Download International Relations Theory: a Critical Introduction Free

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Download International Relations Theory: a Critical Introduction Free INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY: A CRITICAL INTRODUCTION DOWNLOAD FREE BOOK Cynthia Weber | 320 pages | 12 Dec 2013 | Taylor & Francis Ltd | 9780415713061 | English | London, United Kingdom Critical international relations theory Practice seduction and dead authorship. Unless there is, at the bottom of things, some conception of the good around which to base critique, then critical inquiry is reduced to aimless nay-saying. Topic 2 The uses of fear in IR theory. Carr Daniel Deudney Michael W. After all, Europe is a pertinent case here as it is the home of the European Union — a project that united the bulk of European states in a supranational, and relatively open-bordered, union in which all citizens are legally free to work and live wherever they please within the Union. London: C. Her supplementation of intensive reading with allegorical films also does much to challenge the pretension that extensive reading has some miraculous additional value. The common human condition aboard the ferry would stand for the night, but the following morning tourists would continue their tranquil journey home while refugees would have to improvise their way across Europe, begging for hospitality. New York: Routledge. Gregg International Relations on Film. I needed a textbook that was about IR Theory and that I could use to help develop my students analytical and critical skills. However, I was also often left International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction the distinct feeling that poststructuralist or postmodernist IR theorists, in particular, wish to develop an aura of sophistication by maintaining bizarre and unnecessary levels of abstraction, by creating new and esoteric terms, and by arguing through ever increasingly pretentious forms of analogy. Indeed, this seems to be part of a wider deficit in post- structuralist works, where every truth is derisorily placed in inverted commas except for the truth of deconstruction. International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction is an innovative new textbook, which introduces students to the main theories in International Relations. More importantly for us, International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction IR theory it combats the traditional approaches, mainly liberalism and realism, and shines a light on how they feed the imbalances of an unjust global order by failing to question or critique their foundational claims. Distance Education 27 2 : ; Kreber, Carolin, et al. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. The Truman Show. The book also facilitates an accessible first engagement with the important role culture, the ideational, and subjectivity play in world politics. Idealism Democratic peace theory Republican liberalism Institutionalism Neoliberalism Interdependence liberalism Sociological liberalism Institutional liberalism. The use of popular movies, moreover, had the additional purpose of breaking down a common misperception among students that IR theory is a rarefied International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction of practice, somehow above and beyond politics and culture. Critical Theory and World Politics. While there were many ways to exercise my academic freedom through my research, there were far fewer ways to exercise it through my teaching, notwithstanding the often vast control I as a US-practicing academic had over what I presented in the classroom. Linklater, Andrew Cambridge Studies in International Relations. Cox explores the economic contradictions spurring change in power relations and guiding transitions towards a fairer world order, even if acknowledging that emancipation is not inevitable. Plan of the book. Help Learn to edit Community International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction Recent changes Upload file. Wag the Dog. Categories : Critical theory Feminist theory International relations theory Marxist theory Political science theories Political science stubs. One was that I had just received tenure at a major US research university, which meant International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction had job security and, with that, a measure of academic freedom that I had never experienced as an Assistant Professor. London: Palgrave MacMillan. Cynthia Weber. Even when I looked at the more traditional IR textbooks at the time — those that strove to comprehensively survey the discipline theoretically and thematically like Charles W. By way of conclusion, however, I would like to raise a number of issues that my close engagement with various editions of the text have necessitated. That was the last I heard from Haman. