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The politics of military deployments: contestation of foreign and security policy in the Netherlands International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2024-03-18 Richard Sonneveld
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A new cold war?: The case for a general concept International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2024-03-06 Barry Buzan
This paper argues for cold war as a general concept for IR that is necessary to understanding the twenty-first century world order. It distinguishes between hot and cold wars as types of war. It rejects the view that the term should be reserved for the 1947–89 event, and it argues that we are already in a Second Cold War. Its definition of cold war ties it to weapons of mass destruction, which means
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The regional powers research program: a new way forward International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2024-02-24 Miriam Prys-Hansen, Derrick Frazier
This introduction to our special issue on Revisiting Regional Powers examines ways in which the study of regional powers can enhance our ability to understand the dynamic nature of the international system today. The article, first, summarizes and highlights how the study of regional powers remains relevant to the broader discipline of international relations but also indicates that there remains much
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The Council of Europe, Russia, and the future of European cooperation: any lessons to be learned from the past? International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2024-02-20 Klaus Brummer
The Council of Europe (CoE) was among the first Western institutions to open its doors to Russia after the end of the Cold War. However, during Russia’s membership (1996–2022) hopes of socializing the country into the CoE’s standards, norms, and principles in the areas of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law never materialized. While the CoE’s norms and principles nowadays need to be secured
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From wages for housework to self-care: feminist perspectives on the care economy International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2024-02-14 Anna Moser
This article argues that privatization of health care since the 1970s has created a paradox whereby a neoliberal discourse of ‘freedom of choice’ masks the fact that it is increasingly difficult to make good choices when it comes to caring for oneself and for one’s loved ones. Part one historicizes this paradox by examining the pioneering international feminist movement Wages for Housework. I argue
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Adam Watson and the structure of the Cold War international society: power structure versus social structure International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2024-01-29 Yannis A. Stivachtis
Nowhere can Adam Watson’s contribution to English School literature be observed better than in his seminal work, The Evolution of International Society, in which he argued that Cold War global international society included two separate sub-global international societies led by the USA and the Soviet Union, respectively. Despite his acknowledgement that the newly established states that emerged from
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Small power strategies under great power competition International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2024-01-22 Ciwan M. Can
This article presents a theoretical argument, defined as tension theory, to explain how the strategies of small powers during eras of great power competition are influenced by (i) the level of tensions between the great powers, and (ii) the availability of a great power ally. The explanatory power of tension theory will be demonstrated through a re-examination of Norwegian, Swedish, and Finnish diplomatic
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Assembling international society International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2024-01-20 Tristen Naylor
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A thin debate: comparing the conflicting political narratives of the UN security council and general assembly on the Gaza Strip from 2006 to 2018 International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2024-01-19 Chen Kertcher
The UN reform movement calls for the UN Security Council to be changed. The underlying assumption is that it will create thicker decision-making that will allow more views on the causes of, dynamics of, and solutions to conflicts. This paper adopts a comparative analysis of three cycles of narratives in the UN Security Council and emergency sessions of the UN General Assembly when both bodies debated
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What Watson can teach us about war and order: revisiting The Evolution of International Society International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2024-01-10 Charlotta Friedner Parrat
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Havana, Moscow and international crises: implications for asymmetry International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-12-29 Mervyn J. Bain
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The right and justice of subsistence wars as necessity: a Grotian account International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-12-19 Masakazu Matsumoto
Subsistence wars revolve around the use of force exercised by those faced with hunger, deprivation, and other survival crises. This idea has been formulated as an act emerging from the right of self-defense in the ethics of war literature. Alternatively, this study attempts to conceptualize and justify it with the notion of the right of necessity derived from Hugo Grotius. The structural difference
