance

Abstract: This concise and accessible new text offers original and insightful analysis of the policy paradigm informing international statebuilding interventions. The book covers the theoretical frameworks and practices of international statebuilding, the debates they have triggered, and the way that international statebuilding has developed in the post-Cold War era. Spanning a broad remit of policy practices from post-conflict peacebuilding to sustainable development and EU enlargement, Chandler draws out how these policies have been cohered around the problematization of autonomy or self-government. Rather than promoting democracy on the basis of the universal capacity of people for self-rule, international statebuilding assumes that people lack capacity to make their own judgements safely and therefore that democracy requires external intervention and the building of civil society and state institutional capacity. Chandler argues that this policy framework inverses traditional liberal–democratic understandings of autonomy and freedom – privileging governance over government – and that the dominance of this policy perspective is a cause of concern for those who live in states involved in statebuilding as much as for those who are subject to these new regulatory frameworks. Encouraging readers to reflect upon the changing understanding of both state–society relations and of the international sphere itself, this work will be of great interest to all scholars of international relations, international security and development.

Growth in women's political representation: A longitudinal exploration of democracy, electoral system and gender quotas

Abstract: The expansion of women’s formal political representation ranks among the most significant trends in international politics of the last 100 years. Though women made steady political progress, substantial country-level variation exists in patterns of growth and change. In this paper, we develop longitudinal theories to examine how political factors affect women’s political representation over time. We use latent growth curve models to assess the growth of women in politics in 110 countries from 1975 to 2000. We investigate how electoral systems, national-level gender quotas, and growth of democracy impact country-level trajectories of women’s legislative representation. We find: (1) national quotas do affect women’s political presence, but at a lower level than legislated by law; (2) the impact of a proportional representation system on women’s political representation is steady over time; and (3) democracy, especially civil liberties, does not affect the level of women’s political representation in the earliest period, but does impact the growth of women’s political representation over time. These findings both reinforce and challenge prior cross-sectional models of women’s political representation.

Legitimacy and Legality in International Law: An Interactional Account

Abstract: It has never been more important to understand how international law enables and constrains international politics. By drawing together the legal theory of Lon Fuller and the insights of constructivist international relations scholars, this book articulates a pragmatic view of how international obligation is created and maintained. First, legal norms can only arise in the context of social norms based on shared understandings. Second, internal features of law, or 'criteria of legality', are crucial to law's ability to promote adherence, to inspire 'fidelity'. Third, legal norms are built, maintained or destroyed through a continuing practice of legality. Through case studies of the climate change regime, the anti-torture norm, and the prohibition on the use of force, it is shown that these three elements produce a distinctive legal legitimacy and a sense of commitment among those to whom law is addressed.

After defeat : how the East learned to live with the West

Abstract: Not being of the West; being behind the West; not being modern enough; not being developed or industrialized, secular, civilized, Christian, transparent, or democratic - these descriptions have all served to stigmatize certain states through history. Drawing on constructivism as well as the insights of social theorists and philosophers, After Defeat demonstrates that stigmatization in international relations can lead to a sense of national shame, as well as auto-Orientalism and inferior status. Ayse Zarakol argues that stigmatized states become extra-sensitive to concerns about status, and shape their foreign policy accordingly. The theoretical argument is supported by a detailed historical overview of central examples of the established/outsider dichotomy throughout the evolution of the modern states system, and in-depth studies of Turkey after the First World War, Japan after the Second World War, and Russia after the Cold War.

Governing climate change : Polycentricity in Action?

Abstract: Climate change governance is in a state of enormous flux. New and more dynamic forms of governing are appearing around the international climate regime centred on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They appear to be emerging spontaneously from the bottom up, producing a more dispersed pattern of governing, which Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom famously described as 'polycentric'. This book brings together contributions from some of the world's foremost experts to provide the first systematic test of the ability of polycentric thinking to explain and enhance societal attempts to govern climate change. It is ideal for researchers in public policy, international relations, environmental science, environmental management, politics, law and public administration. It will also be useful on advanced courses in climate policy and governance, and for practitioners seeking incisive summaries of developments in particular sub-areas and sectors. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

International Climate Policy after Copenhagen: Towards a ‘Building Blocks’ Approach

Abstract: This article reviews the options for future international climate policy after the 2009 Copenhagen conference. It argues that a major reassessment of the current approach to building a climate regime is required. This approach, which we refer to as the ‘global deal’ strategy, is predicated on the idea of negotiating a comprehensive, universal and legally binding treaty that prescribes, in a top-down fashion, generally applicable policies based on previously agreed principles. From a review of the history of the ‘global deal’ strategy from Rio (1992) to Kyoto (1997) and beyond we conclude that this approach has been producing diminishing returns for some time, and that it is time to consider an alternative path – if not goal – for climate policy. The alternative that, in our view, is most likely to move the world closer towards a working international climate regime is a ‘building blocks’ approach, which develops different elements of climate governance in an incremental fashion and embeds them in an international political framework. In fact, this alternative is already emergent in international politics. The goal of a full treaty has been abandoned for the next climate conference in Mexico, which is instead aiming at a number of partial agreements (on finance, forestry, technology transfer, adaptation) under the UNFCCC umbrella. For this to produce results, a more strategic approach is needed to ensure that – over time – such partial elements add up to an ambitious and internationally coordinated climate policy which does not drive down the level of aspiration and commitment.

