International Relations Theory Research Articles

Gaza War: From Identity Politics to Polarization in the Western Foreign Policy

"One of the trickiest conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa has reopened as a result of the October 7 terrorist strikes. Open discussions were however halted by Hamas' unilateral strike, even though the two-state solution appeared increasingly likely with the Palestinian Authority serving as the future structural restructuring of #FreePalestine. The situation in the Gaza Strip caused a great deal of divisiveness in western public opinion in addition to internal conflicts and tensions. So, the purpose of this paper was to provide a poststructuralist analysis of the dominant academic viewpoints on the state of affairs between Israel and Palestine. The relationship between identity and foreign policy is examined in this study by utilising the primary methodological instruments of reflectivist international relations theory, including intertextuality, genealogy, discourse analysis, and deconstruction. They study both epistemological and ontological aspects because of the theoretical framework, and the narratives of ""us and them"" were and continue to be important components in the history and current circumstances of the Gaza Strip. The findings provide context for the significance of Hamas' rhetoric and the monopoly of power, as well as outlining the identitarian divide between Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Key words: Poststructuralism, Palestine, Israel, Gaza Strip, Hamas identity and foreign policy."

Theory of international relations: the interaction of the USA and China

This study examines how China is portrayed in U.S. political discourse, a topic of significant interest in Image Studies. No other country has captured the American public's attention as extensively and controversially as China throughout the history of their bilateral relations. The article explores the main schools of International Relations Theory-realist, liberalist, and constructivist-and demonstrates their pivotal role in shaping China's representation while overlooking other perspectives, both in the United States and globally. The review then delves into various definitions of image and representation, offering a historical overview of work on China's imagery, primarily from an interpretivist tradition. It further examines cultural, media, and communication studies, highlighting specific approaches to analyzing China's portrayal in U.S. political discourse, such as constructivist and critical approaches, including critical constructivism and critical geopolitics. The final section is dedicated to an overview of poststructuralist thought, illustrating how representational practices define power relations through discourse.

THE ANALYSIS OF ROBERT COX'S CRITICAL THEORY: THE INHERENT SUBJECTIVITY AND PURPOSEFUL NATURE OF THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS


 
 
 Robert Cox's assertion that “theory is always for someone and for and some purpose" is a fundamental tenet of political science and international relations, emphasizing the inherent subjective and purposeful nature of theoretical frameworks. This study critically examines Cox's contribution to International Relations (IR) through critical theory. This study is based on a qualitative research approach and uses an extensive literature review to gather relevant information, thorough analysis of existing journals and books, providing a comprehensive understanding of Cox's critical theory and its impact on the field of IR. The finding of this study highlights the need for continued evaluation of Cox popular IR theory and the application of Cox's theoretical foundations to deepen understanding of the world. Cox's critical theory brings new perspectives and contributes significantly to the diversity of theoretical frameworks in IR. This study highlights the transformative impact of Cox's critical approach and its relevance to shaping contemporary debates in the international relations. 
 
 

Temporary or Permanent Peace? Analysis of the Multi-lateral International Game behind the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict from a Realism Perspective

Territorial disputes have always been a sensitive focus in international politics. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan and Armenia broke out in large-scale wars in an underdeveloped area of only a few hundred thousand square kilometers, which lasted for almost a century. Thousands of soldiers and civilians died and thousands were displaced. In early September 2023, in the latest battle between the two countries, two soldiers were killed and one injured, which aroused widespread attention and concern from the international community. Against the background of tense situations, major powers such as the United States and Russia began to intervene in an attempt to calm the dispute. However, both sides still blamed each other and resolutely safeguarded their territories and rights. This crisis involves not only the people of the two countries but also the interests of neighboring countries. Both Turkey and Iran have important strategic interests in the region and have close historical and cultural ties with Azerbaijan and Armenia. The situation is changing, and what time is left for this game is only more complex dilemmas and people who are miserable. Based on the theory of international relations, this article attempts to analyze from a realist perspective why Azerbaijan and Armenia have been in a state of conflict for a long time. It also explains the occurrence and evolution of the conflict between the two countries and finally comments on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The study of this incident is conducive to a clearer understanding of the historical changes in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the far-reaching impact of the conflict between the two countries on regional and international relations.