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Racism and global war in world politics: As obvious as it is ignored International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-12-19 Errol A. Henderson
Contemporaneous theorizing of the Howard School of IR theory on the role of white supremacism in WWI implied a more general relationship between racial imperialism and global war, which we examine in this essay. Taking as its point of departure Rosenau’s (1970) admonition that mainstream IR seemed to ignore issues of racism in world politics even as a ‘surfeit’ of models existed that were applicable
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Whose anxiety? What practices? The Paris School and ontological security studies International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-12-11 Gabriella Gricius
The field of international security studies drastically evolved over the last few decades. Critical security studies emerged as one trend, seeking to make explicit statist orientations of traditional security studies, the Paris School being one such branch, highlighting the role of security professionals and the importance of studying repetitive regimes of practices. Other security trends tilted toward
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Global War and the Racial Imaginary International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-11-15 Alexander D. Barder
In my contribution, I want to show that Henderson’s essay opens a crucial reexamination of the nexus between histories of racial violence, genocide and the social imaginary of the West. Rather than taking for granted the idea that the formation of, and institutionalization of, the modern European/Western state-system constituted as a rational political and legal order—insofar as it circumscribed violence
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The cause of congressional oversight effort in US arms sale plans International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-11-12 Hoshik Nam
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The praxis of Azmi Bishara: envisioning and building toward the liberation of Palestine International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-11-10 Andy Clarno
Azmi Bishara’s new book, Palestine: Matters of Truth and Justice, brings together historical, political, and strategic analyses that Bishara developed from the 1990s to the late 2010s. The book provides clear-eyed critiques of the Zionist settler colonial project, its evolution into a system of permanent apartheid, and the long-term challenges facing the Palestine liberation movement. Current debates
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Settler colonialism, memory politics, and the Trump–Netanyahu deal International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-11-06 Nadim Khoury
Azmi Bishara’s Palestine: Matters of Truth and Justice is essential reading for understanding Palestine today. Initially, the book was supposed to be an English translation of a lecture on what Bishara calls the Trump–Netanyahu deal. Fortunately for the English reader, the lecture is now upgraded with eight chapters that build on decades of Bishara’s political and intellectual engagement with the question
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Portugal in the nuclear realm: a case of broad ‘multilateralization’ International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-11-02 Sandra Fernandes, David Silva Ferreira
Nuclear proliferation and nuclear disarmament have regained centrality in the global security agenda. The weakening of existing regimes and the search by a growing number of states to acquire or extend their nuclear capacities have contributed to shape recent developments. This paper analyses how Portugal’s foreign policy orientations, grounded on its Euro-Atlantic identity with a global vocation and
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Introduction: the settler-colonial framing of Palestine—Matters of Justice and Truth International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-10-31 Tariq Dana
As the publication of this forum coincides with the unfolding bombs raining down on the Palestinians of Gaza, the book in question gains heightened significance. Against a backdrop where global audiences are witnessing real-time, genocidal actions by Israel against the Palestinians, contextualizing these horrific events is crucial. An in-depth understanding of the current reality and potential future
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Russia as a hybrid threat to Moldova in the context of the Russian–Ukrainian war International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-10-21 Martin Solik, Jan Graf
Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022 has largely shaken Europe’s existing security architecture. The neighbouring Republic of Moldova, home to a Russian military contingent, has also expressed concerns about its security. These soldiers are stationed in Transnistria, a de facto state on Moldovan territory. Based on the field research conducted, the present article aims to clarify
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Not a solution but a struggle: anticolonial connectivity and steadfastness against replacement International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-10-17 Timothy Seidel
In Palestine: Matters of Truth and Justice, Azmi Bishara offers a broad overview of the history and current situation in occupied Palestine. In this article, I focus on the political (theo)logic that has shaped much of that history and continues to shape the militarism and settler colonialism Bishara describes with analytical depth. We might call these political theologies of replacement. And as Bishara
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Beyond the pendulum: situating Adam Watson in International Relations and the English School International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-10-16 Filippo Costa Buranelli
