Study Of International Relations Research Articles

Can We Algorithmize Politics? The Promise and Perils of Computerized Text Analysis in Political Research

ABSTRACTIn recent years, political scientists increasingly have used data-science tools to research political processes, positions, and behaviors. Because both domestic and international politics are grounded in oral and written texts, computerized text analysis (CTA)—typically based on natural-language processing—has become one of the most notable applications of data-science tools in political research. This article explores the promises and perils of using CTA methods in political research and, specifically, the study of international relations. We highlight fundamental analytical and methodological gaps that hinder application and review processes. Whereas we acknowledge the significant contribution of CTA to political research, we identify a dual “engagement deficit” that may distance those without prior background in data science: (1) the tendency to prioritize methodological innovation over analytical and theoretical insights; and (2) the scholarly and political costs of requiring high proficiency levels and training to comprehend, assess, and use advanced research models.

Reaching for allies? The dialectics and overlaps between international relations and area studies in the study of politics, security and conflicts

AbstractThis article sets the scene for the Special Issue ‘Reaching for allies?’ by setting out the research questions and structure of the Special Issue. Specifically, this introduction reviews the state of the art of dialectics interweaving International Relations and Area Studies. Specifically, it focuses on tracing the genealogy of these debates, identifying the actors engaged with them, as well as, mapping those sites where such transdisciplinary knowledge is produced and circulated. We also provide an assessment of the interaction between the two disciplinary traditions as scholarly disciplines by reviewing the field as it had developed in the last decade since 2013. In order to do so, we present data on the brokers of this dialogue by analysing top-ranked Journals across regions, dedicated Special Issues on the matter as well as main international conferences and participants. Overall, this article provides a threefold contribution: first, we provide an account of the globalization of knowledge production and circulation that has also increasingly decentred, valuing local peculiarities and epistemological traditions beyond the Western academia(s). Second, we assess and discuss how Western and non-Western academics have contoured concepts which demand and entail site-intensive techniques of enquiry, exposure to complexities on the grounds, ethnographic sensitivity, and, at the same time, comparative endeavours going beyond area specialisms. Third, by looking at international and regional policy-making milieus with attention to context-specificity, we believe critical policy-relevant implications can be discussed, specifically in relation to local ownership and bottom-up approaches.

MIGRATION STUDIES IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS DISCIPLINE IN TURKEY: AN ANALYSIS ON GRADUATE STUDIES

This study analyses graduate theses in International Relations (IR) discipline indexed with migration. As of 30 June 2020, 190 graduate theses indexed with migration in 10,251 graduate theses in International Relations subject in 1983-30 June 2020 period are analysed based on type (Master’s/PhD), language (Turkish/English/French) and words in title with content analysis. It aims to evaluate how much and in which areas migration is studied in graduate studies in IR in Turkey in order to take general picture of the area. Considering impact and role of migration in domestic and foreign policy of Turkey, the study aims to contribute in determining the weight of migration studies, highly studied areas, prioritised areas, potential areas, and overstudied areas in the discipline through content analysis of the graduate theses in IR subject indexed with migration. It addresses that in IR discipline, number of graduate studies on migration should be increased, specifically, the number of PhD theses should be increased, emphasis should be given on theoretical studies, and more studies should be conducted on migration to Turkey from surrounding geography influencing Turkey directly in graduate theses on migration in IR discipline.

Gamification in Diplomacy Studies as an Effective Tool for Knowledge Transfer: Questionnaire Study.

