International Political Theory Research Articles

Özgür ÖZDAMAR and Sercan CANBOLAT, Leaders in the Middle East and North Africa: How Ideology Shapes Foreign Policy

It is almost always the case that any Introduction to International Relations course teaches the contributions of Kenneth Waltz to the field, firstly through his grandiose formulation of a theory: it should be simple, parsimonious, abstract, and accordingly, one needs to move away from reality as much as possible to increase the theory’s explanatory and predictive capacity. Moving the individual and state level of analyses aside, Waltz simplifies his theory of international politics at the system/structural level and, with his neorealist theory becoming the dominant approach for a large part of the twentieth century, it put the state in a sort of black box, purposefully ignored individual actors, and targeted the maximum degree of abstraction as possible. In Leaders in the Middle East and North Africa: How Ideology Shapes Foreign Policy, which consists of seven chapters (one introduction chapter, four empirical chapters, one theoretical conclusions chapter and one policy implications chapter), Özdamar and Canbolat aim to shed light on foreign policy belief patterns of leaders in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), highlighting divergences across them and comparing them to the average world leadership. In the process, and in total opposition to Waltz’s claim, the authors argue that advancing “the actor-specific empirical studies zeroing in on agent behaviors and decisions in the future” is “the only way for IR to establish itself as a scientific discipline” (p. 148). In other words, as opposed to the structural approaches, the authors propound that less abstraction and a more actor-specific, nuanced, and tailored approach would provide significant opportunities for the IR discipline to be scientific.

Balance of power in a conflict model

This study provides a microeconomic foundation for the bipolar stability hypothesis in international politics. It extends the well-designed conflict model of Esteban and Ray (Am Econ Rev 101(4):1345–1374, 2011) to include monetary compensation arrangements between the winning and losing groups, presenting a new conflict-related indicator called the balance of power index. The main finding of this study is that societal polarization serves to alleviate rather than exacerbate conflict intensity, which is elucidated by the balance of power index. This new characteristic of polarization is associated with the founding of the bipolar stability hypothesis by Waltz (J Int Affairs 21(2):215–231, 1967), Waltz (Theory of international politics. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Reading, 1979) under the economic behavioral model.

A World of Many Walks? Zapatista World Ordering between Center and Margins

Abstract At the current moment of multiple global crises, including of the International Liberal Order, a search for new practices of world ordering seems to coexist with a deep skepticism regarding the possibilities of global solidarity and common struggles between centers and margins. Against this background, this paper focuses on the world ordering practices of the Mexican Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, a group that occupies a position between center(s) and margin(s). While they clearly self-identify as being on the political and economic margins—geographically remote, economically weak and under constant threat of military repression—their ideas occupied center stage in the search for alternative visions of world order at least for a certain moment. The paper will explore the potential pathologies that a recourse to Zapatism may entail, namely romanticization, hollowing-out and epistemic extractivism/opportunism. It then asks if and how these pathologies can be overcome in a search for common ground for both social movements and International Political Theory when trying to think differently about world ordering from the margins. In this exploration, special emphasis will be given to the pathways toward a desirable order that the Zapatistas conceptualize and practice, namely creating, narrating and walking.

Criticism of the Liberal Theory of International Politics

Criticism of the Liberal Theory of International Politics

Идея конкуренции в международной политической теории: некоторые актуальные аспекты дискуссии