Among the founding figures of the English School of International Relations (ES) and the British Committee (BC), Adam Watson is perhaps the least studied and researched. How, for example, did his past as diplomat informed his Weltanschauung and his understanding of combining theory and practice? How did his academic relationship and friendship with other members of the BC and colleagues shaped his
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Foreign aid, soft power, and domestic government legitimacy: experimental evidence from South Korean aid to Indonesia International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-10-11 Jae Hyeok Shin, Young Soo Kim, Han Il Chang
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Humanitarian rebels? Rebel governance and international humanitarian engagement International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-10-10 Hyeran Jo, Joowon Yi, Josiah Barrett
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To trust or not to trust? ‘Exit’ approaches in EU citizens’ attitudes after Brexit International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-10-05 Marino De Luca
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Beyond hierarchy: regional orders in the twenty-first century International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-10-03 Ieva Giedraityte
Arguing that current analytical tools are insufficient to understand and compare existing and emerging regions, this article proposes a new typology of regional orders based on the interplay of two differentiation principles: stratificatory and functional. The ‘differentiation-based’ typology distinguishes nine ideal-type regional orders based on the level of domination that regional power has or aims
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The girl powering of global politics International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-09-30 Rosie Walters
Recent years have seen unprecedented interest in girls’ activism, and yet our understanding of their politics is still limited. More broadly, children have largely been absent from International Relations scholarship, despite the centrality of childhood and our understandings of it to global politics. Where they have featured, it is often as victims of phenomena beyond their control, or as the perpetrators
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Authoritarian Norm Contestation and International Broadcasting: RT’ s norm contestation strategy during the Ukraine Crisis International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-09-29 Chang Zhang
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Resisting climate change vulnerability: feminist and decolonial insights International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-09-27 Charlotte Kate Weatherill
In climate politics, understanding and contesting the meaning of vulnerability has proved extremely difficult. On the one hand, it is an increasingly formalised term that means something very specific scientifically and methodologically within the climate change institutions. On the other hand, vulnerability is part of a colonial discursive framework of risk. In this article, I show how contestations
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Hegemonic orders and the idea of history International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-09-27 Aaron McKeil
This article makes the case that the literature of hegemonic orders and debates on the crisis of US hegemony have been shaped and up to a point intellectually confined by a tradition or idea of world history understood as a series of hegemonic powers. This tradition of history as a succession of hegemonic powers is traced from ancient to modern sources, later reconstituted as a theoretical discourse
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Decentring the English School: challenging the boundaries of Eurocentrism in the work of Adam Watson International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-09-27 Jacinta O’Hagan
There are growing calls to address the Eurocentrism of classical English School (ES) scholarship and to adopt more holistic frameworks of analysis, which include alternative, non-Western forms of international order and interactions with the European international systems. This article investigates Adam Watson’s contribution to ‘decentring’ the ES. Two dimensions of Watson’s work speak to this objective
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Defence industrial power: understanding the UK’s post-Brexit role International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-09-26 Rebecca Lucas, Benedict Wilkinson
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State–society relations and foreign policy change: suggesting a Gramscian method to link the national with the international International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-09-22 Yong Sub Choi
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The Eastern Partnership initiative: challenges of assessing performance and new geopolitical realities International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-09-22 Maryna Rabinovych, Anne Pintsch
The article discusses the theoretical and empirical challenges of assessing performance of the EU’s Eastern Partnership policy with a special focus on the future of the policy amidst Russia’s war against Ukraine. Based on the contributions to the respective Special Issue the concluding article discusses contemporary developments at the crossroads between EU Studies and the studies of performance, the
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A tax like any other? Rebel taxes on narcotics and war time economic order International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-09-21 Zachariah Mampilly, Jose Antonio Gutierrez
The relationship between illicit drugs and war has long captured attention. While scholars and policymakers often claim that involvement in the drug industry corrupts the politics of armed groups, rebel organizations argue that involvement in the drug industry is no different than other sources of funding. Based on fieldwork across multiple sites in Colombia, we argue that involvement in the drug industry