BackgroundGraduate education in modern diplomacy poses several challenges, as it requires several competencies to be developed before diplomatic service is joined. Incorporation of simulation games can have a positive impact on the design of international relations and diplomacy learning process. We have designed a novel role play game (MAEDRI) to simulate part of the activities of a typical Ministry of Foreign Affairs.ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of MAEDRI in transferring knowledge in international relations education programs at the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest, Romania, across a 4-year period.MethodsThe game enrolled master’s level graduate students. The data were collected through a voluntary and anonymous questionnaire between 2017 and 2020. At the end of each of the 4 editions we organized debriefing sessions that gave students the opportunity to provide feedback on their experience with this exercise, level of collaboration within the team, lessons learned, and to make suggestions for improvements. Using an online questionnaire, we measured the participants’ perception regarding the level of effectiveness in increasing knowledge transfer, motivation, and engagement. Questionnaire data were consolidated in percentages for each item.ResultsA total of 49 participants completed the study. A total of 24 skills (13 professional and 11 social skills) were assessed. We identified a strong positive correlation between stress management and conflict management (r=.86; P<.001) as well as significantly positive correlations between building relations within the team and the ability to dialog and be persuasive (r=.7; P<.001), between procedure compliance and planning and organizing the work (r=.69; P<.001), and between analysis capacity and decision based on data received (r=.68; P<.001). Among social skills, self-control, confidence, and flexibility were the most substantially improved.ConclusionsWe describe several benefits of a novel game, used as an education tool to enhance a series of competencies necessary in international relations studies. Our results demonstrate a significant level of student engagement and motivation while playing MAEDRI, improvement of several essential skills, and enhanced knowledge transfer to real-life situations. While the data are encouraging, further research is needed to evaluate the full impact of role play as an effective experiential learning method.

Who Owns a Deadly Virus? Viral Sovereignty, Global Health Emergencies, and the Matrix of the International

AbstractThis article investigates the global inequities imbricated in the international response to lethal viruses. It does so by developing a virographic approach to the study of international relations that builds upon the matrix methods pioneered within black feminist thought for unraveling particularly complex forms of interlocking oppression. Performing such a virography of international relations exposes the multifaceted economic, racial, and epistemological disparities embedded in the international management of emergent viruses. It further demonstrates how those multiple axes of international inequality intersect during viral outbreaks to form a deadly matrix of global subjugation—vital abandonment—that repeatedly deprives the world's majority population from equitable access to life-saving biomedical interventions. It finally also reveals how diplomatic assertions of viral sovereignty, that is, claiming legal ownership of pathogens, are directly enrolling lethal viruses now in the political strategies of countries seeking to resist their vital abandonment. Overall, a virography thus contributes to the broader study of international relations by foregrounding the global salience of epidemiological injustices and positionalities, by capturing the actant power of lethal viruses in contemporary world politics, and by intimating that the “international” can itself be studied as a continually reconfiguring matrix of interlocking and historically conditioned global inequities.

Limits to evidential pluralism: multi-method large-N qualitative analysis and the primacy of mechanistic studies

Evidential pluralists, like Federica Russo and Jon Williamson, argue that causal claims should be corroborated by establishing both the existence of a suitable correlation and a suitable mechanism complex. At first glance, this fits well with mixed method research in the social sciences, which often involves a pluralist combination of statistical and mechanistic evidence. However, statistical evidence concerns a population of cases, while mechanistic evidence is found in individual case studies. How should researchers combine such general statistical evidence and specific mechanistic evidence? This article discusses a very recent answer to this question, ‘multi-method large-N qualitative analysis’ or multi-method LNQA, popular in political science and international relations studies of rare events like democratic transitions and cease-fire agreements. Multi-method LNQA combines a comprehensive study of all (or most) relevant event cases with statistical analysis, in an attempt to solve the issues of generalization faced by other types of qualitative research, such as selection bias and lack of representativeness. I will argue that the kind of general causal claim that multi-method LNQA is after, however, is crucially different from the average treatment effect found in statistical analysis and can in fact only be supported with mechanistic evidence. I conclude from this that mixed method research, and thereby evidential pluralism, may be inappropriate in this context.

Concept &lt;i&gt;Japanese National Character&lt;/i&gt; through the Prism of Migration Policy

