International Relations Commons^™

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 …

“Nuevas Aproximaciones A La Frontera: El Caso De La Frontera Con Arizona”, Daniel Añorve

Daniel Añorve

No abstract provided.

Inlichtingenondersteuning In Het Kader Van Bevordering En Handhaving Van De Internationale Rechtsorde, George Dimitriu

George Dimitriu

De auteurs beschrijven de ontwikkeling van de rol van inlichtingen bij militaire operaties in de periode 1992 - 2010.

(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 …

The Dutch Coin Approach: Three Years In Uruzgan, 2006-2009, George Dimitriu, Beatrice De Graaf

George Dimitriu

Rarely has a military commitment led to such intense discussion in the Netherlands as the Task Force Uruzgan (TFU) mission in Afghanistan. In February 2010, the Netherlands' coalition government even collapsed after the two largest parties failed to agree on the withdrawal of Dutch troops from Afghanistan later this year. This article deals first of all with the difficult discussion over the Afghanistan mission of the TFU. The authors then subject three ISAF operations to close scrutiny. The authors provide some suggestions to help understand better this pivotal point in the execution of the whole operation and thus give a …

“La Participación Rusa En El Consejo De Seguridad De Naciones Unidas 2009-2010: Convergencia Y Divergencias Con México", Daniel Añorve

Daniel Añorve

No abstract provided.

Decentralizing Culture: The Effect Of Digital Networks On Copyright And Music Distribution, Benjamin Gibert

Benjamin Gibert

The advance of technology profoundly impacts how people interact with culture as the proliferation of digital networks transforms the effects of copyright in modern societies. This paper argues that the oligopolistic conditions of content markets and the legal discourse of intellectual property law have historically enabled copyright holders to promote a limited conception of art and obscure the complexities of copyright theory. While conceptual ambiguity is inevitable in the construction of aesthetic legal categories, current practices impose too many restrictions. The practical choices made concerning copyright in cyberspace will determine the evolution of culture in increasingly networked societies. The music …

Barricading The Digital Frontier: Copyright, Technology And The War On Music Piracy, Benjamin Gibert

Benjamin Gibert

The Internet is changing the way vast numbers of people experience culture today. Providing tools to interact with, manipulate and freely redistribute content, technology is dissolving conventional divisions between creators and consumers of cultural artefacts. As new technological and legislative mechanisms are deployed to stop digital piracy, there is a need to reflect on the meaning of copyright, piracy and culture in the context of digital technologies. This paper discusses the relationship between copyright and cultural participation. It refers to the music industry in order to depict the changing patterns of consumption behavior precipitated by the rise of digital networks …

From Energy Sector Inquiry To Recent Antitrust Decisions In European Energy Markets: Competition Law As A Means To Implement Energy Sector Regulation In Eu, Michael Diathesopoulos

Michael Diathesopoulos

This paper presents the conceptual path followed by European Union, European Commission and European Competition Network, after the Energy Sector Inquiry (2007) towards the realisation of the objective of an Energy Internal Market, fully functional and open to competition. Firstly, we examine the findings of Sector Inquiry and then we describe how the Third Energy Package - that followed - tried to address the issues highlighted by the Inquiry and how Third Energy Package introduces a promising but complex system, in order to develop sector rules. Following the above, we proceed to a brief but close examination of 10 recent …

Capacity Development And Rural Territorial Dynamics (Rtd), Alfredo Ortiz Aragón

Alfredo Ortiz Aragón

The RTD program is based on a set of hypotheses and assumptions regarding the relationships between the development conditions that need to be in place for a rural territorial dynamics vision to be possible, actual rural territorial dynamics on the ground, and the intentions of this particular program to contribute to the emergence of those development conditions by stimulating territorial dynamics. The program characterizes itself as “a research-based policy advice and capacity-development program for rural economic growth, social inclusion and sound environmental governance”. The core objective of this specific short study is “to explore how “capacity building” is being understood …

Artículo “La Transformación Del Concepto “Frontera” En La Transición De La Urss A La Federación Rusa: Implicaciones Para La Supervivencia Del Estado”, Daniel Añorve

Daniel Añorve

La política exterior rusa es juzgada mediante una serie de adjetivos peyorativos en Occidente. El presente trabajo hace un recuento histórico de cómo han concebido los rusos (y los soviéticos) la frontera. La frontera rusa siempre ha estado en continuo cambio, y el país ha sido al mismo tiempo agresor y agredido. Por razones históricas, la frontera soviética fue muy vigilada y controlada por el pcus al punto de volverla casi impermeable. En los primeros años de la transición se dio un relajamiento de la política fronteriza que paradójicamente la volvió no sólo inestable sino que puso a la Federación …

Relational Contract Theory And Management Contracts: A Paradigm For The Application Of The Theory Of The Norms, Michael Diathesopoulos

Michael Diathesopoulos

This paper examines management contracts as a paradigm for the application of relational contracts theory and especially of the theory of contractual and relational norms. This theory, deriving from Macauley's implications, but structured and analysed by I.R. MacNeil gives us a framework for the explanation and understanding of contractual obligations and business relations' rules and practice. After presenting the key literature about the norms theory and especially defining the content of MacNeil's norms, we define management contracts as relations, characterised by a high relational element and we explain why, investigating all their features, which make them a suitable object for …

Democracy Is Indispensable: A Political Philosophy Of Islamic Governance, Muqtedar Khan

Muqtedar Khan

This essay identifies some of the key components of islamic governance to show the compatibility of Islam and Democracy.

