Economic Revival of West Germany in the 1950s and 1960s
The economic revival of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in the two decades following the second world war saw a period of unprecedented growth. This impressive leap in growth figures, which bought about greatly increased living standards for the populace, found its roots among underlying economic conditions, foreign influences and the domestic drive towards competition and consumerism.
The Cost of “Friendly” Espionage Against the United States
As the sole remaining superpower the United States is a natural target for espionage activity for a wide range of nations. Not all of those actively spying against the United States are competing powers, as one might assume. The list of nations pursuing an active policy of intelligence gathering in the US includes strategic competitors such as Russia and China but also holds many of the closest allied states.
Assessing the Success of Self-Reliance: North Korea’s Juche Ideology
The continued survival of the Kim regime at the head of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has been somewhat of a mystery to international scholars. The Juche ideology employed by the regime is at the heart of North Korea’s longevity and its success in providing continued internal legitimacy for the regime.
Review – America’s Allies and War
The most outstanding aspect of ‘America’s Allies and War’ is the systematic and even-handed manner in which it demolishes popular notions of alliance politics, such as the depiction of European NATO allies as free-riding pacifists, whilst making an important theoretical contribution to the burden-sharing literature and International Relations scholarship in general.
Iran: What is the Nuclear Crisis?
The notion of popular sovereignty stands in contrast with Iran’s religious lineage. This dichotomy makes it difficult for the state to materialize its diplomatic goals, which only isolates it from the international system, fueling the need to expand its nuclear program in an effort to ensure national security. It is virtually impossible for Iran to forge successful international relations when it suffers from the national clashing principles of Islamic rule and popular sovereignty.
Is liberalism a force for peace in the world?
The democratic peace theory supports, obscures and excuses the coercion and violence of a liberal expansion policy through its reliance on narrow definitions. The use and construction of the democratic peace theory has mainly been about preserving the peace and dominance of western powers under the guise of spreading liberty and equality.
Why did the Soviets provoke a series of crises over Berlin between 1958 and 1961?
The motivations for the Soviets in provoking the crises of 1958-1961 can, for the most part, be divided into four categories: defensive, economic, the role of the East German communists and external factors. Different historians place varying amounts of importance on each group of factors.
The Responsibility to Protect and Peacemaking
R2P has the potential to operate as a broader norm-based policy framework. As its normative weight increases and its normalization advances, it could enhance local and international institutional capacities to assess and address the risk of atrocities at an earlier stage through primary prevention, ensure robust measures are taken to halt R2P crimes in a more consistent manner, and rebuild societies emerging from conflict.
Russia, China, ASEAN, and Asian Security
Southeast Asia and the South China Sea are now clearly major theaters of rivalry between the US and China, and once again, a cockpit of major international rivalries. ASEAN’s members are squarely in the middle of this rivalry. Meanwhile Russia is trying to run a bluff on China, which will probably only provoke Chinese and Asian mistrust despite the mutual professions of an identity of interest with China.
Social Policy in Post-Reform China
This essay analyses the extent to which social policy reform in China contributed to the overall human well-being of the Chinese citizen. The analyses will focus on the social policy reforms in the two sectors of healthcare and housing. The analytical categories used for assessing human wellbeing are borrowed from the analytical framework used by Chak Kwan Chan and Graham Bowpitt.
