Number of results to display per page
Search Results
1262. The Ontological (In)security of Similarity: Wahhabism versus Islamism in Saudi Foreign Policy
- Author:
- May Darwich
- Publication Date:
- 12-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- It has long been argued that identity matters in international relations. Yet, how identity impacts enmity and conflict among states remains the subject of debate. The existing literature asserts that differences in identity can be a source of conflict, whereas convergence and similarity lead to cooperation. Nevertheless, empirical evidence from the Middle East has long defied this hypothesis. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which prides itself on being an Islamic model and claims Islamic leadership, has opposed the rise to power of Islamist movements in the Middle East. To address this paradox, this article builds on the growing literature on ontological security to propose a theoretical framework explaining how similarity can generate anxiety and identity risks. This framework, I argue, moves beyond traditional regime‐security approaches to reveal that security is not only physical but also ontological. I then illustrate the argument through a comparison of Saudi identity risks in the wake of the Iranian revolution (1979) and the ascendance of the Muslim Brotherhood to power in Egypt (2012). Ultimately, these cases provide intriguing insights into foreign policy behaviour during critical situations.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Islam
- Political Geography:
- Saudi Arabia
1263. Afghanistan: transition to transformation, National and external stakeholder interests
- Author:
- Ian Dudgeon
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Australian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- On 31 December 2014 Afghanistan will move from a UN-led period of ‘transition’ (2001- 2014) to an Afghan-led and owned ‘transformation decade’ (2015-2024). During transition, the UN has sought to rebuild the basic political, security, economic and societal institutions and infrastructure of Afghanistan, which were all but destroyed by the previous Taliban government, but are essential prerequisites for the restoration of Afghanistan as a functional nation. Transformation will seek to consolidate and build on the outcomes of transition and ensure that Afghanistan achieves the goal of being not only a functional nation, but also a stable and durable nation.
- Topic:
- International Relations and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
1264. II Informe sobre el estado de la cultura en España 2014: la salida digital
- Author:
- Enrique Bustamante
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Fundación Alternativas
- Abstract:
- Han transcurrido tres años desde que la Fundación Alternativas elaboró el primer informe sobre el estado de la Cultura en España. En aquella ocasión, después de hacer un repaso de la situación en los diferentes sectores culturales, se llegó a la conclusión de que nuestras políticas culturales obtenían un aprobado raspado, pues nunca ha sido nuestro fuerte, como país, dedicar la debida atención en medios, al mundo de la cultura. A tenor de este II Informe que, con el título «La salida digital», publicamos ahora, seguramente no obtendría, nuestra cultura, ni tan siquiera un modesto aprobado y quiero dejar claro, con el fin de evitar confusiones, que cuando hablamos de la situación o estado de la cultura no nos referimos a los creadores culturales que los hay en abundancia y de gran mérito, sino a las políticas culturales que se realizan, ya sea desde el ámbito público como privado. He sostenido, desde hace tiempo, que España reúne las mejores condiciones para ser una potencia cultural, aunque solo fuera por ese arma formidable que es su lengua, la segunda más hablada del mundo y con tendencia a la expansión. No obstante, desde los poderes públicos y desde instancias privadas, no se le presta el apoyo debido, ya sea en términos de legislación, de fiscalidad, de patrocinio o institucional. No es normal que en un momento de grave y sostenida crisis económica, como la actual, se haya castigado fiscalmente a nuestras industrias culturales, se haya recortado de manera drástica la inversión en cultura, se hayan deteriorado las condiciones laborales de sus actores o se haya eliminado el Ministerio de las Culturas, por solo mencionar algunos estragos.
