History Commons^™

Beyond Anarchy: The Complex And Chaotic Dynamics Of International Politics, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

Realism has been the most influential theoretical approach in international relations since the discipline was born. Yet realism, for all its popularity, has always been criticised for its narrow world view of a system of states all seeking power, security and survival in a world of anarchy. Additionally, realism has struggled to provide explanations for some of the major events and evolutions in world politics. The timing of the outbreak of wars, the disappearance of superpowers and trends of regionalisation are all inadequately explained by realism, leaving the critic to ask, simply, why?

Dylan Kissane answers this question by going …

Mapping International Chaos, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

Mapping is inherently a subjective and exclusionary practice as the cartographer decides which elements of the world are included and which can safely be ignored. Similarly, when an international relations theorist describes a new theory it is necessary to define the elements which are essential to understanding the complexities of an international political system, explain why other elements have been excluded and justify why those decisions were made. The subjective nature of theorizing international affairs and the necessary exclusionary practices in which the theorist engages mean that the arguments supporting a new theory of international relations must be rather stronger …

(Not So) Special Relationships: Explaining Alliance Behaviour In The English Speaking World [Relaţii (Nu Atât De) Speciale. Explicarea Comportamentului De Alianţă În Lumea Vorbitorilor De Limbă Engleză], Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

ENGLISH: Throughout the 20th century the major powers in the global Anglosphere often found themselves allies in armed conflict. These war-time alliances – sometimes temporary, more often part of a longer term cooperation – are sometimes held to arise because of common histories, common values, similar national ideologies and similar notions of international right and wrong. Indeed, the political rhetoric surrounding declarations of war has often cited such factors as colonial history, international friendship and “special relationships” as motivators for joining armed coalitions against third party states. Yet while there stand stark examples of these major English speaking powers acting …

(Not So) Special Relationships, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

CEFAM Cutting Edge #1 (18 November 2010 / B-316 / 15h)

Do the English speaking countries have a special relationship? If one English speaking country becomes involved in a war do others rush to assist them? What explains why English speaking countries sometimes stand as one but other times stand alone? This presentation takes the 20th century as a case study of Anglophone (non)cooperation and explains why national interests will always override international friendship.

Anglosphere United? Examining And Explaining 20th Century Wartime Alliances In The English Speaking World, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

Throughout the 20th century the major powers in the global Anglosphere often found themselves allies in armed conflict. These war-time alliances – sometimes temporary, more often part of a longer term cooperation – are sometimes held to arise because of common histories, common values, similar national ideologies and similar notions of international right and wrong. Indeed, the political rhetoric surrounding declarations of war has often cited such factors as colonial history, international friendship and “special relationships” as motivators for joining armed coalitions against third party states. Yet while there stand stark examples of these major English speaking powers acting entirely …

Moving Beyond Anarchy: A Complex Alternative To A Realist Assumption, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

Realist international relations theory is the most influential theoretical approach in the discipline of international relations. Within the realist paradigm there are several realist approaches. Various approaches, including classical realism, neorealism, offensive realism, neo-classical realism, and game theory, are part of the realist paradigm but some make different theoretically relevant assumptions, notably about international politics, international actors and actors’ motivations.

The first part of this thesis seeks to demonstrate how, despite their other differences, a fundamental assumption that anarchy determines the nature of international politics is characteristic of realist theorists as notable and different as classical realists Thucydides, Niccolò Machiavelli, …

Offensive Realism And Central & Eastern Europe After The Cold War, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

At the end of the Cold War, John Mearsheimer published the article, “Back to the Future: Instability in Europe after the Cold War”. The widely-cited piece included four predictions for the post-Cold War European geopolitical landscape founded on the theory of offensive realism, the realpolitik approach that Mearsheimer had established and developed over more than a decade of scholarship. However, the emergence of a post-Cold War and pan-continental peace suggests that something was wrong with Mearsheimer’s predictions and, by implication, the theory that informed them. This article argues that Mearsheimer’s mistake was to rely on a theory that assumed the …