International Relations Commons^™

Excerpt: Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse, Shelley Rigger

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Taipei 101, the blue-green glass tower that reigned for six years as the world’s tallest building, is everywhere in Taiwan. Its image appears on advertisements, magazine covers, brochures, guidebooks, and billboards; the soaring structure itself is visible from nearly everywhere in Taipei City. As ubiquitous as Shanghai’s Oriental Pearl TV tower—and considerably more graceful—Taipei 101 has become the iconic image of contemporary Taiwan.

Soft Power With Chinese Characteristics: Promoting Creative Industries While Maintaining Political Control, Thomas Glucksmann-Smith

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

On October 15-18th 2011 during the latest Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee, China’s leaders discussed ways to make China a ‘culturally strong nation’ (文化强国) and defined strategies to enhance China’s international soft power. This meeting coincided with tax evasion charges laid against China’s world renowned artist Ai Weiwei—charges he now plans to challenge.

Ai Weiwei, recently described by Art Review as the ‘world’s most powerful artist’ would, in any other nation, be regarded as a perfect diplomat for his country’s cultural industries. But, for China’s CCP leaders Mr Ai’s political activism and provocative behaviour has gone too …

The Ister: Between The Documentary And Heidegger’S Lecture Course Politics, Geographies, And Rivers, Babette Babich

Articles and Chapters in Academic Book Collections

The Ister, the 2004 documentary by the Australian scholars and videographers, David Barison, a political theorist, and Daniel Ross, a philosopher, appeals to Martin Heidegger’s 1942 lecture course, Hölderlins Hymne «Der Ister»and the video takes us «backward» as the river flows: beginning from the Danube’s delta where it ends in the sea and «journeying» with it to its source in the Alps.

the value of the Barison/Ross documentary for both political theory and philosophy is its illustration of the technological incursions or assaults on the river itself, that is to say: its representation of the ‘uses’ and hence …

Changing Tunes For Public Diplomacy: Exploring The Domestic Dimension, Ellen Huijgh

Exchange: The Journal of Public Diplomacy

The era where public diplomacy could turn its back on its domestic public and look solely towards the international stage has ended. Even so, the clash of opinion continues over whether public diplomacy ought to include a domestic dimension. The paper aims to explore this understudied facet of public diplomacy while drawing attention to issues pertinent to further research. It argues that despite the challenges of breaking with conventional mindsets, moving beyond “new” public diplomacy requires a more holistic approach to public engagement in foreign policy.

The Relation Of Theories Of Jurisprudence To International Politics And Law, Anthony D'Amato

Faculty Working Papers

In this essay we shall be concerned with the real world relevance of theories of international law; that is, with the question of the theories themselves as a factor in international decision-making. To do this it is first necessary to review briefly the substance of the jurisprudential debate among legal scholars, then to view some basic jurisprudential ideas as factors in international views of "law," and finally to reach the question of the operative difference a study of these theories might make in world politics.

Ambivalent Sovereignty: Inquiries Into The Dual Foundation Of Political Realism's Subject, Paul Timmermans

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ambivalent Sovereignty inquires into the subject of political realism. This subject, sovereign authority, appears to have a dual foundation. It appears divided against itself, but how can realism nonetheless observe legitimate modes of sovereignty emerge? Against the liberal idea that a "synthesis" of both material-coercive and ideal-persuasive powers should be accomplished, within the world of international relations, realism gives meaning to a structural type of state power that is also constitutionally and legitimately dividing itself--against itself. Machiavelli but particularly also other realists such as Hannah Arendt, Max Weber, and Aristotle are being reinterpreted to demonstrate why each state's ultimate authority …

Products Of Their Environment? Nuclear Proliferation And The Emerging Multipolar International System, Jonathan David Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The world is shifting from a unipolar system following the end of the Cold War to a multipolar system that is ushered in by "the rise of the rest." This change in the global structure has led some analysts to predict an increase in nuclear weapons proliferation caused by increased uncertainty and a decrease in alliances and security assurances. Nuclear proliferation, however, will not increase because these types of predictions are founded upon realist assumptions that inaccurately predict the characteristics of the emerging multipolar system as well as inaccurately understanding calculations of states with regard to nuclear weapons programs. I …

