scholarly journals Religion and International Relations: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 328
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Haynes
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Ir Theory ◽  
The West ◽  
Time Period ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Islamist Terrorism ◽  
Clash Of Civilisations ◽  
First Time ◽  
Second Period

The article surveys the recent scholarly study of religion and international relations/International Relations (ir/IR). The focus of the article is on two discrete periods: pre-9 September 2001 (‘9/11’) and post-9/11. During the first time period, Iran’s Islamic revolution (1979), the civil war in former Yugoslavia and Huntington’s ‘clash of civilisations’ (1993) were major foci of attention. The second period saw a large number of scholarly accounts following the 9/11 attacks on the USA, with a sustained focus on the international securitisation of Islam. The article also briefly surveys the position of religion in IR theory. The article concludes that following the recent diminution of the threat to the West of Islamist terrorism—subsequent to the apparent demise of Islamic State and the fragmentation and dissipation of al Qaeda—the study of religion in IR theory needs to take better account of changing circumstances to arrive at a better understanding of how religion impacts on international relations/International Relations.

scholarly journals The framing of the Jewish pogroms upon the Ukrainian terrains via a prism of the Ukrainian foreign-language press in Europe (1919―1920s)

2019 ◽  
pp. 87-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serhiy Blavatskyy
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Jewish Question ◽  
Attribution Of Responsibility ◽  
The West ◽  
European Languages ◽  
The Usa ◽  
First Time ◽  
West European

It has been attempted to make an empirical study of the framing of the Jewish pogroms upon the Ukrainian terrains in 1919 in the Ukrainian press in the West European languages in Europe (1919―1920s). For the first time, in the communication and media studies discourses, there have been elicited new, previously unknown, findings of specificity of the framing of the Jewish pogroms in the Ukrainian foreignlanguage periodicals. Those were: «Bulletiner fra det Ukrainske Pressburo» (Copenhagen, 1919—1920s), «La Voce dell “Ucraina”» (Roma, 1919—1920s), «The Ukraine» (London, 1919—1920s), «Bureau Ukrai nien de Presse: Bulletin d’Informations» (Paris, 1919—1920s), «France et Ukraine» (Paris, 1920), «L’Europe Orientale» (Paris, 1919—1920s), «Die Ukraine» (Berlin, 1918—1926s). First, it has been elucidated that the «attribution of responsibility» frame was dominant in the content of the Ukrainian foreign-language press in Western Europe. Second, the conclusion about dialectic of the frames of «attribution of responsibility» and «morality» in the coverage of the Jewish pogroms upon the Ukrainian terrains has been made. In this regard, we conclude that the «morality» frame was connected with the internationalization of this problematic in the geopolitical discourse of international relations of the postwar period. On the contrary, the frame of «attribution of responsibility» was linked to localization of the Jewish question in the multilateral conflict on the Ukrainian territories in 1919. The main conclusion of this paper is that the coverage of the Jewish pogroms in the Ukrainian foreign-language press in Europe was made primarily in counterpropaganda purposes. The follow-up studies are to make a comparative study of the stereotypes about Jews’ perception in the Ukrainian-language press both in Ukraine and abroad (in Europe or the USA), as well as in the West European and American press of the Ukrainian Revolution period (1917―1921s). Thus, these future studies will either refute or confirm the validity of the findings and conclusions of this research. Keywords: framing, the Jewish pogroms, the Ukrainian terrains, the foreign-language press, Europe.

scholarly journals Accounting for Change in IR

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 33-52
Author(s):  
Esther Ng K.H.
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Ir Theory ◽  
Ontological Security ◽  
The West

Most theories of International Relations (IR) are cautious, if not pessimistic, about the potential for change in IR. In this regard, the concept of ontological security holds promising yet oft-overlooked prospects. This article argues that applications of ontological security to IR theory thus far have been limited due to the narrow conceptualisations of practices and how they contribute to one’s attempts to preserve their ontological security. As such, this paper seeks to expand the theoretical framework through which ontological security is applied to IR, which involves a more comprehensive conceptualisation of practice that considers reflexivity as key. Accordingly, the theory demonstrates that a state, faced with threats to their sense of Self, can respond either by rigidising or changing their practices rather than being limited to the former. This allows one to account for change—especially big change—in world politics such as the increasingly inward-looking turn of the West.

