Download Article
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
John J. Mearsheimer: an Offensive Realist Between Geopolitics and Power
John J. Mearsheimer: an offensive realist between geopolitics and power Peter Toft Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, Østerfarimagsgade 5, DK 1019 Copenhagen K, Denmark. E-mail: [email protected] With a number of controversial publications behind him and not least his book, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, John J. Mearsheimer has firmly established himself as one of the leading contributors to the realist tradition in the study of international relations since Kenneth Waltz’s Theory of International Politics. Mearsheimer’s main innovation is his theory of ‘offensive realism’ that seeks to re-formulate Kenneth Waltz’s structural realist theory to explain from a struc- tural point of departure the sheer amount of international aggression, which may be hard to reconcile with Waltz’s more defensive realism. In this article, I focus on whether Mearsheimer succeeds in this endeavour. I argue that, despite certain weaknesses, Mearsheimer’s theoretical and empirical work represents an important addition to Waltz’s theory. Mearsheimer’s workis remarkablyclear and consistent and provides compelling answers to why, tragically, aggressive state strategies are a rational answer to life in the international system. Furthermore, Mearsheimer makes important additions to structural alliance theory and offers new important insights into the role of power and geography in world politics. Journal of International Relations and Development (2005) 8, 381–408. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jird.1800065 Keywords: great power politics; international security; John J. Mearsheimer; offensive realism; realism; security studies Introduction Dangerous security competition will inevitably re-emerge in post-Cold War Europe and Asia.1 International institutions cannot produce peace. -
Geostrategy and Canadian Defence: from C.P. Stacey to a Twenty-First Century Arctic Threat Assessment
Journal of Military and Strategic VOLUME 20, ISSUE 1 Studies Geostrategy and Canadian Defence: From C.P. Stacey to a Twenty-First Century Arctic Threat Assessment Ryan Dean and P. Whitney Lackenbauer1 “If some countries have too much history, we have too much geography.” -- Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, 1936 Geostrategy is the study of the importance of geography to strategy and military operations. Strategist Bernard Loo explains that “it is the influence of geography on tactical and operational elements of the strategic calculus that underpins, albeit subliminally, strategic calculations about the feasibility of the use of military force because the geographical conditions will influence policy-makers’ and strategic 1 An early version of some sections of this article appeared as “Geostrategical Approaches,” a research report for Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) project on the Assessment of Threats Against Canada submitted in 2015. We are grateful to the coordinators of that project, as well as to reviewers who provided feedback that has strengthened this article. Final research and writing was completed pursuant to a Department of National Defence MINDS Collaborative Network grant supporting the North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network (NAADSN). ©Centre of Military and Strategic Studies, 2019 ISSN : 1488-559X JOURNAL OF MILITARY AND STRATEGIC STUDIES planners’ perceptions of strategic vulnerabilities or opportunities.”2 By extension, the geographical size and location of a country are key determinants -
Chapter I Geostrategic and Geopolitical Considerations
Geostrategic and geopolitical Chapter I considerations regarding energy Francisco José Berenguer Hernández Abstract This chapter analyses the peace and conflict aspects of the concept of “energy security” its importance in the strategic architecture of the major nations, as well as the main geopolitical factors of the current energy panorama. Key words Energy Security, National Strategies, Energy Interests, Geopolitics of Energy. 45 Francisco José Berenguer Hernández Some considerations about the “energy security” concept Concept The concept of energy security has been present in publications for a cer- tain number of years, including the press and non-trade media, but it is apparently a recent one, or at least one that has not enjoyed the popular- ity of others such as road, workplace, social or even air security. However, it has taken on such importance nowadays that it deserves a specific section in the highest-level strategic documents of practically all of the nations in our environment, as will be seen in a later section. This is somewhat different from the form of security of other sectors that include the following in more generic terms: “well-being and progress of society”, “ensuring the life and prosperity of citizens” and other simi- lar expressions, with the exception of economic security. The latter, as a consequence of the long and deep recession that numerous nations, in- cluding Spain, have been suffering, has strongly emerged in more recent strategic thinking. Consequently, it is worth wondering the reason for this relevance and leading role of energy security in the concerns of the high- est authorities and institutions of the nations. -
Grand Theories of European Integration Revisited: Does Identity Politics Shape the Course of European Integration?
UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Grand theories of European integration revisited: does identity politics shape the course of European integration? Kuhn, T. DOI 10.1080/13501763.2019.1622588 Publication date 2019 Document Version Final published version Published in Journal of European Public Policy License CC BY-NC-ND Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Kuhn, T. (2019). Grand theories of European integration revisited: does identity politics shape the course of European integration? Journal of European Public Policy, 26(8), 1213-1230. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2019.1622588 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:27 Sep 2021 Journal -
The Select Methods of Investigations in Geostrategy and Geopolitics
Political Geography Studies in Central and Eastern Europe Oradea - Gdansk, 2000, pag. 23 - 30 THE SELECT METHODS OF INVESTIGATIONS IN GEOSTRATEGY AND GEOPOLITICS Jan WENDT* ABSTRACT: After the years of silence and after avoidance of geopolitical researches and its subdisciplines, a renascence of his knowledge has come out. In the latest past years, we can notice a conspicuous increase of interest in nearly all kinds of researches, which are made by political geographers including people who deal with geostrategical and geopolitical problems. When we talk about Poland we must say that the increased interest is a result of breaking a kind of taboo - taboo, which refereed to the works of this sphere. Firstly, that the works were connected with the Third Reich polities and propaganda, and secondly, because of the easy way of censorship explanation, very common while making controversial studies in Poland during communistic times. The past ten years were abounding in accidents connected with boarder's changes and changes of geopolitical and geostrategical circumstances. Also, this is a period of time when the USSR fell into pieces, the European Community came into being, the process of globalisation has been progressing, and equally, a strong separatist and national movements have been developing not only in Europe. So, it's natural that interest in those problems has been native. Leaving back the classical fields of political geography, for instance: electoral geography or ecopolitic, we can surly state, we are just victims of a dynamic investigate development. The development refers to the rest geopolitical ranges - geostrategy and geopolitics, in particular. Because of that fount, it seems to be useful to tide up some notions connected with there disciplines and indicate the basic exploring methods of the occurrences shown in geostrategical and geopolitical works. -
The Covid-19 Pandemic, Geopolitics, and International Law
journal of international humanitarian legal studies 11 (2020) 237-248 brill.com/ihls The covid-19 Pandemic, Geopolitics, and International Law David P Fidler Adjunct Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, USA [email protected] Abstract Balance-of-power politics have shaped how countries, especially the United States and China, have responded to the covid-19 pandemic. The manner in which geopolitics have influenced responses to this outbreak is unprecedented, and the impact has also been felt in the field of international law. This article surveys how geopolitical calcula- tions appeared in global health from the mid-nineteenth century through the end of the Cold War and why such calculations did not, during this period, fundamentally change international health cooperation or the international law used to address health issues. The astonishing changes in global health and international law on health that unfolded during the post-Cold War era happened in a context not characterized by geopolitical machinations. However, the covid-19 pandemic emerged after the bal- ance of power had returned to international relations, and rival great powers have turned this pandemic into a battleground in their competition for power and influence. Keywords balance of power – China – coronavirus – covid-19 – geopolitics – global health – International Health Regulations – international law – pandemic – United States – World Health Organization © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/18781527-bja10010 <UN> 238 Fidler 1 Introduction A striking feature of the covid-19 pandemic is how balance-of-power politics have influenced responses to this outbreak.1 The rivalry between the United States and China has intensified because of the pandemic. -
No-Constructivists' Land: International Relations in Italy in the 1990S