The strategy and tactics of Japan's contemporary migration policy are determined by the ethnocultural characteristics of the Japanese nation, recognized as the concept of national character (国民性 kokuminsei), which is both a political and scientific entity. The rapid changes in migration policy today expose the practical need to study the causes, consequences, and specifics of related social and political concepts such as national character and the factors that shape it. The accurate knowledge helps predict cultural, political, and socioeconomic changes and future agendas. This concept is a subject of paramount importance for international relations studies, as it is rooted in the Japanese nation's self-consciousness and represents core elements of national history within its interrelation with present policy. The study suggests that the Japanese national character, described and conceptualized in the late Edo period (1603–1868) and the Meiji period (1868–1912), still influences the attitudes of the Japanese towards migration and foreigners in general. The representatives of kokugaku (国学 national study) that originated at that time and nihonjin-ron (日本人論 theories about the Japanese) that developed further sought to assert the authenticity of Japanese culture and its history and construct a national identity. Assumingly, it would become an instrument of protecting the country from the influence of China and later the West. Today, researchers of Japanese culture, both in Japan and abroad, continue to refer to post-war nihonjin-ron, criticizing, rethinking, or adding to its major provisions. Content analysis of the vocabulary used in connection with the concept of national character in official documents regulating the relevant area of social policy, as well as in the media and social networks, has revealed some features of the modern interpretation of this concept. In particular, there are attempts to identify socially significant features of a member of Japanese society. Certain acculturation efforts required from migrants imply the development of the skills that are socially important from the point of view of Japanese society. The comprehensive analysis of measures for the integration and adaptation of migrants implemented by the local governments of Japan has shown that communicative phenomena associated with the concepts of meiwaku (迷惑 causing trouble), omoiyari (思いやり considerate caring for others), as well as the culture of gift-giving and apologizing play an important role in the relationships between Japanese and foreigners. In addition, the analysis of migration policy allows concluding that the concept of coexistence between Japanese and foreigners (多文化共生 tabunka kyousei) currently pursued by the government, despite its promising title, does not quite correspond to multiculturalism in its classical sense, in other words — does not imply deliberate government action to preserve and develop cultural differences within one society.

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES: ACCOUNTING, TAXATION AND INSURANCE

The need for the study of international financial relations is justified by the lack of modern scientific discourses on the methods of regulation of financial tensions in the new epidemiological conditions of business environment and appropriate methodology to manage the level of rejection of players in the international financial market. The purpose of this study is to find points of contact between accounting, tax and insurance accounting in the development of joint measures to overcome global financial risks in the process of international cooperation. The focus of the study: the development of modified accounting tools for a comprehensive and systemic solution to the internalization of international relations; unification of the national tax system, based on the requirements of the modern development of the global financial system; development of insurance measures to overcome global risks in the process of international financial cooperation. The research was conducted on the basis of expert reviews and assessments of the state of international financial relations, modern theoretical and methodological, normative-legal and legislative aspects of international financial activity; methods of dialectics, methods and principles of scientific knowledge, statistical and economic tools were used. The growth of cross-border cooperation, the emergence of new financial flows and the transformation of financial relations online have created a number of new financial linkages that not only change the traditional financial systems worldwide and the global financial system, but also require the universalization, modification, internalization of certain accounting, taxation and insurance instruments. In order to universalize the measurement of failure trends of business players in international financial markets, one of the possible models for managing a dynamic object – a system-situation model of behavior of international investors, based on combining the systemic and situational views of business players on the interpretation of financially sensitive information – is proposed; a schematic representation of the vulnerability of financial and innovation activities of business players in the context of unpredictable reactions to the proposed positions of the global financial market. It is determined that the development of international financial activity should move in the direction of: the coordination and development of countries in various financial spheres on the adoption of appropriate regulations supranational character; meaningful universalization in international financial relations; restructuring of the national financial system of Ukraine; the viability of the national financial system in the direction of centralized imperative regulation of international financial relations.

The Khivan Campaign of V.A. Perovsky 1839-1840 in the Context of Anglo-Russian Rivalry in Central Asia

Traditionally, when studying the campaign of the Orenburg military governor V.A. Perovsky to Khiva in 1839-1840, among the motives that prompted the Russian authorities to sanction this approach, researchers primarily noted economic interests and the desire to end the raids of Khivans on Russian caravans. At the same time, the international context of this campaign which coincided with the first Anglo-Afghan war was pushed into the background. The purpose of this article written within the framework of a systematic approach to the study of international relations is to prove the correlation between the actions of the Russian and British authorities in Central Asia at the turn of the 1830s and 1840s. Studying the logic of the events preceding the Khiva campaign of V.A. Perovsky and referring to documents directly related to the preparation of this campaign allow us to conclude that the concern of a number of Russian political figures (among whom V.A. Perovsky was) with the activation of British agents in Central Asia and the actions of the British army in Afghanistan was one of the main motives for organizing the campaign, the purpose of which was to strengthen Russian positions in the named region. Despite the failure of V.A. Perovsky’s idea, the authorities of British India, frightened by the movement of Russian troops and suffering defeats in Afghanistan, contributed to the settlement of contradictions between Russia and Khiva in order to preserve the regional status quo. The actions of the British side, as well as the insufficient interest of the Russian authorities in the Central Asian direction in comparison with the European and Middle Eastern ones, contributed to a decrease in Russia’s activity in Central Asia after the unsuccessful campaign of V.A. Perovsky.

