State-centric Approach Research Articles

Analiza dokumentów strategicznych Unii Europejskiej: Human Security jako paradygmat unijnej polityki przeciwdziałania terroryzmowi

AN ANALYSIS OF EU STRATEGIC DOCUMENTS: MAKING HUMAN SECURITYA PARADIGM WITHIN EUROPEAN UNION COUNTERTERRORISM POLICYThis paper analyses European Union strategic documents for evidence that EU counterterro­rism policy is founded on the Human Security HS approach. It concentrates on three main strategic documents: the EU Counter-Terrorism Strategy 2005, the European Agenda on Security 2015, and the EU Global Strategy 2016 which define the EU’s current approach to terrorism. Three determinants are established to research whether counterterrorism policy is founded on the HS pa­radigm: a people-centred approach, the presence of a wide range of threats, and a strong presence of non-state actors. The analysis shows that counterterrorism policy is constructed on the HS paradigm, however with strong and influential leverage from member states. This paradigm was chosen by EU institutions because it guarantees a strong position of EU agencies in contrast to the traditional mem­ber state-centred approach to security. It helps also to show that EU security policy makes citizens a priority, which could increase legitimacy of the EU in the eyes of its people.

The state: a sine qua non of public law? A critique of Martin Loughlin’s state-centred approach to public law

ABSTRACTThis article critically considers a state-centred approach to public law that has been epitomised in Martin Loughlin’s claim that the concept of the state is the sine qua non of public law. More precisely, the article argues against two theoretical tenets that underlie this state-centred approach. The first tenet is the consideration of state authority as absolute authority. The second tenet claims that public law has a deep distinctness from all other fields of law, which are contrasted to it by being described as constituting the realm of ordinary law. The article also challenges the ability of the aforementioned state-centred approach to fully account for the status and role of the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty in the UK constitutional order. This challenge is discussed in light of a distinction between state sovereignty and parliamentary sovereignty.

The state: A sine qua non of public law? A critique of Martin Loughlin’s state-centred approach to public law

This article critically considers a state-centred approach to public law that has been epitomised in Martin Loughlin’s claim that the concept of the state is the sine qua non of public law. More pr...

Political Elites and the Rise of the Boko Haram Insurgency in Nigeria

ABSTRACT What is the cause of Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria? Studies on Boko Haram insurgency onset has largely emphasized economic poverty, religious ideology, and the historical north-south identity fractionalization. Some others which focus on Nigerian politics as the cause of the insurgency have largely analyzed how corrupt politicians have caused economic poverty and inequality which have resulted in grievances in northern Nigeria. While these studies have made invaluable contributions to the literature, this study begs to deviate from their emphasis by showing how political elites have mobilized and given political relevance to the Boko Haram group. This study specifically investigates the cause of the insurgency by adopting the state-centered approach which argues that insurgencies are caused by structural vulnerabilities in certain kind of states. In doing this, this study advances the following four propositions. Firstly, when factions of political elites compete for political power at the national level on identity basis, identity groups emerge at the subnational level in defense of these identities. Secondly, identity groups gain political relevance when factions of the political elites ascribe such relevance to them in the process of competing for political power. Thirdly, when a fundamentalist identity group becomes political relevant, it makes fundamental demands which spark antagonism between it and the political elites. Finally, insurgencies based on fundamentalist identity claims go unchecked in a partial democracy with political elites factionalized along identity lines.

Is the Future of SSR non-linear?

ABSTRACTThis article explores issues around security sector reform (SSR) and the involvement of the international community in peace-building. It argues that the international architecture which surrounds SSR privileges a particular form of knowledge that reflects a technocratic approach to security, and illustrates this by systematically examining the literature. Research on the literature itself shows that three core themes dominate: state-centric approaches, technocratic approaches, and approaches to local ownership. These comprise a current, linear approach to SSR that ignores much of the critical literature on peace-building. The article then goes on to draw on some of this critical literature to develop an alternative approach to SSR building using a non-linear approach which incorporates a better understanding of institutional politics, an emphasis on process rather than structures, and analysis of hidden politics.

Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Narrative and Non-Traditional (Holistic) Security Paradigm with Civic Engagement

The woes of terrorism and extremism pose a threat to the stability, economic development and human growth of nations. It, therefore, remains a serious concern for the state to rethink its strategies towards bringing stability. This paper, on deploying content analysis technique, explores the traditional security paradigm as a state-centric approach under the diverse concept of security. The non-traditional approaches; Buzan’s holistic perspective of a national security complex, Mehbub-ul-Haq’s human security notion and Mohammed Ayoob’s concept of weak state, are scrutinized to study the actual and potential role of civic engagement towards constructing an effective counter-terrorism narrative of Pakistan. It is established that due civic engagement has the potential to counter the extreme dogmas through collaborative efforts at home. It can also address the wrong perception about Pakistan’s inefficient counter-terror measures at the regional and global level.

Encountering the State: Women and divorce in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

In the post-September 11 era, the state in Saudi Arabia is said to be feminizing itself by promoting inclusive reform vis-à-vis women. Since King ʿAbdallah’s reign, and through Prince Muḥammad bin Salmān’s recent and ambitious roadmap of socio-economic reforms, the monarchy has been championing women’s causes. This article seeks to move beyond a state-centric approach that focuses on the role of the Saudi state, actors and institutions. Rather, it takes an ethnographic view point to explore how the state’s feminization of itself unfolds in the everyday encounters and interactions between women divorcées and the processes, offices and officials of the state in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Simply by engaging the state and continually re-interpreting what it might offer them in terms of rights and resources, divorcées are able to draw new boundaries around their private lives. Consequently, it matters not so much that state actors and institutions espouse women’s positions in various realms, but rather that this so-called feminization enables women to act upon, interpret and imagine differently family and sexual life, and crucially, ways of being with and for others.

John W. Lango, The Ethics of Armed Conflict: A Cosmopolitan Just War Theory

Pedro Tiago Ferreira The central thesis advanced by John W. Lango in The ethics of armed conflict is that, “in contemporary theorising about just war principles, there ought to be a paradigm shift from a state-centric approach to a cosmopolitan approach” (p. 7).

States and standardisation: constructing the co-ethnic migrant story in Germany

ABSTRACTThis article addresses the standardisation of stories about diaspora return (also called ‘co-ethnic migration’ or ‘repatriation’). Using the concept of ‘standards’, the author analyses how the German state distributes certain texts about diaspora history over others, forming a legible and homogenous narrative of co-ethnic migrant identity. The article is based on a critical discourse analysis of texts relating to Russian–German history and analysis of biographical narratives of co-ethnic Germans residing in Germany. The study identifies mechanisms by which states homogenise narratives, and to understand which co-ethnic history and identity constructions are reproduced by the state, and which are silenced. This approach enriches the study of diasporas in two ways: first, it sheds light on how states govern diaspora members who have migrated ‘back’ to their ‘origin’ countries; second, it departs from the state-centric approach prevalent in the study of diaspora governance by focusing on stories told by diaspora members.

Citizen Journalism and Conflict Transformation

Abstract The ubiquitous Internet platform in Africa has given rise to a new set of non-state actors responding to protracted conflicts through the use of new media technology. As a departure from a state-centric approach to addressing conflict in Africa, this interdisciplinary study explores the contribution of the public in responding to armed conflicts through citizen journalism. To unearth non-violent African digital innovations, this research explored the Ushahidi platform, which emerged as a response to Kenya’s 2008 post-election violence. Using a qualitative method, data was gathered through unstructured in-depth interviews. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. The data showed the transformative role the Ushahidi platform played during Kenya’s electoral violence through crisis-mapping, the early warning multi-agent consortium, a constitutional referendum, and election monitoring. Evidence also emerged regarding the pioneer work of Ushahidi in other non-violent technological involvements in addressing crisis in Kenya.

Thinking Globally: Reassessing the Fields of Law, Politics and Economics in the US Academy

AbstractIn the United States, students of law, politics and economics are primarily trained to think in terms of state-centric analytical frameworks. This essay argues that this training is anachronistic and does not adequately prepare students for the complex geopolitics of the 21st century. Of course, not all scholarship in these disciplines can be characterized in this way since each discipline has its own internal disputes and scholarly innovations. That being said, a mainstream state-centric approach dominates the literature and the curriculum in most law, politics and economics departments. The first part of the essay describes the rise of law schools and the establishing of political science and economics disciplines in the late 19th century. It explores the implications of these disciplines’ claim to do “scientific” research. It argues that this claim continues to bind the disciplines to a state-centric framework which in turn provides obstacles to developing new theories and methods.