Reconstructing hierarchy as the key international relations concept and its implications for the study of Japanese national identity

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 507-518
Author(s):  
Michal Kolmaš
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
International Relations ◽  
World System ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
The West ◽  
Sovereign State ◽  
Hierarchical Relationship ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Post War

AbstractFor the last few decades, the discipline of international relations has been littered with anarchy. Since Waltz'sTheory of International Politics, it has been assumed that states are formally equal sovereign unitary actors operating in an anarchic world system and that their identities and interests are defined by the very existence of anarchy. This article shatters this conception. It offers a ‘hierarchical worldview’ in order to illustrate that the very concepts of state, sovereignty, and anarchy are discursive creations inherently tied to the practice of hierarchy. I use a case study of Japanese national identity to illustrate this practice. The narratives of Japan as an autonomous and sovereign state were inextricably linked to Japan's hierarchical relationship toward Asia and the West (pre-war) and the USA (post-war). Japan's sovereignty and autonomy were then formulated within the practice of hierarchy.

scholarly journals Chaos Synergy, Geopolitics And Culture Explain History Of International Relations. A Critique of William Wohlforth

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-28
Author(s):  
B. F. Martynov
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Legal Culture ◽  
Ir Theory ◽  
Political Realism ◽  
The West ◽  
Adequate Understanding ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Will ◽  
The Cold War

The article is a critique of William Wohlforth’s piece on usefulness of IR theory in explaining the history of international relations published in this issue of MGIMO Review of International Relations. It offers an alternative answer to the key question raised by Wohlforth – why humans continue to resort to such a self-destructive method of conflict resolution as war. The author argues that the current aggravation of relations between Russia and the West helps find a new way of answering this eternal question. With the help of historical examples and logical reasoning the author shows that international relations are governed not so much by structural anarchy, as Wohlforth argues, as by «natural spontaneous systemic force», which does not depend on the will of people and manifests itself in events that seem random and irrational. This force can be rationally known by studying how classical geopolitics, cultural (especially legal culture) and civilizational factors influence international relations. These aspects, according to the author, explain both the Cold War and its on-going «second edition». Taking into account civilizational, cultural, historical, linguistic and legal characteristics of actors becomes the key to an adequate understanding of international politics. It should also be noted that cultural and civilizational features affect not only the practice of international relations, but also the IR. According to the author, the theory of political realism in Russia has been reinterpreted in light of the maxim: «God is not in power, but in truth». Thus, an important category of Russian realism turns out to be «justice».The alternative answer to the question about the recurrent practice of wars in international relations can be formulated as follows: the states are sometimes forced to fight each other due to their geopolitical contradictions complicated by cultural and civilizational differences.

Neurosurgical workforce trends in the United States

2005 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oren N. Gottfried ◽  
Richard L. Rovit ◽  
A. John Popp ◽  
Kristin L. Kraus ◽  
Arlene Stolper Simon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Time Period ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Mean ◽  
First Time ◽  
Second Period ◽  
Fine Print

