Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Review: The Mainstreaming Of The Extreme Right In France And Australia: A Populist Hegemony?, By Aurélien Mondon, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

No abstract provided.

Pol 210: Issues In International Politics (Spring 2014), Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

No abstract provided.

Review: The Bush Leadership, The Power Of Ideas, And The War On Terror, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

No abstract provided.

Simulating Collective Security Action In International Politics, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

No abstract provided.

Pol 210: Issues In International Politics (Summer 2013), Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

No abstract provided.

Pol 210: Issues In International Politics (Spring 2013), Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

No abstract provided.

The Re-Emerging Dragon, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

Remarks prepared for the CEFAM China Conference, 22 January 2013.

Check against delivery.

Review: International Negotiations: Confrontation, Competition, Cooperation, By Alexander Mühlen, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

No abstract provided.

Review: The Faces Of Terrorism: Social And Psychological Dimensions, By Neil Smelser, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

In the decade since the 9/11 terrorist attacks there have been countless books and articles published that have sought to explain Islamist terrorism and explore policy responses to terrorism from the Muslim world. A smaller sector of the literature has sought to place Islamist terror in its international political context, drawing parallels with terrorism in the Basque country, Northern Ireland and domestic groups in the United States. A smaller sector again seeks to explore not only to describe such terrorism and explore policy responses to it but also to dig deeper and uncover the motivations that drive terrorists and those …

The United States, Iran And The Continuing Salience Of Geography, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

With recent US political and strategic goals unmet after ineffective diplomatic efforts and economic sanctions, some commentators and foreign policy experts have begun urging American strategists to employ military force to effect change in Iran’s domestic and foreign policies. Presumably inspired by American success in establishing a US-friendly regime in neighbouring Iraq, such commentators suggest that a similar strategy of overwhelming military force could overcome the existing military and political structure of Iran and establish a pro-Western regime in its place. Such notions, however, rely on ignorance of one of the most basic elements of Iran: her geography. This ignorance, …

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 …

Revolution In Political Affairs, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

Extract:

"Recognising the marked impact of the internet on both practical politics and the practices of political scientists, it is not too large a step to paraphrase the US Department of Defence and decree the internet a Revolution in Political Affairs. Akin to its military phrase mate, the internet is effecting all areas of political discourse, exchange and public policy while, at the same time, forcing those who study and theorise politics to change their existing ways of thinking, working and imagining their chosen field..."

(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 …

The Ethics Of Tax Evasion: A Quantitative Study Of French Bba Students, Dylan Kissane, Yuriy Barabantsev

Dylan Kissane

The subject of ethical action in business has taken on special significance in recent years. With the business world rocked by ethical lapses and associated scandals at Enron, WorldCom and Tyco in the early part of the decade and then, in a time of global financial crisis, stunned again by multi-billion dollar frauds such as that at Société Générale, there is a new push to study the ethical and unethical behaviour of business people and future business people. While business schools have long been lauded for their preparation of students for the rigours of the world of business, finance and …

(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 …

A Tale Of Two Campaigns: A Comparative Assessment Of The Internet In French And Us Presidential Elections, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

French politicians, like those in democracies around the world, were enthralled by the success of Democratic candidate Barack Obama in the 2008 US Presidential elections. Part of that thrall sprung from the candidate’s embrace of internet campaigning and his use of Web 2.0 tools to communicate his ideas, raise campaign funds and break through to voters that might otherwise not be reached through traditional and mainstream media campaigning. In the wake of Obama’s win, speculation emerged that internet and Web 2.0 campaigning would soon become a key tool in French politics, particularly at the personality-driven and high-profile Presidential level. In …

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, …

Kevin07, Web 2.0 And Young Voters At The 2007 Australian Federal Election, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

While Australian political parties have maintained official websites for some years, the 2007 Australian Federal election saw the first significant integration of Web 2.0 technologies into a national election campaign. The two major parties – the conservative Liberal Party and the socialist Labor Party – both embraced blogs, flash animation, online video and popular social networking sites in an attempt to win votes, particularly in the 18 to 35 year-old demographic. The Labor Party was far more successful in using Web 2.0 and their online efforts were judged to have played a large role in winning the absolute majority of …

Thinking About Power In A Complex System, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

According to many theoretical realists, power in international relations can be measured with attention to material capabilities, the extent influence over other states and even single factors such as military might. Further, for realists the greatest powers in the international system are states or coalitions of states, with international organisations, corporations, transnational groups and individuals barely registering in terms of power in most realist theory. One of the reasons for this state-centricity is the assumption by realists of an anarchic system. Faced with theorising international systemic anarchy, the realists and, indeed, most international relations theorists looking at the notion of …

China: Re-Emerging, Not Rising, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

In late 1993 Nicholas Kristof argued in the pages of Foreign Affairs that “the rise of china, if it continues, may be the most important trend in the world for the next century”. Fifteen years later two things are clear: there is no longer any reason to wonder if China’s rise will continue and the impact of this surge in the East is now clearly the most important trend in international politics this century.