Ending Civil Wars: A Case for Rebel Victory?

Abstract: Since 1990, negotiated settlements have become the preferred means for settling civil wars Historically, however, these types of settlements have proven largely ineffective: civil wars ended by negotiated settlement are more likely to recur than those ending in victory by one side or the other A theoretical and statistical analysis of how civil wars end reveals that the type of ending influences the prospects for longer-term outcomes An examination of all civil war endings since 1940 finds that rebel victories are more likely to secure the peace than are negotiated settlements A statistical analysis of civil wars from 1940 to 2002 and the case of Uganda illustrate why rebel victories result in more stable outcomes Expanding scholarly and policy analysis of civil war termination types beyond the current default of negotiated settlement to include victories provides a much larger set of cases and variables to draw upon to enhance understanding of the conditions most likely to support long-term stability, democracy, and prosperity

The Cambridge History of the Cold War

Abstract: The Cambridge History of the Cold War is a comprehensive, international history of the conflict that dominated world politics in the twentieth century. The three-volume series, written by leading international experts in the field, elucidates how the Cold War evolved from the geopolitical, ideological, economic and socio-political environment of the two World Wars and the interwar era, and explains the global dynamics of the Cold War international system. It emphasises how the Cold War bequeathed conditions, challenges and conflicts that shape international affairs today. With discussions of demography and consumption, women and youth, science and technology, ethnicity and race, the volumes encompass the social, intellectual and economic history of the twentieth century, shedding new light on the evolution of the Cold War. Through its various geographical and national angles, the series signifies a transformation of the field from a national – primarily American – to a broader international approach.

Dyadic military conflict, security alliances, and bilateral FDI flows

Abstract: Although multinationals operate under cross-border jurisdictions, the relevance of interstate security relations to international business has received little attention. Despite the impressive accumulation of knowledge in international business and international relations, the two intellectual communities have largely ignored the insights from each other. In this article, we seek to bridge this gap. We argue that interstate military conflict and security alliances, as two central features of interstate security relations, often change both government policies toward international business and investor expectations of political risk. From the perspectives of both states and investors, military conflict should reduce bilateral investment whereas security alliances increase it. Our empirical analysis applies the system GMM estimator to a gravity model of bilateral investment flows for 1117 directed dyads among 58 countries from 1980 to 2000. Among 18 countries whose per capita real incomes remain consistently above 12,000 constant dollars, the security factors do not affect bilateral investment; in the high-income/low-income dyads, interstate military conflict and security alliances significantly influence bilateral investment as expected. The findings depict two separate realms in which international politics does and does not interfere with international business, helping us improve political risk assessments and understand the interactions between states and firms.

Non-Western international relations theory: perspectives on and beyond Asia

Abstract: Given that the world has moved well beyond the period of Western colonialism, and clearly into a durable period in which non-Western cultures have gained their political autonomy, it is long past time that non-Western voices had a higher profile in debates about international relations, not just as disciples of Western schools of thought, but as inventors of their own approaches. Western IR theory has had the advantage of being the first in the field, and has developed many valuable insights, but few would defend the position that it captures everything we need to know about world politics. In this book, Acharya and Buzan introduce non-Western IR traditions to a Western IR audience, and challenge the dominance of Western theory. An international team of experts reinforce existing criticisms that IR theory is Western-focused and therefore misrepresents and misunderstands much of world history by introducing the reader to non-Western traditions, literature and histories relevant to how IR is conceptualised. Including case studies on Chinese, Japanese, South Korean, Southeast Asian, Indian and Islamic IR this book redresses the imbalance and opens up a cross-cultural comparative perspective on how and why thinking about IR has developed in the way it has. As such, it will be invaluable reading for both Western and Asian audiences interested in international relations theory.

Security Beyond the State: Private Security in International Politics

Abstract: Introduction 1. The untold story: the globalization of private security 2. Late modernity and the rise of private security 3. Power and governance: global assemblages and the security field 4. Of oil and diamonds: global security assemblages in resource extraction 5. Safer cities or cities of walls? The politics of urban global security assemblages 6. Security, politics, and global assemblages.