Listwise Deletion in High Dimensions

AbstractWe consider the properties of listwise deletion when both n and the number of variables grow large. We show that when (i) all data have some idiosyncratic missingness and (ii) the number of variables grows superlogarithmically in n, then, for large n, listwise deletion will drop all rows with probability 1. Using two canonical datasets from the study of comparative politics and international relations, we provide numerical illustration that these problems may emerge in real-world settings. These results suggest that, in practice, using listwise deletion may mean using few of the variables available to the researcher.

PARADIGMA E-DIPLOMACY: FORMULASI KEBIJAKAN PENGEMBANGAN SOFT POWER DIPLOMACY

Along with the industrial revolution (IR) 4.0, digital diplomacy or e-diplomacy is a necessity. However, these studies are still not widely developed. This article attempts to explain it – albeit with a very limited scope – from a public policy perspective. By using descriptive-qualitative method, the data source of this study was obtained from literature study. The results of the study show that e-diplomacy 4.0 is one part of the discipline of international relations, especially soft power diplomacy. After entering the early phase of society 5.0, diplomacy study actors have the opportunity to be more open to combining the two. Thus, a new paradigm is needed as the development of a conceptual framework for the study of international relations that develops in a multidisciplinary manner. The contribution of this article is the Paradigm Conceptual Framework of E-Diplomacy 4.0 and Society 5.0 as an effort towards e-diplomacy policy formulation. Through this paradigm, it is hoped that it will have implications for policy formulation efforts – by the government as a public policy actor – so that the participation and innovation of public soft power diplomacy in the digital field is more developed.Keywords: e-diplomacy paradigm – policy formulation – soft diplomacy

The many and different Muslim women’s voices unheard in Feminist theory

The many and different Muslim women’s voices unheard in Feminist theory

City Diplomacy: An Introduction to the Forum

Summary Whilst city diplomacy as a topic of study is gaining more attention, the practice is often approached through fields other than the study of diplomacy or international relations. A commonly accepted framework, and the governance system that supports it, is missing to shape research and scholarship. This forum outlines the key parameters of a framework for city diplomacy rooted in earlier research and validated through five essays by geographically and professionally diverse authors. The framework introduced in this introduction structured the direction of the essays that are informed by academic research and by practitioners. The essays also propose policies and strategies to make city diplomacy more systematically and officially integrated into global affairs.

The main interpretations of the concept of "imperialism" in the modern theory of international relations.

This article is built around the phenomenon of "imperialism" and represents an understanding of the role of the object under study in modern international relations. The aim of the work is a theoretical definition of the essence of imperialism as a phenomenon in world history and world politics. The author analyzed imperialism from the point of view of two of the three main paradigms of international relations – Marxism and political realism, and within the framework of the second mentioned paradigm tried to form a new concept of imperialism in the theory of international relations, which would be less ideologized, but an equal alternative to the Marxist view. It is noteworthy that the author deliberately did not use the works of pioneer researchers of the phenomenon under study and focused on more modern, relevant and less well-known works that already show the dynamics of the development of scientific research. The author comes to the conclusion that, from the point of view of two paradigms analyzed in detail, the modern world can be called imperialistic, and imperialism is inextricably linked with the system of international relations and the current world order. The main achievement of this work is the development of the author's concept of imperialism, created with respect and based on the research of non-Marxist predecessors. It should also be argued that some scenarios of the collapse of such an order can be perceived by Marxists as the collapse of imperialism, but for another paradigm only the final fall of all powers can mean its collapse. The author also admits that imperialism of the new world order will evolve to its new state, acquire new levers, forms, and will be characterized by a different set of methods.