Post-Conflict Planning And Reconstruction: Lessons From The American Experience In Korea, Marcus Noland

Marcus Noland

The American experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq have motivated a re-examination of earlier experiences with post-conflict planning and reconstruction. This paper reviews the US experience in Korea following the Second World War and the Korean War; addresses the political economy of establishing institutions of governance in post-conflict situations; considers the issue of “portability”: the extent to which the South Korean experience may reflect unique and irreproducible conditions; and then applies these ideas by comparing the South Korean experience to the contemporary case of Afghanistan. Some conclusions and policy recommendations are contained in the final section.

A Case For Surfacing Theories Of Change For Purposeful Organizational Capacity Development, Alfredo Ortiz Aragón

Alfredo Ortiz Aragón

What are the capacities of an effective social change organisation (SCOs)? Different SCOs may value strategic planning capacities, while others financial accountability to donors, or improved teamwork, or networking capacities. But do the different capacities that SCOs seek purposefully support meaningful social change? How much of what SCOs deem as ‘worth strengthening’ is based on linear thinking, or unhealthy power interests, or what donors want them to want, or a combination of these? This article argues that the capacities that different organisations value are conditioned by a mix of individual, organisational and societal worldviews, including deeply held assumptions on the …

A ‘Systemic Theories Of Change’ Approach For Purposeful Capacity Development, Alfredo Ortiz Aragón, Juan Carlos Giles

Alfredo Ortiz Aragón

In this article we present an emergent capacity development approach that we are developing through participatory action research in Peru and Ecuador which we call “systemic theories of change” (STOC) for organisational capacity development. We argue that capacity development should be understood as systemic learning. The STOC approach promotes reflection about how we as individuals, organisations, and broader social groups and societal configurations, understand how change occurs. This makes it possible to build improved strategic and methodological clarity about how we might continually develop he capacities to contribute more effectively to emergent, social change in highly complex environments.

“El Programa Erasmus Para La Educación Superior En La Unión Europea: Su Lógica Dentro De La Teoría De La Interdependencia” (Primera Parte),, Daniel Añorve

Daniel Añorve

No abstract provided.

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 …

Cv, Shola J. Omotola

Shola J. Omotola Mr

No abstract provided.

İkinci Lübnan Savaşı: Bir Yeniden Değerlendirme, Ali Balci

Ali Balci

No abstract provided.

Political Attitudes Under Repression: Evidence From North Korean Refugees, Marcus Noland

Marcus Noland

What do citizens of highly repressive regimes think about their governments? How do they respond to high levels of repression? This paper addresses these questions by examining the political attitudes of North Korean refugees. Unsurprisingly the evaluations of regime performance are negative, and there is some evidence that they are becoming more so, even among the core political class and government or party workers. While the sample marginally overrepresents groups with the most negative evaluation of the regime, multivariate analysis is used to generate projections of the views of the wider population; this exercise indicates that that the null hypothesis …

Economic Crime And Punishment In North Korea, Marcus Noland

Marcus Noland

The penal system has played a central role in the North Korean government’s response to the country’s profound economic and social changes. As the informal market economy has expanded, so have the scope of economic crimes. Two refugee surveys—one conducted in China, one in South Korea—document that the regime disproportionately targets politically suspect groups, particularly those involved in market-oriented economic activities. Levels of violence and deprivation do not appear to differ substantially between the infamous political prison camps, penitentiaries for felons, and labor camps used to incarcerate individuals for a growing number of economic crimes. Such a system may also …

An Organizational Context For Scientific Data Practices, Kimberly L. Douglass

Kimberly L Douglass

No abstract provided.

The Winter Of Their Discontent: Pyongyang Attacks The Market, Marcus Noland

Marcus Noland

This paper examines North Korea’s recent confiscatory currency conversion and the subsequent prohibition on the use of foreign currency. The regime has made no attempt to veil its motivations: strengthening the socialist economy by directly attacking the market and the independence from state control that it represents. These policies, coming at an inopportune time when the country is facing economic stagnation, spiraling prices, and a resurgence of food shortages will surely reduce economic welfare. The open question is whether they have sown such discord that these moves will ultimately destabilize the country politically as well.

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, …

‘What Do I Get? The Everyday Politics Of Expectations And The Subprime Crisis’, Leonard Seabrooke

Leonard Seabrooke

Were Americans who agreed to subprime loans stupid? This article suggests not, and that individual choices on home loans reflect a welfare trade-off steeped in social norms. These norms provide a range of choices for individuals’ intentional rationality, from which decisions can be legitimated among their social peers. To understand individual choices about taking on a home loan, such actions must be interpreted within the context of the dominant welfare trade-off within a society over how one ensures income over their life cycle. This can be understood comparatively and also over time. This article situates the American experience among other …

The Parliamentary Election In Greece, October 2009’, Iosif Kovras

Iosif Kovras

No abstract provided.