International Political Theory Research Articles

Justice, Charity, and Disaster Relief: What, If Anything, Is Owed to Haiti, Japan, and New Zealand?

Whenever fellow humans suffer due to natural catastrophes, we have a duty to help them. This duty is not only acknowledged in moral theory but also expressed in ordinary people's reactions to phenomena such as tsunamis, hurricanes, and earthquakes. Despite being widely acknowledged, this duty is also widely disputed: some believe it is a matter of justice, others a matter of charity. Although central to debates in international political theory, the distinction between justice and charity is hardly ever systematically drawn. To fill this gap in the literature, I consider three accounts of this distinction— the “agent‐based,” the “recipient‐based,” and the “mixed” view—and argue that they are all unsatisfactory. I then offer a fourth alternative, the “autonomy” view, which successfully overcomes the difficulties affecting its rivals. I conclude by considering the implications of this view for the moral grounds of disaster relief in earthquake‐stricken Haiti, New Zealand, and Japan.

Enduring Bonds

This essay questions assumptions about agency expressed in prevailing concepts of freedom understood as autonomy. It also turns to contexts of bondedness, where one endures and negotiates one’s embeddedness in relations of power and thick webs of sociality, to explore alternative modes of agency, of response-ability. The theoretical analysis engages two sites of communal agency, particularly women’s: first, I draw from Saba Mahmood’s study of the women’s mosque movement in contemporary Egypt; and second, I look closely at Hồ Xuân Hương folk poetry in eighteenth-century Confucian-dominated Việt Nam. One can be conceived as a politics of piety, whereas the other can be aptly called a politics of impiety. Both offer glimpses into alternative ways of being and acting in the world. Together they challenge the prevalence of a freedom-centered approach in international relations and political theory.

GLOBAL SOLIDARITY, MIGRATION AND GLOBAL HEALTH INEQUITY

The grounds for global solidarity have been theorized and conceptualized in recent years, and many have argued that we need a global concept of solidarity. But the question remains: what can motivate efforts of the international community and nation-states? Our focus is the grounding of solidarity with respect to global inequities in health. We explore what considerations could motivate acts of global solidarity in the specific context of health migration, and sketch briefly what form this kind of solidarity could take. First, we argue that the only plausible conceptualization of persons highlights their interdependence. We draw upon a conception of persons as 'ecological subjects' and from there illustrate what such a conception implies with the example of nurses migrating from low and middle-income countries to more affluent ones. Next, we address potential critics who might counter any such understanding of current international politics with a reference to real-politik and the insights of realist international political theory. We argue that national governments--while not always or even often motivated by moral reasons alone--may nevertheless be motivated to acts of global solidarity by prudential arguments. Solidarity then need not be, as many argue, a function of charitable inclination, or emergent from an acknowledgment of injustice suffered, but may in fact serve national and transnational interests. We conclude on a positive note: global solidarity may be conceptualized to helpfully address global health inequity, to the extent that personal and transnational interdependence are enough to motivate national governments into action.

THEORIES OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICS AND ZOMBIES

Resenha do livro "Theories of International Politics and Zombies" de Daniel W. Drezner

The Rational Approach

Rational Theory of International Politics: The Logic of Competition and Cooperation. By Charles Glaser . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010. 314 pp., $28.95 paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0-691-14372-9). Some of the most significant contributions to international relations theory have emerged only after decades of thought, incremental advancement, and the testing and retesting of ideas. Kenneth Waltz is the archetype here, with the 20-year period between Man, the State, and War (Waltz 1959) and Theory of International Politics (Waltz 1979) giving rise to a structural realist position that became so influential that John Mearsheimer declared almost everyone in the international relations theory world has been responding to it for more than 25 years (Mearsheimer 2006:109). In Charles Glaser's Rational Theory of International Politics: The Logic of Competition and Cooperation , we find another long journey to theory, one that began with a simple question that emerged while working on nuclear strategy and led, eventually, to the significant contribution that is this most recent volume. Clearly falling into the realm of international relations theory, Glaser's book is rightly lauded for its clarity, its meticulous attention to detail, and its keen analysis of the theoretical domain that is international politics. Like Waltz's work, it is likely to spark debate as some of the conclusions push up against both mainstream realist and liberal institutionalist positions, yet this should be taken as proof …

The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief

This article analyses the US response under former President George W. Bush to the global HIV/AIDS epidemic at the intersection of neo-conservatism and neo-liberalism, highlighting the various ways their distinct gender logics collide to reproduce masculine privilege and gender inequalities on a global scale. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the United States global HIV/AIDS policy and is the largest commitment made by any single nation for an international health project. My analysis is based on PEPFAR's ‘formal’ policy texts, including its authorizing legislation, five-year strategic framework and specific policy directives for recipient organizations. In addition, I examine more ‘informal’ texts like Congressional reports and Presidential speeches delivered by George W. Bush on various occasions. Drawing on a rich body of feminist ethnographic work in the fields of global governance, international political economy, organizational theory and sexuality and masculinity studies, the following article examines the various ways market-based norms and practices can legitimate the moral imperatives of neo-conservatism to promote ‘traditional’ values and institutions in the global South as leading solutions to global problems and insecurities.