Improving national strategic foresight with the use of forecasting tournaments and its implications for the study of international relations

Improving national strategic foresight can help the formation of more robust and informed policies, including foreign policy. Predicated upon the theory behind peer-prediction elicitation methods such as Reciprocal Scoring, we combined two foresight methods - Forecasting tournaments and a Delphi method - into a design in which a forecasting tournament predicted the results of a Delphi. Experts in a Delphi could take into account the arguments of participants from a prior forecasting tournament and thus make better-informed decisions. This methodological article aims to validate the feasibility of this design. It describes how we implemented it for identifying and prioritizing global megatrends as part of a strategic foresight project for the Czech government. We found this design practically applicable, while the forecasting tournament also seems to improve the ability of participants to predict a group consensus. Similar combinations of foresight methods could be used to enhance the study of international relations.

Methodological Nationalism in International Relations: A Quantitative Assessment of Academia in Turkey (2015-2019)

This article seeks to expand the discussion on Methodological Nationalism (MN)within the discipline of International Relations (IR), to contribute to MN literature from the perspective of IR studies and to evaluate the prevalence of MN in the field by the quantification of selected works. To achieve these goals, the article, firstly, recapitulates the general MN literature and critically evaluates this discussion in IR. Later, it identifies the forms of MN as they appear in IR with two faces: Level of analysis (nation-as-arena) and unit of analysis (nation-as-actor). Secondly, the article proposes a method to assess the prevalence of MN through quantification. Finally, the article applies its method to IR works to address the question of how widespread MN is in academia in Turkey. The findings demonstrate the proportional pervasiveness of MN within the IR community of Turkey, which is part of the “periphery” in the discipline. The findings also let us draw some hypothetical conclusions, which have the potential to be a springboard for further research on the MN-IR nexus.

African experiences and alternativity in International Relations theorizing about security

Abstract Deconstructing International Relations (IR) episteme acknowledges its generation of power imbalances in security knowledge that relegate African experiences to the margins of global politics. Central to this process of relegation is a pervasive ‘methodological whiteness’, which, while eliding coloniality and racism, projects white experience as a universal perspective. Accompanying this Eurocentric bias has been the intrusive projection of the Weberian state as the most effective site for security governance and conflict prevention on a continent with states that are characterized by a hybridity of political orders, which deviate substantially from the ideal-type state that they seek to mimic. Not only has this resulted in disastrous policies in many parts of Africa, but critical questions arise as to the relevance of conventional IR and security studies as neutral sites for dispassionate knowledge production and policy-making on African security, thereby necessitating alternative perspectives. This article reflects on the ways in which IR and security studies have been responsible, in part, for the production of a racialized mode of security knowledge generation that obfuscates the security policies and experiences of people in African locales. It draws on insights from post-colonial discourses and the episteme of alternativity to explore how the study of events and processes in Africa in a theoretically conscious manner could advance IR scholarship as a whole. It contends that incorporating African experiences as they manifest through hybrid security orders can broaden the empirical base for IR theorizing about security since they offer another perspective outside the conventional western assumptions and experiences.

Transforming Academic Discourse: A Case Study of International Relations as Discipline

ABSTRACT The study of social sciences in general and the discipline of international relations (IR) in particular always remain areas of less scholarly significance, because the leading academic circles remain less inclined towards the non-Western production of knowledge in the international system. The main discussions of IR generally revolve around Western discourses and approaches to knowledge. The end of the decades-long Cold War and the elimination of the Soviet Union from world politics allowed Western academic circles to influence the production of knowledge in the international system. In this way, the production of knowledge and the promotion of knowledge have ignored non-Western academic perspectives. Contrary to conventional academic patterns, there is a need to realize the significance of non-Western literature in academia while updating the conventional academic patterns. In this scenario, this paper attempts to address the questions of the production of knowledge and promotion of knowledge on the basis of alternative perspectives and different approaches to acquiring knowledge. While emphasizing non-Western or non-American approaches to knowledge, the central theme of the paper endeavours to highlight the importance of non-Western ways of looking at world politics.

Historical narrative and the construction of identity in international Relations Studies

With the rise of narrative turn in international relations studies, historical narrative has become an important direction of this research agenda. This paper reviews the research agenda of historical narrative and identity construction in international relations, and comments on the future development of this research agenda.

The Dynamics of International Cooperation-A Research Agenda

International cooperation is an important topic in the study of international relations. This paper reviews and composes the existing research theories on international cooperation, focusing on new and recent theoretical developments, and develops a critical research review of these theories.