Essays

Nation States: Stronger in Europe than Elsewhere?

Dumitrache Andrei • Feb 22 2011 • Essays

Europe has imposed its intrinsic identity and revolutionary social and political values and models worldwide, transforming many of them in global standards, shaping the lives of billions of people. It is within the European geographical space that a large number of the world’s greatest empires have developed and some of humanities most valuable technological, spiritual, cultural, economic or political advancements have been achieved.

British and German approaches to European security provision

Flavio Paioletti • Feb 21 2011 • Essays

Britain and Germany are, together with France, the so-called E-3. These the states have most advanced economies of Europe, and from the point of view of European security, face the highest expenses and are provided with the most numerous and best equipped armies on the continent. Each have used the process of European Integration and the development of a Common Foreign and Security Policy to pursue their national interests.

The challenges of post 9/11 politics to the strict prohibition on the Use of Force found in the UN Charter

Cleo Watson • Feb 20 2011 • Essays

The weakening of the prohibition on the use of force since 9/11 has been essentially due to other Articles in the UN Charter which act as loop holes. The USA and its allies have undermined Article 2.4 in the Charter by using Article 51, whereas no punishment (except perhaps the general disapproval of the international society) has been issued.

Does proper respect for human rights require a radical transformation of the international system?

Isobel Voss • Feb 20 2011 • Essays

Pluralist arguments that human rights can be properly respected through the state system are more convincing than cosmopolitan claims because they recognise the diversity of cultures and national systems which exist in the world.

The Legality of America’s Program of Targeted Killings by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Keith Drummond • Feb 18 2011 • Essays

The administrations of President Bush and President Obama have not provided many more details on how they assess just what these targeting practices are or how they operate. While they offer assurances that their procedures meet the necessary requirements of the laws of war in terms of distinction and proportionality, they have not offered any evidence of the actual overview process.

The challenges confronting western intelligence services after 9/11

Maciej Osowski • Feb 18 2011 • Essays

After the attacks there was an automatic shift in intelligence interest from state to non-state actors. Agencies changed from gatherers into hunters, searching for any information revealing possible threat of attack. Compared to standard state targets, Al- Qaeda and other global terrorist groups were more difficult to find, target and spy on due to their mobility.

The politics of bipolarity and IPE in contemporary times

Dana-Marie Seepersad • Feb 17 2011 • Essays

Bipolarity is based on constant tension, which leads to competition, and ultimately, war. International political economy is regarded as the principal focus of the forces of globalization and the main way in which it is transmitted throughout the world. With the end of bipolarity and the disappearance of barriers between people, is the emergence of a unipolar world a world order based on globalisation?

Offense-Defense Theory and the absence of war on the Korean peninsula

Alvyn Ng • Feb 16 2011 • Essays

This essay argues that the absence of a major war between North (DPRK) and South Korea (ROK) does not disprove the offense-defense theory (ODT) because the theory is capable of explaining the prevalence of peace under conditions when the defense has the advantage.

What are the main developments contained within the Treaty of Lisbon?

Dumitrache Andrei • Feb 16 2011 • Essays

The year 2005 has meant a rejection of a viable constitutional project for the European Union. After a reconsideration and political stylization of the Constitutional Treaty, the Treaty of Lisbon was put together and signed by all of the 27 member states on the 13th of December 2007. What developments did it contain?

Does the European Union Need an Army?

Martin Mark Jones • Feb 16 2011 • Essays

There is much discussion between those who believe the EU should remain a wholly civilian (soft) power and those who argue that it should develop a military (hard) dimension. There is also a lively debate between those who seek to develop an autonomous military identity (Europeanists) and those who see Europe’s military future in NATO (Atlanticists). But does the EU need an army?

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