Power Politics

ÖZ Güç kavramı uluslararası ilişkiler için oldukça merkezi ve önemli bir kavramdır. Güç kavramının kullanımı çok eski tarihlere dayanmaktadır. Güç kavramı zaman içerisinde varlığını ve güncelliğini devam ettirmekte ve sürekli değişim göstermektedir. Eski tarihlerde sadece sert güç yani askeri ve ekonomik güç üzerinde durulurken 1990'larda cazibe yoluyla etkilemeye odaklı ve temellerini dış politikaya, kültüre ve değerlere dayandıran yumuşak güç öne çıkmıştır. 2000'lerin ortasında ise her iki güç unsurlarını içeren akıllı güç kavramı literatüre girmiştir. Akıllı güç hem materyal unsurları hem de materyal olmayan unsurları içerisinde barındırdığı için günümüzün bilgi çağında kullanımı mantıklı olan güç türlerinden biridir. Büyük, orta ve küçük devletlerin yanında AB gibi yapılarda akıllı gücü tercih etme eğiliminde olabilirler. Etkinliklerini arttırma, dünya politikasında daha fazla söz sahibi olma, varlıklarını devam ettirme isteğinde olan tüm devletler için dış politikada akıllı güç kullanımı oldukça önem arz etmektedir. Devletler kendi başlarında hareket etmede istedikleri hedeflere ulaşmada çok zorlanmaktadır. Bu nedenle de iş birliği ve müttefik oluşturma daha önemli bir hale gelmektedir. Günümüzde karşılaştığımız uluslararası terörizm, iklim değişikliği, nükleer silahlanma ve küresel salgın hastalıkları önlemek için işbirliğine dayalı akıllı güç kullanımı oldukça önemlidir. Bu nedenden dolayı, çalışma gücü: sert, yumuşak ve akıllı güç olarak ayırmış ve daha sonra bunları açıklamıştır. Çalışma özellikle akıllı gücün uluslararası ilişkilerde nasıl kullandığını göstermeyi hedeflemektedir. Açıklayıcı yöntem biçimini kullanan çalışmanın sonucunda tüm devletlerin dış politikalarında akıllı gücü kullanabileceği kanısına varılmıştır.

El libro estudia el fenómeno del liderazgo desde los perfiles del carisma, los problemas del poder y los retos de la realidad que, muchas veces, es resistente al cambio. Hoy día se advierte la carencia de líderes legitimados democráticamente, los cuales, al mismo tiempo, estén cultural y éticamente a la altura de los grandes desafíos del presente.

Las épocas de grandes dilemas y tribulaciones exigen la presencia de auténticos estadistas, imaginativos, intrépidos, impulsores del progreso histórico, dirigentes con talento intelectual y convicciones éticas, capaces de adelantarse a su tiempo y  trascender sus circunstancias. Ellos tienen una visión adecuada del conjunto de la nación donde se desenvuelven, pues paralelamente a su carrera política se han consagrado al estudio y análisis de la sociedad. Poseen también voluntad y disciplina, ennoblecidas por los propósitos que se han trazado, objetivos que superan de lejos los apetitos individuales y los egoísmos grupales. Estos últimos no pueden obviamente ser suprimidos, pero sí mitigados y canalizados en pro de un fin superior. Una combinación de coraje, perseverancia y responsabilidad distingue a los líderes genuinos, quienes saben que la verdadera gloria no reside en la acumulación de caudales robados al Estado, sino en el servicio a la comunidad, en la defensa de la justicia y en la construcción de un futuro mejor.

Η παρούσα εργασία πραγματεύεται την ελληνική εξωτερική πολιτική τα τελευταία πενήντα περίπου έτη, με στόχο την ερμηνευτική της προσέγγιση με τα εκάστοτε επίκαιρα θεωρητικά εργαλεία και παράλληλα με την ανάπτυξη της ευρωπαϊκής ολοκλήρωσης, από την περίοδο απουσίας συγκροτημένης ενωσιακής εξωτερικής πολιτικής, μέχρι την περίοδο της θεσμικής ανάπτυξής της και κλείνοντας με την
περίοδο της οικονομικής κρίσης.
Η ΕΕΠ ξεκινώντας με ρεαλιστικά κίνητρα αποτροπής και εξισορρόπησης απέναντι στην Τουρκία, πέρασε εν συνεχεία σε μια περίοδο εξευρωπαϊσμού και εντέλει κατέληξε πλήρως υποκείμενη στις επιδράσεις της κανονιστικής ισχύος της κοινότητας την περίοδο της οικονομικής κρίσης, όταν και έχασε την οικονομική και πολιτική της αυτοτέλεια. Το νέο αιώνα των εύθραστων ισορροπιών και των αδυσώπητων ανταγωνισμών σε ένα ρευστό διεθνές σύστημα, η ΕΕΠ
πρέπει να αναζητήσει με σοφία, νηφαλιότητα και ωριμότητα τα βήματα εκείνα που θα εξασφαλίσουν την επιβίωση του ελληνικού έθνους-κράτους, το οποίο θα βρεθεί αντιμέτωπο με νέες π ροκλήσεις εξ' ανατολάς.

