Study Of International Relations Research Articles

The Russian factor: emotions, narratives and reshaping China's norms in international conflicts

Abstract How did Russia, despite being in a weaker position, exercise a continuous and resilient influence on China's normative approach to international conflicts from Syria to Ukraine? This article proposes a theoretical framework that connects the affective turn and norm studies in International Relations. It conceptualizes emotions as the affective infrastructure of norm scripts: shared political feelings create resonance, based on which persuasive narratives work to maintain solidarity and institutionalize normative changes. Drawing on primary Russian and Chinese resources and using process tracing to identify critical junctures in the partnership and institutional channels for Russian campaigns, this article demonstrates how China's alignment with Russia is not solely based on geopolitical interests or constructed identities but rather a result of feelings of isolation and marginalization that firstly resonated with and then exploited by Russian actors. Furthermore, this article identifies three types of persuasive narratives used to construct continuity, analogy and identification in consolidating emotional resonance around the threat of a homogenous West and inducing normative convergence. This drives China to adopt policies in conflict with national interests and norms on sovereignty and territorial integrity that trigger a reflective assessment of the Russian influence, while underlining the growing importance of emotion diplomacy.

Nuclear anxiety as an instrument of war: The use of news media to shape and respond to the disinformation campaign surrounding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has galvanized anxiety over a possible nuclear catastrophe, with threats ranging from deliberate attacks and shelling of nuclear power plants to the potential use of nuclear weapons. Russia’s occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), Europe’s largest such facility, raises fundamental questions about using NPPs in crisis and risk communication, and disinformation campaigns. Building upon interdisciplinary research bridging Communication and International Relations Studies, this article employs content analysis to examine how Ukrainian and Russian media outlets engaged in a rhetorical battle of frame perceptions about the threat of nuclear catastrophe related to ZNPP. They explore how Russia’s propagandists used news media to stir nuclear anxiety as part of a broader disinformation campaign, and investigate strategies employed by Ukrainian media agencies to manage the risk of nuclear anxiety and respond to Russian disinformation. The article contributes to conversations in the field of crisis and risk communication related to how political stakeholders use news media to influence audiences’ perceptions, and specifically how political actors use nuclear anxiety politicization and disinformation to gain political influence. The findings provide insights into developing effective news media strategies responding to threats of large-scale nuclear, biological, or chemical catastrophes and cyber-attacks on nuclear infrastructure.

Quo Vadis, Historical International Relations? Geopolitical Marxism and the Promise of Radical Historicism

John Maclean’s 1988 call “Marxism and IR: A Strange Case of Mutual Neglect” has generated a rich bounty of Marxist studies and paradigms in International Relations (IR). This cross-pollination merged in the 1990s with the “historical turn” and shaped the sub-fields of International Historical Sociology and International Political Economy. But has it left its mark on how IR is practised today? We argue that while Marxism has spoken significantly to the discipline, mainstream IR, even Historical IR, has been largely impervious to Marxist arguments, drawing the standard charge of economism and structuralism. Rectifying these critiques, we suggest that conventional historical studies of “the international” remain methodologically and substantively impoverished. We exemplify this by showing how leading Historical IR studies of “systems change” fail to explain the inside/outside and public/private differentiations constitutive of the modern international order and to integrate the “levels of analysis” they presuppose. We further argue that this rejection has been facilitated by influential Marxist IR paradigms, which ultimately privilege structuralism over historicism: While Neo-Gramscians initially mobilised “historicism” to dissolve claims about the “sameness” of international relations across time and space, the approach became identified with the reified master-category of “hegemony”. Uneven and Combined Development, in turn, has gravitated towards matching Neo-realism’s claim to theoretical universality by insisting on transhistorical model-building and nomological “grand theory”. Both approaches remain over-sociologised and fail to address international politics. Drawing on radically historicist Political Marxism, this article shows how its substantive socio-political premises explain the historical formation of the contemporary international order and re-unite the “levels of analysis” theoretically to provide a framework for non-reductionist and non-economistic accounts of historical international relations. This requires an answer to the agentic challenge of Neo-Classical Realism by reincorporating grand strategy, diplomacy, and international politics into a reformulated perspective of Geopolitical Marxism to track the full historicity of the making of international orders.