The Small Wars Doctrine of the US Marine Corps and Colonial Experience of the European Powers

The rapid transformation of the current world order excites renewed interest of the expert community in the phenomenon of empire (as a form of the organization of political life). And since the United States plays a central role in this transformation, the history of the Pax Americana, its formation and development, both at the level of the idea and in the field of real politics is of particular relevance. The author argues that clarification of the role and significance of the colonial background in the projection of US military-political power in the late 19th — early 21st centuries allows for better understanding of the theory and practice of international relations both in the era of ‘high imperialism’ and world wars of the 20th century, and in the context of transition from global colonial empires to nuclear superpowers. It may also be instrumental in addressing the deepening contradictions between advocates of a ‘global leadership’ concept and proponents of a multipolar world during the post-Cold War period. In this regard, the paper examines the works of the US military theorists of the late 19th − first half of the 20th centuries that focused on the colonial experience of the leading European powers, as well as the experience gained from interventions involving the US Army and Marine Corps. Special emphasis is given to the concept of ‘small wars’. Building on a wide array of primary sources, presented both by the works of military experts, direct participants in various counterinsurgency operations in the colonies, as well as by the teaching materials and field manuals of the US Marine Corps, the author traces the evolution of this concept which implied establishment of external management and/or control through military and police measures. This allows the author to restore the historical genealogy of current models of internal security promoted in American foreign policy in conditions of proliferating, protracted, and increasingly hybrid civil conflicts. The author concludes that in the interwar period the US law enforcement agencies pragmatically implemented the relevant experience of global empires in Latin American countries within the framework of the Monroe Doctrine, while regarding European powers as political rivals. It is noted that conflicting imperatives of asymmetric and conventional threats to US national security urge researchers and practitioners to revisit after a post-Vietnam period of neglect the approaches of colonial empires to the conduct of small wars and to adapt them to modern conditions. The findings broaden the understanding of the modern leading powers’ approaches to internal security models transfer, as well as of its limits.

British Edition of the Monroe Doctrine versus ‘Com- munist Militarism’: Collisions between the USSR and the UK in Eastern Countries in the mid-1920s

The new US foreign policy concept in the Western hemisphere introduced by the American President J. Monroe in December 1823 has become a milestone both in the country’s history and in the theory and practice of international relations in general. For Great Britain, the principles of the Monroe Doctrine acquired new relevance after the end of the First World War. The prospect of unfettered Bolshevik expansion into British colonies and dependent territories in Asia and Africa became a matter of particular concern for the UK ruling circles. It was this threat that forced the military and political elites of Great Britain to turn to the experience of their overseas counterparts and develop a set of measures that can be described as the British edition of the Monroe Doctrine. These measures were directed right against the Bolsheviks’ attempts to revolutionize the national liberation movement and to use it to undermine the ‘colonial rear’ of the imperialist powers. British decision-makers interpreted these attempts as a Bolsheviks’ endeavor to revive the foreign policy practices of the Russian Empire and denoted them as ‘communist militarism’. It is through the lens of the collision of the British edition of the Monroe Doctrine and the concept of ‘communist militarism’ that this study examines the dynamics of the Soviet-British confrontation in Central Asia in the mid-1920s. Special attention is paid to the struggle that took place between the two countries in Iran (Persia), Afghanistan, northwest India, Xinjiang and Tibet. This competition for influence over local rulers took a variety of forms: from information and propaganda campaigns to rivalry in the field of infrastructure and logistics projects. At the same time, it was accompanied by a constant clash of interests of various factions within the USSR and Great Britain, which prevented them from pursuing a coherent policy in the region. Together, these circumstances endowed the Soviet-British rivalry in Central Asia in the 1920s with a number of unique features that does not allow it to be interpreted as just yet another round of the ‘Great Game’.

