Section 2.2 Bandwagoning: the understated strategic phenomenon Bandwagoning behavior was first established as the opposite to balancing (Waltz 1979: 126). However, the concept was later developed substantively in the literature, most notably the concept of ‘bandwagoning for profit’ (Schweller 1994). This section looks at the literature on bandwagoning, briefly reviews how bandwagoning strategy is defined and developed. 2.2.1 Conceptualization of bandwagoning in literature Attributed coining of the term to Stephen van Evera, Waltz (1979: 126) defined bandwagoning strategy as a surrender of self-autonomy to powerful states for better security. In his study of the development in Middle East politics in between 1957 to 1979, Walt (1987: 17) revised Waltz’s definition of bandwagoning as “the alignment of the source of danger” which the source of danger is threatening, not necessarily powerful. Walt further defines bandwagoning into two …show more content…
Jackal bandwagoning describes efforts done by aggressive powers to block counterbalancing coalition by encouraging smaller powers to flock to its side. Piling-on bandwagoning exemplifies state's decision to join the victorious power willingly near the end of a war to claim the victory status. Bandwagoning for the wave of the future analyzes state's determinacy to join emerging power for future gains. Contagion bandwagoning explains the spread of domino effects on asserting endless aggression by a rivalry (Schweller 1994: 88-99). The paper then argues that neorealist's comprehension of 'balancing versus bandwagoning' should best explain contingency under situations of 'survival of status quo power versus aggression and annexation by revisionist powers' (Schweller
Sport fans, sometimes also called sport devotees, followers, or supporters, are persons who are enthusiastically devoted to a particular athlete, team or sport. They may show their enthusiasm by often attending sporting events or watch on television, being members of a fan club, follow sport news through newspapers, online websites, and creating fanzines. Their disposition is often such that they will experience a game or event by living through their favored players or teams. These behaviors manifest itself in different ways. To enable better understanding of these behavioral patterns, we have to classify these sports fans into groups based on their devotion to teams: fair-weather fans, bandwagon and the super-fans.
Although many people assume the motivations for war are determined by a territorial protection, a number of scholars have added other motivations for understanding why war occurs, among these historians one is a conspicuous example his name is Howard Zinn. Zinn has exposed that many countries go to war in order to bring economic prosperity to their region this need for gain in turn causes many of the upper class of that...
The. All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror.
War is commonly defined as an armed conflict between two entities, one that dates back to the beginning of mankind’s very existence. During this time many have attempted to explain the complex nature of war, its actors, and its origins. There are two authors in particular who have made critical analysis on the topic of war within the international system, more specifically the nature of balanced power and hegemonic war and the role that perception plays in conflict. Glipin asserts that disequilibrium will result in a hegemonic war due to inferior civilizations striking falling civilizations. Whereas Jervis asserts that misperception is the driving cause of war. I argue that it is not an inferior civilization, but rather different economies
Followers of Realist school of thought argue the case of 2003 Iraq war from the standpoint of power and Security. The Bush administration’s rationale for launching a pre-emptive attack against Iraq was based on two misleading assumptions: firstly, Iraq had or was developing Weapons of Mass Destruction (along with Iran and North Korea) and secondly, that it was aiding and protecting terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda. Such a conjecture based on unsubstantiated evidence helped Bush administration conjure up a dystopian situation which justified 2003 invasion of Iraq under the pretext of “security maximization”. This explanation was given in pursuance of the realist assumption that States’ as rational actors always act in accordance with their national security interests.
What neorealism believes is fear and distrust originated from the anarchy of international system, resulting in the pursuit of power for survival. As stated by Mearsheimer (2010), power is the currency of international politics. The statement addressed a simple but important question: “why do states want power?” While “human nature” is always claimed by the classical realism, the neorealists, or the structural realists such as Mearsheimer specified the structure or architecture of the international system which forces states to pursue power. All states desire sufficient power to protect th...
middle of paper ... ... Unfortunately, this idea of a zero sum military power game does not match up with reality. Each state takes actions based on the given situation and neo-realism misses this nuance. Constructivism actually considers this more by analyzing the actors at play and their identities and interests.
G. Hossein. “Legitimacy, Religion, and Nationalism in the Middle East.” The American Political Science Review, Volume 84, Issue 1 (1990. 3), 69-91.
In order to spread their influence and promote their ideologies, the United States and the Soviet Bloc have mainly used two strategies: expansionism, which aim to get the stranglehold on as many places possible and containment, which is used so as to restrict the territorial growth of the opposite camp. But these strategies have led to murderous conflicts and endless wars in some territories, especially in Asia. Finally, it appears that these strategies were at the origin of a significant competition and a rise of palpable tensions all over the world.