Discursive strategies for legitimizing U.S. sanctions policy towards Russia (2021-2023)

The aim of the study is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of discursive strategies for legitimizing the United States (U.S.) sanctions policy against Russia during the Biden Administration. The paper is based on a constructivist theory within the study of international relations and methodological innovations by T. van Dijk, T.J. van Leeuwen, R. Wodak. The research investigates the hypothesis that the absence of an international legal framework for anti-Russian sanctions creates an increased need for the United States to legitimize them. The work uses critical discourse analysis (CDA) to investigate discursive strategies of legitimization of U.S. sanctions against Russia (through 1) emotions; 2) hypothetical future; 3) procedures; 4) expert opinion; 5) altruism). The study shows that anti-Russian sanctions is a part of the hegemonic foreign policy of the United States. It is manifested, reproduced, and justified through the official narrative. Political discourses containing ideological attitudes are used by the United States to create, maintain and protect its identity, which is based on the binary opposition “ Self-Positive Representation - Other-Negative Representation” and has a projection on the country's foreign policy. The most convincing discursive strategies of legitimization are those that appeal to the fundamental pillars of American identity (strategies 1, 2, 5). Strategies that rely on more specific/ situational grounds and argumentation systems are the least convincing (strategies 3, 4).

Incorporating Global South Perspectives in the Study of International Relations: Reflections on the Field

Incorporating Global South Perspectives in the Study of International Relations: Reflections on the Field

Study of International Relations students’ motivation: Assessing the effectiveness of educational process management via Action Research strategy

Introduction. The article raises the problem of increasing motivation among university students in learning their major. Despite the fact that a large number of research articles are devoted to the problem of motivation, the issue of assessing the effectiveness of educational process management as one of the key factors in creating a motivating educational environment, remains insufficiently studied. The aim of this study is to determine and describe an effective strategy of intervention and external support for students majoring in “International Relations” in order to increase motivation in learning their academic major via Action Research. Materials and Methods. The methodology is based on Activity theory, person-oriented approach, educational environment assessment, literature review, project-based learning, role-plays and Action Research, as well as on quantitative, qualitative and interpretive research. An analytical review has been carried out in order to identify methods and technologies that can be used to increase motivation to educational activities. Quantitative and qualitative methods include two surveys with subsequent interpretation of the results obtained and provide the basis for developing and testing the strategy of assessing the effectiveness of educational process management. Results. The results of the surveys and their interpretation analysis have demonstrated a high level of student interest in English as a foreign language yet with an insufficient level of motivation for their major, as well as the students’ assessment of professional role-playing games as an effective and emotionally comfortable form of education. Based on Action Research and project-based learning the authors developed an action strategy, substantiated the principles of its implementation, the degree of intervention and external support while maintaining psychological comfort and the level of student autonomy. The authors found that increased involvement is also determined by the freedom to choose the focus of the project, a meaningful professional context, successful team work and effective management of the educational process. The results of the intervention helped the authors to develop recommendations for replicating and scaling up the experience gained. Conclusions. In conclusion, inferences are made about the importance of effective external management for increasing motivation among the students. It has been proven that a sufficient level of intervention in the educational process and external support allow for higher degree of engagement and motivation in learning majors. Conclusions are also made about the Action Research method as a basis for effective management of the educational process, solving didactic problems, adjusting teaching interventions and assessing the results obtained.

Cyberbiosecurity in the new normal: Cyberbio risks, pre-emptive security, and the global governance of bioinformation

Abstract The Covid-19 pandemic saw a surge in cyber attacks targeting pharmaceutical companies and research organisations working on vaccines and treatments for the virus. Such attacks raised concerns around the (in)security of bioinformation (e.g. genomic data, epidemiological data, biomedical data, and health data) and the potential cyberbio risks resulting from stealing, compromising, or exploiting it in hostile cyber operations. This article critically investigates threat discourses around bioinformation as presented in the newly emerging field of ‘cyberbiosecurity’. As introduced by scholarly literature in life sciences, cyberbiosecurity aims to understand and address cyber risks engendered by the digitisation of biology. Such risks include, for example, embedding malware in DNA, corrupting gene-sequencing, manipulating biomedical materials, stealing epidemiological data, or even developing biological weapons and spreading diseases. This article brings the discussion on cyberbiosecurity into the realms of International Relations and Security Studies by problematising the futuristic threat discourses co-producing this burgeoning field and the pre-emptive security measures it advocates, specifically in relation to bioinformation. It analyses how cyberbiosecurity as a concept and field of policy analysis influences the existing securitised governance of bioinformation, the global competition to control it, and the inequalities associated with its ownership and dissemination. As such, the article presents a critical intervention in current debates around the intersection between biological dangers and cyber threats and in the calls for ‘peculiar’ policy measures to defend against cyberbio risks in the ‘new normal’.