The "UFO Taboo" Is What IR Theorists Make of It: "Sovereignty and the UFO" in Citational Perspective.

In 2008, Alexander Wendt and Raymond Duvall published an article titled "Sovereignty and the UFO," which demonstrated how a UFO taboo in international relations theory upheld an anthropocentric model of sovereignty. At a distance of a decade and a half, this review evaluates the validity of the claim that a UFO taboo exists in international relations, and explores the citational practices that influence the prestige economy of the field. The article employs a methodology of interpretive scientometrics informed by methodological debates in political science and international, as well as theoretical debates in actor-network theory. After testing the claim of the UFO taboo in a comparative perspective, the article investigates the strategies of association (weak and strong) present in the citations of "Sovereignty and the UFO." In addition to a revaluation of core claims in an often-read but less-often-cited article in international relations theory, this article provides important insights into how citation works in the discipline of international relations.

The vision of Caritapolis and perspectives of the future: The high point of Michael Novak’s work

Abstract The pinnacle of the Novak’s reflections on possible perspectives for the future of the world and the development of international relations is his vision of “Caritapolis” (“Civilization of love”), which is presented especially in the book The universal hunger for liberty – Why the clash of civilizations is not inevitable (2004a). Novak builds the concept on the religious assumptions and on the minimum level of general belief in basic principles (cultural humility, regulative idea of truth, the dignity of the individual person, solidarity), which he considers to be the key to the world security, prosperity and the democratic future of the globalized world. This “vision for the 21st century” is to contribute to the consideration of a universal civilization that would respect all its internal variations and create a certain unity despite its rich diversity of value and religious ideas. The aim of this paper is to present Novak’s concept of Caritapolis and to evaluate it in terms of context of the social doctrine of the Church, Catholic social thought debates, relevance in the context of debates in the social sciences, especially the theories of international relations.

The European Union’s multilateral diplomacy: partnerships for promoting democracy

The article addresses the European Union’s efforts to forge a new generation of partnerships aimed at strengthen-ing international cooperation, collaborating in and with multilateral and regional organizations, as well as other stake-holders who share democratic values. In this context, it offers an overview of a broad, diverse, and important field of modern diplomatic practice, elucidating the concepts of ,,multilateral diplomacy” and ,,multilateralism”. Moreover, drawing upon the International Relations theories, realism and liberalism perspectives, our research objective is to outline the EU’s commitment to ally and support partners in more effectively engaging with the multilateral system. As democratic principles and respect for human rights are the core elements of the EU’s identity, and deeply rooted in its foreign policy, the Union moved forward on important internal and external initiatives. This involves ensuring a systematic monitoring and pursuit of bilateral commitments with partner countries to advance the multilateral agenda and promote the safeguarding of democracy and human rights at global scale.

The Problem of Returning to the “Things Themselves” in the IR Theorisation: Phenomenology’s Possible Use in the Study of the Pre-Theoretical, Immediate Givenness of the IR Phenomena and Events

International relations constitute a purely intersubjective field. Its actors, objects and meanings have no self-standing “objectivity” in a narrow sense. As such, the IR theorisation for conducting studies on the IR phenomena and events lacks the anchor of the independent objectivity which the positive sciences enjoy. The IR theorisation consequently relies on its own preceding world-views, interpretative frameworks and narratives, which become genetic acts, creating an ontological complication. In doing so, the IR theorisation tends to bend, alter and occasionally omit the pre-theoretical, immediate and intersubjective givenness of the IR phenomena and events. Also, the theory’s narrative on the phenomena and events needs to include the narrative of their genesis, which are imposed upon their immediate, therefore post-genetic givenness, causing a temporal distortion. Still, there might be a possibility to study them as they are given, avoiding these complications. The Husserlian phenomenology provides this endeavour with fundamental concepts and tools that are related to intersubjectivity, temporality and access to the immediacy of the givenness of the phenomena and events. However, the Husserlian phenomenology itself has also a tendency to relapse into the complications of theorising, in particular due to its “genetic” proposals. Yet, these are “remediable” under the light of the Heideggerian criticism on the matters of intersubjectivity, temporality and the nature of the immediate, “innerworldy” givenness. In other words, the phenomenology, with contributions of the Heideggerian phenomenological-ontology, may effectively provide the IR studies with ways to approach the IR phenomena and events in their pre-theoretical, immediate, intersubjective, authentic givenness. Keywords: phenomenology, international relations, international relations theory

