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53921. Reassessing the Logic of Anarchy: Rationality versus Reflexivity

Author:
Ewan Harrison
Publication Date:
03-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Studies Association
Abstract:
Drawing on the insights of constructivism and recent attempts to develop a liberal model of international relations, this paper compares neorealism, institutionalism and liberalism in terms of their competing conceptualisations of the composition and dynamics of the international system. It argues that prominent institutionalists have mistakenly interpreted neorealism as a rationalist model of the international system in order to develop their own arguments countering its central propositions. Rather than relying on rational actor assumptions, neorealism instead adopts a reflexive logic focusing on processes of identity construction and socialisation arising from the generative consequences of international anarchy. Thus whilst neorealism and liberalism differ fundamentally in terms of their assessment of the nature and long term consequences of international anarchy, they may actually be closer to each other in terms of their conceptualisation of system composition and dynamics than neorealism and institutionalism. On the basis of this argument, the paper rejects a 'linear' understanding of the relationship between neorealism, institutionalism and liberalism in which institutionalism is seen as providing the point of synthesis on a spectrum than runs between neorealism and liberalism. Instead, it proposes a 'triangular' understanding of the relationship between these three models of the international system in which the debates between neorealists and institutionalists constitute its rationalist leg, and debates between neorealists and liberals constitute its reflexivist leg. Understood in these terms, liberalism's focus on the generative consequences of international anarchy and the overall trajectory of identity construction and socialisation within the international system is likely to be more productive in the search for a general synthesis of competing theories of international relations than institutionalists' attempts to refine rationalist models.
Topic:
International Relations

53922. Globalization and Its Impact Across Sectors

Author:
Gerald A. Hendrickson
Publication Date:
03-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Studies Association
Abstract:
Globalization is not a topic that immediately attracts the attention of most public administrators. However, understanding the implications of globalization for labor markets across economic sectors can affect the way public sector managers approach personnel planning. This paper attempts to enhance this understanding in three ways. It will carefully examine some of the issues around globalization, subject the ideas from the dominant perspectives to empirical testing and propose alternative hypotheses. In the end, the mission of this paper is to provide some insight into the kind of labor environment that public sector managers will encounter as their plans come to fruition in the future.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
United States

53923. The New Voting Weights in The Council of the European Union

Author:
Madeleine O. Hosli
Publication Date:
03-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Studies Association
Abstract:
The recently started Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) of the European Union (EU) aims at introducing selected institutional revisions. Among these is the issue of how to allocate voting weights among the member states in the Council of the EU, especially in view of upcoming major rounds of enlargement. The paper analyzes implications of different options to re-weight votes -- the 1997 "Dutch Proposal", a shift to the square root rule, and the introduction of a double-majority clause — on the distribution of a priori voting leverage among EU governments. It also assesses the a priori probability that winning coalitions can be formed with enlarged EU membership (i.e., relative "effectiveness") for different voting schemes. In these evaluations, it is assumed that the distribution of preferences among EU governments is not known, especially as regards decisions to be taken in the future.

53924. Nuclear Arsenal Games: Size Does Make a Difference

Author:
Carolyn C. James
Publication Date:
03-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Studies Association
Abstract:
The purpose of this article is to present and establish the significance of the Nuclear Arsenal Game (NAG). The NAG investigates behavior within dyads experiencing a crisis. It assumes that nuclear and quasi-nuclear states act according to the size and potential of their own nuclear force structure and that of their opponent. This paper will argue that the size and potential damage an arsenal poses, set in relation to an enemy state's second strike capability, determines actor preferences within a crisis situation. These preferences include the option of launching a first strike and risking retaliation in kind. The specific objective of this study is to propose a nuclear index for use in empirical studies and offer a game-theoretic model of crisis interaction based on the Theory of Moves (TOM) that encompasses these respective types of nuclear states; and indicates whether preferences and predicted behavior adhere to the assumptions of Classical (or Rational) Deterrence Theory.
Topic:
Security and Nuclear Weapons