Rethinking National Power? From IR Theory to Foreign Policy Practice

Cosmopolitan Power in International Relations: A Synthesis of Realism, Neoliberalism and Constructivism. By Guilio M. Gallarotti . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 315 pp., $29.99 paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0521138123). In this book, Giulio Gallarotti ambitiously advances a “project on power” (p. ix) that he began in The Power Curse: Influence and Illusion in World Politics (2010). In that first work Gallarotti sought to specify a well-known phenomenon. In Cosmopolitan Power he builds on that project. He seeks to develop an account of how states can avoid the power curse; that is, how they can increase their power without undermining it through the very process of its augmentation. The key, Gallarotti argues, is for states to pursue the right kind of power: cosmopolitan power, a combination of hard and soft power that does not rely too heavily on either one. Whereas hard power compels through threat, soft power persuades weak states to “emulate” strong ones as the strong “endear” themselves to the weak (pp. 21–22). Since, as Gallarotti argues, hard power is a feature of Realist thought and soft power of Neoliberal and Constructivist thought, making sense of cosmopolitan power requires a theoretical blending of the major traditions in International Relations (IR). In this way, Cosmopolitan Power takes up an intellectual position alongside other synthetic theories of IR like Alexander Wendt's Social Theory of International Politics (1999) or G. John Ikenberry's After Victory (2000). It also takes up intellectual company with more policy-oriented works, like Joseph Nye's The Powers to Lead (2008). The bulk of the book is absorbed with developing and historically illustrating the specific processes and strategies entailed in cosmopolitan power toward the end of generating …

The Clash of Ideas in World Politics: Transnational Networks, States, and Regime Change, 1510-2010

The Clash of Ideas in World Politics: Transnational Networks, States, and Regime Change, 1510–2010. By John M. Owen IV . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010. 332 pp., $75.00 hardcover (ISBN-13: 9780691142388), $29.95 paperback (ISBN-13: 9780691142395). The study of world politics has two aspects; the first is explanation-oriented approaches that are based on studies of observable behaviors of states in world politics. Realist theories (or rationalists) lie here. The second is understanding-oriented approaches that are based on studies of interpretation about the roots of state and nonstate behaviors in world politics. Constructivist theories (or reflectivists) are among such approaches. After the end of the Cold War era, the study of non-material elements (such as culture, values, and ideas) found an important place in the study of international politics, and constructivist ideas and ideologies began to influence world interactions in different ways. They provided a new perspective through which the world was understood and explained. Nicolas Onuf (1989) with his World of Our Making: Rules and Rule in Social Theory and International Relations did much to develop such ideas. This was accentuated by writings of scholars such as Alexander Wendt (1992) who put forward “Anarchy Is What States Make of It” and the book Social Theory of International Politics (1999). In the years that followed, different titles tapping into the topic were published, each of which added to the literature in its own ways (see, for example, Fukuyama 1992 …

Book Review: Charles L. Glaser, Rational Theory of International Politics: The Logic of Competition and Cooperation

Book Review: Charles L. Glaser, <i>Rational Theory of International Politics: The Logic of Competition and Cooperation</i>

The ‘Practice Turn’, Phronesis and Classical Realism: Towards a Phronetic International Political Theory?

The ‘practice turn’ in International Relations seems on the face of it to be a very promising development; generally associated with Bourdieu and Foucault, it can also be seen as linked to the Aristotelian notion of phronesis (prudence or practical wisdom) and to the classical realist virtue of ‘prudence’ ( prudentia). There are family resemblances here, but also differences; for Aristotle and the realists, practical wisdom is associated more with the intellect, while the ‘practice turn’ places great emphasis on the role of habitual behaviour. Writers as diverse as Flyvbjerg and Macintyre have argued for a ‘phronetic social science’ as an alternative to neo-positivist conceptions of the role of the conduct of social enquiry – but the classical realists could argue that they have already provided a ‘phronetic international relations theory’ . Still, the implications of Aristotle’s comment that ‘prudent young people do not seem to be found’ need to be confronted. Is ‘practical wisdom’ something that can be achieved by study, or is it only achievable in the context of the kind of lived experience that few students of International Relations or International Political theory of whatever age can actually claim?

Book Review: Political Theory: International Political Theory after Hobbes: Analysis, Interpretation and Orientation

Book Review: Political Theory: International Political Theory after Hobbes: Analysis, Interpretation and Orientation

Book Review: International Relations: Rational Theory of International Politics: The Logic of Competition and Cooperation

Book Review: International Relations: Rational Theory of International Politics: The Logic of Competition and Cooperation

Response to Richard Beardsworth's Review of Practical Judgement in International Political Theory

Response to Richard Beardsworth's Review of Practical Judgement in International Political Theory

Islamism as Communitarianism: Person, Community and the Problem of International Norms in Non-Liberal Theories

This essay discusses how international political theory can become more receptive towards Islamism. The central claim is that Islamism can be interpreted as a form of communitarianism. To underpin this claim, the study relies on an analysis of how the concepts of community and person are conceived in communitarianism and Islamism. On the basis of the affinities of these conceptions between Islamism and communitarianism the essay shows that Islamism can be interpreted as a form of communitarianism. The study then concludes that understanding Islamism as communitarianism produces a common space for public reasoning which would deserve more consideration from political theorists. Secondly Islamism as communitarianism reassesses the possibility of a political theory engagement with Islamist theory that can benefit the recognition of human rights norms in circumstances in which Islamism is particularly influential.

