Assessing the Viability of a Complete Environmental Kuznets Curve
Sustained growth cannot be obtained simply through capital inputs. For growth and environmental protection to be compatible, technology must be the driver of growth.
Are NGO Agendas Dictated By Western Assumptions?
The politicisation of NGOs has been widely questioned and their increasing reliance on donor states’ ideologies has pulled them away from their original purpose: immediate relief.
Only Trees have Roots; But Men have Legs: Nationalism’s ‘Exclusionary’ Effects and the Overcoming of Common Misconceptions
The question of what nationalism is, is as essential as what it is not. Nationalism is a multisided phenomenon, not an ideology which is always dangerously exclusionary.
Beyond Westphalia: Rethinking Fundamental Ontology in IR
The limits of the international – of our political imagination – constitute a problem in that we have great difficulty in answering the question: what does it mean to go beyond the state system of Westphalia?
The Inability of the U.S. to Replicate the Al Anbar Awakening in Afghanistan
Success in Iraq was primarily the result of conditions prior to the surge. Acknowledging this, the thesis will argue that in Afghanistan the US is faced with a much bleaker picture.
The Role Played by ‘spoilers’ in Peace Processes
Peace processes are very often lengthy and difficult, many cease-fires negotiated to end civil wars often result in a return to violence, sometimes worse than before. This essay will examine the role of those actors who ‘actively seek to hinder, delay, or undermine conflict settlement’ for a range of reasons and through a variety of methods.
A Child’s Search for Freedom in 21st Century America
In the twenty-first century, slavery still exists in the world despite the widely accepted norm of respect for human rights. Why have some states within the United States been more successful in combatting child trafficking than others?
How can the Theories of Derrida Unbalance the Stable Subject Assumed by Neo-Liberalism?
Within the discourse on development, there has been a fundamental intransigence of neo-liberal principles and attitudes to development. At the heart of this discourse, is a fundamental judgement about the ‘truth’ of human nature. Humans are innately stable, pre-determined entities that generally behave as autonomous, egoistic, utility maximisers. Thus with this ontological question answered the building of structures, be they financial or ones of governance, should be based upon allowing the subject to flourish within this system. At the heart of this is the emphasis of ‘le Politique’, the smooth economic running of things, over ‘la Politique’, the more philosophical debate about how we consider the ontological make-up of people, and if we can even do this.
Is Coercive Diplomacy a Viable Means to Achieve Political Objectives?
Coercive diplomacy is one of the most intriguing and common practices of conducting inter-state relations and embodies the essence of the art of diplomacy: achieving political objectives and fostering a state’s national interest without waging a war. The present essay will first offer a theoretical framework on the notion of coercive diplomacy.
Hidden Victims: The story of sexual violence against men in armed conflict
Sexual violence is arguably one of the worst types of violence, targeting a person’s identity, as well as the identity of his or her group. The psychological consequences often far outlive those of other forms of violence. Progress has been made to address wartime sexual violence against women, yet men remain an under-recognised and under-reported category of victims.