ALGUNAS APROXIMACIONES A LA AGENDA DE LA SEGURIDAD INTERNACIONAL CONTEMPORÁNEA Y LA INFLUENCIA TEÓRICA EN SUS CONTENIDOS

La Seguridad Internacional es un campo específico de las Relaciones Internacionales que en la actualidad muestra una sólida vigencia, aunque sus perfiles y límites son objeto de debate académico. En este debate confrontan visiones ortodoxas, fuertemente apegadas a los modelos que emergieron a mediados del siglo XVII con la llamada Paz de Westfalia, con otras más flexibles surgidas en las últimas cuatro décadas. Las primeras abordan al tablero mundial en clave únicamente estatal, observando vinculaciones interestatales con claro predominio del poder militarI las segundas, alegando un mayor respaldo empírico, admiten diversos tipos de actores, dinámicas y temas. Con ese contexto, los objetivos del presente trabajo consisten en describir algunos de los aspectos más representativos del mencionado contrapunto entre las visiones clásicas y las lecturas heterodoxas que no se ciñen a los esquemas westfalianos, como así también repasar algunas aristas de la agenda contemporánea de la Seguridad Internacional, indicando el sustento teórico de los heterogéneos contenidos que ha venido incorporando en los últimos tiempos. A tal efecto, en primer lugar describiremos cómo ha mutado la fisonomía y se han ampliado los límites de esa agenda, para luego consignar algunos efectos de ese proceso, finalizando con unas breves conclusiones y tendencias. Desde un punto de vista metodológico, el presente trabajo propone un abordaje de tipo deductivo al objeto de estudio, evolucionando desde enfoques generales hacia planos de mayor especificidadI el análisis alternará entre los niveles descriptivo y explicativo, con empleo de fuentes secundarias y datos cualitativos.

Transnational mobility, strong states and contested sovereignty: Learning from the China–Taiwan context

Mobility across the Taiwan Strait has intensified since the border was opened in 1987. The cross-border social, cultural and economic exchanges, however, have remained closely embedded in the nationalistic logic specific to cross-Strait relations. Employing a state-centered approach and building on a comparative analysis of the interaction between Beijing and two groups of cross-Strait migrants (mainland spouses in Taiwan, and Taiwanese investors in China), this paper examines the various ways in which a state may still exert influence over migrant communities in a context of increased mobility and exchanges. This paper argues that the nation-state may still shape migrants’ experiences, particularly when sending and receiving governments have unresolved disputes. Under these conditions, state actors may use migrant communities to achieve their nationalistic goals.

Reimagining SSR in Contexts of Security Pluralism

Within the repertoire of international stabilization interventions, security sector reform (SSR) and other conventional efforts to strengthen security and governance institutions remain central. There is increasing recognition that the policies and practices operating under the rubric of SSR are blind to the empirical reality of security pluralism in most stabilization contexts. In these contexts, both security providers directly authorized by the state (police, army) and a multitude of other coercive actors engage in producing and reproducing order, and enjoy varying degrees of public authority and legitimacy. Recognizing this, research was undertaken in three cities (Beirut, Nairobi, and Tunis) to discern the conditions enabling various security providers to forge constructive relations with local populations and governance actors. Drawing on insights generated by these case studies, this article problematizes conventional state-centric approaches and argues for a bold reimagining of SSR. It makes the case for an SSR approach that prioritizes promoting the accountability and responsiveness of all security providers, integrating efforts to strengthen the social determinants of security, and enabling a phased transition from relational to rules-based systems of security provision and governance.

Los derechos humanos en los textos clásicos y contemporáneos de las relaciones internacionales

El presente artículo ofrece los resultados del análisis crítico del discurso realizado a 42 libros clásicos y contemporáneos de las relaciones internacionales y la importancia de los derechos humanos en ellos. Este análisis del discurso académico demuestra que los derechos humanos no se han convertido en tema central de la teoría internacionalista. Por esta razón, se argumenta que no hay un cambio epistemológico ni ontológico en los textos internacionalistas para superar el enfoque Estadocéntrico de la disciplina.