Normative IR Theory and the Legalization of International Politics: The Dictates of Humanity and of the Public Conscience as a Vehicle for Global Justice

This paper explores the relationship between normative international political theory and the politics of international law. It begins by arguing that a gap between the normative (in moral terms) and the moral (in legal and social terms) still exists in the literature before going on to examine an approach to closing this gap. This approach, it is argued, is common to a plurality of theoretical approaches including liberal cosmopolitanism, social constructivism and forms of particularism. In exploring ‘institutional moral reasoning’ or ‘social moral epistemology’ the paper argues that respecting the institutional autonomy of the international legal order is a key component of the approach. In order to test the extent to which the various positions do respect the autonomy of the legal order the paper engages with an analysis of the extent to which human rights have become the key constitutive norm of global politics.

The Motivation Question: Arguments from Justice and from Humanity

Two dominant arguments within international political theory, arguments from humanity and arguments from justice, can be distinguished along the lines of the well-known distinction between omissions and actions, respectively. The discussion in this paper shows that people in general are psychologically biased towards thinking that omissions producing harm are less morally grave than actions producing equivalent harm. It also canvasses evidence suggesting that greater moral gravity correlates with heightened guilt, and that heightened guilt is more likely to lead to action that would alleviate it, i.e. remedial or compensatory action. For those reasons, it is suggested that we should expect arguments from justice, which track actions, to be a more feasible means to the desired outcome of (local commitment to) global justice than arguments from humanity, which track omissions.

Book Review: Political Theory: Critical Theory of International Politics: Complementarity, Justice, and Governance

Book Review: Political Theory: Critical Theory of International Politics: Complementarity, Justice, and Governance

Re-Casting the Frame of Corporate Social Responsibility and Responsible Investment: An Environmental and Social Perspective

The normative financial assumption currently at play in both the corporate sector and 'responsible' investment is that accountability and transparency are the primary prerequisites for 'good' governance. Here, it is assumed that financial disclosure, and open and transparent accounting are sufficient indicators of probity. Should the particular entity, which seeks to gain financially from investing in the corporation in question, require further proof of responsibility, it often requires reporting against other environmental, social, or 'governance' criteria (ESG).This paper seeks to challenge these assumptions by arguing that accountability and transparency and 'ESG' are only partial determinants of responsible corporate and financial behaviour. Since the Rio 'Earth' Summit in 1992 - followed by Rio 10 in Johannesburg in 2002, and now Rio 20 - the international community has placed considerable emphasis on sustainability as a key means of social, environmental and economic development. This global policy agenda has also played itself out within the corporate and financial spheres, with several United Nations bodies now having carriage of responsibility for encouraging the implementation of good corporate and financial practice.A wide range of expectations is now placed on corporations seeking to promote themselves as suitable candidates for responsible investment. In turn, responsible investment as a financial industry sector is also coming under increasing scrutiny regarding its activities. Using a hierarchical framework of principles, criteria and indicators, this paper evaluates the governance quality of responsible investment. Following international political theory, it subjects the sector to a multi-stakeholder analysis of governance quality by means of an international survey conducted in 2011. The survey shows that while stakeholders rate governance quality relatively highly, there are some wide discrepancies across key indicators, and stakeholder groups. These results are similar to those previously collected in 2009, and reveal some governance trends. The results have implications for current and future governance practice in both corporations seeking recognition as suitable prospects for responsible investment, and for the responsible investment industry itself.

Reconstructing desecuritisation: the normative-political in the Copenhagen School and directions for how to apply it

AbstractThe concept of desecuritisation – the move of an issue out of the sphere of security – has been the subject of heated international political theory debate and adopted in case studies across a range of sectors and settings. What unites the political theory and the applied literature is a concern with the normative-political potential of desecuritisation. This article documents the political status and content of desecuritisation through four readings: one which shows how desecuritisation is a Derridarian supplement to the political concept of securitisation; one which traces the understanding of the public sphere's ability to rework the friend-enemy distinction; one which emphasises the role of choice, responsibility, and decisions; and one which uncovers the significance of the historical context of Cold War détente. The last part of the article provides a reading of the varied use of desecuritisation in applied analysis and shows how these can be seen as falling into four forms of desecuritisation. Each of the latter identifies a distinct ontological position as well as a set of more specific political and normative questions.

Theories of International Politics and Zombies. By Daniel W. Drezner. (Princeton University Press, 2011.)

<i>Theories of International Politics and Zombies</i>. By Daniel W. Drezner. (Princeton University Press, 2011.)