The German sociologist Max Weber claimed “the state is the form of human community that (successfully) lays claim to the monopoly on legitimate physical violence.” This is essentially a statement about state sovereignty. This essay suggests that while only the most extreme and systemic examples of a state abusing its power could properly be called state terrorism, the concept is not a contradiction in terms when derived from dominant conceptions of sovereignty.
The Realist emphasis on military strength does not conclusively explain world politics. For a school of thought focusing on power, Realism misunderstands what it means to ‘have power’. The failure of Israel to gain security demonstrates the contextual and contingent nature of power, and how military capacity is not the means to all ends.
This essay aims to discuss the ways in which liberal internationalism provides a more convincing account of international relations than class based approaches. Although the liberal international approach has been relatively successful in achieving its aim of protecting human rights and spreading democratic practices, it is possible to argue that this is a more convincing approach to international relations than class-based approaches.
Hardt and Negri’s ‘Empire’ is heralded as the most successful work of political theory to come from the left for a generation.
For Hardt and Negri, the modern forces of globalization, transnational capital, and the world market have led to the deterioration of the sovereignty the nation-state, which has been replaced by a supranational force, ‘Empire’.
Neo-realist theory has long been at the centre of the debate about security within International Relations. From its origins in Machiavelli and Hobbes, to Morgenthau and classical realism, neo-realism continues to be popular within the discipline, with thinkers such as Waltz and Mearsheimer offering seminal texts that discuss security from a neo-realist perspective.
In the past 25 years 67 states have abolished capital punishment for all crimes, 5 have abolished it for ordinary crimes, and a further 35 states have become de facto abolitionists. This trend is curious because abolition has met with significant domestic resistance in a number of abolitionist states; in many the majority were against abolition. What explains the emergence of the abolitionist norm?
Historically, Australia’s social structure contributed to significant differences in opportunity and outcome between the genders, resulting in prejudice and discrimination against more women than men over time. Whilst there are far fewer examples of overt gender-based discrimination in Australia, the progress towards true substantive gender equality has clearly stalled.
Blame can be placed on citizens, politicians and the media for not adequately fulfilling their democratic role. However, each relies on each other in such a way that makes a healthy democracy impossible if one does not function adequately. Put differently: citizens, politicians and the media are to blame for the crisis in democracy.
Globalisation has become a major topic in the study of International Relations. Almost all aspects of the modern day society have been influenced by it in some way. Problems do not arise isolated any more and thus the solutions for these now have to be found in collective action rather than individual responses.
This essay will critically assess the normative and empirical elements of society, primarily on the international level, which lend themselves to the constructivist brand of theory, focusing largely on the impact of the socio-historical and socio-cultural on state behaviour. It will also address the importance placed on power by Realists and others holding the classical world view.
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