Aware: Analyzing The Impact Of An Anti-Human Trafficking Advocacy Curriculum Using Sixth Grade Students In Colorado, Alex Kornelius Monroe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human trafficking is an international problem that penetrates every society on the globe. Trafficking in children for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, and domestic servitude occurs in every state of the United States. Education is key in preventing human trafficking and American students lack proper knowledge of the issue. This study seeks to bridge this shortcoming through the creation and implementation of a holistic anti-trafficking advocacy curriculum that not only informs and motivates students and educators toward advocacy, but also meets Colorado state academic standards. Case studies using sixth grade students in Denver show the impact that …

Accounting For The Role Of The Public In Democratic States' Counterterrorism Policies: A Comparative Case Study Analysis Of Spain And The United Kingdom, Megan R. Cronenwett

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Democratic states are more susceptible to terrorist attacks and yet have the most responsibility to ensure their counterterrorism responses are in accordance with democratic principles. Respect for the rule of law and the freedoms of speech and press are just a few of the principles ingrained in democratic philosophy and likewise, by the very nature of a democracy, democratic states must be held accountable to their citizenries. These factors, however, can be a cause of dissention and can lead to a dangerous overreaction or a disproportionate response by democratic states in their counterterrorism policies, including leading to the very undemocratic …

Resisting The Globalization Of Speciesism: Vegan Abolitionism As A Site For Consumer-Based Social Change, Corey Lee Wrenn

Globalization and Social Movements Collection

Globalization has exacerbated speciesism both socially and economically. Veganism and its subsequent labeling schemes have arisen as an important political site of resistance to growing non-human animal inequality. This paper explores globalization‘s impact on non-human animals, veganism and vegan labeling, as well as important divides within the modern non-human animal rights movement in regards to utopian and pragmatic approaches to alleviating growing speciesism.

Reader Responses: Celebrating Jianbing, Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

[Editor’s note: It seems that quite a few of our readers are as fond of jianbing as we are here at China Beat HQ. This morning’s post on the tasty breakfast dish garnered a number of responses on Twitter (revealing that not everyone is a fan, though all have strong feelings on the jianbing issue), which I’ve collected below, followed by one story sent in by a reader via email. And fellow UC Irvine graduate student Aubrey Adams directed my attention to this basic recipe for jianbing, in case I (or anyone else) wants to attempt making them at home.]

Oppositional Identities: The Military Peace Movement’S Challenge To Pro-Iraq War Frames, Lisa A. Leitz

Peace Studies Faculty Articles and Research

In the United States, rhetoric in support of the Iraq War often focuses on discourses of patriotism and supporting the troops. These discourses hold enormous sway over the American public because of the discursive legacies of the Vietnam War and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In response, members of the peace movement who are veterans, soldiers, and military families stress their military identities during activism. These individuals have organized as an important branch of the U.S. antiwar movement that challenges the pro-war framing of patriotism and troop support by strategically deploying 'oppositional identities.' The oppositional identity strategy involves highlighting …

Soft Power Struggle: Ai Weiwei And The Limits Of Sino-German Cultural Cooperation, Adam Cathcart

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

As an attempt to drain the seemingly endless reserves of paranoia fed by China’s rise, the extension of Chinese “soft power” [ruan shi li 软实力] into Western Europe is one of the more interesting stories of our day. How the Chinese Communist Party uses culture and cultural exchange to shape its image in Europe varies, like any good guerrilla strategy, depending on conditions. In the performing arts, PRC-sponsored groups tour European stages, acting out a meta-drama that pits twirling autonomous-region Uighurs against the ubiquitous Falun Gong-affiliated Shen Yun ballerinas (and their army of granny pamphleteers). Embassy-sponsored photographic exhibits celebrating modernization …

Making Wto Remedies Work For Developing Nations: The Need For Class Actions, Phoenix X.F. Cai

