Fear Without Rationality: Emotions in Lithuanian Foreign Policy

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-55
Author(s):  
Benas Brunalas
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
International Politics ◽  
International Relations Theory ◽  
Collective Emotions ◽  
Emotional Aspects ◽  
The Way

Abstract The paper reflects on the conception of the phenomenon of fear employed in the international relations theory. A critique of understanding of fear as a rational incentive of conventional international relations theories paves the way for the notion of fear as an emotion. It is argued that the behaviour of states in international politics should be explained via their psychological and emotional aspects. The paper proposes to connect the arising of and experiencing fear with collective memory and the imagery entrenched in nations’ subconscious. It also proposes to distinguish the two levels of arising of and experiencing the emotion of fear, namely the attempt to consciously arouse fear and its nonconscious experience. On the first level, mnemonic-emotive agents consciously activate collective emotions via the nation’s collective memory. On the second, once the contents/imagery of the society’s subconscious are activated, the aroused emotions are nonconsciously experienced by the society. The paper offers a case study from the Lithuanian foreign policy: its relations with Russia. Discourse analysis of Lithuania-Russia relations, where President Dalia Grybauskaitė plays an active and important role in discourse formation, suggests that the formation of Lithuanian foreign policy, with regard to Russia, is affected by the emotion of fear.

9. Feminism

2019 ◽  
pp. 145-159
Author(s):  
Helen M. Kinsella
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
International Politics ◽  
International Relations Theory ◽  
Policy Decisions ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Poststructural Feminist ◽  
Postcolonial Feminist ◽  
International League

This chapter examines international feminism, focusing on how feminist international relations theories are necessary for understanding international politics, what feminist international relations theories provide for understanding international politics, and how feminist international relations theories have influenced the practice of international politics. The chapter proceeds by explaining feminism and feminist international relations theory as well as feminist conceptions of gender and power. It also discusses four feminist international relations theories: liberal feminist international relations, critical feminist international relations, postcolonial feminist international relations, and poststructural feminist international relations. Two case studies of women's organizations are presented: the Women's International League of Peace and Freedom and the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. There is also an Opposing Opinions box that asks whether feminist foreign policy changes states' foreign policy decisions.

scholarly journals RIPSMAN, Norrin; TALIAFERRO, Jeffrey; LOBELL, Steven. Neoclassical Realist Theory of International Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. 208 p. ISBN: 9780199899234

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Álvaro Vicente Costa Silva
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
International Politics ◽  
International System ◽  
International Relations Theory ◽  
Realist Theory ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
Intervening Variables ◽  
Realist Model ◽  
Oxford University Press

Este trabalho resenha a obra Neoclassical Realist Theory of International Politics, de Norrin Ripsman, Jeffrey Taliaferro e Steven Lobell, publicado em 2016. O intuito dos autores é construir um modelo teórico realista neoclássico, indo além do ideário neorrealista focado apenas em fatores sistêmicos enquanto determinantes da política exterior de um Estado. Assim, alguns fatores domésticos são elencados enquanto variáveis intervenientes capazes de influenciar a resposta de um Estado aos estímulos vindos do sistema internacional.ABSTRACTThis paper aims to review Neoclassical Realist Theory of International Politics, a book written by Norrin Ripsman, Jeffrey Taliaferro e Steven Lobell and published in 2016. The authors goal is to construct a neoclassical realist model, as a further advance in comparison to neorealist appraisal of International Politics, whose claim that systemical restraints and dictates the foreign policy of states. Hence, some domestical factors are placed as intervening variables that can influence a state’s reaction to the stimulus emanated from the international system. Palavras-chave: Realismo, Teoria das Relações Internacionais, análise de política externa.Keywords: Realism, International Relations theory, Foreign policy analysis.Recebido em 13 de Maio de 2018 | Aceito em 22 de Maio de 2018.Received May 13, 2018 | Accepted on May 22, 2018. DOI

Forum on Social Theory of International Politics

2000 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-124 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Scientific Realism ◽  
International Politics ◽  
International System ◽  
International Relations Theory ◽  
Social Kinds ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Way

It is fitting that one of the last major statements of International Relations theory in the 1990s should be a response to Kenneth Waltz's path-breaking book, Theory of International Politics. Unlike many other critically inclined scholars, Wendt believes that Waltz asked the right questions but supplied the wrong answers. Putting it simply, Waltz incorrectly conceptualized the structure of the international system. The first half of Wendt's book sets out to offer an alternative social theory of international politics to the ‘materialism’ and ‘individualism’ found in Waltz's work (specifically, chapters on ‘Scientific realism and social kinds’, ‘Ideas all the way down? On the constitution of power and interest’, and ‘Structure, agency, and culture’).