Holographic entanglement from the UV to the IR

In AdS/CFT, observables on the boundary are invariant under renormalization group (RG) flow in the bulk. In this paper, we study holographic entanglement entropy under bulk RG flow and find that it is indeed invariant. We focus on tree-level RG flow, where massive fields in a UV theory are integrated out to give the IR theory. We explicitly show that in several simple examples, holographic entanglement entropy calculated in the UV theory agrees with that calculated in the IR theory. Moreover, we give an argument for this agreement to hold for general tree-level RG flow. Along the way, we generalize the replica method of calculating holographic entanglement entropy to bulk theories that include matter fields with nonzero spin.

Američki realisti i rat u Bosni 1992-1995.

While there is a significant body of literature on U.S. policy towards Bosnia in the early 1990s, the role and policy recommendations of American realists have been largely overlooked. Realism is a school of thought in international relations which holds that states are the key actors motivated by interests which seek to maximize their power and security in an anarchic world. Adherents of this worldview emphasize the pursuit of national interests and the importance of power and force in achieving it. Realists are generally opposed to military interventions where a vital national interest is not at stake. The purpose of this article is to fill this gap by analysing both realist policymakers and academics and how they responded to the war in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995. Several top officials of the George H. W. Bush Administration including the President, Secretary of State James Baker and National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft were realists and this worldview shaped the US response to the outbreak of the war in Bosnia. Focused on a host of other foreign policy issues at the time, the Bush Administration was adamant not to get involved militarily in Bosnia. James Baker’s statement „We don't have a dog in that fight“ came to define the Bush Administration's Bosnia policy. Its realist outlook combined with the presidential campaign priorities in 1992 to ensure that the Western response to the war in Bosnia was handed over to the Europeans. With realist policymakers in power from the outbreak of the war in spring 1992 through early 1993, many Bosnians hoping for a Western military intervention at the time would later come to realise how far-fetched those hopes were. In addition to realist policymakers, several prominent realists in the American academia also weighed in on how the US should respond to the war in this part of Southeast Europe in the early 1990s. Academic realists published their opinions and recommended policy options in leading media outlets throughout the three-and-a-half year war. Though their worldview was not shared by the first Bill Clinton Administration, academic realists continued offering policy recommendations on Bosnia. Academic realists like Robert Pape and Michael Desch opposed the use of air power in Bosnia arguing that it would be ineffective. John Mearsheimer together with Pape called for partition of Bosnia and establishment of homogeneous states in the Balkans and arming of Bosnian Muslims. Kissinger was opposed to a military commitment to Bosnia but did not lay out specific policy recommendations. In sum, both policymakers and academics argued that there was no vital US national interest at stake in Bosnia warranting deployment of ground troops. Even after the Dayton peace talks concluded in late 1995, American realists continued weighing in on Bosnia and offering generally bleak assessments. While the majority of those recommended policy options were not implemented, realists’ views on Bosnia in the 1990s still deserve scholarly attention. Studying American realists provides an overview of how both practitioners and intellectual adherents of a key theory in international relations perceived the war and its outcome. This analysis will also provide a more nuanced understanding of the variety of American responses to the war in Bosnia.

