Politikwissenschaftliche Theorien als Erklärung der Empirie

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Research Group ◽  
Power Distribution ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Systematic Framework ◽  
Empirical Case Studies

Schools of thought in International Relations (IR) are increasingly differentiating to match with the multipolar power distribution. Yet, the newly implemented strands are facing criticism for the lack of a generally accepted systematic framework. Furthermore, there are ambiguities with regard to the possible applications and explanations for the theoretical approaches. Against this background, the KFIBS research group “International Relations Theories and Foreign Policy Research” discusses current trends and debates in IR, using selected theoretical approaches and applying them to empirical case studies to evaluate their performance. With contributions by Sebastian M. Niemetz, Jann Preisendörfer, Ludwig Schulze, Paul Emtsev, Pauline Mathieu, Nicolas Verbeek, Eliza Friederichs and Sascha Arnautović.

Autonomy in Foreign Policy: A Latin American Contribution to International Relations Theory

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Cecilia Míguez
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Latin American ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
Great Powers ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Foreign Policy Analysis ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
New Meanings ◽  
American Contribution

Autonomy is a concept constantly referred to in Latin American foreign policy analysis, especially with respect to Argentina and Brazil. As great powers continue to exert effective control over peripheral economies and their political decision making, autonomy emerges as a possibility for self-determination in the areas where hegemonic powers’ economic, political, and cultural interferences are expressed. Although this is not a new concept, the quest for autonomy within the “global periphery”—and elsewhere too—still remains relevant. Helio Jaguaribe and Juan Carlos Puig’s theoretical approaches are fundamental epistemological contributions to international relations (IR), not only in South America (where the theoretical approach was first developed) but also to the wider IR field outside the mainstream scholarship. In line with global historical changes, autonomy took on some subsequent new meanings, which led to new and heterogeneous formulations that transformed, and in certain cases also contradicted, the very genesis of the idea of autonomy. As a result, the so-called autonomy “with adjectives” emerged within IR peripheral debates. The 21st century witnessed the rebirth of the concept amid the rise of multilateralism and the new Latin American regionalism, which brought its relational character to the fore. Some of the new approaches to autonomy, especially from Brazil, used the concept as a methodological tool to understand the historical evolution of the country’s foreign policy. As such, autonomy and its theoretical reflection remain central to the analyses and interpretations of the international relations of peripheral countries, and it is in this sense that the autonomy can be highlighted broadly as a Latin American contribution to IR discipline. The concept of autonomy has a unique and foundational content referred to the discussion of the asymmetries in the global order. Studying autonomy is critical to understanding peripheral countries’ problems and dynamics.

5. Discourse analysis, post-structuralism, and foreign policy

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lene Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Policy Analysis ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Foreign Policy Analysis ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Research Designs

This chapter examines the use of discourse analysis in the study of foreign policy. In the study of international relations, discourse analysis is associated with post-structuralism, a theoretical approach that shares realism’s concern with states and power, but differs from realism’s assumption that states are driven by self-interest. It also takes a wider view of power than realists normally do. Post-structuralism draws upon, but also challenges, realism’s three core assumptions: groupism, egoism, and power-centrism. The chapter first considers the theoretical principles that inform post-structuralist discourse analysis before discussing the research designs and methodological techniques employed by discourse analysts. It also offers examples and four learning boxes featuring mini-case studies and locates poststructuralist discourse analysis within the field of foreign policy analysis. Finally, it assesses the strengths and weaknesses of post-structuralist discourse analysis.

scholarly journals Exploring theoretical approaches to global social policy research: Learning from international relations and inter-organisational theory

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 87-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Kaasch ◽  
Martin Koch ◽  
Kerstin Martens
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
The Past ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
Theoretical Considerations ◽  
Distinct Field

Global Social Policy (GSP) has established itself as a distinct field of research over the past 25 years. Without doubt one of the leading figure to this advancement was Bob Deacon. He integrated several explanations and approaches into social policy research that had so far been distinct in other disciplinary fields, including concepts of International Relations (IR). That allowed to explain more about policy autonomy, inter-action between actors at the global level and potential impacts of international organisations on national social policies. Combining IR, organisational studies and GSP, this article wants to go a step further in this vein of GSP theoretical studies. We seek to make a contribution by running through a number of recently popular inter-organisational relations approaches within an IR context, and discuss how, and to what extent, they can be used to make more profound theoretical claims about the nature of GSP. The article first summarises the state of the art in GSP research with a view on international actors, particularly international organisations. Then we describe the specific characteristics of international organisations in existing GSP research and provide a number of theoretical considerations from organisational studies as part of IR scholarship that help construct a more nuanced understanding of how global actors function and interact. We link the theoretical accounts to empirical examples from the GSP literature, and detect what, and how, approaches and frames from this field may usefully tackle challenges GSP scholarship is facing.