Foreign Policy

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Policy Analysis ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
International Relations Theory ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Foreign Policy Analysis ◽  
Text Features

This text provides an introduction to the ever-changing field of foreign policy. Combining theories, actors, and cases, chapters provide an interesting introduction to what foreign policy is and how it is conducted. With an emphasis throughout on grounding theory in empirical examples, the text features a section dedicated to relevant and topical case studies where foreign policy analysis approaches and theories are applied. Chapters clearly convey the connection between international relations theory, political science, and the development of foreign policy analysis, emphasizing the key debates in the academic community. New chapters focus on such topics as public diplomacy, and media and public opinion. A new case study on Syria examines the forms of intervention that have and have not been adopted by the international community.

Neoclassical Realism and Theories of Foreign Policy

1998 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 144-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gideon Rose
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
International Politics ◽  
International Relations Theory ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
State Structure ◽  
Neoclassical Realism ◽  
Unit Level ◽  
Material Power ◽  
The Impact

Although international relations theory has been dominated for two decades by debates over theories of international politics, recently there has been a surge of interest in theories of foreign policy. These seek to explain, not the pattern of outcomes of state interactions, but rather the behavior of individual states. The author surveys three prominent theories of foreign policy and shows how the works under review set out a compelling alternative, one that updates and systematizes insights drawn from classical realist thought. Neoclassical realism argues that the scope and ambition of a country's foreign policy is driven first and foremost by the country's relative material power. Yet it contends that the impact of power capabilities on foreign policy is indirect and complex, because systemic pressures must be translated through intervening unit-level variables such as decision-makers’ perceptions and state structure. Understanding the links between power and policy thus requires close examination of both the international and the domestic contexts within which foreign policy is formulated and implemented.

12. Feminism

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen M. Kinsella
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
International Politics ◽  
International Relations Theory ◽  
Policy Decisions ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Poststructural Feminist ◽  
Postcolonial Feminist ◽  
International League

This chapter examines international feminism, focusing on whether feminist international relations theories are necessary for understanding international politics, what basis feminist international relations theories provide for understanding international politics, and how feminist international relations theories have influenced the practice of international politics. The chapter proceeds by explaining feminism and feminist international relations theory as well as feminist conceptions of gender and power. It also discusses four feminist international relations theories: liberal feminist international relations, critical feminist international relations, postcolonial feminist international relations, and poststructural feminist international relations. Two case studies of women's organizations are presented: the Women's International League of Peace and Freedom and the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. There is also an Opposing Opinions box that asks whether feminist foreign policy changes states' foreign policy decisions.

scholarly journals L’état des études internationales au Canada : un survol de la recherche scientifique

2005 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-360
Author(s):  
Arpad Abonyi ◽  
Ivan J. Sylvain ◽  
Brian W. Tomlin
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Small Group ◽  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
International Politics ◽  
Scientific Study ◽  
Scholarly Journals ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Systematic Survey ◽  
Issue Area

This article depicts the configuration of approaches to the scientific study of foreign policy and international politics in Canada, as represented in a systematic survey of research written in Canada and published in forty scholarly journals, some from as early as 1945 up to 1975. Scientific studies found in this sample were analyzed along four dimensions : theoretical basis ; issue area ; units upon which the investigation is based ; and method of analysis. Scientific study of international relations emerged as a largely recent yet growing phenomenon of the last decade. It constitutes a unique subfield outside the mainstream of research, and is concentrated among a relatively small group of individuals and even fewer institutions. Études internationales emerged as the single most important channel of communication for this subfield in Canada

The assumption of anarchy in international relations theory: a critique

1991 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Milner
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Politics ◽  
International System ◽  
International Relations Theory ◽  
Fundamental Assumption ◽  
Ambiguous Words

‘Anarchy is one of the most vague and ambiguous words in language.’ George Coreewall Lewis, 1832.In much current theorizing, anarchy has once again been declared to be the fundamental assumption about international politics. Over the last decade, numerous scholars, especially those in the neo-realist tradition, have posited anarchy as the single most important characteristic underlying international relations. This article explores implications of such an assumption. In doing so, it reopens older debates about the nature of international politics. First, I examine various concepts of ‘anarchy’ employed in the international relations literature. Second, I probe the sharp dichotomy between domestic and international politics that is associated with this assumption. As others have, I question the validity and utility of such a dichotomy. Finally, this article suggests that a more fruitful way to understand the international system is one that combines anarchy and interdependence.

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