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

At the heart of the WTO lies a set of rules and negotiated trade terms, such as tariffs, designed to promote trade liberalization or the removal of barriers to free trade. When a WTO member nation violates a rule or trade term, the affected nation or nations may bring a complaint under the dispute settlement procedures of the WTO.2 When nations win cases at the WTO, the preferred remedy is that the losing nation withdraws the offending measure or rule. This action is akin to stopping the embezzlement going forward. The remedy is purely prospective. If withdrawal occurs, the suit …

The Olympics In East Asia: Nationalism, Regionalism, And Globalism On The Center Stage Of World Sports, William W. Kelly, Susan Brownell

CEAS Occasional Publication Series

Yale CEAS Occasional Publication Series - Volume 3

Global Human Rights In An Age Of Consumerism, Joel Richard Pruce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation traces the emergence of the global human rights movement, investigates the role of popular culture as a vehicle for mobilization, and critically examines why the movement has failed to adequately politicize its supporters in the process. Beginning in the mid-1970s, a broad shift began to take place in which ordinary people were routinely confronted with human suffering, as conflict and crisis assumed a role as ritualized news events. The public response to these phenomena demonstrated a capacity for solidarity and engagement based on cosmopolitan premises. The inception of a collective ethos of compassion, an awareness of the other …

Degarmo Can Explain The Nuclear Threat, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Immigration And The Extreme Right: An Analysis Of Recent Voting Trends In Western Europe, Andrew Walchuk

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Western European politics have been marked over the last couple of decades by a fierce debate about the place of Europe’s increasingly large immigrant population in society. Across the continent, far-right parties campaigning on nationalistic platforms opposing immigration have seen great electoral success. The debate is undoubtedly becoming more heated as more immigrants pour into the area, and these anti-immigrant parties seem to have established themselves in the political arena. Immigration does not appear to be slowing down at any point in the near future, so what is going to happen to these far-right parties as we move into the …

The Cold War's Last Battlefield: Reagan, The Soviets And Central America, Edward A. Lynch

Books by Hollins Faculty and Staff

"Central America was the final place where U.S. and Soviet proxy forces faced off against one another in armed conflict. In The Cold War's Last Battlefield, Edward A. Lynch blends his own first-hand experiences as a member of the Reagan Central America policy team with interviews of policy makers and exhaustive study of primary source materials, including once-secret government documents, in order to recount these largely forgotten events and how they fit within Reagan's broader foreign policy goals. Lynch's compelling narrative reveals a president who was willing to risk both influence and image to aggressively confront Soviet expansion in …

Late Qing Dreams Of Modernity, Peter Zarrow

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

I would like to alert China Beat readers to a new film, Datong: The Great Society [Chinese title: 大同：康有為在瑞典]. This docu-drama tells the story of Kang Youwei (1858-1927) and to a great extent that of his second daughter Kang Tongbi (aka Kang Tung Pih, 1887-1969).

I found the film a powerful and affecting evocation of a philosopher’s life, and found myself challenged to consider what we make of the past and what it makes of us. The film-maker, Evans Chan, calls Datong: The Great Society a “docu-drama,” since it is based on verifiable records, period photos, and vintage footage—as well …

Straight Out Of Wukan: A Quick Q & A With Journalist Rachel Beitare, Jeffrey Wasserstrom

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Earlier this year, a Beijing-based Israeli journalist named Rachel Beitare contacted me out of the blue to set up an interview about the impact the Arab Spring events might have in China. I ended up impressed by the caliber of the questions put to me, so I started keeping an eye out for her byline, in case she published things in English (much of her work comes out in Hebrew, which I don’t read). I wasn’t disappointed, as before long Foreign Policy ran a smart commentary, ”Guilty By Association,” in which Ms. Beitare looked at the way the Party had …

Bow Before The Portrait: Sino-North Korean Relations Enter The Kim Jong Un Era, Adam Cathcart

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The pigs were being slaughtered in the streets when the news of Kim Jong Il’s death arrived in Dachuan, a small logging village in the mountains of western Sichuan province. Over the immense and extended cacophony of the blood-letting, the retired head of the local bank explained, with a bit of apologetic joy, that the villagers were getting ready for Spring Festival, then turned back to the news from Pyongyang, shaking his head at the retrograde tendencies of China’s Korean socialist brothers.