This collection of essays examines the subject of power politics in Africa, paying special attention to the interests of African regional powers, as well as their capabilities and strategies in the international arena. It provides a theoretical bridge between concerns for militarised national interest, perpetual distrust and insecurity, struggles for power and hegemony in power politics, and the spirit of pan-African solidarity, brotherhood, consensus, cooperation and integration. It is on these bases that this volume offers rich empirical insight into leading regional powers in Africa with special attention given to Nigeria and South Africa. It serves to contribute African perspectives to the field of International Relations, particularly regarding power politics, which is important in terms of Africanising the narratives of a subject matter that is largely considered as Eurocentric in African and other non-Western societies.

Fabrizio says in Machiavelli’s Art of War that he has “[…] never used war as an art, because [his] art is to govern [his] subjects and to defend them, and, so as to be able to defend them, to love peace and know how to make war.” What is the “art of war” for Machiavelli and how is this concept depicted in his three major political works —The Prince, Discourses on Livy, and Art of War—?

The argument of this essay is that this “art” —which Machiavelli thinks crucial for the ruling politician– is the ability in the use of political force. As politics is a continuous struggle, in order to keep dominion over his state, the ruler has to be prepared to face internal and external threats from political enemies; the ruler has to be at the same time a commander and a politician —a “fox” and a “lion,” Machiavelli would say. In Art of War and the Discourses on Livy, this idea is depicted in a subtle way; while, in The Prince, it is openly stated as fundamental true of politics; nonetheless, the conception of the art of war —as fundamental for every ruler, regardless the regime, as the way to face internal and external rivals— stands as a core idea for Machiavelli’s political thought in the three of them.

https://auctoritasnonveritas.org/2017/01/03/to-peace-through-war-machiavelli-and-the-survival-of-the-state/

Bangladesh-China bilateral relationship has its foothold right through the historical records of two thousand years. Ever since the establishment of the formal diplomatic relationship in October 1975, Bangladesh and China continued to be closer friends and development partners. Their relationship is often termed as 'trusted friendship' or 'all weather friendship'. Successful bilateral cooperation between Bangladesh and China has been attained in a number of sectors, including politics, economy, military and culture. Over the years, they have signed quite a lot of bilateral treaties, agreements, and memoranda of understandings on mutual economic engagement, cultural sharing, infrastructure development, educational exchange and military support. Mutual reciprocity based on shared interests has largely contributed to keep Bangladesh-China bilateral relations sustainable over time. In this milieu, the objective of the present study is to offer a comprehensive approach to Bangladesh-China bilateral relations at the dawn of the twenty-first century. It elucidates the historical development of this bilateral relationship; goes through its various dimensions; identifies major challenges; and suggest a bunch of policy imperatives to foster this friendship.

Over the last years there is a growing body of literature over the role of states in cyberspace, over the need for the westphalian state system to adjust in a globalised and borderless world. The purpose of this article is to examine the ways in which a transition from the westphalian state system to a cyber-westphalian one, can take place. The westphalian state system is based on state sovereignty and borders, so the question that inevitably arises is whether states can define virtual borders and eventually construct an international legal framework that determines state sovereignty in cyberspace. A closer look at recent developments like the Chinese attempt to build their own internal internet, the role of internet filters in authoritarian regimes, the creation of the US Cyber Command and the debate for a global cyber-treaty, mark that the transition is already underway.

In November 2013, President Yanukovych rejected an opportunity for the Associate Agreement with the EU at the Eastern Partnership Summit, embroiling Ukraine in a long-lasting crisis which included mass protests and a Revolution of Dignity ousting him from office and culminating in Russia’s annexation of Crimea and invasion of Eastern Ukraine. This crisis could be explained by several international relations theories. Realism has considerable explanatory power in the field of international relations vis-a-vis Russia’s foreign policy. However, different theories emphasise different aspects of the phenomenon. As a result, a weakness of one theory can be a strength of the other. This essay will seek to explain that Russia’s foreign policy and the outbreak of conflict is entrenched in the anarchy of the international system which led to Russia’s aggressive response. To argue this view, this essay will use the analytical framework of classical realism. In addition, this essay will invoke a structural realist approach and social constructivist

The book by Clive Archer embarked on a global outlook on international organization, with a convergence and divergence of views on the coverage of international organization. the paper asserts that there has been an expansion from the traditional interstate relations of international organisation to include activities between individuals and groups in one state vis-à-vis individuals and groups in another state.

We call for a research program focused on the dynamics of global power politics. Rather than link realpolitik to structural-realist theoretical frameworks or the putatively anarchical character of world politics, the program treats power politics as an object of analysis in its own right. It embraces debate over the nature of global power politics among scholars working with distinctive approaches. It sees the structural contexts of power politics as highly variable and often hierarchical in character. It attenuates ex ante commitments to the centrality of states in global politics. And it takes for granted that actors deploy multiple resources and modalities of power in their pursuit of influence. What binds this diverse research program together is its focus on realpolitik as the politics of collective mobilization in the context of the struggle for influence among political communities, broadly understood. Thus, the study of the dynamics of collective mobilization—the causal and constitutive pathways linking efforts at mobilization with enhanced power—brings together approaches to security studies together in a shared study of power politics.

The non-violent removal of Ferdinand Marcos in February 1986 through a mass uprising that had started in 1983 was a landmark event both in the Philippines and internationally. It introduced  the term ‘people power’ into academic and journalistic discourse and was used as a model for subsequent civil disobedience movements in Asia and the Soviet bloc. It raises many questions regarding the relationship between civil resistance and other forms of power, and the diVerence between short-term and long-term success.

Analysis of non-violent resistance in the Philippines is still incomplete. This chapter attempts to fill this gap by offering reflections on the use of non-violent methods in the Philippine context. The first section offers a historical overview of the uneven democratization process from the early 1970s to the flawed election of 2004. The second section, which is in several parts, addresses questions relating to the role of civil resistance in political change. It considers the reasons for the adoption  of non-violent  strategies, and the ways in which the coexistence of armed  struggles in the Philippines influenced  the adoption  and  effectiveness of non-violent methods. It shows how particular circumstances, especially the regime’s shameless electoral fraud, contributed  to the movement’s success. It looks briefly at the role of international power balances generally and the US in particular. Various criteria are suggested for the evaluation of the success and failure of the civil resistance movement during the Marcos and immediate post- Marcos years. The concluding section draws out the links between the practice of civil resistance and democratization, and suggests some lessons which can be learnt from the Philippine example. In particular the conclusion asks what post- authoritarian  governance in the Philippines since 1986 shows about a possible connection between the practice of civil resistance and liberal outcomes.

Cyberspace is a socio-political and technological domain with unique characteristics. Its decentralized nature and the fact that it is mostly owned and managed by the private sector raise a number of questions regarding the most effective model of governance. Viewing cyberspace as a global commons, balancing between state sovereignty and the fragmentation of cyberspace, and debating between multilateralism and multi-stakeholderism makes discussions of cyberspace governance quite complex. The cases of ITU, ICANN, IGF, UN GGE, and NETmundial raise issues of legitimacy and accountability and offer a pragmatic insight into the power politics of cyberspace.

“I argue that self-help and power politics do not follow either logically or causally from anarchy and that if today we find ourselves in a self-help world, this is due to process, not structure. There is no ‘logic’ of anarchy apart from the practices that create and instantiate one structure of identities and interests rather than another; structure has no existence or causal powers apart from process.”
Alexander Wendt, “Anarchy is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics", International Organization, Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 394-395.

Is Wendt argument regarding international anarchy convincing? Why?

The author has introduced the Modular System Theory on International Relations (MSTIR) in 2006. The Theory have two pillars:
First pillar: Three assumptions of the theory are laid down in the study which defines the modular character of international actors as well as the international system itself.  Here are the main assumptions of the MSTIR:
1. International system functions as a module, consists of other modules, which are called actors of the international relations.
2. The actors of international relations do also function as a module. An entity which cannot function as a module cannot be regarded as an actor of international relations.
3. The actor which fails to function as a module for a specific period of time may be dissolved or divided and embedded in another international actor in such a way that the global balance of power will not be adversely affected. 
Second pillar: The theory is based on the assertion that “Power Politics” is still one of major diplomacy tools in International Relations, thus it is necessary to develop a quantitative and objective method to calculate power of international actors. If one international actor (state or international organisation) can calculate potential power of itself and its possible adversary, it will not easily risk military conflicts. This method will boost efforts for peaceful resolution of conflicts of interest. The Global Potential Power Distribution Chart, which is calculated based on three main characteristics establishing power of international actors, namely population, territory and economic power, shows “potential power of states and international organisations”. It depends on the international conjecture how much of its potential power an international actor may execute in diplomacy. 
Russian Federation, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has been following the policy to divide Ukraine into smaller modules by invading in order to annex them since 2014. By means of this policy, Putin wants to increase the potential power of the RF (territory, population and GDP). What he does is a blatant proof of the assumptions of the MSTIR in the 21st Century. However, he made some fatal miscalculations.
The ideas and comments made in this study belongs to the author and cannot be regarded as official declarations of any institution or state.

The Indians have always projected themselves as the big brother of the region. The size, population, relative growing economy, and the propensity to build and extend her diplomatic tentacles further consolidates the notion of the big brother India. The sign were much written on the wall that a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in New Delhi will be underscored by rightist and conservatist politics, punctuated by Hindu nationalism and religiosity. Since becoming the prime minister, Modi's administration confirms the un-fictitious sign on the wall. Seen as a pragmatic effort to reaching out to ASEAN countries, the Act East policy is one of the signatures of Prime Minister Modi's foreign policy. The paper believes the Act East policy positions Modi as an incrementalist, building on existing policy of Look East policy. Giving the ASEAN direction of the policy, the paper discusses and measures the extent to which the Act East policy can actually truncate China's emerging role in the South-China Sea and by extension the Indian Ocean, and how much of a challenge it weighs on Pakistan. It posits that Pakistan must navigate her own path, de-hyphenate herself from Indian centric policy, and should meticulously work for the consolidation of Sino-Pak relations. Finally, the paper argues whether or not the Act East policy is an embodiment of pragmatism or exhibition of leadership ambition. Though, it avows that national interest, existing regional competitors, and proximity factor are important concerns that can render Act East policy's pragmatism to mere ambition.

The geopolitics within the weak state Nepal is strategically important for the great powers (USA, China and India) in recent developments of International Relations. The dramatic international developments in the South-East Asia and the involvement of great powers in Nepal for the specific issue of Tibetans are the most penetrating questions for the sovereignty of Nepal. This research aims to analyze the roles and interests of great powers and its consequences in the sovereignty of Nepal through offensive- neo realism perspective. This paper mainly uses deductive (top-down) method which begins with the theory then hypothesis, observation and finally confirmation. The geopolitics in Nepal among the great powers is relevant exercises to compete for their hegemonic position in the system or at least in the regional level. Further, this is an interesting case to explain the challenges of weak state surrounded by powerful actors as well as offensive nature of possible hegemonic actors in the international system.

Thanks to sustained economic growth and key investments in military capabilities, India will face growing demands from within and the international community to seek and play a greater role in global security affairs. The values and interests likely to guide India’s future behavior will be a mixture of old and new, eastern and western. India’s international aspirations have an important pre-history, covered in this chapter’s first section where non-alignment, as idea and practice, is explored for its enduring significance. India’s relevance as a security actor is assessed in terms of its activities and capacity to influence developments within two security zones of major contemporary importance: Afghanistan and the Indian Ocean. Finally, a section on the constraints and challenges examines India’s ability to navigate a multi-polar world, the fallout and gains of nuclearization, the 2008 Indo-US nuclear deal, as well as ‘the weaknesses from within’ in terms of human security.

Éste artículo tiene como objeto hacer una re-exposición de la teoría política de Baruch Espinosa (1632-1677) a la luz de su ontología –entendida ésta como una ontología materialista. Por lo tanto, se hará una interpretación materialista de la teoría política éste filósofo, desde un acercamiento al «Materialismo Filosófico» de Gustavo Bueno –específicamente, desde su filosofía política, como «materialismo político». Para esto, exploraremos brevemente ciertas ideas de su Tratado Político –teniendo en cuenta, desde luego, la Ética y el Tratado Teológico-Político. Lidiaremos con ideas como «derecho natural», «Estado» o «Libertad», u otras ideas que irán saliendo a través de estas y que junto a la construcción de unas, dialécticamente criticará y destruirá otras –como «Pueblo», «Voluntad», «monarquía absoluta» etc.

(The Political Ontology of Espinosa)
The aim of this article is the reexposition of Baruch Espinosa's (1632-1677) political theory, in the light of his ontology –understood as a materialist ontology. Therefore, we will make a materialist interpretation of the political theory of this philosopher, from an approach to Gustavo Bueno's «Philosophical Materialism» –specifically, from his political philosophy, as a «political materialism». For that goal, we will briefly explore certain ideas from his Political Treatise –of course, with the help of other works, like the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus and the Ethics. We will deal with ideas like «natural law», «State», «Freedom», and other ideas that may arise from those and in which construction, they dialectically criticize and destroy others –v.g., «People», «Will», «absolute monarchy» and so on.

Brief Bio Devi Girish Chandra is a Kuchipudi performer who has an accentuating academic as well as professional record. Devi continues her research along with performances and teaching, she combines artistic presentation with an academic bend. With this combination, she explores the intricacies of Kuchipudi, experiment with the body extensions, by relating it to the theoretical constructs and travel along the ascend as a learning journey. Devi, along with her husband Girish Chandra has created their own niche in the field of Kuchipudi tracing, together, a performing career of more than 11 years and individually for more than 18 years. Currently she is working as an Educator at Department of Kuchipudi, University of Silicon Andhra, California. She has formulated and consolidated inter-disciplinary dance curriculum for National Institute of Fashion Technology-Kerala and International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT)-Basara. She is also an Empanelled Artist of Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Abstract "Re-imagining Gollabhama as a woman of resistance" This paper 'reads' Gollakalāpam and its practice as 'social text'. The effect of power relations-exclusion, inclusion and marginalization against women in the society was also mirrored in performing arts tradition. This in turn molded and structured the art forms to illustrate the way these aspects construct, devise and provide insights into the performances as 'social texts. Gollakalāpam is a text of resistance that questions the gender issues, caste-class hierarchies and elevates the suppressed castes as well as women. It appears to have evolved as the result of a popular response to the social problems of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The thrust of Gollakalāpam as a social protest and satire is to serve as the voice of women, through which they

The article analyzes the legislative issues on equal marriage in P. R. China. It adopts a path dependency analysis on the liberal institutional order's effects to the regime's structural discrimination on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) population. The research adopted a duo-lingual paradigm on Christianity with intercultural and transnational interpretations, and the research found the mis-adaption of language in the Chinese text of the United Nations charter is the key source to the suppression of the LGBT population in mainland China. Furthermore, theological development for sexually diverse interpretations of the Bible is essential to mitigate the stigmatization of the LGBT population on a comparative constitutional review.

Humanitarianism has arguably become the key frame through which multifarious actors of world evaluate each other legitimacy and determinate their roles in the current world. Moreover, this new "humanitarian paradigm" has become an essential expression of what is meant by international community and contemporary world order behind it. The book examines the patterns of co-option and collaboration between the ethical and political traditions of the humanitarianism in various world political spectacles: September 11th, Iraq and Afganistan, Darfur, SARS and Avian Flu, and U.S. transformational HIV/AIDS diplomacy.

The purpose of this paper is to address the following question: Do realist polarity political games and realist prisoner dilemma games in the council allow it to follow through with liberal concerns of human rights and peace? Is there a struggle between the will of the  P5 members of the council and the liberal goals of the council itself? This paper relies on qualitative methodology to evaluate the available historical documents and existing research on the council that would help in determining whether the organization is liberal or realist. The paper will look at the operations of the UN Security councils in three parts: P5 member structure and voting procedures.

The victory of APC at the 2015 general elections was the first time since 1999 any other political parties would have control of the federal government. What is more, the victory was total, controlling the executive with the presidency as it power base and having the majority in both chambers of the national assembly-the senate and house of representative all at the same time. Not long after the inauguration of the APC government, there appears a crack that revealed the party lacks cohesion and after all not all members are in the same page with the agenda and programmes of the party and President Muhammadu Buhari. Given the process through which the APC emerged, not many believed the party would pull through to victory in 2015; hence the lack of policy cohesion between the executive and legislature is not surprising. The internal intrigues, differences and rancour that characterized the emergence of principal leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives planted the first seed of confrontation between the party, executive and the legislature. Abstract-The victory of APC at the 2015 general elections was the first time since 1999 any other political parties would have control of the federal government. What is more, the victory was total, controlling the executive with the presidency as it power base and having the majority in both chambers of the national assembly-the senate and house of representative all at the same time. Not long after the inauguration of the APC government, there appears a crack that revealed the party lacks cohesion and after all not all members are in the same page with the agenda and programmes of the party and President Muhammadu Buhari. Given the process through which the APC emerged, not many believed the party would pull through to victory in 2015; hence the lack of policy cohesion between the executive and legislature is not surprising. The internal intrigues, differences and rancour that characterized the emergence of principal leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives planted the first seed of confrontation between the party, executive and the legislature.

The study of international relations has long been stuck in a state of limbo where advocates of different schools of thought – be it realism, neorealism, liberalism or Marxism – would aim to prove their understanding of the international system right, while also discrediting contending accounts. Although advances are occasionally made (usually within already existing frameworks, by enlisting interdisciplinary analysis) during episodic long campaigns often called interparadigm ‘debates’, the trenches remain close to where they were at the time of the first great debate, just after the First World War (Kurki and Wight, 2013: 14).

The analogy between interparadigm debates in international relations and trench warfare is intentional. The essay argues that although comparing and contrasting neorealist and neomarxist understandings of hegemony is certainly possible, it might not necessarily be the most useful method of studying the current world order. As these two approaches see international relations through fundamentally different lenses and rely on significantly dissimilar basic assumptions, pitching them against each other might recall the spirit of trench warfare in drawing the reader into a desperate struggle where neither parties can realistically hope for a quick and decisive victory.

What is proposed instead is a more holistic approach where different paradigms applied together might help researchers form a more nuanced framework that offers a more complex, refined understanding of the hows and whys of international relations.

This paper focuses on the potential militarization of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative which is expected to change the current balance of power in the Indo-pacific Region, Africa, Central Asia, Middle East, Europe and South America. Inevitable, such an extensive and expensive investment program, which of great economic and political importance to China, is considered to be the indicator of the country's global ambitions. Simultaneously, the military dimension of the BRI is also extremely important for China as enables it to gradually become a reliable security partner at least for developing initiative member states which do not have the resources to provide security to these infrastructures in their own territory. This is also crucial for Beijing's competitors, the European Union and especially the United States which realize that via the BRI China will able to project military power in an extended geographical area way greater than the China Sea. Undoubtedly, for the Westerners, BRI and its potential militarization is a threat to their cohesion and global dominance.

Militære maktmidler har i lang tid dominert tenkningen omkring hvordan stater sikrer sin suverenitet,
sitt territorium og sin befolkning. Økonomiske kapasiteter og makt har i stor grad blitt holdt adskilt
fra analyser av forsvars- og sikkerhetspolitikk. I nyere tid har det imidlertid blitt større oppmerksomhet på at stater kan bruke sine økonomiske kapasiteter for å oppnå strategiske og politiske mål i
internasjonal politikk. Økonomiske virkemidler har slik potensial for å true andre staters sikkerhetsinteresser. Bekymringer knyttet til utenlandske investeringer i Norge innen strategisk viktige sektorer
som telekommunikasjon og IT har spesielt skutt fart. Investeringer er imidlertid bare ett av mange
økonomiske virkemidler en stat kan benytte seg av for å nå strategiske mål – og de økonomiske
virkemidlene kan på sin side kombineres med ikke-økonomiske virkemidler som cyber- eller påvirkningsoperasjoner. Denne rapporten er et bidrag til å gi norske myndigheter bedre forståelse for de
truslene og utfordringene vi står overfor i møtet med denne nye virkeligheten.
I rapporten studerer vi hvordan andre staters bruk av økonomiske virkemidler kan true nasjonal
sikkerhet. Vi drøfter også hvordan identifiserte utfordringskategorier for sikkerhetstruende virksomhet
kan integreres i en risiko- og sårbarhetsanalyse. Det er imidlertid utenfor denne rapportens omfang å
gjennomføre en full analyse. Rapporten har til formål å avdekke sentrale områder for videre utredning
og forskning om hvordan investeringer og andre økonomiske virkemidler kan true nasjonal sikkerhet
samt politikkutforming innen området. Vi identifiserer flere områder der kunnskapsgrunnlaget er
særlig svakt. Dersom Norge skal lykkes i å beskytte seg mot økonomiske virkemidler, må vi bedre
forstå både truslene som kan ramme oss, våre sårbarheter og hvordan disse henger sammen med
verdiene vi ønsker å beskytte i det norske samfunnet.
Det finnes bred forskningslitteratur om staters bruk av økonomiske virkemidler for å oppnå strategiske
mål, men studiene er sjelden konkrete om hvilke trusler og sårbarheter en småstat som Norge vil ha
overfor stormakter og andre staters bruk av slike midler. Vi identifiserer også flere andre sentrale
kunnskapsgap i litteraturen. Til sammen er det derfor utfordrende å avdekke truslene fra utenlandske
investeringer og andre økonomiske virkemidler mot Norge. For å kunne beskrive de ulike typene
trusler som Norge kan møte, har vi strukturert innsikten fra litteraturen i en morfologisk analyse. På
den måten får vi beskrevet handlinger hvor det er relativt få historiske eksempler, men som likevel er
aktuelle for Norge. Vi identifiserer seks utfordringskategorier hvor økonomiske virkemidler kan utgjøre
sikkerhetstruende virksomhet: tilrettelegge for skjult angrep og sabotasje, statlig påvirkningsaktivitet,
statlig etterretningsaktivitet, omgå ikke-spredningsbestemmelser, beskytte strategiske interesser og
endre styrkeforhold. Det er også mulig å kombinere disse handlingene med andre virkemidler. Slike
kombinasjoner kan gi en dypere forståelse av truslene fra økonomiske virkemidler.
Trusler er én av tre dimensjoner i en risiko- og sårbarhetsanalyse. Det er også viktig å vurdere hva
som er verdifullt for oss og som vi følgelig ønsker å beskytte. Vi diskuterer hvordan grunnleggende
nasjonale funksjoner kan representere verdier samt potensielle utfordringer ved dette. Deretter redegjør vi for relevante aspekter å ta hensyn til langs dimensjonen sårbarheter, inkludert avhengigheter
mellom sektorer og prosesser, kompleksitet, tilstedeværelsen av effektive barrierer og kontekstuelle
og landspesifikke faktorer. Innenfor hver dimensjon gir vi anbefalinger til videre studier og analyser
for å tette kunnskapshull.

Andrew Jackson, 7th US president (1829–1837): victor over the Creeks at Horseshoe Bend and the British at New Orleans, a polarizing figure who believed in centralized government, distrusted and brought to an end the Second National Bank of the United States, and forced the relocation and resettlement of the indigenous tribes to the west of the Mississippi River. His enthusiastic followers applauded his appointment of second rate men to his Cabinet (with the exception of Van Buren), and expanding the powers of the presidency beyond the perviously perceived limits by the constitution. The tough “Old Hickory” created the modern Democratic Party, expanded the spoils systems, demagogically appealed to the common man, and never had an appetite for intellectuals or the well-to-do.

Why do great powers sometimes seek to create parity of power between other political units? How do they benefit from relations of anarchy between their rivals? The objective of this research is to understand how power balancing is used as an instrument of subjugation in the struggle of politics. My hypothesis is that power parity between political units can be used as a strategy in the political strife. The argument I present in this work is that imperialist units seek to exogenously establish balance of power between political units in order to advance their power interests over them. The logic of this is the following. Order and peace are possible only in hierarchy, in power disparity; when the distribution of power among political units is balanced, anarchy results and, thus, a state of war is reached again. Due to such reality of continuous fighting and belligerence, the actors in anarchic systems use and expend the resources available to them, trying to overcome their rivals and to achieve preeminence; however, this effort erode their power and weakens them all before the balancing power. Imperial units, seeking to exploit the effects of anarchy, pursue strategies of balancing rivals. By enabling contending factions to confront each other, they collide and, thus, become weaker, opening the way for empire. The fundamental idea of this strategic instrument is to use the intrinsically conflictive circumstances resulting from power parity between political units, in order to rule over rivals.

I exemplified and proved the historical existence of the theory I presented through the analysis of two cases—on the one hand, the strategy used by the Han Dynasty in order to defeat the Xiongnu Empire (circa 46—91 A.D.), on the other, the method employed by the United States to control Japanese politics during the first years of the occupation after World War II (1945—1948).

While the discourse of great power politics is an intellectual commonplace of International Relations theory, its roots in nineteenth-century conceptions of imperialism have rarely been the subject of any sustained historical analysis. Rather, the prevailing literature on great power competition relies on transhistorical theoretical claims about the permanence of geopolitical rivalry under anarchy, in conjunction with a common imaginary of early modern Europe as the birthplace of modern international politics. In contrast, this thesis locates the origins of a specifically modern condition of global power politics in the strategic and ideological conflicts which drove the New Imperialism, c.1870-1914. With a particular focus on the evolution of the American Empire, it traces the international, societal, and geopolitical transformations which made possible the flourishing of imperial ambitions for world power in the century after the first Industrial Revolution (1780-1815).

On this basis, the thesis makes three overarching contributions to the study of International Relations. First, to the debate over the origins of modern international politics, it contributes a sociohistorical account of the novel conceptions of grand strategy, empire, and geopolitics associated with the nineteenth-century transition to modernity. Moving beyond the so-called ‘Westphalian narrative’ of international modernity, it locates the production of a distinctively modern conception of national-imperial expansionism and civilizational hierarchy in the lived unevenness of industrialization and colonialism. Second, to the literature in historical sociology and international security, it contributes an intersocietal approach which challenges the conventional ‘states-under-anarchy’ framework and links power-political competition to the unevenly experienced constraints of global social structures. In so doing, it explains how the international pattern of the industrial revolution — the uneven and combined development of an empire-centered world economy and international order — interacted with emergent ideologies of social progress to shape and legitimize imperial projects of political order building. More generally, the thesis recovers the nineteenth-century experience of a globalized struggle among empires as a critical counterpoint to apolitical accounts of globalization.

Special Issue, The Origins of the Welfare State: Global and Comparative Approaches Co-edited by Agnoletto, S. and Palmieri, C. http://zapruderworld.org/journal/archive/volume-3/overcoming-barriers-to-voluntary-servitude-positive-thinking-and-self-help-the-post-political-ideology-of-workfare/

This work is written by Steven Wright.
Bahrain has entered into a more ‘progressive’ phase of its history under King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Various parliamentary and legislative restructuring, in addition to discernable changes within civil society, have taken place. Yet genuine socio-economic challenges remain on the horizon, which may pose risks to the political order. The reforms were drive by a recognition that far reaching political and economic changes were needed in order to combat the risk of a return to the widespread riots that Bahrain was plagued with during the late 1990s. The focus of this study is to show that internal power politics within Bahrain’s ruling elite largely explain the manner in which the reforms have been implemented in the initial years of King Hamad’s reign. A key aspect of this was a desire by the King to enhance his autonomy vis-à-vis the Prime Minister through a populist mandate. This study also surveys key social and political developments in Bahrain and illustrates some of the important challenges which remain within the Kingdom.