Sonia Lucarelli and Roberto Menotti No-Constructivists’ Land: International Relations > in Italy in the 1990s Introduction theoretical debates that were frozen in time and provided the discipline in their There is one country in Europe respective countries with more strength where Constructivism has never and visibility. In Italy, however, this taken root: Italy. Although Con- opportunity seems to have been lost. No structivism in its various forms has been significant theoretical shift in the the most popular theoretical approach on discipline has taken place. Italian scholars the Continent, the Italian peninsula has have failed to make themselves more remained surprisingly immune to this visible in public debates in Italy and to “epidemic”. This situation is even more participate more fully in theoretical interesting if we take a closer look at the mainstream debates at the international Italian International Relations (IR) level. literature only to discover a certain We suggest that the puzzle of the predilection for the classics and for multi- post-Cold War “missed opportunity” calls disciplinary philosophically-embedded for an account that goes beyond the theory. What then is the reality of Italian traditional purely “external” explanation IR? What are its main features and the of IR developments in a given com- reasons underlying them? munity, and that also draws on the In this article, we investigate IR cultural-institutional context, namely, on theory in the peninsula of the Con- (i) the organisational characteristics of tinental IR archipelago that has been the the research environment (i.e. mainly the most successful in keeping secret its vices university system), (ii) the habits and and virtues. -
Current Geostrategy in the South Caucasus Report Drafted by Dr
Current Geostrategy in the South Caucasus Report drafted by dr. Marcel de Haas Published December 15, 2006, the Power and Interest News Report (PINR): http://www.pinr.com In recent months, relations between Georgia and Russia have deteriorated. The clash between these two states is only a symptom of the broader strategic positioning of the West and Russia in and around the South Caucasus. In this scenario, at regional and global levels, countries and organizations are involved in a struggle for power and energy security. Considering these two issues, what is the current situation in the South Caucasus and what can be expected in the future? Affecting the region are the political‐military and security policies of the actors involved. These actors include Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, and their "frozen" conflicts of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno‐Karabakh. Additionally, the leverage of regional powers, such as Turkey and Iran, and of global powers, such as the United States, Russia and China, is part of the power configuration in the region. In addition to countries, international organizations are also involved in this game. At the regional level, there is the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (B.S.E.C.), the Black Sea Force (BLACKSEAFOR) the Caspian Sea Force (CASFOR), the cooperation between Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova (G.U.A.M.) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (C.S.T.O.) within the Commonwealth of Independent States (C.I.S.). At the global level, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (N.A.T.O.) and the European Union also exercise political weight in the South Caucasus. -
From Geopolitics to the Anthropocene Written by Olaf Corry
The ‘Nature’ of International Relations: From Geopolitics to the Anthropocene Written by Olaf Corry This PDF is auto-generated for reference only. As such, it may contain some conversion errors and/or missing information. For all formal use please refer to the official version on the website, as linked below. The ‘Nature’ of International Relations: From Geopolitics to the Anthropocene https://www.e-ir.info/2017/10/15/the-nature-of-international-relations-from-geopolitics-to-the-anthropocene/ OLAF CORRY, OCT 15 2017 This is an excerpt from Reflections on the Posthuman in International Relations. An E-IR Edited Collection. Available now on Amazon (UK, USA, Ca, Ger, Fra), in all good book stores, and via a free PDF download. Find out more about E-IR’s range of open access books here. International Relations (IR) has been criticised for its exclusively human perspective and for having ‘been little concerned with the vast variety of other, non-human populations of species and “things”’ (Cudworth and Hobden 2013, 644). One aim of post-humanist work is to find a way of including the natural world in a meaningful way into IR theory and analysis (see Kaltofen this volume). This is a challenge, but perhaps not an insurmountable one. After all, the discipline has roots in geopolitical analysis of how geography and climates affect world politics. The brief ‘natural history of IR’ that follows is necessarily a broad-brush depiction of how IR has (not) theorised and analysed the natural world in various ways (Corry and Stevenson 2017b). It shows that IR, although similar to sociology that became ‘radically sociological’ (Buttel 1996, 57), is not immune to concern for the natural world, but also that there is a long track record of either reifying or ignoring it. -
Geostrategy in Practice 2021