53925. The Global Trend of Civil Politics: The World Handbook IV Project

Author:
J. Craig Jenkins, Zeynep Benderlioglu, and Charles Lewis Taylor
Publication Date:
03-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Studies Association
Abstract:
Contemporary discussions of global civil politics provide wildly different pictures of contemporary trends. Some see the end of the Cold War as unleashing a series of ethnic wars, geno/politicides, state breakdowns, rising criminality and a gradual descent into civil chaos (Rosenau 1990; Crevald 1991; Kaplan 2000). Others proclaim an "end of history" with the spread of democracy, capitalism, social peace and growing civility (Fukuyama 1991). Paralleling the latter, some have advanced a “social movement society” thesis (Meyer and Tarrow 1998) arguing that the globalization of civil society has internationalized social movements and protest, creating new transnational social movements and the creation of a truly global civil society. In contrast, others see a narrowing of the civil order with new mini-nationalisms, spreading ethnic intolerance and the rise of new civilizational struggles (Huntington 1996).
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, Globalization, and Politics

53926. Exploding the Value Chain: The Changing Nature of the Global Production Structure and Implications for International Political Economy

Author:
Thomas C. Lawton and Kevin P. Michaels
Publication Date:
03-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Studies Association
Abstract:
Contrary to recent critical thought, something has changed between the globalisation process of the late 19th and late 20th Centuries. There has been a fundamental change in what Strange (1988) defined as 'the production structure'. We begin this paper by examining Strange's notion of the production structure and its place in structural power. We then proceed to discuss the changing process of globalisation and the growth in intermediate products, deconstructing Michael Porter's value chain concept in the process. We argue that, in addition to developments in communications, the 'new globalism' is characterised in large part by changes in the production structure. These changes are facilitated by the advent of e-commerce. For governments to adapt to this new environment, they need to think in terms of how to gain or maintain comparative advantage in a particular part of the value chain.
Topic:
Globalization, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance

53927. Beyond the Basle Accord: Banking Regulation in a System of Multilevel Governance

Author:
Susanne Lutz
Publication Date:
03-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Studies Association
Abstract:
In the 1980s, international banking regulation was thought to exemplify a case of successful regime development. Negotiations at the international level produced a multilateral agreement that established a uniform standard of capital adequacy to safeguard against financial risks. In the following decade, however, a multilevel-model of regulation evolved that accorded greater significance to the cooperation between private and public actors and to the interplay between the international and national levels. In this article, I shall examine the reasons for the transition from the first model to the second. I will argue that the choice of any regulatory approach depends on the conflict situation at hand in which those responsible for regulation find themselves because of the nature of the problem that needs to be solved. Whereas in the 1980s, the problem was a conflict over distribution, which could be resolved through multilateral negotiation, actors today are confronted with more complex forms of financial risk resembling a ‚'game against nature', so to speak . In order to regulate these, actors have replaced negotiation by communication-based learning processes.
Topic:
Globalization, International Cooperation, and International Trade and Finance

53928. Globalization: A Third Way Gospel that Travels World Wide

Author:
Martin Marcussen
Publication Date:
03-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Studies Association
Abstract:
By the end of the 90s, social democratic leaders world-wide have being referring to unspecified processes of globalization when undertaking unpopular domestic reforms of organizational structures and policies. Globalization is overall considered to be an irreversible process to which national politicians will have to adapt in order to avoid future crises. Thus, we can talk about a structural-determinist discourse, or a discourse which is traditionally applied in neo-liberal circles stating that there is no alternative'.
Topic:
Globalization, Government, International Organization, and International Political Economy

53929. Domestic Politics and International Relations in Trade Policymaking: The United States and Japan in the GATT Uruguay Round Agriculture Negotiations

Author:
Christopher C. Meyerson
Publication Date:
03-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Studies Association
Abstract:
This paper is circulated for discussion and comment only and should not be quoted without permission of the author. Linked to efforts to promote trade liberalization through trade negotiations has been the recognition of the need not only to better understand the relationship between domestic politics and international relations in American trade policymaking, but also to analyze more effectively the relationship between domestic politics and international relations in other countries' trade policymaking processes.
Topic:
International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, America, and Israel

53930. State Compliance With International Legitimate Norms: Wildlife Preservationist Pressures On Japanese Fishing

Author:
Isao Miyaoka
Publication Date:
03-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Studies Association
Abstract:
Why do states comply with international norms? The analogy of classical theories on individuals' compliance is useful to understand state compliance with international norms. For example, Friedrich Kratochwil lists three theories related to norm compliance in social life: The Hobbesian or realist position derives compliance with norms from force or the threat of force. A second class of theories explains compliance in terms of the long-term utilitarian calculations of actors, a perspective perhaps best identified with Hume's argument about the nature of conventions. Third is the idealist position of Durkheim, who conceptualizes norms and rules as “social facts” existing objectively and constraining individual choices.
Topic:
Environment, International Law, and Sovereignty
Political Geography:
Japan and Israel