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. A critical perspective assumes that the security claims of refugees fleeing war-torn countries constitute a cosmopolitan responsibility for the whole of humankind, especially for those with the resources to address International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction. Critical theory. Because we will never escape the myth function in IR theory, we had better interrogate it. Suggestions for further thinking. For someone who is clearly influenced by post-structuralism and who employs a post- structuralist pedagogical method, it seems almost hypocritical not to subject the approach to examination as a myth. Additionally, political arrangements should be judged, or critiqued, according to their capacity to advance emancipation and the broadening of moral boundaries. Robert J. Herbert Marcuse Theodor W. And while other traditions like poststructuralism and feminism challenged Neorealism, these traditions were usually either shunned or ridiculed by the mainstream, even if selected aspects of them were disciplined and incorporated into mainstream debates. Introducing Critical Theory in International Relations Berkeley, California: University of California Press. Postpositivist critiques include poststructuralistpostcolonial"critical" constructivist, critical theory in the strict sense used by the Frankfurt Schoolneo-Gramscianmost feministand some English School approaches, as well as non-Weberian historical sociology[1] " international political sociology ", " critical International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction ", and the so-called " new materialism " [2] partly inspired by actor—network theory. In fact, it sets out to locate current waves of forced migration in the context of deeper economic and geopolitical structures producing harm and exclusion in a globalising world. From a critical perspective, then, people — not states — must be put at the centre of politics, global or otherwise. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. This move is important because it has the potential to effect three changes in relation to IR. The Truman Show. We will be circulating a particular way of making sense of the world without International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction how to make sense of that sense. I needed a textbook that was about IR Theory and that I could use to help develop my students analytical and critical skills. Topic 2 Postmodernism. London: Palgrave MacMillan. While redistribution struggles refer directly to the Marxist themes of class struggles and social emancipation, recognition struggles have to do with aspirations to freedom and justice connected to gender, sexuality, race and national recognition. New York: Routledge. Review of International Studies. But I decided to tackle it by thinking from scratch what it might look like to teach a course in IR Theory. Both were philosophers. I stayed there for a while, looking at him blending into the crowd conveyed throughout Europe as a crisis of refugees and illegal migrants. Download PDF. The main challenge for critical theory then is to connect theory to practice, to be able to set up a theoretical lens that results in a real-world transformative outcome. Critical vocabulary Binary opposition Dominant privilege Phallogocentrism Reconstructivism. One wonders whether the film has driven theory here, rather than the other way around. Review by Kirsten Haack [1]. Practice seduction and dead authorship. At the same time however, he underlines that there is a growing awareness that global interconnectedness and vulnerabilities impose their consequences on how communities define themselves and live side by side with others. Plan of the book. There are many good IR theory books on the market and more are added all the time. I did not mean to suggest that this was the only relevant idea from each of these theories, but that it was a starting place from which students could begin to learn about IR theories. You are commenting using your Facebook account. One reason is apparent in the following paragraph:. More importantly for us, within IR theory it combats the traditional approaches, mainly liberalism and realism, and shines a light on how they feed the imbalances International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction an unjust global International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction by failing to question or critique their foundational claims. Why is this? The book presents, in essence, a ready made introductory course on IR. Of International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction, neither Marx nor Kant were IR theorists in the contemporary sense. How IR theory makes sense of the world. Haman was one of International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction. Wag the Dog. We must therefore identify two more recent sources for how critical theory developed within the modern discipline of IR. As Hutchings points out, the critical project connecting Linklater
Recommended publications
  • The Geopolitics of ‘Hearts and Minds’: American Public Diplomacy in the War on Terrorism Era