CEO Imperative Series Critical answers and actions to reframe your future Geostrategy in Practice 2021 A survey of global executives reveals more proactive political risk management enables companies to pursue bolder strategies Table of contents2 | Geostrategy in Practice 2021 Executive summary 4 Political risk management is in flux 5 Political risks are rising but risk identification systems are not fit for purpose 7 The significant materiality of political risk necessitates better impact assessments 11 Political risk management is disconnected from enterprise risk management 15 Strategy and transactions are heavily influenced by political risk analysis 17 Political risk governance is crucial but often overlooked 20 Investing in a balanced political risk management approach 24 Putting geostrategy into practice 28 About the survey 30 contents Geostrategy in Practice 2021 | 3 Executive summary Executives may be discounting the likelihood of some political risks. About half of global executives expect political risk to be higher in the coming year, with geopolitics being the highest area of concern (see About the survey on page 30). This follows similar results in our 2020 survey. But most companies’ approach to risk identification is reactive and relies primarily on enterprise-level processes, which may expose them to regulatory or societal risk surprises. In fact, more than 90% of global executives say that their company has been affected by unexpected political risks in the past 12 months. Political risks will continue to have impact across the enterprise. Executives expect the largest political risk impact on companies’ growth and investment, operations and supply chain, and revenue in the coming year. -
Journal of Eurasian Studies 2 (2011) 87–102
Journal of Eurasian Studies 2 (2011) 87–102 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Eurasian Studies journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/euras Comparative regionalism: Eurasian cooperation and European integration. The case for neofunctionalism? Anastassia Obydenkova University of Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain article info abstract Article history: The Post-Soviet regionalism is a new phenomenon and it requires a theory which Received 23 November 2010 addresses the very beginning of regional integration. Both Neofunctionalism and (liberal) Accepted 2 February 2011 intergovernmentalism conceptualize the very outset of European integration, thus, pre- senting the most adequate theoretical framework for understanding post-Soviet case of regionalism. This study seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the impediments to regional integration but also to conditions under which integration might succeed in Post-Soviet Eurasia. The numerous and unsuccessful attempts at regional integration in the post-Soviet Eurasia provide an opportunity to analyze the factors unfavorable to integra- tion and to identify the impediments to this process. The issue motivating this study is that unsuccessful attempts should be analyzed not less than successful ones. Eurasian case is different from European integration due to different historical legacies, institutional choices, structural-developmental contexts and on-going state- and regime-building problems. Regionalism and democratic development are a salient feature of recent developments -
Meeting New Security Challenges in a Changing Security Environment
China’s “New Silk Road” and US-Japan Alliance Geostrategy: Challenges and Opportunities By Peter G. Cornett Issues & Insights Vol. 16-No. 10 Honolulu, Hawaii June 2016 Pacific Forum CSIS Based in Honolulu, the Pacific Forum CSIS (www.pacforum.org) operates as the autonomous Asia-Pacific arm of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC. The Forum’s programs encompass current and emerging political, security, economic, business, and oceans policy issues through analysis and dialogue undertaken with the region’s leaders in the academic, government, and corporate areas. Founded in 1975, it collaborates with a broad network of research institutes from around the Pacific Rim, drawing on Asian perspectives and disseminating project findings and recommendations to opinion leaders, governments, and members of the public throughout the region. Sasakawa Peace Foundation Nonresident Fellowship In 2010, the Pacific Forum CSIS with generous support from the Sasakawa Peace Foundation established the SPF Fellowship Program to nurture the next generation of specialists who will be committed to broadening and strengthening the Japan-US alliance. Through a combination of resident and non-resident fellowships, the Pacific Forum CSIS reaches out to the next generation of leaders in our two countries to reinvigorate the security relationship. SPF Fellows develop and apply innovative and creative solutions to 21st-century problems. They focus on underdeveloped aspects of the relationship to ensure that the alliance is ready to deal with current and future problems. By recognizing and addressing a wider range of issues and actors that are part of this partnership, SPF Fellows ensure the resilience and effectiveness of the alliance for the next half century.