Why Do States Mostly Obey International Law?
To explain why states are compelled to justify their behaviour according to norms, the best approach is to interpret the issue as a process that considers all theories.
How ‘Westphalian’ is the Westphalian Model?
The accepted IR narrative of Westphalia is a myth: the Westphalian model has little, if anything, to do with the Peace of Westphalia from which the model gets its name.
Have the Norms of Sovereignty Altered to Provide for Humanitarian Interventions?
The only humanitarian interventions that seem to be widely accepted are those authorised by the Security Council under the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
Libya: The Moral Permissibility Of ‘Operation Unified Protector’
The jus ad bellum principles show that the intervention in Libya was justified, and offers an example of how to respond to the idea of civilian protection.
Is Microcredit an Effective Policy Tool For Promoting Women’s Empowerment?
MC Interventions do not promote women’s empowerment. Women in the developing world do not only experience a cash flow problem, but are caught in complex systems of subordination and inequality.
Should Rationality Be Defined Instrumentally?
Self-defined as neutral and objective, Rational Choice Theory nonetheless gives misleading accounts of individuals’ rationality by denying the historical aspect of individuals within social structures.
What Light can Constructivism Shed on the EU?
Constructivism plays a vital role in EU governance, while rational choice is an ineffective research tool that can be absorbed by the broader diagnostic approach offered by constructivism.
Evaluating Religious or Linguistic Conflict Through the State
Structural forces within a state and the extent to which powerful elites make the boundaries of ethnic difference salient will determine whether the state will experience conflict.
Public International Law – A Liberalist View
The focus of international law has traditionally been inter-state relations. But this classic conception fails to adequately deal with contemporary circumstances.
Hope and Habermas
Habermas’ theory of communicative action is fundamentally subjective and therefore weak as a critical social theory, but provides the international community with hope for prospective change.