Introduction. The article presents an attempt to identify the origins as well as the immediate causes of the diversity of interpretations of the concept of “competition” in modern political theory through a comparative analysis of the results of discussions of foreign scientists adhering to utterly diversified methodological, philosophical, and ideological positions. Methods and materials. The analysis of these discussions is carried out from an interdisciplinary perspective, combining the methodologies of modern political theory, political economy, political ethics and psychology, the methodology of history, the theory of international relations, and other scientific areas. More than 60 works by prominent foreign experts, published mostly in the last decade, were used as source materials for the study. Many of them are openly polemical and controversial. Analysis. A noteworthy moment in theoretical debates at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries is the desire of many specialists to distance themselves from traditional neoliberal rhetoric and explore the latest trends and modifications of competition at the levels of world and national politics from fundamentally new methodological positions. The ideas of creating alternative theoretical models that ensure harmony between competition and cooperation and thereby help overcome almost half a century of dominance of the neoliberal world order paradigm have a wide resonance. Their immediate consequence is the emergence of new conceptual interpretations that characterize the specific features of the formation of the idea of the new international order, with corresponding changes in the field of political terminology. Results. The main section of the article presented an attempt to characterize the modern foreign policy turn towards “new strategic competition” and highlight, in particular, the emerging theoretical problem, which experts sometimes refer to as the “paradigm of armed interdependence.” Amid discussions around the Ukrainian conflict in Western scientific literature, some interpretations of the problem of political and economic rivalry between the United States and China look paradoxical: they often reflect the clear desire of the American ruling elite to maneuver and, if possible, avoid the prospect of waging a war on two fronts. Authors’contribution. V.A. Gutorov analyzed the main directions of discussions related to the problem of conceptualizing the notion of “competition” in international political theory. A.A. Shirinyants carried out a direct analysis of the theoretical and ideological debates around the diverse problems of global and regional rivalry between the world powers.

A Conceptual Difficulty in Theories of International Politics

Hans Morgenthau’s theory of power realism is still popular. Professor J. Mearsheimer has now published a number of lectures spelling out the theory of structural realism for understanding the state. Can we account for the present wars with it?

Everyday immigration ethics: Colombia, Venezuela and the case for vernacular response

ABSTRACT In the last decade, Venezuelans have faced a range of challenges such that by 2023, nearly 7.2 million have fled, the vast majority hosted within the region. One country particularly stands out: Colombia has accepted over 2.5 million. Colombia’s behaviour does not appear motivated by legal obligations or universal ethical principles; it is hard to make sense of in terms of international ethical and political theory. Rather, Colombian state and society make reference to mundane, localised concepts of friendship, fraternity and the reciprocity of a shared history. Such everyday ethics is generally ignored in existing debates. I argue that immigration ethics could helpfully begin from concrete, everyday ethical behaviour rather than idealisation and abstraction. Instead of initially asking what states and societies should do regarding immigration, we could ask what do they already do, why and how? This article therefore explores how Colombian politicians and civil society actors understood their welcoming actions through an awareness of entangled histories, reciprocity, friendship and solidarity: everyday, vernacular ways in which responsibility-taking is rationalised and practiced. My argument is not that Colombia’s actions are normatively right, or an enactment of immigration justice. Rather, these actions were ambivalent: the messy, pragmatic result of negotiating different, competing responsibilities, principles and emotions. The results were imperfect, heavily gendered, but also unprecedented. Those advocating greater societal responsibility for immigrants would perhaps do best to look beyond the global north, shun the universal and start from local activities founded in vernacular, everyday ethics.

Analysis of the Theories and Scope of International Political Economy

This study aims to describe the application of international political economy theories, and analyze the scope of international political economy and its influence on the country's economy. The method used in this study is a qualitative method and a descriptive approach which produces a study of a phenomenon and describes it based on literature studies by utilizing various references from previous research. In this study, international political economy theories reveal the weaknesses of other theories, so that we can see and differentiate the extent of the strengths of these theories in explaining global economic trends. This illustrates how International Political Economy discusses the problem of development and change in statehood and the national economy is a very basic resource for the state and nation.

LENIN COMO TEÓRICO DAS RELAÇÕES INTERNACIONAIS

Lenin can be considered a theoretician of International Relations, since his ideas contained in books and articles, many of which are political interventions around and within the Second International, can be read together to think about a Marxist-Leninist theory of international politics. This is the purpose of this article: to understand Lenin as a theoretician of International Relations based on a systematization of his ideas. The article analyzes his reflections on capitalism, war and revolution and his classic work, Imperialism, superior phase of capitalism, in order to propose a Leninist theory of International Relations.

The International Political Theory of Dialogue of Civilisations: Philosophical Issues

Abstract Starting from a conception of dialogue as “fusion of horizons” inspired by Gadamerian hermeneutics this article aims to give a philosophical foundation to the argument for a dialogue of civilisations within a broad set of theoretical debates that have taken place in the fields of philosophy, political theory, and international relations. Such a discussion contributes to the international political theory of dialogue of civilisations as an argument for the construction of a multicultural peaceful international society against the background of our troubled contemporary global politics.