Feminism: An Alternative Approach to International Relations

Almost half of the world's population is women, so how can it be possible that any discipline is one-sided or only male-oriented? Similarly, all meta-theories cannot impose rules and regulations on the whole world as international relations theories just by being malevolent. In this case, the only alternative is to foster feminist theory, not ignore them as often occurs in IR theories, which implies demeaning them through various conceptions. This can be considered a one-sided perspective or approach to understand the world, which divides men and women into supremacists and subordinates respectively. Feminist IR, therefore, stands as an alternative approach to understanding the masculine IR that questions it as well as provides ‘reflective theories’ from literature to psychology to history, and has been seeking a safe place in IR for the last four decades as a serious academic discipline. This article will try to examine the feminist theories of the IR discipline as an alternative approach, for which descriptive and analytical method was adopted for this explanatory research. As a result, it has been found that feminist IR has searched out the gap between IR theories and it has been given a new shape to IR discipline in the form of a critical feminist IR theory as an alternate.

Between (ir)responsibility and (in)appropriateness: Conceptualizing norm-related state behaviour in the Russian war against Ukraine

Abstract The Russian war against Ukraine has challenged fundamental norms such as sovereignty, non-interference and the prohibition of the use of force. It has led to diverse reactions from the international community. Only very few states sided with Russia, some states remained neutral, while the vast majority condemned the attack and supported Ukraine in its right to self-defence. Thus, although there is no legal obligation, many states display behaviour that goes beyond diplomatic support. They support Ukraine financially and even deliver weapons to support Ukraine in its right to self-defence. In this article, we conceptualize different types of actors’ behaviour in world politics. We distinguish between responsible, irresponsible, appropriate, and inappropriate behaviour. We apply this typology to states’ reaction to the Russian war against Ukraine. The typology enables us to analyse the variation of the responses with reference to norms and responsibility, two core concepts of International Relations (IR) Theory and global politics. Counterintuitively as it might seem, we argue that the support of Ukraine with weapons can be categorized as responsible behaviour as it displays an over-fulfilment of the right to self-defence norm, which leads to the emergence of a new norm: the responsibility to support norm.

Communicative power as a new ideal type in international relations

In international relations theory, civilian and normative power can be seen as the most ambitious attempts to develop a new ideal of actor that is normatively preferable to classical concepts such as great power, empire, and hegemon as it wields power in a different way. However, these attempts fail from a theoretical perspective primarily because the concepts cannot be clearly differentiated from hidden hegemony. Guided by Habermas’ notion of communicative power, this article develops a new ideal type for transnational norm diffusion that escapes the trap of hidden hegemony. This ideal promotes communicative power by: (1) exercising institutional power to enable open and free discourse, (2) abstaining from using compulsory power to impose its own norms but just to guarantee the option of voice and exit for all affected persons, and (3) reducing unconscious structural power, productive power, and soft power through the inclusion of reflexivity and self-criticism. This type of inclusive foreign policy based on self-restraint and reflexivity must originate from solidarity in domestic civil society to gain the trust of others. The concept of communicative power offers an alternative theoretical template to how dominant actors can exercise power in international politics.

Epistemic superimposition: the war in Ukraine and the poverty of expertise in international relations theory

Epistemic superimposition: the war in Ukraine and the poverty of expertise in international relations theory

«...Настало время раз и навсегда покончить с армянским вопросом»: проблема армянских вилайетов Османской империи в международной повестке