Questioning the ‘immortal state’: the Gezi protests and the short-lived human security moment in Turkey

This article has three interrelated objectives: firstly, it challenges monolithic depictions of the 2013 Gezi protests and conceptualizes the so-called ‘Spirit of Gezi’ as a highly influential—albeit temporary—power in the politics of Turkey. Secondly, it traces the success of the HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) in the 7 June 2015 parliamentary election back to Gezi while acknowledging the roots of the party within the Kurdish political movement. Thirdly, it examines the manifestation and subsequent decline of what is termed the human security moment in Turkey. The arguments of the work are mostly based on interviews with Gezi activists. It is argued that Gezi produced a discursive challenge to the national security-oriented understanding of the ‘Kurdish question’. Yet, even though the human security-oriented Gezi discourse had brought the Kurdish political movement and the Turkish left together, it ultimately failed to permanently transform Turkish politics due to the collapse of the peace process in June 2015. In addition to contributing to the literature on Gezi, the article also draws insights for security studies. It concludes that alternative discourses to the state-centric securitization approach to conflicts such as the Kurdish question can only have a lasting effect under conditions of ceasefire.

Assessing US Influence over India–Israel Relations: A Difficult Equation to Balance?

As India’s Israel policy evolved over time, the US involvement in this bilateral relationship has been constant, albeit neither consistent nor direct. Breaking with traditional state-centric approaches, this article focuses on the key role played in shaping the nature of India–Israel ties by non-state and sub-state actors such as specific political personalities, for example Congressmen Emmanuel Celler in the 1940s and Stephen Solarz in the 1980s, as well as of pro-Israel interest groups based in the US, like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC). The article shows that the US factor in India–Israel relations has evolved over time depending on the personalities, political constellations in power in India and regional developments in West Asia. Finally, while India, Israel and US interests seem to have converged at some crucial junctures, the article argues that their policies and strategies have rarely aligned over the long term.

A Geopolitical Economy of Heavy Industrialization and Second Tier City Growth in South Korea: Evidence from the ‘Four Core Plants Plan’

In this article, we examine heavy industrialization and second tier urbanization in South Korea during the 1970s from a geopolitical economic perspective. We highlight the crucial, spatially complex geopolitical process of forming transnational class alliances, embedded in Cold War geopolitics, which has been neglected within state-centric developmental state theories and approaches to urbanization. Specifically, we trace the changes in the state’s original developmental plan for promoting the machinery industry in the southeast region during the 1960s and 1970s. We show how Hyundai, one of the most dominant chaebols, grew to exercise decisive influence over the state’s developmental strategy and became a powerhouse in the Korean economy, particularly in the city of Ulsan. Based on a case study of the Four Core Plants Plan, we show that the success of Hyundai was not an outcome of the effectiveness of the state’s developmental policy but was, ironically, due to the failure of the government’s original plan. The successful substitution of Hyundai’s own strategy for the state’s plan, which contributed enormously to the growth of Ulsan, would have been impossible without Hyundai’s enrollment into the transnational geopolitical economic alliance spurred by US military projects in Asia.

Self-Defence Against Non-State Actors: Impulses from the Max Planck Trialogues on the Law of Peace and War

The legality of self-defence against non-state actors is currently one of the most contested issues of the jus contra bellum. How should we interpret state practice – has it already given rise, in law, to a broader concept of self-defence, or is the traditional state centred view still good law? Under which specific requirements should self-defence against non-state actors, if at all, be regarded as lawful and how can an abuse of an extended right to self-defence be prevented? The “Impulses from the Max Planck Trialogues on the Law of Peace and War” consist of short essays dealing with these questions. The essays are grouped in four categories: 1) restrictivist positions upholding a state-centred approach towards self-defence; 2) expansive interpretations of the law, presenting arguments for the legality of self-defence against non-state actors; 3) conceptual alternatives to the current debate; and 4) a number of meta-questions.

Defying the Theoretical Constraints of State-Centric Approaches: A Review ofNon-State Actors in International Law

This review ofNon-State Actors in International Law, edited by Math Noortmann, August Reinisch and Cedric Ryngaert (Hart Publishing, 2015), focuses on the constraints of state-centric approaches in accurately depicting the role and status of non-state actors in the international arena. As the book presents a comprehensive examination of the influence of diverse entities in a variety of fields, such limitations are evidenced and inevitably lead to the reassessment of novel theoretical standpoints, as well as to the recognition that a multidisciplinary approach is much needed in order to advance further studies on the issue.