Essays

Does Terrorism Pose a Real Threat to Security?

Patrick Ervine • Nov 15 2010 • Essays

Terrorism has become the most prominent security issue of the early 21st century and the response of western states to its dangers has also been highly controversial. Terrorism has existed since 66AD with the sicarii in Palestine whose activities “would qualify them as terrorists”. There are also many types of security with traditional and new security having differing views on where the emphasis of security should lie and what security actually is

Guilt and Predation: Europe’s Relations with the Former Colonial World

Christian Walker • Nov 14 2010 • Essays

Whilst the EU has always looked to the future with regards to its outlook and policy directions, there can be no escaping the colonial legacy that Europe forged for itself in the period leading up to the creation of the ECSC in 1947. Special relations exist between each colonial power and its former territories. As a result, this necessitates special relations existing between the EU and former territories of its members

Does Britain bear the primary responsibility for World War I?

anon • Nov 13 2010 • Essays

The sheer chaos of an era said to have required a daily calendar to catch the sense of rising tension between all the capitals makes it seem nonsensical to ascribe substantial blame to Britain. Eyebrows should rightly be raised over Britain’s non-interventionist policy on the eve of war in 1914, despite unconcealed German desires to be the main protagonist in global affairs. Which role did Britain play in the slide to war?

Under what Conditions has the UN been able to use its Chapter VII Powers?

Katharina Remshardt • Nov 13 2010 • Essays

The responsibilities and powers enshrined in Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter are central to the Security Council’s ability to uphold international stability and peace by averting or ending conflicts. So why has the Security Council failed to address a range of major conflicts that have occurred over the past 64 years, although it has successfully dealt with others?

Experimental Insights on Corruption in International Political Economy

Dominic Spengler • Nov 9 2010 • Essays

The conventional understanding of corruption in International Political Economy is limited. Our understanding of corruption can improve through the insights of economic experiments. These offer explanations on the psychological, cultural and moral aspects of corruption, which have important policy implications

What are the main functions of the World Health Organization?

Jacqueline Hope • Nov 8 2010 • Essays

It is now possible for infectious diseases to spread around the globe in a matter of days. The threat of infectious disease brings with it a number of traditional, hard security issues that other health issues do not. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that IR scholars will need to expand their examination of the ways in which the World Health Organization functions beyond the realm of infectious disease

The tent of political realism

Jonas Daub • Nov 4 2010 • Essays

Realism, or to be more precise and to avoid any confusion with the identically named philosophical term, political realism, is one of the most prominent theories in the study of International Relations and has had great influence on both academic thinkers and politicians over many generations. It is a broad and diverse realm, offering a place for various ideas and concepts. As a consequence some writers describe it as nothing more than a big tent, with room for a number of different theories

International Organisations as Complex Systems: Implications for Independence

Aleksandar Gujas • Nov 2 2010 • Essays

There is considerable debate in the academic literature regarding the agency of international organisations. Opinions diverge sharply, from complete autonomy posited by some social constructivists to total IO subservience to states as posited by hardline realists. In truth, the state/organisation divergence is a false dichotomy

Stereotypical Images and Enemy Perceptions in the Greco-Turkish Conflict: Is it Possible to Change Stereotypes?

Nikolaos G. Pasamitros • Oct 26 2010 • Essays

The Greco-Turkish conflict is a product of long-standing traumatic experiences that are based on Stereotypical Images of the Enemy. Both share a complicated mechanism that promotes patriotism by systematically devaluing the “other” via selective education, literature and the media

USA: Status Quo or Revisionist Power?

anon • Oct 7 2010 • Essays

Although the United States’ irrational, and at times, imperialistic actions are seen to be out of the desire to spread American ideals, the superpower in reality is more concerned about the preservation of the global order. The fact that the United States is concerned over not only the security and peace of the world but the betterment of mankind is precisely the reason why the United States is allowed to call itself a status quo power.

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