A spiritual call: the courses of action taken by individuals influenced by religious soft power

Abstract The study of religion and international relations has achieved renewed attention in the last two decades. This study investigates a specific aspect of this field: religious soft power. It focuses on individuals who were affected by religious soft power and develop a typology of courses of action these individuals can take vis-à-vis their home state. I argue that individuals can take three different types of actions: disruptive, reformative, and transnational. Using the cases of the Catholic Church and its followers, ISIS and Sunni believers, and the relations between Israel and the Evangelicals, I assess how these alternative actions are being manifested by different groups of individuals. Lastly, I offer an answer to the question of when individuals would use disruptive action and when will they use reformative one.

NEOREALISM AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: A MORE CYNICAL PERSPECTIVE TOWARDS UNJUST WAR?

The usage of digital technology, especially in warfare, on the one hand, exacerbates the judgment of the war. After the world experienced a major-devastating World War (I and II), International Relations – as a practice vis-à-vis discipline – has gone through a synthesis phase. Although the world has looked very different from the 19th century, states, as the acknowledged primary actors, are still chasing their national interests and power. Russia is one of the major powers after World War II, willing to reclaim its past glory by showing its possession towards the neighboring countries, one of which is Ukraine. This paper tries to judge the presence of digital technology as a combat equipment in worsening the magnitude of the war. This paper uses the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) as the principal guide for conducting a war. By contrast, what was happening in the field (das sein) will be seen through a Neorealism perspective as one of the major perspectives in International Relations studies. As the first full-scale modern cyber war, Russia-Ukraine has exemplified the use of digital technology to obscure the purposes of the war – creating a just and justified means to achieve national interest apart from political ways.

Introducing public choice in international relations: the Russian invasion of Ukraine

With this article, I present a public choice perspective on Russia’s war on Ukraine. I criticise the realist view according to which Russia’s security concerns, defined by President Putin, prompted the conflict. I argue that realism offers a deficient analytic framework to the extent that it disregards the political and economic structure of Russia and, generally speaking, how the political economy of each case study shapes preferences, strategies and intra-elite relations, which feed into foreign policy formation. Russia is a government-controlled economy and society; a key property of Russia’s political economy is the dependency of key socio-economic actors and groups on the regime’s survival. This landscape pre-empts the expression of genuine feedback and dissent from society, and explains why Putin’s decision has faced very little disagreement and resistance. Given the previously close economic ties between Russia and Ukraine, this article also challenges capitalist peace theory for its blanket assertion that dense economic relations would provide a strong disincentive for countries to resort to war. Instead of talking about capitalism generically, we can discern varieties of capitalism, as they condition state–society relations differently. In Russia, the value that key socio-economic elites assign to their relationship with Putin outweighs the costs they are experiencing from the conflict and the external sanctions. Developing a public choice perspective in the study of international relations focuses on the preferences and strategies of the leadership and of domestic elite-level actors within the aggressor state, and invites attention to the power asymmetries that characterise their relationship.

Intelligence in international society: An English school perspective on the ‘five eyes’

AbstractDespite the recent prominence of intelligence in post‐Ukraine global policy, it is a Cinderella in international relations studies. Using English School (ES) theorisation, we locate intelligence within the constellation of primary and secondary institutions in international society. Through looking at the Five Eyes, we explore where intelligence sits within widespread claims of a crisis of the post‐1945 liberal international order (LIO) and what role intelligence plays in diplomacy, war and great power management in the context of shifting global power dynamics. Following major twenty‐first century Western intelligence controversies, we argue against raison d'état approaches and for raison de système thinking. In the face of claims of a new Cold War between Russia, China and the West, we see an urgency for policymakers in open societies to re‐think intelligence from an international society perspective that is realistic and normative, and that pays attention to Global South dynamics. Insulating intelligence from politicisation is more important than ever but does not mean that intelligence is a value‐neutral government function.

