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Is Pre-Emptive War Ethical?
Cicero claimed that a war is only considered “just” if a demand for the war was addressed to the opponent and that a formal declaration of war was made. However, in reality only two types of war can be judged “just”: a war of self-defence, preventing the damages against an attack presently occurring, and a war of avenging, to punish past harms.
An assessment of Gaddis’ suggestion that MAD secured a ‘long peace’
This essay argues that whilst the destructive power of the atom bomb is significant, its contribution to stability in the latter half of the twentieth century is not. Indeed, it seems more likely that the contribution of nuclear weapons was to make a “long peace” seem less inevitable than it in fact was.
Does Security exist outside of the speech act?
Security is constructed through processes of social interaction, but cannot be defined as existing only within the speech act. Hence, the definition of security in terms of a discourse-action sequence is problematic, inasmuch as it fails to recognise the complexity of the construction of security in global politics.
Consociationalism in the Russian Federation?
There are 170 recognized ethnic groups in the Russian Federation and recent years have seen a number of conflicts between the Federation and regionally-based secessionist groups. One possible mechanism for preventing or resolving these conflicts is consociational democracy but it may not be sufficient to restore confidence in the Russian state among ethnic minorities and it may entrench ethnic divisions.
Soft and Normative Power: The Power of Attraction in International Politics
The strength and spread of cultural interactions between different governments and different people’s will reduce the likelihood of war between nations. As globalization takes its seat as the world’s ruling party, the international system will become a single yet vibrant meeting place.
Making It Happen: A Global Civil Society
A global civil society is not a plan in itself, nor is it a new or futuristic idea. Yet, is part of a greater restructuring of the international system and of our world order. Consequently, as philosophers before our times rightfully attested, the global civil society was founded not merely to preserve the lives of its members; but so that they might live well.
A critique of the theory and practice of R2P
The R2P is heralded by many as making political power more responsible and accountable, both to the domestic citizenry and ‘international community’. It has sought to democratise humanitarian intervention in a way which reconceptualises sovereignty as responsibility and looks to protect the ‘victim other’ from imminent mass death at the hands of irresponsible state power.
European Union Democracy Promotion in the Mediterranean Arena
The actions of the EU in promoting democracy in third countries need to be examined in greater detail. The tangible support (financial, logistical or otherwise) the EU gives to pro-democracy social movements can help us assess just how much the EU acts, or is limited in acting, to promote democracy abroad. In short, if the EU gives direct, meaningful support to such social movements, it could be said to have stopped ‘philosophizing’ and begun to act.
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