Truth Commissions and Transitional Societies: The Impact on Human Rights and Democracy

Abstract: Despite the increasing frequency of truth commissions, there has been little agreement as to their long-term impact on a state's political and social development. This book uses a multi-method approach to examine the impact of truth commissions on subsequent human rights protection and democratic practice. Providing the first cross-national analysis of the impact of truth commissions and presenting detailed analytical case studies on South Africa, El Salvador, Chile, and Uganda, author Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm examines how truth commission investigations and their final reports have shaped the respective societies. The author demonstrates that in the longer term, truth commissions have often had appreciable effects on human rights, but more limited impact in terms of democratic development. The book concludes by considering how future research can build upon these findings to provide policymakers with strong recommendations on whether and how a truth commission is likely to help fragile post-conflict societies. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Transition Justice, Human Rights, Peace and Conflict Studies, Democratization Studies, International Law and International Relations.

Regional powers and their strategies: empire, hegemony, and leadership

Abstract: Regional powers are often conceived of as ‘regional leading powers’, states which adopt a cooperative and benevolent attitude in their international relations with their neighbours. The article argues that regional powers can follow a much wider range of foreign policy strategies in their region. Three ideal-typical regional strategies are identified: empire, hegemony, and leadership. The article is devoted to a theory-led distinction and clarification of these three terms, which are often used interchangeably in the field of International Relations. According to the goals pursued, to the means employed, and to other discriminating features such as the degree of legitimation and the type of self-representation by the dominant state, the article outlines the essential traits of imperial, hegemonic, and leading strategies and identifies sub-types for better classifying hegemony and leadership.

Understanding Foreign Policy Decision Making

Abstract: Understanding Foreign Policy Decision Making presents a psychological approach to foreign policy decision making. This approach focuses on the decision process, dynamics, and outcome. The book includes a wealth of extended real-world case studies and examples that are woven into the text. The cases and examples, which are written in an accessible style, include decisions made by leaders of the United States, Israel, New Zealand, Cuba, Iceland, United Kingdom, and others. In addition to coverage of the rational model of decision making, levels of analysis of foreign policy decision making, and types of decisions, the book includes extensive material on alternatives to the rational choice model, the marketing and framing of decisions, cognitive biases, and domestic, cultural, and international influences on decision making in international affairs. Existing textbooks do not present such an approach to foreign policy decision making, international relations, American foreign policy, and comparative foreign policy.

The Disastrous and Politically Debased Subject of Resilience

Abstract: In recent years development and security have come to be conceived in the words of the former British Secretary of State for International Development, Hilary Benn, as something of a ‘shared challenge’(Benn 2004). Development is said to make ‘a critical contribution to global security by reducing poverty, inequality and the root causes of conflict’ while ‘global prosperity, everyone’s prosperity, depends on security against threats to human development’ (Benn 2004). ‘The truth is’, as Benn declared in a now classic speech, that ‘development without security is not possible; security without development is only temporary’ (Benn 2004). At least three different axioms can be found embedded in Benn’s formulation of the interrelation between development and security; what is now referred to in International Relations as the ‘development-security nexus’ (Duffield 2008; Duffield 2001; Chandler 2007). Firstly, the development of the developing world is now said to to depend on its security; security is conceived as a prerequisite of development. Secondly, development of the developing world is conceptualised itself as a means towards the security of developing societies; security conceived also, therefore, as the end towards which development is aimed. And thirdly no security of the developed world is said to be possible without increasing the development of undeveloped states and societies; thus the ultimate subject of both development and security is not the developing world at all, but the developed. This trinity of axioms underlies not just British development policy, but those of most western national governments as well as international organizations concerned with development, significantly the United Nations, as well as a wide range of NGOs, and their academic proxies. In the United States, Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, recently called for development to ‘rank alongside defense at the heart of America's foreign policy’ (Staats 2009).

The shock of the global : the 1970s in perspective

Abstract: From the vantage point of the United States or Western Europe, the 1970s was a time of troubles: economic 'stagflation,' political scandal, and global turmoil. Yet from an international perspective it was a seminal decade, one that brought the reintegration of the world after the great divisions of the mid-twentieth century. It was the 1970s that introduced the world to the phenomenon of 'globalization,' as networks of interdependence bound people and societies in new and original ways. The 1970s saw the breakdown of the postwar economic order and the advent of floating currencies and free capital movements. Non-state actors rose to prominence while the authority of the superpowers diminished. Transnational issues such as environmental protection, population control, and human rights attracted unprecedented attention. The decade transformed international politics, ending the era of bipolarity and launching two great revolutions that would have repercussions in the twenty-first century: the Iranian theocratic revolution and the Chinese market revolution. "The Shock of the Global" examines the large-scale structural upheaval of the 1970s by transcending the standard frameworks of national borders and superpower relations. It reveals for the first time an international system in the throes of enduring transformations.