Substance- or legitimacy-oriented (de)legitimation of global governance institutions. The double-edged role of complexity

ABSTRACT This paper contributes to International Relations studies on the (de)legitimation of global governance institutions by introducing a focus on substance-oriented (de)legitimation practices to complement existing legitimacy-oriented perspectives. Building on the distinction between performance and performativity, the paper clarifies the concepts of performing (de)legitimation as legitimacy-oriented and performative (de)legitimation as substance-oriented. It argues that while the former primarily aims to contest or establish legitimacy, the latter targets substantive outcomes but affects legitimacy as a by-product. The paper introduces three distinguishing criteria – orientation toward legitimacy or substance, focus on form or function, and justificatory or substantive manifestation – to differentiate between the two. Their empirical manifestation is illustrated through a case study of the United Nations’ open-ended intergovernmental working group on business and human rights, which highlights the role of complexity and how it can serve both sets of (de)legitimation practices by contributing to legitimacy and substance, respectively.

‘Bottom-up securitization’: A visual turn in security studies

In the digital age, images have pervaded almost all spheres of public life and politics. International relations are no exception. The visual dimension of world politics attracts increasing attention which resulted in the emergence of the so-called visual turn in the theory of international relations. It gained particular prominence within the framework of constructivism and particularly within one of the central and most widespread constructivist theories, i.e. the securitization theory. The first section of the paper examines the concept of ‘visual turn’. The second section considers the current state of art of the securitization theory. The third section outlines key features and possible implications of ‘visual securitization’ to the study of international relations. To this end, the authors refer to a resonant case of a Syrian migrant boy Aylan Kurdi, who died in 2015 while trying to immigrate to Europe. The fourth section examines some limitations of the ‘visual securitization’ theory. The authors conclude that the ‘visual turn’ has led to a certain democratization of securitization practices by opening up new opportunities for the ‘bottom-up securitization’, or ‘people’s securitization’. Thus, it questions the traditional monopoly of political elites on the molding of a security narrative. At the same time, the ‘visual turn’ extends the list of possible reference objects of securitization, which comes to include not only domestic audiences, but also other communities. As a result, ‘visual securitization’ raises a number of new issues. In contrast to a traditional ‘speech act’, an image can be open to various interpretations and as such would make the process of interaction with the audience too complicated and inconsistent. The possibility of incorrect interpretation places increased demands on the communicative context and hinders the use of an image as an independent securitization tool. The authors argue that the key to addressing these issues lies in a more active use of artificial intelligence technologies and social networks.

Eksistensi ASEAN sebagai Organisasi Regional pada Aspek Sosial Budaya Melalui Program Student Mobility

The study of international relations originated in Great Britain precisely in the early 20th century in Wales, when a group of experts in philosophy and international law in Great Britain agreed on the need to study relations between nations. At first, international relations focused more on the study of war and peace in nation-state relations. However, beginning in the 1970s and 1980s the study of international relations expanded to a wider range of studies. International relations develop on non-political issues, such as economics, security, law, culture, technology, and so on. Any perspective in an approach that views international relations as not only state-oriented would say that other entities such as International Organizations also have an important role. One of the International Organizations at the Regional Level is The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). ASEAN has 3 pillars, namely Political-Security, Economic and Socio-Cultural.2 International Relations are inseparable from globalization. Globalization encourages countries indirectly to cooperate with each other in order to meet their national interests and respond to the phenomena that exist along with globalization. One form of cooperation is international cooperation. International organizations have several forms, one of which is in the Regional scope. ASEAN as one of the Regional Organizations collaborates in the field of Socio-Culture through the Student Mobility program.

Internal Conflict of Syria in The Construction of Al-Jazeera

This study aims to analyze Al-Jazeera's contribution on the dynamics of the internal conflict in Syria. The method used in this study is qualitative descriptive method with Nicholas Onuf's constructivism approach. Researchers collected primary data by interviewing a number of relevant informants and secondary data through documentation studies, archival, document-based research, and internet-based research. This study found that the media not only functions as a monitor, but can also be used as a driving force by state actors. In addition, it was found that there were actions taken by al - Jazeera as an agent and information service provider which encourages the Syrian people to move and ultimately stimulates the internal conflict between the Syrian regime and the Syrian people. This study has limitation in concern to the dynamics of the conflict in the Middle East extensively, which also participate to provide settings to the internal conflict in Syria. However, this study is able to contribute to the development of the repertoire of International Relations Studies, especially in the understanding of the contribution of global media to the socio-political dynamics of a country.