Welfare regimes in Asia: convergent or divergent?

While existing scholarship predominantly focuses on the evolution of welfare regimes in advanced Western economies, there has been limited investigation into the trajectories of such systems in the Asia-Pacific region. This study presents a nuanced analysis of welfare regimes in 20 Asian countries, examining their transformation since the 2000s through principle component analysis and clustering algorithms. Contrary to the predictions of comparative political economy and international political economy theories, the findings reveal that these nations neither exhibit a strict divergence in welfare patterns nor converge strictly towards market-driven commodification. Instead, they adopt a balanced approach, harmonizing elements of both commodification and decommodification. This flexibility allows them to navigate complex challenges, including productivity competition, external shocks, and internal inequality. The study suggests that this balanced approach may act as a positive feedback mechanism, enabling these countries to adapt to both global economic pressures and domestic social imperatives.

한·중 사료 속의 서부여 존재를 논함

After the death of King Daeso of Dongbuyeo(東夫餘), Buyeo of the Nak’s Kingdom, which was initially sealed by Goguryeo(高句麗) as Buyeo King, is not a lord belonging to the Goguryeo Yeonnabu(椽那部). It can be confirmed through Korean-Chinese historical records that it was a royal state with independent military, diplomatic, and trade rights. King Daeso's younger cousin, who surrendered to Goguryeo, was not a heir to the throne, so he was not eligible to surrender by sacrificing his country, so it can be seen as an exile with his followers. Goguryeo, which wanted to become a new hegemonic power, established a new Buyeo as a result of King Daemusin's strategic proposal to expand its power by turning the royal family of Dongbuyeo into a reliable ally. The relationship with Goguryeo can be seen as a bandwagon alliance if analyzed by modern international political relations theory (IR). Buyeo became a target of the enemy and suffered serious damage when it participated in Goguryeo's hegemonic war, and Goguryeo's discriminatory support for this became the background for Buyeo to break its alliance with Goguryeo and collude with Houhan(後漢). King Uigutae(尉仇台), who rejuvenated Buyeo, secured the Daebang(帶方) area with Gonsongang(公孫康), the son of Gongsondo(公孫 度), the Taishou of Liaodong(遼東太守), and move the capital. For this Buyeo, which was in the Liaoseo(遼西) area from the 1st to the early 4th centuries, I suggest that it is necessary to classify it as 'Seobuyeo(西夫餘)' for the systematic organization of Buyeo history research.

A theory’s time perspectives: contributing to a theory’s inadequacy

Theories can either have something to say about the future or provide foundations for making judgments about the future. In either case, however, a theory remains inadequate for obtaining insights about the future which no amount of advancements in information access and quality or methodologies can overcome. This article suggests that inadequacy persists and cannot be completely overcome because of the long-term and short-term time perspectives embedded within a theory. Using illustrative examples of time perspectives from Morgenthau’s theory of international politics, this article illustrates and analyses how long-term and short-term time perspectives within a theory delimit claims or judgments about the future made within or derived from a theory. Subsequently, readers gain insights on how to conceptualise long-term and short-term time perspectives, methods for identifying and differentiating between time perspectives within a theory and the distinct work time perspectives perform within a theory when multiple time perspectives are present.

Neoclassical Realism as a Theory for Correcting Mistakes: What State X Should Do Next Tuesday

Abstract Neoclassical realism has carved a unique niche by offering a theoretically derived and empirically rich foreign policy analysis framework. Over the years, it has branched out as a theory of mistakes (Type I), a theory of foreign policy (Type II), and a theory of international politics (Type III). This article proposes another challenge to consolidate its offer of a progressive research agenda to position it as a theory for correcting mistakes. The theory of mistakes version differentiates ideal from actual foreign policy. The ideal corresponds to foreign policy that follows the pressures and incentives of the international system; structural realism, the basis for this optimal baseline, is here viewed as a normative theory. If there is a gap between the ideal baseline and the actual outcome, then foreign policy is sub-optimal and therefore costly. According to neoclassical realists, this is the result of the intervention of domestic political processes hijacking foreign policy. It follows that pointing out how to reduce the distorting impact of these domestic variables should help steer foreign policy toward optimality. By identifying the negative consequences that follow from a sub-optimal foreign policy, a theory for correcting mistakes also opens the door to developing prescriptions to manage the inevitable fallout.