Object. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the US neurosurgery workforce by reviewing journal recruitment advertisements published during the past 10 years. Methods. The number of available academic and private neurosurgical staff positions was determined based on recruitment advertisements in the Journal of Neurosurgery and Neurosurgery for the 10-year period from 1994 to 2003. Advertisements were evaluated for practice venue, subspecialization, and location. The numbers of active neurosurgeons and graduating residents also were reviewed. The number of advertised neurosurgical positions increased from 141.6 ± 38.2 per year from 1994 through 1998 to 282.4 ± 13.6 per year from 1999 through 2003 (mean ± standard deviation, p < 0.05). The mean number of academic positions increased from 50.6 ± 11.1 to 95 ± 17.5 (p <0.05), and the mean number of private positions rose from 91 ± 30.4 to 187.4 ± 6.8 (p <0.05). Subspecialty positions represented a mean of only 15.6 ± 5% per year during the first time period and 18.8 ± 3% per year in the second period (p = 0.22), and therefore the majority of positions advertised continued to be those for generalists. The number of practicing neurosurgeons declined after 1998, and by 2002 it was less than it had been in 1991. The numbers of incoming and matriculating residents during the study period were static. Conclusions. The number of recruitment advertisements for neurosurgeons during the last 5 years has increased significantly, concomitant with a severe decline in the number of active neurosurgeons and a static supply of residents.

scholarly journals Hybrid Wars as a Security Threat in the 21st Century

2021 ◽  
pp. 5-14
Author(s):  
Vladimir Lukyanov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
Security Threat ◽  
The West ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Hybrid War ◽  
Main Instrument ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Military

The article dwells on the phenomenon of hybrid wars as the main forming factor for the system of contemporary international relations. Traditionally, this problem has been solved by military means: the best known systems of international relations of the past were created as a result of large-scale wars. Today, however, forming new systems of international relations this way is impossible. The main obstacle is nuclear weapons, able to cause catastrophic consequences in the case of a world war. Nowadays, the main instrument for achieving domination in the global arena is hybrid warfare, whose main danger is the lack of norms and rules for conducting military operations. The danger for individual states lies in the loss of cultural and civilizational identity, while for the system of international relations, in global instability due to the increasing scale and number of hybrid wars. In conclusion, the author suggests the following solutions to the problem: adopting a programme to counter hybrid wars at the level of individual states and developing common approaches to countering hybrid wars at the level of the global community. The key role in devising the global approach should be played by the United Nations. The UN charter should be supplemented with a definition of a hybrid war and methods of countering it. Moreover, a compromise needs to be reached between the West (first of all, the USA) and Russia. According to the author, this compromise is of primary importance for the military, political, cultural, ideological spheres, etc. In these areas, the opposing parties – Russia and the West – must develop a common vision of solving global problems, first of all, the problem of hybrid wars

scholarly journals Harmonization of the System of International Relations in the 21st Century: An Ideological Aspect

2021 ◽  
pp. 20-29
Author(s):  
В. Ю. Лукьянов ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
21St Century ◽  
The West ◽  
Radical Islam ◽  
Western Democracy ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Cold War

This article dwells on the role of ideology in the formation of the system of modern international relations. It is demonstrated that ideology’s influence on international relations grew in the 20th century, primarily during the Cold War. Having compared the ideologies of communism and Western democracy, the author comes to the conclusion that they formed the basis for the foreign policies of the USA and the USSR and justified the two powers’ actions on the international scene. The current geopolitical situation in the world demonstrates that in the 21st century ideology has not only retained its influence on foreign policy of individual states and international relations in general, but also increased it. Further, the author identifies three most important ideological doctrines of the 21st century: Western democracy, radical Islam and the concept of the Russian world. The formation of the ideological basis of foreign policy in modern Russia is considered separately. The ideological evolution of the foreign policy of the USSR (Russia) is analysed, from the concept of universal values of the perestroika period and the idea of Russia’s integration into the Western structures of the 1990s (implying partnership between Russia and the West) to the concept of the Russian world, which worsened Russia’s relations with the West and led to ideological confrontation. In the final part of the article, the author proposes ways to stabilize the international situation, mitigate the severity of ideological confrontation and achieve if not a consensus, then at least a compromise between the three main ideologies of our time: Western democracy, radical Islam and the ideology of the Russian world.

Questioning the quest for Pluralism: How Decolonial is Non-Western IR?

2022 ◽  
pp. 030437542110645
Author(s):  
Erick Viramontes
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Ir Theory ◽  
The West ◽  
Critical Scholarship ◽  
General Terms ◽  
The World ◽  
Research Collective ◽  
Intellectual Movement

Since early 2000s, scholars of international relations have been questioning the Western-centrism of their home discipline and, in a quest for pluralism, have been envisioning ways of conceptualizing the world beyond the West. At the same time, an intellectual movement known as modernity/coloniality research collective has been critically reflecting about modernity and its often-neglected counterpart, coloniality, to resist universalism and to decolonize knowledge. Engaging with the attempts to procure pluralism in the discourse of international relations, the purpose of this article is to question the different perspectives of non-Western international relations from a decolonial angle to identify intellectual projects that could lead to decolonizing the discipline. In its discussion of how decolonial non-Western IR theory is, the article argues that while some perspectives within the subfield openly reject or simply ignore the concerns raised by decolonial thought, others put forward intellectual projects where decolonial arguments resonate. Hence, rather than characterizing the subfield in general terms, the article distinguishes those perspectives that are attentive to the need of generating a true dialog among knowledges and, by so doing, it contributes to critical scholarship within international relations.

scholarly journals Opening up the debate over ‘non-western’ international relations

Politics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong-Soo Eun
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Special Section ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Ir Theory ◽  
The West ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Western History ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Theoretical Pluralism ◽  
Opening Up

This opening article maps the terrain of the ongoing debate over various forms of ‘non-Western’ International Relations (IR) theory-building enterprise with the aim not only of providing contextual background for the Special Section, but also, and more importantly, of identifying what is missing in the overall debate. It is often pointed out that IR as a discipline is ‘too Western centric’, and that much of mainstream IR theory is ‘simply an abstraction of Western history’. In this respect, many IR scholars have called for ‘broadening’ the theoretical horizon of IR while problematising the Western parochialism of the discipline, and it is increasingly acknowledged that IR needs to embrace a wider range of histories, experiences, and theoretical perspectives, particularly those outside of the West. However, despite such a meaningful debate over non-Western IR theorisation and its recent contributions, several critical questions and issues still remain unclear and under-explored. I suggest that there are (at least) three sets of questions that require more careful attention in our discussion. First, does IR need to embrace theoretical pluralism? Second, to what extent has contemporary IR become pluralistic? Third, should IR pursue the promotion of dialogue and engagement across theoretical and spatial divides? Of course, each of these questions invites several subsequent questions. This discussion will serve as a useful point from which more substantial and exciting bearings may be taken in enriching the ongoing debate and moving IR towards becoming a more pluralistic discipline.

Western Jihadism

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jytte Klausen
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Al Qaeda ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
The West ◽  
Revolutionary Movement ◽  
Historical Approach ◽  
Global Movement ◽  
Islamist Terrorism ◽  
And Control ◽  
Analytical Tools

This book tells the story of how Al Qaeda grew in the West. In compelling detail, Jytte Klausen traces how Islamist revolutionaries exiled in Europe and North America in the 1990s helped create and control the world’s deadliest terrorist movement - and how, after the near-obliteration of the organization in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, they helped to rebuild it. She shows that the diffusion of Islamist terrorism to Europe and North America was driven, not by local grievances of Western Muslims, but by the strategic priorities of the international Salafi-jihadist revolutionary movement. That movement nevertheless adapted to Western repertoires of protest even as it agitated for armed insurrection and religious revivalism in the name of a warped version of Islam. The jihadists—Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, and their many affiliates and associates— also proved to be amazingly resilient. Again and again, the movement recovered from major setbacks. Appealing to disaffected Muslims of immigrant origin and alienated converts to Islam, Jihadist groups continue to recruit new adherents in Europe and North America, street-side in neighborhoods, in jails, and online through increasingly clandestine platforms. Taking a comparative and historical approach, deploying cutting-edge analytical tools, and drawing on her unparalleled database of up to 6,500 Western jihadist extremists and their networks, Klausen has produced the most comprehensive account yet of the origins of Western jihadism and its role in the global movement.

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