Is cosmopolitain democracy desirable and feasible?
Politically, the EU is far off from being a cosmopolitan polity. This comes down to the fact that political participation does not cross borders. State sovereignty still plays a crucial part in the make up of the EU. Yet, there is a fundamental issue here. Increased democratic functions would need to occur before ever the mildest of David Held’s proposals could become reality.
New Terror or Old News?
The application of sudden non-state actor violence to achieve political goals can be traced far back in history, but terrorism as a transnational and organized activity was first witnessed in Europe by the end of the 19th century. A long-term process of change usually precedes terrorism. Thus terrorism does not occur in stable times or systems, and its effectiveness is dependent on the instability of the framework or society it is practiced in.
How far has the Palestinian ‘right of return’ been the main obstacle to the peace process since 1993?
Drenched in controversy, very few topics inspire such heated historical debate as to why the Palestinian people find themselves displaced and in a state of constant limbo. A failure to address the right of return has provided some groups with a motive to derail the peace plan at all costs.
Cultural awareness and counterinsurgency in Afghanistan
The current campaign in Afghanistan has lasted for over nine years and the Taliban has grown into a formidable insurgency. This paper explains why a lack of cultural awareness condemns counterinsurgency operations to almost certain defeat, and explores the implications for the campaign in Afghanistan.
The Thrust of Wendtian Constructivism
Despite being a state-centrist scholar of international politics, Wendt criticizes neorealists and neoliberals for reifying the structure of states system and taking for granted its ontological and ideational properties, which precludes us from considering and assessing the potentials for structural and institutional change.
EU-US intelligence sharing post 9/11: predictions for the future
This research seeks to explore whether, and to what extent the intelligence sharing has increased between the US and the EU member states post 9/11, and to offer predictions on future trends. Different potential scenarios in future intelligence cooperation are presented, based on the threat of Islamic terrorism to the US and EU.
EU-Russia Energy Relations: Lack of Unity in the Union
Since the 1990s, the European Union has achieved various successes. A key example is the enlargement to include a large number of Central and Eastern European countries. During this time, the EU has also experienced some failures, such as in the case of energy relations with Russia.
Postmodernism and security challenges in the developing world
Postmodernism is “seeking out and challenging the endlessly unfolding relationship between knowledge and power, rejecting metanarratives and the Enlightenment project, and seeing ‘truth’ as a temporary social construction limited in time and space”. But do postmodernists have anything meaningful to say about the security challenges facing societies in the developing world?
Islamic Fundamentalism in Central Asia: Evaluating Uzbekistan’s Response
Ever since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Islam has undergone a revival among Central Asian societies. The hitherto communist and atheist states with arbitrarily imposed constraints on the freedom of worship, started referring to their religious roots as a step in national identity formation.
To what extent is the ‘battle of Sadr City’ a case of Urbicide?
Viewed within the conceptual framework of Urbicide, which posits that cities have become the expressed target of military operations, the battle of Sadr City reveals the inherent objectives of counter-insurgency (COIN) theory — the annihilation of place.
