scholarly journals The Cold War, Old and New: A Preliminary Comparative Study of Polarity, Polarisation, and Elements of (In)stability

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thapiporn Suporn ◽  
Poowin Bunyavejchewin ◽  
Pattanarat Faugchun ◽  
Natthanont Sukthungthong
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
International System ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Major Power ◽  
Power Politics ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
Preliminary Examination ◽  
The Media ◽  
Power Game ◽  
The Cold War

Recently, the term ‘new Cold War’ has become popular among the media and in academia as a description of contemporary world politics, in general, and major-power relations. Despite the connotations of its name, the Cold War period, sometimes referred to as the long peace, was associated with stability and the avoidance of an all-out world war. This study offers a preliminary examination of the extent to which 21st-century world politics reflects the features of the old Cold War. The findings show that the polarity and polarisation inherent in the current international system are similar to conditions of the early Cold War period (1947–1962), which can be classified as both power bipolar and cluster bipolar. Theoretically, this systemic condition is neither most nor least prone to war. However, similar to the pre-1962 Cold War period, when the implicit rules of the major-power game had yet reached maturity, little consensus on the proper conduct of American–Chinese relations has been reached at present, making current major-power politics highly uncertain and prone to conflict that may lead to war.

scholarly journals Introduction: Neutrality and Nonalignment in World Politics during the Cold War

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 4-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Fischer ◽  
Juhana Aunesluoma ◽  
Aryo Makko
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
International System ◽  
World Politics ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Cold War

Over the past two decades, research on Cold War neutrality has advanced rapidly. With the declassification of important archival collections, the image of the four European “classic” neutrals—Austria, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland—has changed considerably. New facets have emerged in the understanding of how neutrality functioned as a part of the Cold War international system. In particular, the importance and connections of neutrality's domestic political and ideational dimensions in foreign policymaking has been stressed in the latest research on Cold War neutrality.

scholarly journals Conceptual Fundamentals of Post-Westphalian International Relations

2020 ◽  
Vol 12(48) (4) ◽  
pp. 69-85
Author(s):  
Alla Kyrydon ◽  
Sergiy Troyan
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
International Relations ◽  
International System ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
International Order ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Soviet Bloc ◽  
Structure Changes ◽  
The World ◽  
The Cold War

Conceptual approaches to understanding the current stage of the evolution of international relations were put in place during the destruction of the bipolar world of the Cold War and the formation of new foundations of the world and international order. The distinctiveness of this process is that the collapse of the postwar system took place in peaceful conditions. Most often, two terms are used to describe the interconnectedness and interdependence of world politics after the fall of the Iron Curtain: the post-bipolar (post-westphalian) international system or international relations after the end of the Cold War. Two terms, post-bipolar international system and international relations after the end of the Cold War, have common features, which usually allows them to be used as synonyms and makes them the most popular when choosing a common comprehensive definition for the modern international relations. The collapse of the Soviet bloc and the global bipolar system put on the agenda issues that cannot be resolved within the traditional terms “poles,” “balance of power,” “configuration of the balance of power” etc. The world has entered a period of uncertainty and growing risks. the global international system is experiencing profound shocks associated with the transformation of its structure, changes in its interaction with the environment, which accordingly affects its regional and peripheral dimensions. In modern post-bipolar relations of shaky equilibrium, there is an obvious focus on the transformation of the world international order into a “post-American world” with the critical dynamics of relations between old and new actors at the global level. The question of the further evolution of the entire system of international relations in the post-bipolar world and the tendency of its transformation from a confrontational to a system of cooperation remains open.

Realist Visions of the End of the Cold War: Morgenthau, Aron and Waltz

2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Cesa
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
International System ◽  
Relative Weight ◽  
Power Politics ◽  
Bipolar Structure ◽  
Main Variable ◽  
Ideological Conflict ◽  
Raymond Aron ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Hans Morgenthau

Although realist theory did not predict the end of the cold war, prominent realist scholars such as Hans Morgenthau, Raymond Aron and Kenneth Waltz did give some thought to the conditions under which the cold war might be settled. Both Aron and Morgenthau characterised the cold war as a combination of traditional power politics and ideological competition, but they differed on the relative weight of each component. For Morgenthau, a diplomatic settlement would deactivate the unsettling potential of the ideological conflict; for Aron, only the disappearance of the ideological conflict could pave the way to some lasting diplomatic settlement. For Waltz, ideology had little impact; the bipolar structure of the international system was the main variable on which both the cold war and its end depended.

Introduction: The Interregnum controversies in world politics, 1989–99

1999 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 3-19
Author(s):  
MICHAEL COX ◽  
KEN BOOTH ◽  
TIM DUNNE
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
International System ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Clash Of Civilizations ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
History Of ◽  
American Mission ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Work Done ◽  
Former Ussr

The shock waves of what happened in 1989 and after helped make the 1990s a peculiarly interesting decade, and while all periods in history are by definition special, there was something very special indeed about the years following the collapse of the socialist project in the former USSR and Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, this has not been reflected in the theoretical literature. Thus although there have been many books on the end of the Cold War, even more on the ‘new’ history of the Cold War itself, and several on the current state of international relations after the ‘fall’, there has been relatively little work done so far on the landscape of the new international system in formation. Moreover, while there have been several post-Cold War controversies and debates—we think here of Fukuyama's attempt to theorize the end of history, Mearsheimer's realist reflections on the coming disorder in Europe, the various attempts to define the American mission without a Soviet enemy, and Huntington's prediction about a coming clash of civilizations—not much serious effort has been made to bring these various discussions together in one single volume.