Book Review: Behind The Gate: Inventing Students In Beijing, Ling Shiao

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

By drawing our attention to the previously unexamined question of space for student activism, Fabio Lanza has successfully remapped the May Fourth Movement, despite the fact that it is perhaps the most well-travelled terrain in historical research of modern China. This is not a revisionist study that seeks to de-center May Fourth in China’s passage from tradition to modernity by looking for pre-May Fourth modern experimentations and the continuity between the late Qing and May Fourth periods. In fact, Lanza travels back to the historical site of Beijing University (hereafter Beida) and the canonical moment of the May Fourth years …

When Things Go Wrong: Village Elections As A Process Creating Contention, Kerry Brown

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

At the heart of the big story of Chinese rural democracy is the many millions of smaller stories of those who have been touched by this immense process. Before looking at village elections, therefore, here is one single story, of one man, who tried to stand in a village election, and of what happened to him. It is concrete experiences of engaging in the whole process of rural democracy like this that give village democracy its tremendous significance and interest. This section is based on papers obtained in Beijing in August 2009.

New Issue Of Twentieth-Century China Available

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The latest issue of Twentieth-Century China should be arriving in subscribers’ mailboxes right now, bringing readers four research articles described below by Chief Editor James Carter in an excerpt from the journal’s editorial:

Ai Weiwei And The “Age Of Madness”: Day Five And Counting, Lionel M. Jensen

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Just over four days after Ai Weiwei’s sudden apprehension by China’s Public Security Bureau, the government has initiated, as is its tireless and terrifying custom, the public process of building a case against the disappeared by alluding to the subject’s “crimes.”

From Monkey King To Mao: Cultivating Online Games With “Chinese Characteristics”, Marcella Szablewicz

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

With 300 million people playing Internet games in China, the question of how these games affect youth has captured the attention of the public and researchers alike. I first became interested in studying online gaming in 2002 when, as a language student in Harbin, China, I discovered the extent to which playing online games in Internet cafés had become a central part of social life for many urban youth. However, like any new technology, the growing popularity of games has also sparked growing fears about their potential to negatively impact society. In recent years the Chinese media has been full …

Book Review: Gourmets In The Land Of Famine, Emily Hill

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Why is “eating in Canton” (shi zai Guangzhou) known as the best in China? Seung-joon Lee’s lively and original study examines the peculiarities and politics of eating in Canton (Guangzhou) from Qing times to 1937. Using a delectable range of materials in Chinese, Japanese, and English, the book offers an illuminating entrée to the culture and political correctness of eating in modern Chinese history. As the author points out, few historical studies focus on food supplies. Many narrative histories of China, for instance, include sections on the Canton-based events of the 1920s when the Guomindang and the Chinese …

Book Review: Mao Zedong And China In The Twentieth-Century World, Jeremy Tai

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Mao Zedong may no longer be the sublime object of desire in China, but in recent decades his image has been continuously invoked and consumed in countless guises – both familiar and new – ranging from pop art portraits to the ubiquitous face of Chinese banknotes, from Cultural Revolution kitsch to the ObaMao souvenirs currently found in tourist traps around China. The reproduction of Mao in his various postmodern manifestations suggests a loss of meaning and depoliticization; at the same time, however, the deep-seated clash between sentimental and polemical cultural representations also makes clear that there is still much at …

On Chinese Mothering And Amy Chua

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Yale Law professor Amy Chua’s article on “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” is still in the top five most-emailed stories at the Wall Street Journal’s website, four days after its publication last Saturday. Chua has attracted a considerable amount of attention with her article (and newly released book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother), which examines Chinese parenting techniques and compares them to Western approaches to raising children: