Papers by Emilian Kavalski
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies, Jan 31, 2023
This article is provoked by a recent study gauging the possible implications of the initiatives p... more This article is provoked by a recent study gauging the possible implications of the initiatives promoted by the European Union (EU) in South-East Europe by Qerim Qerimi, 1 published on the pages of this journal. However, his research provides a rather truncated investigation and he seems to skim on the surface of the EUropeanisation problematique without providing the requisite analysis and context of EU-Balkan relations. As a result, Qerimi overlooks the distinct socialisation dynamic initiated by the EU in the region. Partly, the ...
Han'gug jeongchi haghoebo, Dec 1, 2017
Teoria Polityki, Oct 19, 2022
It seems that the Indo-Pacific label has been deployed by India to validate its great power aspir... more It seems that the Indo-Pacific label has been deployed by India to validate its great power aspirations. Such operationalization of strategic region-building acknowledges that the positioning of any international actor emerges as a power in context-it is not entirely an intrinsic property of an actor, but depends on the kind of interactions it has in specific (temporal and spatial) contexts. This condition is one of the key sources of the awkwardness of India's great power. It reflects simultaneously (i) the contested nature of India's standing-jostling between an aspiring great power, a regional South Asian hegemon, and a begrudging middle power; and (ii) the neglect of Indian aspirations (and self-perception) of great civilizational state. The paper examines these dynamics by, firstly, deploying a discursive study on foreign policy making, whose framework then provides the analytical backstop to the assessment of Indian foreign policy making in the Indo-Pacific region. As such, the concluding section of the paper suggests that the case of India confirms the assumption that it is the complex interactions between contestation and neglect that frames the awkward status of power on the world stage.
Europe-Asia Studies, Aug 9, 2014
on similar issues and demonstrate some continuities, they are not always in dialogue with one ano... more on similar issues and demonstrate some continuities, they are not always in dialogue with one another. At times, some make points which are difficult to reconcile. Possible continuities in the use of specific discourses, such as that of barbarian and defender of Western civilisation, recur in essays about both wars, but in the case of World War II, they are traced to mainly non-Russian sources. Was there any carry-over from pre-Revolutionary Russia? If there was not, should the recurrence of these identities be considered a continuity? This raises a further question—does it matter if this imagining of the enemy was unique to the Russian/German relationship, or if it was part of a broader twentieth century discourse of war and propaganda? (On a side note, the editors are curiously silent about the volume’s origin. One author mentions a 2007 workshop ‘Fascination and Enmity: Russian–German Encounters in the Twentieth Century and the Idea of a Non-Western Historical Path’ (p. 290), and versions of these essays also appeared as a special issue of the journal Kritika in 2009, a fact not mentioned in the volume.) One sign of useful scholarly work is that it raises new questions even as it answers others. This is certainly true of this volume, which demonstrates how the interactions between these two nations both shaped and were shaped by their images of one another. The essays here make clear this is a fruitful approach to better understand not only the critical relationship between these two states, but also their own self-representations. It will be of particular interest to scholars of either Germany or the Soviet Union during this period, of transnational history, or of cultural history and identity politics.
Routledge eBooks, Sep 15, 2022
Routledge eBooks, May 13, 2016
Canadian journal of history, Aug 1, 2005
World Affairs, Mar 1, 2021
The countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) used to be quite buoyant about benefiting from ... more The countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) used to be quite buoyant about benefiting from China's economic largesse. A little over a year ago, China's cooperation with the region was brandished as a real feather in China's foreign policy cap. Today, however, the China-CEE cooperation appears to be done with. This development has led many to question whether the China-CEE cooperation has become a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic. The answer provided here is: no, not at all! Most CEE states have been mulling a freeze in their participation for quite some time. In this respect, the pandemic has only accelerated the social distancing of CEE countries from China. The study suggests that the unrequited romance of China with the CEE region has important implications both for the country's public diplomacy and the post-pandemic trajectories of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Routledge eBooks, 2012
Very few commentators would question the validity of the claim that China and India are the centr... more Very few commentators would question the validity of the claim that China and India are the central drivers of the nascent "Asianization" of global politics. Labeled as the "rise of Asia," the discussion of the growing prominence of Beijing and New Delhi has provoked a hoard of allegories to assist the understanding of their international outreach. On the one hand, China conjures up images of either a cuddly "panda," or a fire-breathing "dragon." On the other hand, India tends to be depicted either as a fearful, yet prickly "porcupine," a cumbersome "elephant," or a dazzling "peacock" (Kavalski 2010b). In either case, the question remains, what do these representations tell us about the future roles of and interactions between India and China? Do such images assist current engagements with the rise of Asia or do they obfuscate the field of vision
State University of New York Press eBooks, 2015
Media International Australia, Feb 1, 2012
Media International Australia the rigidity of Bourdieu's structured view of society in favour of ... more Media International Australia the rigidity of Bourdieu's structured view of society in favour of Nikolas Rose's focus on the contemporary role of the media in guiding the self-regulation of the political subject. Bonner works through this idea with particular reference to presenters who emphasise ethical consumption: 'there are television programmes and presenters to help provide the guiding expertise, and, since by and large the "actuality of life" does "fail to live up to its image", they will be back again next week to help out'. In her acknowledgements, Bonner writes of the challenge of 'fighting the data into shape', and this is certainly a book underpinned by wide-ranging and detailed research. Alongside its admirable diversity of programs and presenters, Bonner's book also provides an insightful and detailed consideration of recent and classic academic writing dealing with the intersection between television, its viewers and everyday life.
Political Studies Review, Apr 16, 2013
With the Asia-Pacific emerging as the focus of strategic attention from the United States and Chi... more With the Asia-Pacific emerging as the focus of strategic attention from the United States and China, a serious study of conflict management in the region is invaluable. Jacob Berkovitch and Mikio Oishi offer an overview of the region’s most contentious conflicts: the perennial Korean Peninsula problem; the issue of independence for Taiwan; tension between India and Pakistan; and the ambiguous status of the Spratly Islands. Although pessimistic about eliminating conflict, the authors provide several examples of effective conflict management in the region. The introductory chapter takes a broad view of trends in global conflict. Quantitative measures provide a sobering view of conflict in the twentieth century by charting the staggering number of fatalities suffered in the Asia-Pacific. The data presented here should give pause to those who think violent conflict is becoming obsolete. It is a shame, however, that the rest of the chapters are not as captivating as the book slips into the trend of being heavily descriptive. Each case study follows the same pattern: a general history of the conflict is given from the post-war period until the present, followed by an outline of the specific attempts made to manage the conflict such as deterrence, external intervention or mutual self-restraint. Commendably, the authors recognise the diverse causes of conflict: territory, ideology, security, independence, resources and ethnicity, and record how each conflict has transformed over time. Nevertheless, the book fails to advance any theoretical framework or introduce new concepts to the literature on conflict management. While the authors offer some brief lessons or glimpses of the future for each case, the lack of a central argument makes the book more like a general guide to conflict in the Asia-Pacific rather than offering a new way to think about resolving conflict in the area. The book also represents a missed opportunity to consider how the shifting balance of power in the region will affect the outcomes of these conflicts in the future – will an increasingly powerful China take a more aggressive stance towardsTaiwan or the Spratly Islands, for instance? Furthermore, the concluding chapter simply recaps each case, only dedicating three pages to extrapolating general trends about conflict in the Asia-Pacific. The book’s clarity of prose and structure makes it easy to recommend to those looking for a general introduction to conflict in the Asia-Pacific. For scholars seeking a novel theoretical argument, however, there may be disappointment.
Comparative Sociology, 2013
The dynamic patterns of climate change and their unintended consequences call for a radical recon... more The dynamic patterns of climate change and their unintended consequences call for a radical reconsideration of the relationship between socio-political and biophysical systems. This chapter offers an analytical overview of the cognitive templates framing the environment and security nexus in the study of world politics. The suggestion is that in order to cope with the escalating complexity of global life, International Relations theory has to abandon its predilection for linear models, accept unpredictability, respect (and utilize) autonomy and creativity, and respond flexibly to emerging patterns and opportunities. By relying on complexity thinking, this chapter outlines the two logics of security-the logic of control and the logic of resilience-dominating the discipline. By detailing this bifurcation, the analysis draws attention to the subjectivity of nonhuman/biophysical systems in the process of accepting insecurity as a normal part of global life. This move then provides the point of departure for the exploration of political action under the conditions of complexity
Bristol University Press eBooks, Feb 16, 2022
Slavic and East European Journal, 2003
For Susan McEacbern, my friend All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America, No p... more For Susan McEacbern, my friend All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America, No part of this publication may be repro- duced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, ...
As some commentators have observed, one of the effects of "9/11" on the analysis intern... more As some commentators have observed, one of the effects of "9/11" on the analysis international affairs is the rationalization of agency in world politics by focusing as much on the social meanings of policy-directions as on the empirical challenges faced by policy itself (M. Smith 2003:559). Another seems to be the apparent lack of historicity - i.e. effects of identity - in the explanation of dominant trends (Puchala 2003). This chapter, therefore, makes available an analytical conceptualization of the notion of European identity, premising its corollaries on perspectives derived from international relations (IR) theory. As such, the concept of identity is related to similar cultural, anthropological and psychological, explanations. Yet, it is distinct in that it deals with traits, habits and personalities of international actors (i.e. states, international organizations, etc.) - hence, it is an international identity and, therefore, the subject of IR
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Papers by Emilian Kavalski
The book demonstrates how the complex and transformative nature of China’s advancement is also a point of departure for theoretical innovation and reflection in IR more broadly. In doing so, the volume builds a strong case for a genuinely global and post-Western IR. It contends that ‘non-Western’ countries should not only be considered potential sources of knowledge production, but also original and legitimate focuses of IR theorizing in their own right.