    UNIVERSITY OF OSLO FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Department of sociology and human geography The Geopolitics of ‘Hearts and Minds’: American Public Diplomacy in the War on Terrorism Era Master’s Thesis in Human Geography Spring 2008 Anja Sletteland Public diplomacy helped win the Cold War, and it has the potential to help win the war on terror. (Djerejian 2003, 13) ii CONTENTS List of Figures …………………………………………………………………………………………………......v List of Abbreviations ………………………………………………………………………………………….......v Acknowledgements……………………………….……………………………………………………………….vi 1 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................................7 1.1 RESEARCH QUESTION ..................................................................................................................................8 1.2 THE STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS ..................................................................................................................8 2 CONTEXTUAL FRAMEWORK...................................................................................................................10 2.1 WHAT IS PUBLIC DIPLOMACY?.................................................................................................................10 2.1.1 Public Diplomacy as Strategic Communication ................................................................................13 2.1.2 Perpetrators of US Public Diplomacy ................................................................................................16
    [Show full text]
  • A Discourse Analysis of the Western-Led Intervention in Libya (2011)
    UNIVERSIDAD COMPLUTENSE DE MADRID FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS POLÍTICAS Y SOCIOLOGÍA DEPARTAMENTO DE CIENCIA POLÍTICA Y DE LA ADMINISTRACIÓN III TESIS DOCTORAL Human rights as performance: a discourse analysis of the Western-led intervention in Libya (2011) MEMORIA PARA OPTAR AL GRADO DE DOCTOR PRESENTADA POR Matthew Robson DIRECTOR Heriberto Cairo Carou Madrid, 2018 © Matthew Robson, 2017 PHD THESIS HUMAN RIGHTS AS PERFORMANCE: A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF THE WESTERN-LED INTERVENTION IN LIBYA (2011) Matthew Robson Director de tesis: Heriberto Cairo Carou Departamento de Ciencia Política y de la Administración III (Teorías y Formas Políticas y Geografía Humana) Universidad Complutense de Madrid 1 Dedicated to Mum and Dad. 2 CONTENTS Acknowledgements 6 Transliteration 7 Abstract 8 Summary 9 Resúmen 13 INTRODUCTION 20 Objectives and elaboration of research questions 22 Literature review on the military intervention in Libya 26 -Concerning the legality of the NATO mission 28 -Ethical considerations 30 -The politics of Western intervention in Libya 33 Summary of Sections 48 PART 1 METHODOLOGICAL AND THEORETICAL 40 FRAMEWORK CHAPTER 1 METHODOLOGY / RESEARCH DESIGN 41 1. 1 Making choices in post-structural discourse analysis 41 1. 2 Research design for the Western-led intervention in Libya 44 CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 53 2.1 The 'critical geopolitics' research project and 'imperiality' 53 2. 2 Questions of ontology and epistemology 62 3 2.3 Discourse, power and knowledge 69 2.4 Identity, performativity and intertextuality in foreign 77 policy discourse PART 2 LIBYA IN THE WESTERN GEOPOLITICAL 97 IMAGINATION CHAPTER 3 US AND UK RELATIONS WITH LIBYA 99 DURING THE COLD WAR 3.
    [Show full text]
  • (2013) Geopolitics at the Margins? Reconsidering Genealogies of Critical Geopolitics
    Sharp, Joanne P. (2013) Geopolitics at the margins? Reconsidering genealogies of critical geopolitics. Political Geography, 37 . pp. 20-29. ISSN 0962-6298 Copyright © 2013 The Authors http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/80637/ Deposited on: 6 June 2013 Enlighten – Research publications by members of the University of Glasgow http://eprints.gla.ac.uk Political Geography 37 (2013) 20e29 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Political Geography journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/polgeo Geopolitics at the margins? Reconsidering genealogies of critical geopoliticsq Joanne P. Sharp* School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, East Quadrangle, University Avenue, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK abstract Keywords: Critical geopolitics has become one of the most vibrant parts of political geography. However it remains a Subaltern geopolitics particularly western way of knowing which has been much less attentive to other traditions of thinking. Pan-Africanism This paper engages with Pan-Africanism, and specifically the vision of the architect of post-colonial Critical geopolitics Tanzania, Julius Nyerere, to explore this overlooked contribution to critical engagements with geopoli- Postcolonialism tics. Pan-Africanism sought to forge alternative post-colonial worlds to the binary geopolitics of the Cold War and the geopolitical economy of neo-colonialism. The academic division of labour has meant that these ideas have been consigned to African studies rather than being drawn into wider debates around the definitions of key disciplinary concepts. However Nyerere’s continental thinking can be seen as a form of geopolitical imagination that challenges dominant neo-realist projections, and which still has much to offer contemporary political geography. Ó 2013 The Authors.
