International Theory

Separate but (Un)Equal: Gender Segregated Bus Lines of Jerusalem

Julie Duggan • Jan 19 2010 • Essays

There is a tendency to equate the metaphor of travel and mobility with emancipation and the ability to move freely between cultures or continents. This work examines the implications of gender segregation in Ultra Orthodox communities of Jerusalem, by looking more closely at women’s experiences of the journeys made (both actual and allegorical) between the public and private spheres.

What is at Stake in the Third Debate and Why does it Matter for International Theory?

Dell Marie Butler • Jan 16 2010 • Essays

The ‘postpositivist’ challenge to the ‘empiricist-positivist’ orthodoxy is often considered to be international theory’s ‘Third Great Debate’. This essay investigates whether a new consensus might provide an unproblematic ‘resolution’ to the debate, or if it might (re)create practices which do violence to those silenced.

Disputed Lands: the Rise of Pentecostalism in Latin America

Naomi Conrad • Jan 12 2010 • Essays

The religious story of Latin America under Hispanic rule has long been one of Catholic religious hegemony and dominance. This essay explores the role of the progressive Catholic Church with the end of authoritarian rule in Latin America. It assesses the role that the rise of Pentecostalism played in this decline.

The Political Realism of Thucydides and John Mearsheimer

Philipp Sorgenfrei • Dec 28 2009 • Essays

Thucydides’ and Mearsheimer’s views on political Realism resemble a mirror’s reflection; Displaying the same, yet a closer look reveals their inverse nature. In the course of the following essay, the modern, theoretical image of John Mearsheimer’s Aggressive Realism and its ancient reflection as found in Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War will be extracted, compared and contrasted

Aesthetics and Politics: Tragedy as a Paradigmatic Category

Elisa Narminio • Dec 18 2009 • Essays

Although conceptual boxes strip analysis of depth, how do we live, study and explore the world without any guidelines or pre-manufactured tools? And assuming this to be possible, isn’t tragedy only accessible to the few elites that are read enough to extract the very substance of tragedy that can be useful in our contemporariness?

What does Locke Mean by “Trust,” and Why is it so Important to him?

Tan Wei Kee • Dec 2 2009 • Essays

Trust in the Lockean sense is the embodiment and projection of popular sovereignty. It symbolises the political power and legitimacy that a government which is trusted by the people possesses. A government without trust is akin to a knight without his armour, powerless and redundant. In view of this, it is no wonder that trust is so important to Locke’s construction

Clausewitz: War, Peace and Politics

Jordan Lindell • Nov 26 2009 • Essays

With tactics from Vom Kriege used widely as military doctrine and foreign policy around the world based on Clausewitzian theories such as the paradoxical trinity and the center of gravity, it is apparent that Clausewitz’s lessons live on. Because of this continued application to the modern world, even over 150 years later, it is difficult to disagree with Clausewitz and the concepts of war, peace, and politics set forth in his work.

A Critical Analysis of the ‘Great Debates’ That Structured Traditional International Relations Theory

Niall McCarthy • Oct 26 2009 • Essays

The disciple of international relations, like all the social sciences, needs theories to make sense of the world it is trying to examine. The merits and faults of each school of thought have been contested in what are known as the ‘great debates’.

According to Hobbes, the Laws of Nature “Dictate Peace” and are Simple Enough for Anyone to Understand. Yet “Peace without Subjection” is Supposed to be an Impossibility. Why?

Tan Wei Kee • Oct 15 2009 •

The impossibility of peace without subjection, even though men understand the laws of nature which dictate peace, is due to both the conditions in the absence of a common power and the passions of men. A Commonwealth is vital to provide restraint and security, in order for men to willingly lay down their natural right in favour of the natural laws.

Only Trees have Roots; But Men have Legs: Nationalism’s ‘Exclusionary’ Effects and the Overcoming of Common Misconceptions

Felix Christoph Ohnmacht • Oct 12 2009 • Essays

The question of what nationalism is, is as essential as what it is not. Nationalism is a multisided phenomenon, not an ideology which is always dangerously exclusionary.

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