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Let sleeping bears lie: an analysis of the factors behind Indonesia’s response to the Russo–Ukrainian war and its implications for the Indo-Pacific region International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-09-20 Leonard C. Sebastian, Keoni Marzuki
This article discusses Indonesia’s pragmatic reaction to the war by adopting an equidistant foreign policy with both Russia and with Ukraine. It contends that three factors have shaped Indonesia’s response, namely Indonesian leaders’ perceptions and priorities regarding the country’s economic interests and its position as the President of the G-20; strategic ties with Russia; and bottom-up societal
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Humanitarian logics in the evolution of international society International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-09-14 Olivia Nantermoz, Aslihan Turan
This paper argues that humanitarian logics have been integral to the constitution and historical evolution of international society and its primary institutions. Whilst Watson was chiefly interested in the raison de système which brought states together in the consolidation and preservation of an international society, he did not dedicate as much attention to how humanitarian concerns have historically
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Brexit and ‘Global Britain’: role adaptation and contestation in trade policy International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-09-14 Michelle Egan, Mark Webber
Brexit has led to major changes in UK trade policy after decades of collective trade agreements and regulatory alignment with the European Union. Following the 2016 UK referendum on EU membership, the idea of ‘Global Britain’ was touted as the central goal in securing policy autonomy and regulatory independence with respect to trade, rooted in a strong sense of liberalization unencumbered by the perceived
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Avoiding and exploiting the tragedy of the commons: fishing, crime, and conflict in the South China Sea International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-09-13 Kristi Govella
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Diplomatic complexity and long-tailed distributions: the function of non-strategic bilateral relations International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-09-12 Andreas Nishikawa-Pacher
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Not Just hydrocarbons: Japan’s multifaceted foreign policy approaches towards the GCC states International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-09-08 Kazuto Matsuda, Nikolay Kozhanov
This paper argues that in spite of the prevailing belief that the relations between Japan and the GCC states are primarily driven by the hydrocarbon trade, the Japanese authorities’ efforts to strengthen their ties with the GCC states are determined by a more complex set of factors. These include not only Japan’s energy security, but also its non-energy economic interests and geostrategic factors.
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Elite clubs as career elevator? Mixed evidence from the Bilderberg Group International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-08-25 Lukas Kantor
This article is the first systematic examination of the proposition that politicians can foster their careers through affiliations with transnational elite clubs. Focusing on the Euro-Atlantic Bilderberg Group, I provide preliminary evidence in support of the proposition. I argue that politicians invited to the exclusive meetings gain valuable contacts, insider information and probably some backing
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Arrighi’s pendulum: (Re)reading The Evolution of International Society in the twenty-first century International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-08-17 Rowan Lubbock
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Our rule is only temporary: promises of the military after a coup and their influence on domestic and international reactions International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-08-12 Taku Yukawa, Masafumi Fujita, Kaoru Hidaka, Kaori Kushima
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Between ambition and ambiguity: reconsidering Watson’s discussion of (semiperipheral) marcher states International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-08-12 Ipek Z. Ruacan
This contribution focuses on Adam Watson’s concept of ‘marcher states’ used in The Evolution of International Society. With origins in the historical sociology literature on state formation, marcher states are distinguished by their innovative nature and have characteristically exerted a significant influence on another international system in history. I trace this concept across Watson’s work and
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The coexistence of nationalism, Westernization, Russification, and Russophobia: facets of parallelization in the Russian invasion of Ukraine International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-08-09 Björn Boman
Parallelization theory complements earlier concepts in cultural and political history by focusing on the coexistence of seemingly contradictory patterns in various localities, such as segregation/integration of migrants in Europe and the USA, polarization/hybridization in Korea and Ukraine, and secularization/the resurgence of religions in countries like Malaysia and Sweden. The current article examines
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Rebel actors and legitimacy building International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-08-04 Margaret McWeeney, Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham, Leo Bauer