Leaders in Need of Followers: Emerging Powers in Global Governance

Abstract: In the last decade, policy-makers, the media and academic research have been increasingly discussing the new role of emerging powers in the world economy and in global governance. Countries such as Brazil, China, India and South Africa as well as Germany, Japan and Russia have been assigned a greater influence in economic as well as political matters in their regions and in world politics. Often labelled as ‘regional powers’, ‘middle powers’ or ‘would-be great powers’ (Hurrell 2006; Nolte 2006), ‘uncertain powers’ (Maull 2006: 281), and ‘new titans’ (The Economist 2006), these countries are today widely perceived as pivotal states in international relations. The reasons for the assignment of a new role and often of increased power to these states are their demographic and geographic size, their economic and military capacities and their political aspirations. The countries defined here under the rubric of ‘emerging powers’ dominate their neighbours in terms of power over resources, that is, population, territory, military capacity and gross domestic product. In addition, they articulate a wish to change the distribution of power in the international system and to assume leadership roles in global governance.

How Enemies Become Friends: The Sources of Stable Peace

Abstract: List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi CHAPTER ONE Stable Peace 1 CHAPTER TWO From International Anarchy to International Society 16 CHAPTER THREE Anglo-American Rapprochement 73 CHAPTER FOUR Rapprochement: Supporting Cases 112 CHAPTER FIVE Security Community 183 CHAPTER SIX Union 284 CHAPTER SEVEN Making Friends and Choosing Friends 389 Bibliography 415 Index 431

Systemic pressures and domestic ideas: a neoclassical realist model of grand strategy formation

Abstract: Scholars in international relations have long known that ideas matter in matters of international politics, yet theories of the discipline have failed to capture their impact either in the making of foreign policy or the nature of the international system. Recent reengagement with the insights of classical realists has pointed to the possibility of a neoclassical realist approach that can take into account the impact of ideas. This article will suggest that the study of grand strategy can enlighten the intervening ideational variables between the distribution of power in the international system and the foreign policy behaviour of states, and thus constitute the key element in a neoclassical realist research agenda.

Women and States: Norms and Hierarchies in International Society

Abstract: Momentous changes in the relation between women and the state have advanced women's status around the globe. Women were barred from public affairs a century ago, yet almost every state now recognizes equal voting rights and exhibits a national policy bureau for the advancement of women. Sex quotas for national legislatures are increasingly common. Ann E. Towns explains these changes by providing a novel account of how norms work in international society. She argues that norms don't just provide standards for states, they rank them, providing comparative judgments which place states in hierarchical social orders. This focus on the link between norms and ranking hierarchies helps to account better for how a new policy, such as equality for women in public life, is spread around the world. Women and States thus offers a new view of the relationship between women and the state, and of the influence of norms in international politics.

The Forum on China- Africa Cooperation (FOCAC)

Abstract: The increase in China’s economic and political involvement in Africa is arguably the most momentous development on the continent since the end of the Cold War. This book seeks to detail the origins, structure, workings and activities of The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and its development over the last nine years. Mindful of the growing realisation that Africa is to play an increasingly important role in global energy politics, Ian Taylor provides a clear and detailed overview of an organisation that has been generally overlooked, despite the exponential rise in the importance of the Chinese presence in Africa. Topics addressed include: the key structures, functions and operations of the FOCAC the importance and development of the triennial summits, including the focus on cultural exchanges and economic cooperation the key criticisms and challenges currently faced by the FOCAC discussion of ‘emerging issues’ – is it possible to have a "win-win" situation between Africa and China, as the FOCAC suggests? The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation provides a concise introduction to an organisation that will be instrumental in the future of Africa’s relationship with the developed world, and will be of interest to students of African and Chinese politics, International Relations and International Organizations.

Making global markets: Historical institutionalism in international political economy

Abstract: As dramatically evidenced by the global financial crisis, the interaction of domestic regulatory systems has significant international consequences. Nevertheless, these relationships have received only limited attention from international relations scholars. This special issue, therefore, provides a detailed examination of international market regulation – the processes through which the domestic regulatory activities of states and other actors set the effective rules of internationally-exposed markets. To this end, we borrow and extend on arguments developed by historical institutionalists in comparative politics and American political development. In particular, the contributions adapt two mechanisms – policy feedbacks and relative sequencing – to explain state and bureaucratic preferences over international market regulation as well as bargaining strength in relevant negotiations. In addition to contributing to central IPE debates about international economic governance, the individual contrib...