Populism, Collective Narcissism, and Support for War

Abstract People’s pro-war attitudes provide an important lens for understanding the various conflicts and wars taking place around the globe. The present research bridges the social psychological insights on ingroup identity with the macro realism theory of international relations studies. It examines the association of populism and collective narcissism with support for war under the conditions of offensive and defensive realist foreign policies. The research comprises two studies. Study 1 shows that populism is linked with offensive realism, whereas collective narcissism is associated with defensive realism. Study 2 further demonstrates that the perceptions of threat mediate the relationship between collective narcissism and support for war, rather than mediating the relationship between populism and support for war. Both populism and collective narcissism are related to authoritarianism. This research contributes to a theoretical understanding of the effects of populism and collective narcissism on resorting to military actions in international politics.

International Relations and Ernst B. Haas, Ernst B. Haas and International Relations

ABSTRACT Ernst B. Haas is a seminal figure in the study of International Relations whose work helps guide our understanding of twenty-first century politics as well. He was instrumental in developing many of the themes commonly used to understand world politics: regional integration, international regimes, science and institutions, and nationalism. He was also a founding father of Constructivism. This piece serves as an introduction to this special issue on Ernst B. Haas.

Agentic misrecognition in world politics

The phenomenon of misrecognition has been analysed under various angles by philosophy, political theory, sociology and lately also by international relations (IR). In IR, (mis)recognition is mainly understood as either status denial (i.e. denial of legal state recognition), inflated honor pretentions (including positive self-images, mythical narratives of the past, Great Power projections and so on), or as a denial of vital conditions necessary for identity, individuality, and freedom. There has been much theoretical work on the problem of inclusion/exclusion or the insider/outsider problem in IR and various empirical studies have shown that misrecognition can contribute to international conflict, international inequalities, (neo)colonialism, masculine domination, and limit the overall rationality of decision-making. However, what has been generally overlooked is the question of agency, the ‘who’ that is seeking and/or entitled to be an object and subject of recognition and how such exclusions and related pathologies result from forms of misrecognition. This introduction to Agentic Misrecognition in World Politics engages with some of the problems related to the question of (mis)recognition and agency in IR, the patterns of excluded recognition, and the normative conditions that pertain to these processes of (mis)recognition. It closes with a summation of the research articles and forum contributions to this volume.

Unleashing the Potential: Investigating the Empowering Effects of Field Trips on Autonomous English Learners’ Learning

Field trips have long been recognized as a significant component of educational endeavours. While students at the primary and secondary levels commonly engage in such activities, the integration of field trips into tertiary education remains infrequent. University studend who attend the English classes are seldom afforded the opportunity to directly observe authentic professional environments or explore potential workplaces related to their future careers, experiences that can be facilitated through field trips. Additionally, given the increasing emphasis on the internship program held by Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, a gap arises as students are limited in their exposure to real-world work environments. The objective of this research endeavour was to investigate university students' perceptions of field trip activities and assess how these experiences contribute to the development of students' autonomous learning skills. Qualitative data for this study were collected through two questionnaires, a preparation and a reflection Google sheet. The participants consisted of 27 students enrolled in the International Relations Study Program at UPN Veteran Jakarta. The findings of the study revealed that field trips offer numerous benefits to English for Professional Purposes students, including enhancing their understanding of academic concepts, providing a deeper real-world context for learning, and fostering social interaction. The questionnaire results demonstrated a predominantly positive perception among the students. Furthermore, a majority of the participants reported engaging in autonomous learning activities during the field trip, facilitated by the opportunity to interact with industry professionals and seek their guidance through questioning.

World Order Transformation from the Grassroots: Global South Social Movements and the Transcendence of Established Approaches to International Change

Abstract In contrast to traditional top-down perspectives, this article aims to shed alternative light on the prospects for change in global order through evaluating how perspectives offered among social movements located in the Global South consider how change can take place beyond established approaches. With reference to perspectives offered among the Global Tapestry of Alternatives, the article elucidates a model of global political change that transcends reformist and revolutionary dynamics, and which bypasses dominant state and intergovernmental institutions. The analysis highlights the ontological divide between these approaches and reformist and revolutionary perspectives, given their pluriversality drawing on concepts that to date have received inadequate attention in the study of international relations. The article further considers how these approaches—given their deep roots in long-established communitarian practices and their pluriversality—may be addressing today's crisis of global order from the bottom-up in ways that may avoid limitations of previous change agendas.