Six months ago the US military was being praised by many security specialists as finally having gotten it – understanding that its future was counter-insurgency best practices which means nation building under fire from insurgents in the world’s toughest neighborhoods. Yes, it had taken a while, but the military’s top leadership had finally seen the light.
An analysis of Thomas Hobbes’ the ‘Leviathan’ will focus on introducing the importance of the state of nature as an image of life without government. By using contemporary examples, the aim is to illustrate how states behave in the international paradigm in terms of ensuring self-preservation.
Francisco de Vitoria, a theologian of the 16th century and core writer of the Renaissance, questions our understanding of international affairs and, thus, International Relations as an academic discipline. He leads us to think about the ambiguity of the norms of the contemporary international system, and of international law.
For more than a century, the overwhelming majority of greenhouse gases have been emitted by advanced industrial states. Recently, however, China has assumed the top spot in annual emissions. On a per person basis, of course, China still trails the global leaders by a good distance.
This essays discusses the ways in which four prevalent different definitions or spheres of sovereignty, have challenged the traditional notions of sovereignty since the early 1990s. These are; domestic sovereignty, interdependence sovereignty, international legal sovereignty and Westphalia sovereignty.
Al-Qaeda’s External Operations Unit has traditionally been the sole arm of the organization to conduct terrorist attacks in the international arena. Its last successful attack took place in London on July 2005. All subsequent attempts to carry out attacks have failed. Recent intelligence suggests new attacks may be imminent.
I believe in making security a lighter, more fun topic. In this quest to bring stand up comedy to what is basically a sit down field, I offer the following new ideas in part gleaned from conversations with colleagues who surely will not mind my skipping the attributions.
Celebrities, both in the world of entertainment and business entrepreneurship, are vibrant and embedded actors on the global stage and as such, need to be taken seriously as a component of International Relations. Rather than being viewed as an unanticipated intrusion that diminishes the discipline, taking celebrity diplomacy seriously reveals IRs rich capacity for inclusion and adaptation.
Fundamental problems, both structural and political, continue to characterise the EU-NATO relationship as one of ‘contending coalitions’. Yet, recent shifts in the attitudes of major actors coupled with success in simultaneous operations suggest there is potential for a ‘strategic partnership’ to emerge.
HIV/AIDS a poses serious threat to public health around the globe. Africa in particular has suffered from the ravages of HIV/AIDS for decades and attempts at containing and eradicating the disease have missed important groups within African society.
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