scholarly journals Understanding The Dynamic of International System Through The Lens of Complex System Approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Indra Kusumawardhana
Keyword(s):  
Complex System ◽  
Cold War ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Complex Systems ◽  
System Approach ◽  
International System ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Ir Study ◽  
The Cold War

The International Relations Study has undergone many changes in its dynamics,especially in view of the dynamic conditions of world politics. It directly influences the development of the IR study. This paper discusses how the theory of complex systems explain the dynamics of the international system after the end of the Cold War. Through the theory, the author seeks to see the changes that occur in interstate interaction, especially in the framework of thinking about the interests of each country. Interaction between countries then encourage the existence of different systems between one another, depending on how the country chooses interaction groups. The author also seeks the inter-state interaction that formed into an international system can be studied from the transition process to change the direction of interaction to see how the true international system is formed through the views of the theory of complex systems.

scholarly journals Theorizing China’s rise in and beyond international relations

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengxin Pan ◽  
Emilian Kavalski
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Blind Spot ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Ir Theory ◽  
China’S Rise ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
China's Rise ◽  
The Cold War

Abstract China's rise, like the demise of the Soviet Union, is one of the defining events in the contemporary world. Yet, while the unexpected Soviet collapse and the end of the Cold War sparked the ‘Third Debate’ in International Relations (IR) theory, it is puzzling that the rise of China has yet to generate a comparable process of shell-shock and soul-searching among IR theorists. Just as the end of the Cold War is more than simply the end of a bipolar power struggle per se, so too China's rise is much more than the familiar ascendancy of another great power. Rather, it is also a complex, evolving and possibly border-traversing and paradigm-shattering phenomenon in global life that, on the one hand, requires fresh and innovative theorizing in and beyond IR and, on the other hand, potentially offers new insights for us to rethink world politics more broadly. This article introduces this Special Issue that seeks to tentatively respond to this theoretical, epistemological and ontological challenge. It draws attention to the blind spot in IR theorizing on China, and calls for deeper engagement between IR theory and China's rise that goes beyond mere ‘theory-testing’ within the existing perimeters of mainstream IR.

Discerning the patterns of world order: Noam Chomsky and international theory after the Cold War

2003 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 587-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Laffey
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
World Order ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
Noam Chomsky ◽  
International Theory ◽  
Critical Social Science ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Empirical Record

In this article I argue that Chomsky's political writings, widely ignored in the discipline, are a significant resource for thinking about contemporary world politics, how we should analyse it, and to what ends. This claim is defended through an analysis of recent efforts by IR scholars to interpret the post-Cold War order. When viewed through the analytic perspective articulated by Chomsky, disciplinary accounts of the post-Cold War world as liberal and peaceful are shown to be insufficiently attentive to the empirical record. Chomsky's political writings are also shown to be compatible with standard accounts of critical social science.

The Cold War and After

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Trachtenberg
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
International System ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Nuclear Strategy ◽  
Book Deal ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Historical Issues ◽  
Shed Light

What makes for war or for a stable international system? Are there general principles that should govern foreign policy? This book explores how historical work can throw light on these questions. The essays in this book deal with specific problems—with such matters as nuclear strategy and U.S.–European relations. But the book's main goal is to show how in practice a certain type of scholarly work can be done. The book demonstrates how, in studying international politics, the conceptual and empirical sides of the analysis can be made to connect with each other, and how historical, theoretical, and even policy issues can be tied together in an intellectually respectable way. These essays address a wide variety of topics, from theoretical and policy issues, such as the question of preventive war and the problem of international order, to more historical subjects—for example, American policy on Eastern Europe in 1945 and Franco-American relations during the Nixon–Pompidou period. But in each case, the aim is to show how a theoretical perspective can be brought to bear on the analysis of historical issues, and how historical analysis can shed light on basic conceptual problems.

After Victory

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. John Ikenberry
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Politics ◽  
World Order ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
The United States ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Napoleonic Wars ◽  
Power Politics ◽  
The Cold War

The end of the Cold War was a “big bang” reminiscent of earlier moments after major wars, such as the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and the end of the world wars in 1919 and 1945. But what do states that win wars do with their newfound power, and how do they use it to build order? This book examines postwar settlements in modern history, arguing that powerful countries do seek to build stable and cooperative relations, but the type of order that emerges hinges on their ability to make commitments and restrain power. The book explains that only with the spread of democracy in the twentieth century and the innovative use of international institutions—both linked to the emergence of the United States as a world power—has order been created that goes beyond balance of power politics to exhibit “constitutional” characteristics. Blending comparative politics with international relations, and history with theory, the book will be of interest to anyone concerned with the organization of world order, the role of institutions in world politics, and the lessons of past postwar settlements for today.

Liberal Internationalism

2021 ◽  
pp. 30-41
Author(s):  
Beate Jahn
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
World Order ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Main Function ◽  
Liberal Internationalism ◽  
The World ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Successful Integration

Since the end of the Cold War, peacebuilding operations have become an integral part of world politics—despite their continuing failures. This chapter provides an account of peacebuilding operations in practice and identifies cycles of failure and reform, namely the successful integration of peacebuilding into the fabric of the world order despite its continuing failures. It traces these dynamics back to the internal contradictions of liberalism and argues that the main function of peacebuilding operations lies in managing the tensions and contradictions inherent in a liberal world order. Peacebuilding—in one form or another—is therefore likely to persist for the duration of a liberal world order.

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