The Western Balkans: The Ultimate Test for the European Union
Despised by Bismarck as ’not worth the life of a single German solider’’ and described by Churchill as ‘having too much history to consume’’, the region of the Western Balkans is returning to the agenda. The EU and the USA must step in and show that they are up to this ultimate test of bringing the last remaining non-EU island into the orbit of the Union and NATO.
The effect of domestic politics on foreign policy decision making
Foreign Policies are designed with the aim of achieving complex domestic and international agendas. It usually involves an elaborate series of steps, in which domestic politics plays an important role. Additionally, the head of the government in most cases is not an individual actor. Foreign Policy decisions are usually collective and/or influenced by others in the political system.
Is terrorism morally distinctive from war?
There is a clear moral distinction between terrorism and war; in the plights of terrorism, more individuals can be considered morally culpable for the state of affairs they are reacting to and so the concept of innocence, or what constitutes a non-combatant to use just war terminology, is greatly reduced when compared to that of war.
MIL to MIL
One of the most under-studied, and perhaps most over-promoted, aspects of American foreign policy is the so-called Mil to Mil Relations, the cultivated ties the US military has with foreign militaries. These Mil to Mil Relations consist of military training and liaison exchanges, joint exercises, and senior level consultations.
From Westphalia to Tehran: International Secularism and Iran’s Theocracy
International Relations is currently facing a global religious revival. Tehran’s foreign policy reflects the pluralism of the regime’s political-theological discourse. Westphalian assumptions promote an ignorance of this pluralism and lead to the incorrect assumption that a theocratic Iran is incompatible with international stability.
Can China be Defined as an Authoritarian State?
The People’s Republic of China was formed in 1949 from a country crippled by poverty, internal and external conflict, and has grown into one of today’s economic superpowers. Modern China can be defined as an authoritarian state. However, socialism with Chinese characteristics is a far better way of describing China’s unique system of government and economy
Constructivism: An Introduction
As a form of reflectivist critique of the scientific approach to the study of social sciences, constructivism was initially developed as a mostly interpretive metatheory. Its substantial and wide-ranging influence perhaps derives from the fact that what is says seems to be just common sense. Its insights apply to our individual experiences in life; as individuals our identities change over time and so do our interests.
The Study of Modern Intrastate War
As many as 30 million people have perished in intrastate wars since 1945, with nearly 50 million displaced. Human rights violations during intrastate war – including rape, systematic torture, displacement, sexual mutilation, genocide, and the exploitation of child soldiers – have caused great misery. As a consequence, there is a need for more effective ways of controlling and transforming the devastating effects of intrastate war to be unearthed.
What Will Become of North Sudan?
In the words of one local human rights activist, the new North Sudan is going to be a very nasty country. This matters because of the company president Bashir keeps: he gave shelter to Osama bin Laden for five years in the 1990s, and he considers Iran’s Ahmadinejad, Hamas and Hizbollah to be his closest ideological and political friends, despite claiming to be an ally of America in the war on terror
Will there be war on Iran? A fresh yet divergent look at an old question
In 2002 Iran was added to the neoconservative-designed ‘Axis of Evil’ and thus declared ripe for US military intervention. Wars are often kicked off accidentally. Indeed, that an incident in the heavily militarised Persian Gulf could be utilised as a casus belli by war profiteers who have overcome obstacles on the political scene is certainly not a matter of sheer fantasy. Urgent action is therefore required to lower the temperatures.