The article inquires into the conditions of effective leadership of states in international politics, and develops a framework for the study of so-called (new) regional powers such as Brazil, China, India, and South Africa in processes of regional institution-building. Various theoretical strands will be discussed as to the requirements of effective leadership in international affairs. Most importantly, the relationship between power, leadership and hegemony will be outlined. It is argued that the connection between leadership and hegemony is one of co-constitution. Leadership is necessarily based on hegemony, while hegemony can only be sustained through leadership. Furthermore, it will be shown that both leadership and hegemony are essentially political in character, whereas power has no such insinuation but has to be translated into leadership and hegemony through discursive means. Finally, the analysis asks for the preconditions of leadership in East Asia, using China's and J...

This dissertation tris to outline a research project that seeks to understand the nature of the relationship between the powers of countries that own natural resources, on the one hand and the level of conflicts in which they engage in the international arena, on the other hand. If the powerful country that owns natural resources which are oil or natural gas has a dispute with a weaker state, the level of conflict will be lower in the case studies. When the state with natural resources is weaker than other state, the levels of the conflicts it engages in tend to be relatively high due to the perception that they are more fragile and open to control. When the state with natural resource is close as against one (or another) country, the level of conflict is low level because states' high level of conflict would be very harmful and destructive for both states. The argument will be tested with three case studies with distinctive properties have been selected to test the hypotheses. This is a qualitative research study supported and enhanced by quantitative methods, especially when measuring the variables.

The article examines the probability of achieving the self-imposed criteria for Turkey to become a macro-regional power by 2023. The author analyses components of variables in Davutoğluʼs equation of power and the results of the " zero problems with neighbours " policy as an essential prerequisite for Turkey becoming one of the poles of power at the global level. Presenting the state of progress in military industries, in the development of technological infrastructure and in the economy, the author assesses the limited progress and failure to materialise the country's expected goals. After years of progress in various fields, the leading AKP party is now troubled by conflicts inside and outside the country. The author concludes that Turkey will not be able to realise its 2023 strategy due to combination of failures in internal, foreign and economic policies.

In this paper, we examine neglected dimensions of decoupling-i.e., its power and political aspects. We draw on an empirical study of the reaction of two hospital subunits and an external agency (the Regional Health Agency) to a policy implementation, to contribute to the recent renewed interest in decoupling. We first reconsider the distinction between internal and external actors by investigating how they interact in their responses to the new policy implementation. While observing different forms of decoupling, we show how power and politics allow us to understand how these forms are articulated and related. Furthermore, we highlight that contexts characterized by institutional complexity are particularly propitous for decoupling. Finally, we outline that how actors use logics to justify their claims might differ significantly from how they enact those logics. More broadly, this paper contributes by bringing back power and politics into the analysis of institutional processes.

There have been many initiatives undertaken to reconcile Hamas-Fatah conflict and to
establish Palestinian national unity government. Though these initiatives ended up with
signing three agreements, the reconciliation processes seem to be doomed to failure at
their early stage. The main cause of the conflict is lack of equilibrium of power between
Hamas and Fatah. Hence, Morgenthau’s classical realism theory is used to conceptualize
the interstate political struggle within Palestinian society. Quantitative historical
analysis is employed to explore the stumbling blocks of reconciliation process between
Hamas and Fatah within their historical contexts. The paper argues that it is crucial to
see Hamas-Fatah conflict at its own broader nature and relate Palestinian domestic
political schism to broader world structure, such as the logic of power politics and balance
of power within a state-under-the-making.

In this article I develop a different interpretation of power that derives from Claude Lefort’s works and that highlights the relevance of its symbolic dimension. To this purpose, I start by examining Clifford Geertz’s analysis of the Balinese ancient political society as the most radical example of a kind of “aesthetic power”. Later, I describe and comment Lefort’s remarks on the symbolic character of power and how these reflections show that power is always in dispute; furthermore, why power should not be merely identified with coercion or violence and exclusively analyzed from a material perspective either. To this purpose, I will examine three faces of power that, according to Lefort, correspond to three different political forms: Ancien Régime, totalitarianism and democracy

Tajikistan has been one of the most important tension points in Central Asia since the states gained their independence. The regional impact and direction of the balance of power that occurred after the civil war in Tajikistan is one of the discussion topics in the region. “Tajikistan in the New Central Asia: Geopolitics, Great Power Rivalry and Radical Islam” by Lena Jonson is of great importance in this regard. The author’s visits to Tajikistan in 1997 (before the end of the civil war), 2002, 2004, and 2005 and the interviews that she made with the social and political actors make the book more important.

Lena Jonson is an Associate Professor in Political Science and a Senior Research Fellow at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs. She has worked at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, London and as a Political Officer at the OSCE mission to Tajikistan. Since autumn 2005 she has worked as a Cultural Counselor for the Swedish Embassy in Moscow. Jonson has many articles and books related to Central Asia and countries in the region.