    [Show full text]
  • Boundarying, Geographic Thought and the Exceptional
    BOUNDARYING, GEOGRAPHIC THOUGHT AND THE EXCEPTIONAL GEOGRAPHIES OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLES A dissertation submitted to Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Stephen R. Butcher May 2010 Dissertation written by Stephen R. Butcher B.S., Kent State University, Geology, 1998 B.A., Kent State University, Geography, 1998 L.S.M., Kent State University, Liberal Studies, 2002 M.A., Kent State University, Geography, 2004 Ph.D., Kent State University, 2010 Approved by ___________________________, Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Dr. James A. Tyner ___________________________, Members, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Dr. Patrick G. Coy ___________________________, Dr. Surinder M. Bhardwaj ___________________________, Dr. Shawn M. Banasick ___________________________, Dr. Mark F. Bracher Accepted by ___________________________, Chair, Department of Geography Dr. Thomas Schmidlin ___________________________, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences Dr. John Stalvey ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………. v CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………….. 1 Chapter Summaries…………………………………………………………….. 12 II THE BOUNDARY…...……….………………………………………………… 16 Cognitive Science………………………………………………………………. 18 Embodied Cognition…………………………………………………………….. 26 Embodied Realism………………………………………………………………. 35 Boundarying, Space, and Place………………………………………………….. 44 Borders, Boundaries, Binaries and Boundarying………...…………………… 44 Space, Place,
    [Show full text]
  • Opening the Black Box of Outer Space
    Opening the Black Box of Outer Space: the Case of Jason-3 _______________________________________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Geography Department at the University of Missouri—Columbia In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts _______________________________________ by JULIE D. SAPERSTEIN Dr. Mark Palmer, Advisor May 2017 Approval Page The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the thesis entitled OPENING THE BLACK BOX OF OUTER SPACE, THE CASE OF JASON-3 Presented by Julie D. Saperstein, a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Professor Mark Palmer Professor Soren Larsen Professor Amit Prasad ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Mark Palmer, for providing me with ample encouragement throughout the many stages of my thesis. I would like to thank Dr. Soren Larsen for listening to many weeks of Thesis Updates and griping as well as for providing helpful and timely feedback. I suppose I should acknowledge my wife and parents for their immense emotional support and for pretending to understand what I’ve tried to accomplish here. And finally, I would like to acknowledge Boxed Wine and my cat, a duo that sustained me through many-an evening reading His Highness Bruno Latour. ii Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS II PART I. INTRODUCTION 1 SOME POINTS OF CLARIFICATION AND DEFINITIONS 4 SOME DEFINITIONS 6 PART II. LITERATURE REVIEW 8 ASTROPOLITICS 8 POLITICAL SCIENCE AND REALISM 10 ASTROPOLITICS AND REALISM 12 CLASSICAL GEOPOLITICS 15 CONTEMPORARY GEOPOLITICS AND ASTROPOLITICS 20 GEOPOLITICS, SYMBIOTIC REALISM AND OTHER REALIST CRITIQUES 22 CRITICAL GEOPOLITICS AND ASTROPOLITICS 23 GEOGRAPHY, MACDONALD AND ANTI-ASTROPOLITICS 26 GEOGRAPHY AND ACTOR-NETWORK THEORY 28 PART III.
    [Show full text]
  • The New Geopolitics of Division and the Problem of a Kantian Europe
    UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) The new geopolitics of division and the problem of a Kantian Europe Elden, S.; Bialasiewicz, L. DOI 10.1017/S0260210506007194 Publication date 2006 Published in Review of International Studies Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Elden, S., & Bialasiewicz, L. (2006). The new geopolitics of division and the problem of a Kantian Europe. Review of International Studies, 32(4), 623-644. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210506007194 General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:30 Sep 2021 Review of International Studies (2006), 32, 623–644 Copyright British International Studies Association doi:10.1017/S0260210506007194 The new geopolitics of division and the problem of a Kantian Europe STUART ELDEN AND LUIZA BIALASIEWICZ Americans and Europeans are today divided by a philosophical, even metaphysical disagreement over where exactly mankind stands on the continuum between the laws of the jungle and the laws of reason.
    [Show full text]
  • After Critical Geopolitics: Why Spatial IR Theorizing Needs More Social Theory Jochen Kleinschmidt and Jeppe Strandsbjerg
    After Critical Geopolitics: Why Spatial IR Theorizing Needs More Social Theory Jochen Kleinschmidt and Jeppe Strandsbjerg Paper prepared for the Millenium Conference 2010: International Relations in Dialogue, 16-17 October, London School of Economics First draft. Please do not quote without permission. All comments welcome Abstract: In this paper, we argue that most attempts to rethink the politics of space in IR still struggle to move out of the conceptual shadow of traditional geopolitics. Most accounts conceptualise space in opposition to the geopolitical container model, yet, they usually modify certain components of this model rather than seeking to transgress it. In response to this critical diagnosis, we suggest IR theory needs a reengagement with the fundamentals of social theory on how spatial terms can be described in relation to human society before investigating more historically specific “claims about the transcendence of the Westphalian System, the emergence of a post-international world, and hence the supersession of the traditional intellectual problematic of the internation itself”, in the words of Justin Rosenberg. In order to do that we introduce the writings of two contemporary sociological theorists on the role of space for the theorization of politics: the Actor Network Theory of Bruno Latour and the systemic theory of world society proposed by the late Niklas Luhmann. In social geography, these two bodies of work have been described as offering substantial alternative possibilities to both the “spatial fetishism” of material container space conceptualisations and the “spatial exorcism” that insists that space be seen exclusively as discourse, as most contemporary perspectives in IR theory do.