Introduction. The interest in the “Armenian issue” is linked to the current international agenda and the impact of significant historical events on it, such as the genocide of 1915. Methods and materials. The interdisciplinary principle determines the use of traditional historical approaches (historical-genetic and historical-comparative) and international relations theories (defensive realism) simultaneously. The sources contain the published documents and publicism, as well as the archival documents of the Archives of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire and the State Archives of the Russian Federation. Analysis. Starting with the signing of the Berlin Treaty and the introduction of an article into it obliging Ottoman Porte to reform the management of the Armenian population, the inclusion of the “Armenian issue” in the foreign policy agenda of European states began. At the same time, the responsibility for the reforms carried out by the Ottomans was collective, and the leadership of Russia in this matter was considered impossible. Collectivity was the reason for the erosion of responsibility; the Sultan was not actually made to reform. With the beginning of the “Hamid pogroms” in 1894, the “Armenian issue” threatened the balanced position of the powers in relation to the Ottoman Empire and actualized the issue of the Ottoman Porte’s responsibility for reforms in the Armenian vilayets. Obviously, Russia could be the most effective. France, Germany, and Italy initially did not plunge into this problem; in Asian Turkey, the main actors were still Great Britain and Russia. Results. Neither England nor Russia dared to act decisively, but they did not want to give in to each other either. For the British, control of the straits and the dominance of Russia in the Middle East were unacceptable. On the other hand, Russia was afraid to create a “second Bulgaria” near the Caucasian border. Therefore, the “Armenian issue”, complicated by rivalry, went through a cycle on the international agenda, as a result of which Russia returned to dominance in its solution after 1908. The contribution of the authors to the writing of the article is related to the research by L.N. Velichko on European and Ottoman Porte’s policy in resolving the “Armenian issue”, K.R. Ambartsumyan has dealt with the evolution of Russia’s position and explored the factors that influenced its change.

For All (Wo)mankind: Advancing a Feminist Critique of US Space Policy

Though significant attention has been paid to the early absence of women astronauts and the difficulty in reducing gender gaps there and in the broader fields of science, technology, engineering, and math fields, little analysis has been done of the ways in which gender influences space policy in the United States. This article argues that a feminist critique is not only necessary but also needs to be advanced in a more sustained manner. To do so, it outlines feminist arguments including those of feminist international relations theory and hegemonic masculinity theory. It then notes the few studies undertaken in this area highlighting the lack of recency and frequency in them. Then, it presents two cases of a feminist critique: the masculine nature of space power theory and the influence of hegemonic masculinity theory in the commercial space industry. It concludes with noting several different areas ripe for such feminist analysis as well as analyses focusing on the intersectional nature of the space domain.As the pace and speed of events in space continues to increase, this article highlights the importance of addressing these imbalances now before societal and power imbalances have the opportunity to reach beyond Earth orbit.

When leaders disappoint: rejection and denial of leadership roles in international politics

International leadership failure by states is an underdeveloped concept in International Relations. Existing approaches commonly equate leadership with hegemony, arguing that leadership success and failure are contingent on primacy or shared material interests among states. In this article, we introduce a role theoretical approach, which defines international leadership as a social role that emerges from shared expectations among states pertaining to leadership purpose, group cohesion and time horizon. Accordingly, leadership failure occurs when role expectations between states diverge and states are unable to generate commensurate role-taking via alter-casting. Four leader-follower constellations can be distinguished: leadership enactment, denial, rejection and vacuum. The paper utilizes this theoretical heuristic to understand two cases of leadership failure. The first case involves Brazil’s attempted leadership role in response to the Latin American migration crisis following the political crisis in Venezuela. The second case examines Indonesia’s attempted leadership role in the South China Sea dispute. The empirical findings contribute to existing work on hegemony and leadership in international relations theory by showing that leadership failure comes in different variants and these variants are contingent on shared role expectations and alter-casting capacity of states involved.

A New Comprehensive Two-Volume Study on Theories of International Relations in Bulgarian

Abstract The two-volume study, authored and edited by Professor Gotchev, presents a broad range of theoretical approaches and frameworks of analysis in International Relations (IR) and is the most comprehensive textbook on the study of IR theories in Bulgarian. The first volume surveys the essence of political research and philosophical aspects of social science, the grand debates in IR and the main approaches—realism, liberalism, and Marxism. It also reviews critical IR theory and examines the importance of international political economy in the discipline of IR. The second volume, which is a collection of essays written by six different US and European scholars, is organised in five different sections and focuses on a broad range of grand approaches to IR and middle-range theories. The former include constructivism, the English School, postmodernism and poststructuralism, feminism, and green theory; the latter deal with a broad set of frameworks, such as behavioural, psychological and integration theories, theories of foreign policy, cooperation, alliances, and international organisations. Special attention is paid to geopolitics.