Essays

Liberal Institutionalism: An Alternative IR Theory or Just Maintaining the Status Quo?

Rebecca Devitt • Sep 1 2011 • Essays

Institutionalism rejects the realist assumption that international politics is a struggle for power in which military security issues are top priority and argues that instead, force is an ineffective instrument of policy. In order to understand the impact of internationalism on IR theory and its criticisms we must first look at its definition and how it differs from realist perspectives.

Belonging to the West: The Early Stages of the Greek Civil War

Panagiotis Bakalis • Sep 1 2011 • Essays

Any research on the Greek Civil War should have three levels of analysis: the international, the regional, and the national. These three terms could respectively be translated into the fragile relationship and power balancing among the Allies; the spread of communist regimes in the Balkans; and the internal struggle for the modernization of the political system, the constitutional issue, and the conduct of free elections.

Representation of Female Terrorists in the Western Media and Academia

Sweta Madhuri Kannan • Aug 31 2011 • Essays

One of the most striking continuities in the history of human societies is the tendency to educe women to their biological and societal roles. Endowed with the arguably greater responsibilities of pregnancy, women have often been made out to be ‘life givers’, ‘nurturers’ and ‘homemakers’, and little else.

Typologies of Islamic Thought

Alex Griffiths • Aug 30 2011 • Essays

Islamic thought defies straight forward typological organisation. Nevertheless, efforts to do so have become an important part of Islamic studies and serve as a key point of reference for any student wishing to understand how writers organise the faith, culture and identity of Islam.

Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations

Holly Flynn-Piercy • Aug 30 2011 • Essays

Despite the wide-ranging and largely valid critiques, Clash of Civilizations continues to affect the thinking of scholars and policymakers alike as the “triumph” of capitalism in the post-Cold War era and a movement towards liberal democracy on a global scale make cultural differences such as language, history, religion, and customs more important as a way to distinguish between different groups

Turkey’s EU Membership and EU-Middle Eastern Affairs

Mieke Molthof • Aug 30 2011 • Essays

As relations between the West and the Islamic world have significantly deteriorated in recent years and the situation in the Middle East appears more and more threatening to the EU, Turkey’s potential role as a soft power for the EU becomes increasingly clear as a bridge between East and West.

Realist and Constructivist Approaches to Anarchy

Miriam Dornan • Aug 29 2011 • Essays

Anarchy is a central concept in international relations theory. Both realism and constructivism, whilst divergent in nature, accept that the structure of the international system is anarchical. However, there is debate as to whether or not the effects of anarchy, such as self-help, can be overcome without fundamentally changing the structure of international politics.

The Importance of Development in Societies Emerging From Conflict

Tom McCarthy • Aug 29 2011 • Essays

In post-conflict environments, the peace achieved is often unstable, facing a wide range of risks which can force a return to violence. The immediate post-conflict stage can be a negative peace, in which whilst overt physical violence may have ended, other political, social, economic and cultural factors that adversely affect human opportunities and quality of life may persist.

Non-State Conflict and the Transformation of War

Sharanya Ravichandran • Aug 29 2011 • Essays

War has not changed inherently; it remains political in nature, and its desired outcomes remain political in nature, as it always has. The emergence of non-state conflict has added a new dimension to war. The use of many aggressive alternative methods, albeit in conjunction with traditional methods, has served to enhance the view that warfare has taken on asymmetrical characteristics.

Has the Chinese Communist Party transformed itself since 1978?

Steven Hawkes • Aug 28 2011 • Essays

The CCP remains committed to maintaining stability and improving its governing capacity to facilitate economic development, and it has done this by means of both ideological and institutional change. Whilst this has proven sufficient in maintaining its dominance, it remains to be seen whether it can adapt to the ensuing socio-economic consequences of its own reforms.

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