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Generations in World Politics : Cycles in Us

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Generations in World Politics : Cycles in Us GENERATIONS IN WORLD POLITICS : CYCLES IN U.S. FOREIGN POLICY, THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE “WEST,” AND INTERNATIONAL SYSTEMS CHANGE 1900-2008 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Tim Luecke, A.B. Graduate Program in Political Science The Ohio State University 2013 Dissertation Committee: Alexander Wendt, Advisor Richard Herrmann Randall Schweller © Copyright by Tim Luecke 2013 ABSTRACT In this dissertation, I examine the explanatory value of the concept of “generations” and the role of political generations in foreign policy and international politics. In the wake of the attacks on September 11, 2001, the economic recession of 2008, the “Arab Spring,” and the “Occupy Wall Street” movement, debates over the emergence and possible effects of new generations have increased dramatically. Yet, despite the fact that several scholars in the field of International Relations have either pointed towards the potential importance of generational processes or even used the notion of generations in their own research the concept has not been conceptualized in a systematic manner. The dissertation fills this gap in the literature in two steps. First, I resolve the definitional problems surrounding the concept of generations by arguing that a generation in its most abstract form constitutes a temporal unit of analysis that locates individuals or groups in the process of time. This temporal location is constituted by the nexus of individual life stage (i.e. age) and collective history and it fundamentally shapes the political worldviews of those who occupy it. Based on the concept of generations, I ii develop a theory of political generations, which I define as cohorts in the age of youth that develop a generational consciousness and distinct political worldview in response to a set of formative experiences. Political generations become either “radical” or “traditional,” depending on whether they perceive their formative experiences as evidence of the failure or success of the prevalent political culture. Whereas radical political generations will strive for political change, traditional political generations will reproduce the culture of their predecessors. I argue that radical and traditional political generations alternate across time and thereby explain cycles of change and stability in foreign policy and/or international politics. In the empirical chapters, I apply this theoretical framework to explain cycles of change and stability in foreign policy and at the level of the international system. The first empirical chapter shows that cycles between radical and traditional political generations explain (1) periods of foreign policy change and stability and (2) the timing of shifts between extrovert and introvert foreign policy moods in the United States from roughly 1900 until 2008. In the second empirical chapter, I argue that political generations have become increasingly transnational phenomena due to the spread of mass media and changes in communications technology. Focusing on Western civilization, the chapter shows that increasingly transnational political generations have constituted a main causal mechanism for the diffusion and political evolution of liberalism over the course of the last century and have played an important role in the construction of the “West.” iii For Emma iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Even though we might often think that writing a dissertation is a lonely journey, a project such as this would not have been possible without the professional help and personal support of a great number of people. While I obviously take full responsibility for any shortcomings and flaws that might still bedevil this manuscript, the following people and institutions have been crucial in bringing this project to fruition. First of all, I want to thank the members of my dissertation committee, Alexander Wendt, Richard Herrmann, and Randy Schweller, who have been incredibly supportive over the years and who have helped me patiently to navigate the treacherous paths of this project. Rick’s expertise in the field of Foreign Policy and his high standards for empirical research provided a welcome challenge and helped me to keep my feet on the ground. Randy’s unwavering support for this project and his intellectual input proved crucial for this dissertation. He was the first person to suggest that I consider the generation as a unit of analysis and he constantly pushed me to try what others deemed nearly impossible. However, there is no one who deserves more credit for the intellectual contribution of this dissertation, and the least blame for its mistakes, than my advisor Alex Wendt. Alex provided me with the intellectual freedom to pursue this project wherever it would take me, even if that place would sometimes be “nowhere.” As a v scholar, his own willingness to take on the “tough questions” in international relations and social theory has been a tremendous inspiration. As an advisor, Alex has been almost selflessly supportive throughout these years, no matter, if I was facing personal calamities or “intellectual crises,” and the value of his comments and feedback for my work can hardly be overstated. In short, this dissertation would not exist and I would not be the scholar and teacher that I am today without the help of Alex Wendt. In addition, I owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to my colleagues and friends in the United States and abroad. This includes especially John Oates, who gave me the initial idea to work on the concept of generations, Eric Grynaviski, Alexander Thompson, Emilie Becault, Mike Neblo, John Mearsheimer, Dane Immermann, Seva Gunitsky, Burcu Bayram, Joshua Kertzer, Sarah Watson, Srdjan Vucetic, Jason Keiber, Isaac Krabbenhoft, Rob Casselman, David Traven, Xiaoyu Pu, Zoltan Buzas, Bentley Allan, Ted Hopf, Bear Braumoeller, Ken Meier, Darin Culler, Greg Damiani, Ariel Wilson, the staff at Café Apropros, who kept me well-fed and caffeinated, Lena, Greg Rowe, and my friends Fares, Rachel, Max, Gabi, Malte, Lara and many others in Germany. My thinking about this project has been greatly stimulated by comments and feedback from my undergraduate students here at OSU, many of whom I decided to “torture” with early drafts or conference papers about my research. My current “bosses,” Duncan Snidal, Chris Reus-Smit, and Alex Wendt, the editors at International Theory, deserve my gratitude for giving me all the flexibility I needed during these last months and weeks of finishing this project. And a very special thank you goes out to Jennifer Mitzen, who has vi supported me as a friend and as a colleague in countless ways since my time as an undergraduate at the University of Chicago and throughout my time here at OSU. My scholarly career and this dissertation have been tremendously advanced and further motivated by the organizers and participants of the 2009 Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research in Syracuse, NY. Funding for my attendance at the Institute was provided by the Political Science Department at OSU. I also received great feedback from panel members and the attending audience at the American Political Science Association’s annual meeting in Toronto 2009 and benefited from comments on a paper I presented at the International Studies Association’s annual meeting in San Diego in 2012. I also want to thank my interviewees, former foreign minister of Germany, Hans- Dietrich Genscher, Dr. Christoph Zöpel, and Dr. Ludger Volmer to make room in their crowded schedules in order to sit down with me for extensive personal interviews about the role of political generations in post-WWII Germany. Those interviews constitute an invaluable source of evidence, not only for this dissertation, but also for future research. I therefore gratefully acknowledge the help of Andreas Lücke, who organized the interview with Mr. Genscher, and the financial support from the Mershon Center for International Security Studies here at OSU, which allowed me to conduct these interviews and research in Germany over the course of 2010. Finally, none of this would have been possible without the support of my family; my grandmother Gertrud, my wonderful daughter Emma, who is the sunshine in my life, my sister Nora, who is always there when you need her, and most importantly, my vii parents Anke and Georg. Without their moral support throughout these tough years of graduate school, their endless encouragement, and their never-ending confidence in me, this dissertation would have never been written. viii VITA 1979 ………………………………… Born in Cologne, Germany 2004 ………………………………… A.B. in Political Science, University of Chicago 2006-2008 ………………………….. Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant, Ohio State University 2008-2012 ………………………….. Graduate Research Associate, Ohio State University 2012-Present ………………………. Managing Editor for International Theory FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Political Science Specialization: International Relations ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………. ii Dedication ………………………………………………………………………………. iv Acknowledgments …………………………………………………………………….... v Vita ……………………………………………………………………………………. viii List of Figures ………………………………………………………………………….. x Chapter 1: Introduction ………………………………………………………………... 1 Chapter 2: A Theory of Political Generations and Generational Change……………… 31 Chapter 3: Generational Cycles and U.S. Foreign Policy, 1900-2008………………… 86 Chapter 4: Transnational Generations, the Construction
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