The purpose of this essay is to inform on the similarities and differences between systemic and domestic causes of war. According to World Politics by Jeffry Frieden, David Lake, and Kenneth Schultz, systemic causes deal with states that are unitary actors and their interactions with one another. It can deal with a state’s position within international organizations and also their relationships with other states. In contract, domestic causes of war pertain specifically to what goes on internally and factors within a state that may lead to war. Wars that occur between two or more states due to systemic and domestic causes are referred to as interstate wars.
Before the lead up to the Iraq War in 2003, Esquire Magazine published an article by Mr. Thomas P.M. Barnett titled, “The Pentagon’s New Map“, outlining his thoughts on how the United States should construct a new military strategy to correspond with the new global security threats brought about by globalization and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The strategy he proposed centered on the idea that the United States’ military needed to engage countries disconnected from the globalized world’s rules and norms . He categorized these non-globalized countries into a group he called the “Non-integrating Gap”, or simply the Gap, and those countries in the globalized world, like the United States, into a group he called the “Functioning Core, or simply
Political uprisings in the Middle East, especially in Muslim nation states have placed Arabian politics back on the focus point of international politics. Political events in certain Arab countries had an excessive impact on the political development of other neighboring states. Resistances and anxieties within different Arab countries triggered unpredictable actions, sometimes sorely to observe and believe. The authoritarian governments of Arabian countries led from various dictators have created a precarious situation for their people, especially in providing national security and maintaining peace in the region. Jack Goldstone argues that the degree of a sultan’s weakness has been often only visible in retrospect; due in part to the nature of the military-security complex common across Middle East states (Goldstone 1). In addition, the existence of various statesmen with political affiliation is concerned in faithfulness of its armed forces. Usually, the armed national forces of several states, mainly those in Arab countries are loyal and closely affiliated to their leaders, which have a major role in state regimes. Arab uprisings in their early spreading appeared legally responsible and with concrete demands from representatives’ peoples, calling for a more open democratic system and reasonable governance. Even though, the system in which popular frustration with government imposes alters considerably from one state to another. These public revolts against different authoritative governments didn’t halt just in Arab states, but they sustained also in the Far East and in the Eastern Europe. Can we say that the popular uprisings in Arab countries could be attributed to the term of globalization? In fact, globalization is a multi...
In modern military theory, the highest level is the strategic level, in which activities at the strategic level focus directly on policy objectives, both during peace and warfare. In the study of modern military strategy, there is a distinction between military strategy and national strategy, in which the former is the use of military objective to secure political objectives and the latter coordinates and concentrates all the elements of national...
People’s ideas and assumptions about world politics shape and construct the theories that help explain world conflicts and events. These assumptions can be classified into various known theoretical perspectives; the most dominant is political realism. Political realism is the most common theoretical approach when it is in means of foreign policy and international issues. It is known as “realpolitik” and emphasis that the most important actor in global politics is the state, which pursues self-interests, security, and growing power (Ray and Kaarbo 3). Realists generally suggest that interstate cooperation is severely limited by each state’s need to guarantee its own security in a global condition of anarchy. Political realist view international politics as a struggle for power dominated by organized violence, “All history shows that nations active in international politics are continuously preparing for, actively involved in, or recovering from organized violence in the form of war” (Kegley 94). The downside of the political realist perspective is that their emphasis on power and self-interest is their skepticism regarding the relevance of ethical norms to relations among states.
The bandwagon effect is seen in cases where individuals are trying to "fit in". This effect is shown when the demand of a certain good is increased, based on the assumption or knowledge that other consumers are also consuming that same good. This effect is most easily described using the example of fashion or clothing. People most often like to have the latest fashions, and wear what is in style. They look to people whom they admire, or see what their favorite celebrities, or even their friends are wearing. The individual's desire (demand) to also own and wear the latest fashions will be increased, because they have observed those fashions as what is popular. This is a very simple way to explain the bandwagon effect, and it is an example that most people have witnessed or experienced themselves. The graph (figure 1) displaying the bandwagon effect on the demand curves of several individuals and the market demand, shows that the market demand curve is very elastic. That is, it is sensitive to price change, and also to the quantity demanded. This means that if many people are consuming a good the demand is affect greater than if less people were consuming the good. To further clarify, take the example of attending college. In an environment where most of an individual's peers are going to attend college, the individual will see college as the right thing to do, and also attend college to be like his peers. However, in an environment where most of an individual's peers are not going to attend college, the individual will have a decreased demand for college, and is unlikely to attend. This brings up the next point concerning the bandwagon effect; the taboo effect. Essentially the taboo effect displays the same type of consumer behavior, but in the opposite direction. Therefore, if one notices that a group is not consuming a certain good, that one will see the good as a "social taboo" and also not consume the good. The social taboo effect on demand is a special case. In the graph (figure 2) the demand curve crosses the x-axis into negative territory. This is implying that the consumer would have to be compensated, or paid to even consider consuming a certain good.