Essays

Geopolitics and Historical Materialism in International Relations

James Wilhelm • Aug 27 2010 •

Marxism has not, since its original formulation, considered IR and its concepts worthy as an object of study in its own right. Therefore, over 150 years after the publication of his major treatises, there is a sense that Marx’s project needs to be revised to account for this world of states.

Social Movements, Development Projects and the Corporate Media

Rebecca Dixon • Aug 22 2010 • Essays

The media can be a highly useful tool for agencies and individuals involved in development projects. It can be used to raise awareness of the problems they are working to overcome, to apply political pressure, and to gain financial or material support. Unfortunately, at times the way that the media and the way that development projects function often come in to conflict, especially for corporate news outlets

Contending Dialectics: Revisiting Material and Ideational Dimensions of Sovereignty

Jan Lüdert • Aug 13 2010 • Essays

The state is understood to constitute the primary institutions holding sovereign authority. States, however, are no longer standing alone on the hill of sovereignty, which other actors have come to the climb, claiming their own sovereignty vis-à-vis the state.

The Role of Reason in the Northern Ireland Peace Process

Imogen Baxter • Aug 10 2010 • Essays

What is deemed ‘reasonable’ is not abstract and objective, but malleable. Due to this conflicting definition of what was ‘reasonable’, it became impossible for the warring sides to be reconciled.

Are Large Companies at the Heart of a New Form of Transnational Hegemonic Order?

Alistair Cubbon • Aug 9 2010 • Essays

The propagation of liberal economic policies by states, particularly the US, paved the way for the globalisation of finance and production which enabled Transnational Corporations (TNCs) to share power with states and other actors. States are no longer the only important actors domestically or internationally.

The uses and misuses of psychological practices in order to achieve national security objectives

Pamela-Suzanne Dawson • Aug 2 2010 • Essays

In recent years, there has been an increase in interest in how Security Services around the world operate. The interrogation of prisoners and claims of torture by certain agencies have been widely condemned. Being able to demand Fairtrade chocolate has led many to believe that there is a possibility of Fairtrade intelligence and national security

Population Exchange and Identity Formation: The Case of Post-Partition India

Somdeep Sen • Aug 2 2010 • Essays

The close association of population exchange and identity formation has been particularly evident in the case of India. Its independence and partition created two states and peoples, thus redefining the concepts of ‘us’ and ‘them’ in the region. This pivotal event, having ensued more than six decades ago, continues to determine the dynamics of inter-state relations in the subcontinent and impact upon national identities

Does Regionalism Challenge Globalization or Build Upon It?

anon • Jul 29 2010 • Essays

Whilst the globe may be ‘shrinking’ with the advancement of technology and increasing interdependence, numerous weaknesses and unaddressed atrocities remain lay within the system of ‘globalized’ international relations. This paper argues that in response to the many faults the system of ‘globalization’ contains, a new form of regionalism has arisen in the world to address what global multilateralism can not.

A Study of Self-Help in Anarchic International Systems

Aaron Francis O. Chan • Jul 27 2010 • Essays

The debate between “rationalists” and “reflectivists” has emerged as a central axis of contention in International Relations (IR) theory. Rationalists treat sovereign states as rational, self-regarding units, leading both Neorealists and Neoliberal Institutionalists to conclude that anarchic conditions create a “self-help” international system. Reflectivists, a broad church that includes postmodernists, critical theorists, and other anti-positivists, see no automatic link between anarchy and self-help.

Elites vs. Institutions in Peacemaking

Ondřej Roztomilý • Jul 22 2010 • Essays

In the contemporary world, the role of elites is crucially important in every political system and every phase of state development, and forms the deciding factor in settling ethnic conflicts and post-conflict reconstruction. This paper will be based on two recent conflicts, Northern Ireland and Bosnia and Herzegovina, culminating in the Good Friday Agreement and Dayton Accords, respectively.

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