Building the pluriverse with care

The decolonial concept of the pluriverse challenges the idea of a single world with different paradigms, and instead points to a matrix of multiple distinct yet connected worlds. In so doing, the pluriverse highlights radical ontological and epistemological difference and the implications of such difference for politics. Care and the Pluriverse: Rethinking Global Ethics, my own contribution to decolonial scholarship in international political theory, focuses specifically on the question of how to build a pluriversal ethics. This article engages with Kimberly Hutchings, Fiona Robinson, and Vivienne Jabri’s commentaries on the book, and ultimately argues that vulnerability can serve as a generative meta-ethical orientation for building the pluriverse with care.

What Drives Nuclear-Aspiring States? The Cases of Iran and North Korea

What Drives Nuclear-Aspiring States? The Cases of Iran and North Korea

Alexander Wendt’s “Social Theory of International Politics”: A Realist Critique

Since its publication, Alexander Wendt’s Social Theory of International Politics has become nearly synonymous with the constructivist school in the study of International Relations. Despite its innovative methodological approaches and bold challenges to neorealism’s hegemonic prevalence in the field, Wendt’s social theory faces issues on both theoretical and empirical grounds. With respect to the former, this critical evaluation of the social theory focuses primarily on Wendt’s neglect of causal questions in the examination of state formation as well as his omission of the psychological and sociological levels of analysis in the examination of cultural development. With respect to the latter, the evaluation focuses on instances in which the historical record contradicts Wendt’s proposed distinction between the Hobbesian culture of the past and the Lockean culture of the present as well as on instances in which international socialization and the establishment of commonly observed ideas and norms have not proven effective in preventing the exercise of power politics among states.

The Use of Popular Songs and Cartoons in Teaching Introduction to International Relations and Comparative Politics

Abstract The use of popular culture as a teaching tool is often overlooked in teaching introductory-level political science courses. In recent years, advocacy for the inclusion of popular culture in the classroom has increased due to studies that highlight the benefits of such application in combination with other teaching methods. This paper argues that the incorporation of popular music and cartoons as a combined auxiliary teaching tool is an efficient way to increase students’ understanding of theoretical concepts at multiple levels and to encourage them to think unconventionally. Relating political science paradigms and theories to popular culture makes them accessible to a broad spectrum of students and ensures that students become more engaged in the classroom. Students may also be more likely to apply theoretical concepts to real-life events. In this paper, we share our observations of using popular songs and cartoons as supplementary teaching materials and methods to explain theories of international relations and comparative politics.

Jane Addams’s Feminist Pragmatism and International Political Thought

While pragmatism as a philosophy and intellectual movement has been gaining inroads in international ethics and international political theory scholarship, feminist pragmatism is not yet as widely regarded. This paper explores the intellectual contributions of feminist pragmatism to international political thought, particularly Jane Addams’s social ethics which is largely overlooked in the literature on women’s contributions to international normative theory. Here I add to efforts to reconsider Addams as a thinker that was concerned with the multiplicity and diversity, features of social life that make a foundational premise of international normative thought. In the paper, I explore how feminism and pragmatism challenge ideas about normatively constitutive communities. The nexus of the two philosophies come clearly in Addams’s progressive communitarianism and her ideas on the significance of settlement to social ethics. In addition to Addams’s pacifist thought and international humanism, I argue that her practice in Hull House draws attention to the site as a normatively significant category. The paper casts Hull House as an international social space that sustained social connections, instrumental to social ethics. Hull House serves as an exemplar that can inform further thinking about the international community and more democratised global governance structures.

Editorial introduction: Punctuated equilibrium, multiple streams, environmental governance, and many more

Editorial introduction: Punctuated equilibrium, multiple streams, environmental governance, and many more