    [Show full text]
  • Text, Discourse, Affect and Things Muller, Martin
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Birmingham Research Portal Text, discourse, affect and things Muller, Martin License: None: All rights reserved Document Version Peer reviewed version Citation for published version (Harvard): Müller, M 2013, Text, discourse, affect and things. in K Dodds, JP Sharp & M Kuus (eds), The Ashgate research companion to critical geopolitics., Chapter 3, Ashgate, Farnham, pp. 49-68. Link to publication on Research at Birmingham portal Publisher Rights Statement: Eligibility for repository: Checked on 14/12/2015 General rights Unless a licence is specified above, all rights (including copyright and moral rights) in this document are retained by the authors and/or the copyright holders. The express permission of the copyright holder must be obtained for any use of this material other than for purposes permitted by law. •Users may freely distribute the URL that is used to identify this publication. •Users may download and/or print one copy of the publication from the University of Birmingham research portal for the purpose of private study or non-commercial research. •User may use extracts from the document in line with the concept of ‘fair dealing’ under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (?) •Users may not further distribute the material nor use it for the purposes of commercial gain. Where a licence is displayed above, please note the terms and conditions of the licence govern your use of this document. When citing, please reference the published version. Take down policy While the University of Birmingham exercises care and attention in making items available there are rare occasions when an item has been uploaded in error or has been deemed to be commercially or otherwise sensitive.
    [Show full text]
  • Course Syllabus
    The University of Oklahoma College of Continuing Education Advanced Programs – Course Syllabus Course Title: Seminar in Human Geography: Critical Geopolitics Course Number: GEOG 6220-221 Course Description: This course aims to introduce you to the subfield of critical geopolitics. The fields of scholarship stem from a concern over how we know the world around us, how priorities are set, and how these worldviews are communicated and adopted by various geopolitical actors. Critical geopolitics differs from the understanding of geopolitics in which locational and spatial characteristics are the only determining factor in how power is used in the international system. It focuses upon and critiques the assumptions made about “interests” and engages the processes of their creation. In other words, the readings will ask the question, how are dominant worldviews born, spread and acted upon to maintain power? Part of the course will examine various types of geopolitical thinking that will resonate with International Relations and will then turn to looking at particular media and practices, known as popular geopolitics. Class Dates, Location and Hours: Dates: June 13 – 18, 2017. Location: Classes held at Building 2775, Rooms 10 and 11, Kapaun Air Station on Vogelweh Air Base. Hours: Tuesday - Friday 6:00-9:30 pm; Saturday and Sunday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Last day to enroll or drop without penalty: May 15, 2017 Site Director: Email: [email protected]. Phone: DSN 480-6807, Civilian 06371-47-6807. Professor Contact Information: Course Professor: Darren Purcell Mailing Address: 510 Sarkeys Energy Center 100 East Boyd St. Norman, OK 73069 Telephone Number: (407) 453-1831 Email Address: [email protected] Professor availability: The professor will be available via email to students before and after the class sessions.