- Topic:
- International Relations
- Political Geography:
- Spain
1265. Thomas Kuhn and international relations theory: Realism in 'crisis'
- Author:
- Peter Van Ness
- Publication Date:
- 01-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Australian National University Department of International Relations
- Abstract:
- In 2012, the University of Chicago Press published a special fiftieth anniversary edition of Thomas Kuhn?s influential book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Kuhn, who died of lung cancer in 1996, was a physicist trained at Harvard University and is best known for his work on the history and philosophy of science. His interpretation of the evolution of science and the concept of "paradigm change? have had a major impact on our understanding of intellectual life, both in the physical sciences and in the social sciences. This paper briefly reviews Kuhn?s approach, and then applies it to an analysis of the current state of International Relations theory in a critique of Realism. My argument is that Realism, as what Kuhn would call "normal science? in International Relations theory, is in crisis because of its inability to explain a growing number of anomalies, which in turn can be better explained by a different paradigm, Cooperative Security.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, International Cooperation, Politics, Science and Technology, Political Theory, and History
- Political Geography:
- United States and United Nations
1266. A Perfect Moral Storm: The Ethical Tragedy of Climate Change
- Author:
- Paul Wapner
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- Climate change is the most intractable environmental issue, and Stephen Gardiner has written extensively about it, especially from an ethical perspective. He recognizes that climate change is not merely a technical, economic, or political challenge but fundamentally a moral one. It comes about because people—especially the rich and powerful—are unwilling or unable to care about those on the receiving end of climate hardship. This insensitivity generates complacency, or at least confusion, about how to build institutions and shape widespread behavior in the service of climate protection. A Perfect Moral Storm is Gardiner's most extensive and detailed statement to date on this theme.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Climate Change, and Environment
1267. Recovering International Relations: The Promise of Sustainable Critique
- Author:
- Richard Shapcott
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- One of the virtues of International Relations (IR) as a discipline is that it periodically engages in bouts of reflection upon its methods and directions. Daniel Levine's book is a contribution to this self-reflective practice. Like P. T. Jackson's recent work, The Conduct of Enquiry, Levine's Recovering International Relations seeks to acknowledge the diversity and strengths of various approaches to the study of IR and to simultaneously build something constructive out of this pluralism— in other words, to be both critical of the status quo and yet not reject it altogether. Levine's goal is to “recover” IR's original vocation, or calling, and to reinvigorate it via the idea of “sustainable critique”—a project inspired by the work of Theodor Adorno and the Frankfurt School.
- Topic:
- International Relations
1268. Revisiting the Theory and Practice Debate in International Relations and Foreign Policy and an Idea for a Joint Venture
- Author:
- Yönet C. Tezel
- Publication Date:
- 01-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
- Institution:
- Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
- Abstract:
- The relationship between theory and practice in international relations and foreign policy has been addressed by many on both sides. Despite helpful observations, the exploration has not produced much in the way of conclusive outcomes. This result is not surprising given the fact the theory-practice debate in foreign affairs is inevitably associated with the broader debate about how to properly study organized political/social life when focusing on the role of culture, structure, and choice in international relations. Although juxtaposing the theoretical study of international relations and foreign policy against the practice of foreign/international policy has its discipline-specific traits, it cannot be divorced from the larger ontological and epistemological debates. This essay reminds the reader of several facets of the narrower debate as it relates to the broader one and offers a perspective and ensuing observations from a ‘part taker’ in foreign policy. The essay also includes an idea for a research project that could be used to help overcome some of the putative shortcomings of the field.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Political Science
- Political Geography:
- Turkey and Global Focus
1269. Indo-Pakistan Trade Relations: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Daily Dawn
- Author:
- Noshina Saleem, Sadia Jabeen, Sonia Omer, and Mian Ahmad Hanan
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- South Asian Studies
- Institution:
- Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
- Abstract:
- This paper focuses on the role of discourse indicating socio-political and economic situation of bilateral relations between India and Pakistan. It gives an analysis of 37 articles published in Dawn regarding bilateral trade ties between India and Pakistan over the period of 2 years i.e. june2011 to June 2013. This study is an overview of Dawn’s perspective regarding the changing ties between two nations on the basis of increasing interaction in business sector. Further, the nature of relationship is explained with help of revealed themes and characterization of the words and grammatical features. The article concludes that shift in bilateral relations of two countries is visible in context of increasing trade ties on parallel basis.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Economics, Bilateral Relations, and Trade
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, South Asia, and India
1270. 2nd Annual Suna Panel Discussion: Turkey and the EU: Turning Long-Term Relations into Effective Collaboration
- Author:
- Lenka Peťková
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Global Political Trends Center (GPoT)
- Abstract:
- Commemorating Amb. Suna Çokgür Ilıcak, Global Political Trends Center (GPoT Center) of Istanbul Kültür University in collaboration with the Center for Strategic Research (SAM) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, and the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences (FSES) of the Comenius University in Bratislava organized the second panel discussion held in her memory. Amb. Suna Çokgür Ilıcak, who had passed away while serving as Turkey's Ambassador to Slovakia, played a pivotal role in strengthening relations between the two countries. The panel discussion entitled "Turkey and the EU: Turning Long-Term Relations into Effective Collaboration" took place on March 6, 2014 on the premises of the FSES with the participation of students, academics, local civil society and media representatives, experts and members of the diplomatic corps based in Bratislava.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Diplomacy, Politics, and European Union
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Turkey, and Slovakia