Regions

The West, Islam and Modernity

Sebastiano Sali • May 12 2010 • Essays

The relationship between West and Islam is more relevant than ever. The terrorist attacks in the US and Europe at the beginning of the new millennium, seemed to confirm the ideas expressed by Samuel Huntington and Francis Fukuyama. However, critical engagement with such issues requires a deeper understanding of West, Islam and Modernity, avoiding essentialist definitions of single sets of well-defined and separated ideas.

Why is examining public EU attitudes such a complex task?

Amber-Jayne Daniels • May 10 2010 • Essays

Examining public EU attitudes is so complex because of the diverse sources of the EU public opinion and the incomplete structure of the EU itself. There is no European polity, no holistic conception of what it means to be a European citizen and no European-level social culture.

The persistence of military domination in Myanmar

Mark Dearn • May 6 2010 • Essays

Myanmar’s post-colonial era is characterised by the domination of the military as the key actor in the state’s politics over the 62-year period since British rule ended. Democratic elections have only once resulted in the installation of a civilian-led government in Myanmar. Indeed, the country offers a counter-argument to the conventional wisdom among political scientists that ‘military rule is the shortest form of authoritarian regime in the developing world’

Contradicting Norms of Secession in the Balkans

Richard White • May 4 2010 • Essays

Ethno-nationalism has become a potent force in international and domestic politics. Gradually, norms have developed favouring a right of self determination for national groups seeking self-government.

The Use of Dehumanizing Rhetoric in the War on Terror

Ryannon MacLeod • May 3 2010 • Essays

Does George W. Bush’s rhetorical framing of the “War on Terror” conform to standard discourse regarding the practice of dehumanizing one’s enemies in times of war?

The EU Strategy Towards the Developing World

Alexander Papadovassilakis • Apr 27 2010 • Essays

Regardless of whether increased EU influence comes purely from self-interest or is solely fixated on the goals of the Cotonou Agreement, it is clear that the EU has altered its strategy towards the Developing World.

How independent can Australia’s foreign policy be?

Antony Lewis • Apr 26 2010 • Essays

The independence of Australian’s foreign policy will never be absolute. It can only become more independent through possibility thinking rather than being “weighed down by myths of past centuries”, including the taking of a more flexible, independent line in its bilateral relationship with the United States.

The EU Enlargements of 1995 and 2007

Alex Campbell • Apr 23 2010 • Essays

The enlargements of 1995 and 2007 demonstrate that even a small number of additions to the EU require deeper alterations to its institutions.

Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Obsolescence of War

Xavier Mathieu • Apr 23 2010 • Essays

One of the last major books about war in international relations is paradoxically a book forecasting the end of the object it analyses. Retreat from Doomsday: the Obsolescence of Major War by John Mueller was released in 1989 and has become a classic reading making the author one of the most influential authors on the topic of war.

An Analysis of Colombia’s Democracy

Roberto Lorente • Apr 15 2010 • Essays

This paper will focus on the question whether the emergence of democracy in Colombia can be explained based on the assumptions of the ‘sequentialist’ or ‘preconditionist’ theories as suggested, amongst many others, by Fareed Zakaria or Edward Mansfield and Jack Snyder, or if, by contrast, the views of ‘gradualists’ or ‘universalists’ such as Sheri Berman or Thomas Carothers are more indicated to explain and analyze Colombia’s democratic past, present and future.

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