South Ossetia and Georgia’s aggressive state-integrationism
Georgia has been guilty of aggressive state-integrationism, and, by its unquestioning support for Georgia’s ‘territorial integrity’, the international community fully shares the guilt for the bloodshed in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgia has squandered any moral claim to control the respective territories.
WHOSE MORALE COUNTS?
US Secretary of defense Robert Gates said recently that coalition forces have about a year to turn around the war in Afghanistan, where the Taliban is resurgent, or risk losing support in America.Just a few days later the US military command in Afghanistan announced that action reports will no longer mention enemy casualties
Comparing and Contrasting Classical Realism and Neorealism
The intellectual hegemony of Morgenthau’s classical realism was succeeded in 1979 by the founding father of neo-realism, Kenneth Waltz. Waltz’s attempt to develop a systemic and scientific realism in ‘Theory of International Politics’ divided the school of thought into two blocks: classical realism and neo-realism. But what do these categorizations mean?
Fairtrade: Internationalism by Supermarket?
There now is compelling plausibility for fairtrade. Such plausibility might not be strong enough a reason to determine individual purchasing decisions – but it may prepare the ground for institutional safeguards and legislation that might one day make fairtrade a thing of the past by making sure all trade is fair.
The Global Politics of Intellectual Property Rights in the New Millennium
For nearly two decades I have been researching and writing about the global political economy of intellectual property rights (IPRs). In that time, intellectual property has moved from the margins of contemporary global politics to become an issue that most, if not all commentators and analysts recognise as being an important subject of political contest and disagreement.
The development of Human Rights in Communist China
Since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, its Communist Party leadership has repressed dissident political views and organized political opposition. Nevertheless, today’s China is not the China during the rule of Mao Zedong (1949-1976), when people were persecuted and imprisoned not only for what they said, but for who they were.
Underdog Emerging: Cambodia’s Development in the 21st Century
Small developing countries that have been historically caught up in great power politics often seem to be exotic destinations for travel books rather than concrete places. Cambodia is one such example. As an insignificant part of the international system, it is difficult to appreciate what is happening there without seeing it for yourself. But Cambodia is a microcosm of development, and the changes that are happening there by no means trivial.
Diplomacy and Russia’s de-democratisation
Russia is no democracy, nor will it become one anytime soon. The concern of most is now how to deal with the external power projection of an apparently consolidated authoritarian state. So the pertinent question for outsiders is not now ‘what kind of state is Russia’, but ‘how do we deal with Russian foreign policy?’
Cartoons and International Relations
Perhaps the energetic young folk running this interesting website might run more IR cartoons and, who knows, the ISA or BISA might invite cartoonists to talk on their takes on our world.
Oil, Security and US Involvement in West Africa
In recent years, the United States has been quietly increasing its presence in West Africa with a variety of declared humanitarian interests. Discussion as to the ‘true’ motivations vary, from the need to shore up its role as global hegemon in the face of Chinese advances, to attempts to neutralise the territory as a base camp or staging ground for terrorists, to the need for new desire for US goods. The most pragmatic of the ‘true’ motivations offered is the need to secure oil supplies.