scholarly journals IR in the Middle East: foreign policy analysis in theoretical approaches

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
May Darwich ◽  
Juliet Kaarbo
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Middle East ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Policy Analysis ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Foreign Policy Analysis ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Complementary Approach ◽  
Missed Opportunity

Research on international relations of the Middle East (IRME) has suffered from a schism between International Relations (IR) theory and regional particularities. To address this, scholars have offered corrective accounts by adding domestic factors to IR structural approaches. Studies on IRME thus reflect the turn to decision-making and domestic politics that has recently occurred. This article develops a critical analysis of the domestic politics orientation in IRME. We argue that this scholarship ignores work in foreign policy analysis (FPA) with its psychological-oriented and agent-based dimensions and that this constitutes a missed opportunity for the study of the region. The article offers suggestions for incorporating FPA research into IRME and argues that an FPA perspective offers an alternative and complementary approach to the eclectic frameworks predominant in the scholarship on IRME.

scholarly journals In search of enemies: Donald Trump’s populist foreign policy rhetoric

Politics ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 026339572093537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonny Hall
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Presidential Campaign ◽  
Us Foreign Policy ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
The Us ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
New Perspective

This article asks how Donald Trump’s foreign policy rhetoric during his presidential campaign and presidency has affected US foreign policy in the area of overseas counterterrorism campaigns. Looking at two case studies – the May 2017 Arab Islamic American Summit and the US role in the counter Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) campaign, it is argued that Trump’s foreign policy rhetoric has failed to accurately describe or legitimate his administration’s counterterrorism strategy, as per the conventional wisdom. Instead, Trump’s foreign policy rhetoric has largely been aimed at creating a sense of crisis (as populism requires) to mobilise his domestic base. In making this argument about the purpose of Trump’s foreign policy rhetoric, not only does the article contribute a new perspective to the extant literature on elections, rhetoric, and US foreign policy, but also to the burgeoning scholarship on governing populists and their foreign policies. Although these findings could be unique to Trump, the article’s novel framework – combining International Relations and populism scholarship to elaborate on how the foreign arena can be used to generate a state of perpetual crisis – can hopefully be applied in other contexts.

Foreign Policy and Religion: An Overview

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn M. Warner ◽  
Stephen G. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Bounded Rationality ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Religion And Politics ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
Role Of Religion

Despite the increased attention to religion in international relations, questions remain about the role of religion in the foreign policies of states. Extrapolating from theories in the fields of international relations and comparative politics is a fruitful strategy to explore religion’s potential avenues of influence on foreign policy. There are also potential methodological tools of analysis in these fields, which can be fruitfully applied to understand the role of religion in foreign policy. Contributions from the field of religion and politics may be used to frame applications of such theories as realism, constructivism, liberalism, and bounded rationality to specify further hypotheses about religion and foreign policy. The potential of these theoretical approaches from international relations to the analysis of religion has not yet been exploited fully although it is clear that there are promising signs of progress.

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.

19. International law

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Reus-Smit
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
Laws Of War ◽  
Real Effect ◽  
Western Countries ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Neoliberal Institutionalism

This chapter examines debates surrounding the nature and efficacy of modern international law. It begins by discussing the reasons why international societies construct institutions, and why different sorts of institutions have emerged in different historical contexts. It then considers the nature and origins of the modern institution of international law, its relationship with the practice of multilateralism, and the recent cosmopolitanization of the global legal order. It also explores the laws of war and concludes with an overview of different theoretical approaches to international law such as realism, neoliberal institutionalism, and constructivism. Two case studies are presented: the first is about whether international law is an expression of Western dominance and the second is about individual criminal accountability in non-Western countries. There is also an Opposing Opinions box that asks whether international law has any real effect on the nature and conduct of international relations.

Justus Lipsius, political humanism and the disciplining of 17th century statecraft

2008 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 669-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
HALVARD LEIRA
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
The State ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
The Individual

AbstractJustus Lipsius (1547–1606) was among the most influential thinkers of the late 16th/early 17th centuries. His guides for action were highly influential in the establishment of moderate absolutism and what has been called the fiscal-military state across Europe. In this article I explore Lipsian thought in an International Relations context. Special attention is paid to his ideals of discipline, which were meant to order both the ruler and those that he ruled. Dignity, self-restraint and discipline were the recipes for the foreign policy of the prince, while the individual was subordinated to the purposes of the state, and taught to control his own life by mastering his emotions. If not a seminal thinker in his own right, it is necessary to understand Lipsius’ thought and influence to be able to fully understand the 17th century theoretical approaches to peace and prosperity and the relative discipline of early-modern statecraft.

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