    [Show full text]
  • Bregazzi, H., & Jackson, M
    Bregazzi, H. , & Jackson, M. (2018). Agonism, critical political geography, and the new geographies of peace. Progress in Human Geography, 42(1), 72-91. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132516666687 Peer reviewed version Link to published version (if available): 10.1177/0309132516666687 Link to publication record in Explore Bristol Research PDF-document This is the final published version of the article (version of record). It first appeared online via Sage at DOI: 10.1177/0309132516666687. Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher. University of Bristol - Explore Bristol Research General rights This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/red/research-policy/pure/user-guides/ebr-terms/ Progress in Human Geography Agonism, critical political geograph y, and the new geographies of peace Journal:For Progress Peer in Human Geography Review Manuscript ID PiHG-2015-0108.R2 Manuscript Type: Submitted Paper Keywords: Peace, Agonism, Geopolitics, Ontology, Violence, Critique Why does critical political geography struggle to address, and research, peace? Recent efforts in geography do seek positive accounts of peace, but we argue that critical geographies remain problematically reliant on social agonism. Dominant theoretical lenses used to address critical politics reproduce dissension as the causal grammar of critical sociality and the Abstract: constitutive effect of difference. We seek an alternative account of peace and sociality. The first half of the paper diagnoses how prevailing conceptual approaches to critique privilege agonism. The second half advances a positive account of peace, without losing the critical tenor of post-foundationalist or relational political insights.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction: Geopolitics and Its Critics
    © Copyrighted Material Introduction: Geopolitics and its Critics Klaus Dodds, Merje Kuus and Joanne Sharp Introduction Geopolitics, as an intellectual field, enjoys a mixed reputation. Lionized by some as an insightful guide into the geographical study of strategic relations between states, it has been castigated by others for being an accomplice of authoritarianism and fascism. For the American geographer, Richard Hartshorne, it was an intellectual poison and thus best avoided for the scholarly health of the unwary (Hartshorne 1954; Dodds and Atkinson 2000). While it possible to chart a pre- history to geopolitics, most agree that its genesis lies with a particular conflagration of social Darwinism and late nineteenth-century fin-de-siècle Europe (Parker 1985; Heffernan 2000). Coined by the Swedish legal jurist, Rudolf Kjellén, geopolitics was infused with a social Darwinist preoccupation for the survival prospects of societies and states. When combined with ongoing imperial rivalries, alongside the institutional development of geography as a university subject, geopolitical studies attracted a corpus of influential writers including Halford Mackinder, Alfred Mahan and Friedrich Ratzel. Their insights into the modern world-system, the role of geographical factors such as resources and location, and the prospects for great powers such as Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and challengers have proven remarkably durable, even if they have also attracted critics and critique alike (for recent reviews, see Kearns 2009; Dodds 2010). Before embarking on a discussion of contemporary writings on geopolitics, and specifically the literature associated with critical geopolitics, this introduction offers a brief survey of what has been termed classical geopolitics.
    [Show full text]
  • Arctic Geopoliticsinglobalization
    Lassi Heininen1,2* 1 International Institute for Applied System Analysis, IIASA 2 University of Lapland, Finland *Corresponding author; [email protected] TAINABILITY S SU ARCTIC GEOPOLITICS FROM CLASSICAL 171 TO CRITICAL APPROACH – IMPORTANCE OF IMMATERIAL FACTORS ABSTRACT. Despite different perceptions, discourses and approaches, the post-Cold War Arctic is with a high geopolitical stability based on institutional, international cooperation started by the Arctic states and supported by Arctic indigenous peoples, non- governmental organizations and sub-national governments. As a result, there are neither armed conflicts nor serious disputes on national borders. Behind the high geopolitical stability are on the one hand, common interests of the Arctic states to decrease military tension and increase political stability by causing a transformation from confrontation to environmental cooperation. On the other hand, there are certain features of Arctic geopolitics as prerequisites for a transformation, such as firm state sovereignty, high degree of legal certainty, and flexibility in agenda setting. When assessing a state of Arctic geopolitics and IR of the post-Cold War era, there is an ambivalence on how ‘geopolitics’ is defined. Behind are the dualism of military presence based on the nuclear weapons’ systems and the high stability based on international, institutional cooperation between the eight Arctic states. As well as, that there are two major competing discourses: first, the Arctic as a ’zone of peace’ and exceptional in world politics, and second, that there is a race of resources and the consequent emerging conflicts in the Arctic. In addition, there are fresh reminders that Arctic geopolitics is impacted by (grand) environmental challenges and ‘wicked problems’, in particular climate change; and that new multi- dimensional dynamics has made Arctic geopolitics global.
    [Show full text]