Contemporary conflict studies often cite actor “legitimacy” as a key mechanism linking rebel actors to a variety of outcomes, including civilian targeting, recruitment practices, and war termination. This article advances a conceptualization of legitimacy as a dynamic process of triangulation among rebels, their potential local constituents, and the international community. Rebels derive or lose legitimacy
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The determinants of the European Union’s selective approach to trade sanctions in Southeast Asia International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-08-02 Angela Pennisi di Floristella, Daniela Sicurelli
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George W. Bush’s religious-moral convictions and the legacy of PEPFAR International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-07-30 Anisa Heritage
Launched by George W. Bush in 2003, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is hailed as one of ‘the most significant moments in the history of global health policy’ (Fidler in PEPFAR’s Impact on Global Health is Fading, 2018). Twenty years on, there is now scope to revisit the legacy of PEPFAR and Bush’s personal commitment to HIV/AIDS relief in sub-Saharan Africa and to re-evaluate
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Determined diplomacy: land, law, and the strategic outreach of self-determination governments International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-07-27 R. Joseph Huddleston
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British environmental foreign policy identity post-Brexit: environment and climate policy International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-07-26 Charlotte Burns
Since the 2016 referendum on leaving the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK) government has been keen to persuade commentators and stakeholders that Brexit will not be bad for the UK’s environment. Rather in line with the role of Britain as a great power, the government has suggested that when it comes to the environment the UK can be a global superpower, leading other nations in its pursuit
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Assessing performance of the EU-Armenia cooperation on the rule of law and judicial reform: policy resilience and relevance perspectives International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-07-19 Anna Khvorostiankina
Focusing on the case of the EU-Armenia cooperation on the rule of law and judicial reform, this study contributes to the EaP performance assessment based on the five-element conceptual framework developed by Baltag and Romanyshyn (Int Polit, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-023-00475-3). To trace the behaviour of the policy in the context of recent internal and external challenges and characterise
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Explaining the “cult of toughness”: in-group fear, Kennedy’s reputation for weakness, and the Berlin Crisis of 1961 International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-07-16 Seanon S. Wong
In late-July 1961, US President John F. Kennedy announced a major military buildup over the dispute with the Soviet Union in Berlin. But why? The USA was superior militarily, and many Western leaders and policymakers considered the Soviet threat overblown. I offer an explanation for the puzzle: widespread fear among Kennedy and members of his administration, opposition leaders, the press, the diplomatic
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Identity, status and role in UK foreign policy: Brexit and beyond International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-07-16 Mark Webber
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Beyond the neoconservative legacy in American counterterrorism policy: from George W. Bush to forever war International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-07-16 Rubrick Biegon, Tom F. A. Watts
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The diplomacy of ‘Global Britain’: settling, safeguarding and seeking status International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-07-15 Amelia Hadfield, Richard G. Whitman
Brexit has induced a diplomatic reorientation on the part of the UK. In the post-referendum period, the UK has sought both to re-make its relationship with Europe (mainly through negotiating a position as a third country to the EU) and to reset its broader foreign and security policy objectives beyond Europe. This article explores how this has been pursued through the reinforcement of Britain’s identity
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Rebels and the form of rule: lessons from empire International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-07-15 Ryan D. Griffiths
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Post-9/11 US thinking and approaches to nuclear deterrence: the Bush Doctrine and the role of nuclear weapons in US deterrence strategy International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-07-15 James Johnson
Charting a course through US administrations from the late 1990s to the present day, this article considers the George W. Bush administration’s thinking on nuclear deterrence in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 9/11: What was distinctive about the Bush administration’s thinking and approach to nuclear deterrence? To what extent, and to what effect have the Bush administration’s approaches
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Multi-alignment and India’s response to the Russia–Ukraine war International Politics (IF 1.164) Pub Date : 2023-07-15 Raj Verma
India’s policy of ‘neutrality’ in the Russia–Ukraine war is explained by its policy of multi-alignment which seeks to maximise India’s national interests and retain strategic autonomy. India has taken a ‘neutral’ stance because the Modi government highly values India’s strategic partnership with Russia and believes Moscow will play a significant role in India’s rise as a global power. India’s Indo-Pacific