Essays

‘Humane Warfare is a Contradiction in Terms.’ Discuss

Piangtawan Phanprasit • Feb 9 2010 • Essays

The task in this essay is to identify the concept of humane warfare by assessing whether it is contradictory to apply humanity into warfare. This essay will attempt to argue that the term ‘humane warfare’ is definitely and always a contradiction.

A Cold War without Nuclear Weapons

Bleddyn E. Bowen • Feb 4 2010 • Essays

Nuclear weapons increased the state’s destructive power, particularly after the development of thermonuclear weapons, with effectively no limits. With greater destructive yields and shorter delivery times courtesy of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), it is commonly understood that had the cold war turned hot, it would have been the end of civilisation as we know it. But did nuclear weapons keep it cold?

‘One person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter’

Jack Whiteley • Feb 2 2010 • Essays

Terrorism did not begin in 2001, nor is it confined to extremists in the Middle East. Often, those who wish to point out the difficulty in defining terrorism like to refer to an old, now-famous quotation: “One person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter.” Within the complex international system, the line drawn between the two can regularly become blurred or difficult to see: nonetheless, this line still exists.

Deconstructing Dershowitz and his Torture Warrants

Jocelyn Leung • Feb 1 2010 • Essays

Dershowitz does not challenge the general illegality of torture. He argues, however, that all states (whether they be authoritarian or democratic) practice torture extralegally; he considers it to be a lesser of evils to legalise torture and control it rather than allow it to go unchecked and under the radar. This paper intends to invalidate Dershowitz’s argument.

English School and Constructivism: a Model of Cooperation rather than Synthesis

Andrew Blencowe • Jan 28 2010 • Essays

Within the study of IR, there exist competing theories that seek to be the theory that is able to explain the behaviour of states in their interactions with each other. Increasingly important is the concept of synthesizing theories. This paper will seek to establish an example model for the use this “theoretical cooperation,” or division of labour, concept.

International Financial Regulation: “Policy Directives in a Globalized World”

Chris Jones • Jan 27 2010 • Essays

The first goal of financial regulation is to identify areas of systemic risk within the global financial system so policies can be targeted to mitigate the spread of financial crises while creating minimal impediments to market efficiency.

Researching Torture: Positivist and Interpretist Approaches

Pamela-Suzanne Dawson • Jan 26 2010 • Essays

The following paper will firstly introduce the arguments for the Positivist approach to research, which focuses on quantitative methods, and for the Interpretist approach, which focuses on qualitative methods. The second part will apply these approaches to the issue of torture and in doing so will identify and discuss the limitations of applying only one theory or approach to research.

Neopatrimonialism in Contemporary African Politics

Ana Huertas Francisco • Jan 24 2010 • Essays

Neopatrimonialism is the foundation stone for the system which drives African politics. Because it is social accepted, neopatrimonial politics have managed to permeate all political levels, affecting the distribution of resources and distorting development plans and diverting aid funds to ensure the survival of the system.

Of Food Aid and Altruism – The Human Security Paradigm in Theory and Practice

Annette Kufner • Jan 22 2010 • Essays

Fifteen years after its first official promulgation, the human security paradigm requires analysis and evaluation, particularly in respect to its implications for the politics of international food aid.

Chinese Nuclear Policy in the Post-Cold War Age

Neil Braysher • Jan 21 2010 • Essays

Chinese nuclear policy serves their grand strategy aimed at maintaining a calm international strategic environment. China’s nuclear policy is inherently defensive and, excluding proliferation concerns, practically benign. However, one should remember that this does not mean it isn’t based on self-interest.

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