Chasing The Youth Vote: Kevin07, Web 2.0 And The 2007 Australian Federal Election, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

The 2007 Australian federal election was the first in which the online campaign and Web 2.0 technologies moved into the mainstream. Though not the first election campaign where political parties had maintained an internet presence, it was the first in which Facebook friends of party leaders were compared in the mainstream press, the first where YouTube videos became election issues and the first where online interactions between parties and party supporters were reported as real and breaking news. Amongst all of the online campaigning, though, it was the Australian Labor Party (ALP) that was widely recognised as presenting the best …

Forecasting The Storm: Power Cycle Theory And Conflict In The Major Power System, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

Unpredicted and unpredictable storms have cut a disastrous swathe through coastal communities in recent years. If the international relations system can be imagined as a peaceful coast, then conflict is the storm that wrecks havoc upon those in its path. One goal, then, of those within the discipline who study conflict is to forecast these international storms and, in power cycle theory, there exists a method which is of some utility to this end. This paper re-introduces power cycle theory, explaining its components and methodology before introducing the specific changes to the method that are the result of the author’s …

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 …

A Chaotic Theory Of International Relations? The Possibility For Theoretical Revolution In International Politics, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

In describing the nature of the international system contemporary international relations theorists frequently divide themselves into two groups: neorealists and neoliberalists. The neorealists emphasise an anarchical structure, drawing implications from this anarchy to explain the order and disorder that greets the analyst of international affairs. Conversely, neoliberalists favour an explanation that focuses on the interdependence of international actors. Yet the international system of the twenty-first century is not one that can be so simply described as either ‘anarchical’ or ‘interdependent’. Instead, the features of the system can best be described in terms reminiscent of other systems from the biological and …

The Balkan Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

In physics, biology and meteorology, scientists have come to understand that the natural systems they study can be extremely sensitive to small events. The so-called ‘butterfly effect’ is testament to such seemingly insignificant events having significant implications for the wider system. Such knowledge has led to an interest in the natural sciences in both chaotic and complex systems and, in turn, has led to social scientists searching for parallels in the systems they examine. However, within the field of international relations theory, there has been little attempt to move towards such new understandings and away from a fundamental belief in …

The Illusion Of Anarchy: Chaos, Complexity And The Origins Of World War One, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

In physics, biology and meteorology, scientists have come to understand that the natural systems they study can be extremely sensitive to small events. The so-called ‘butterfly effect’ is testament to such seemingly insignificant events having significant implications for the wider system. Such knowledge has led to an interest in the natural sciences in both chaotic and complex systems and, in turn, has led to social scientists searching for parallels in the systems they examine. However, within the field of international relations theory, there has been little attempt to move towards such new understandings and away from a fundamental belief in …

2015 And The Rise Of China: Power Cycle Analysis And The Implications For Australia, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

Research undertaken at the University of South Australia has produced a reformulated power cycle theory which balances both military and economic capabilities of actors, producing a graphical representation of the relative distribution of power. For the period between 2000 and 2030, this model suggests that China will continue to rise in power at the expense of the United States, achieving power parity in 2014 and overtaking the sole remaining superpower in 2015. This article introduces the power cycle method, extrapolates forecasts from collected sampling and suggests implications for Australia of an international environment where its principal ally is no longer …

Curves, Conflict And Critical Points: Rethinking Power Cycle Theory For The 21st Century, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

Power cycle theory, arising primarily from the work of Charles F. Doran, determines a sovereign state’s relative share of total power within a wider system of like states. Using unweighted measures of national material capabilities across five indicators, the power cycle method allows the analyst to estimate the relative hierarchical position of each state in a defined system or set of states, the rapidity of each state’s rise and decline in relative power and to forecast the likely future for each state in the system under review. The mapped ‘curve of relative power’ for a state also allows the analyst …