In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed and in its wake there were a flood of essays from political scientists around the world. The general theme of the essays was the fall of the Soviet Union would usher in a new age of peace and prosperity that the world had never known before. However, the events that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union were the exact opposite . There was an increased need to restore political order in countries around the world, promote human rights and pacify conflict zones. The chaotic times after the Cold War revealed something that was missing from leading realist and liberal theory that had defined the international relations debate. What was missing was the historical and cultural context. Liberal and realist theory only used generalizations about states at the core of their arguments. These sweeping generalizations no longer adequately described the new world and new questions began to surface about how states transition from peace to conflict. These questions would later turn into a more quintessential question; how does change occur? Martha Finnemore , in her essay, International norm dynamics and political change, makes the argument that change is actually a gradual process and is based off developing norms. In her paper she describes how norms have a three stage life cycle. The first stage is known as stage emergence. This is where a norm entrepreneur uses organizational platforms to promote new norms. The next stage is norm cascade where the norm becomes institutionalized by organizations and the states. This phase is essentially unpredictable and difficult to identify. The final phase is where the norm is accepted by the international community and is no longer questioned (Finnmore894). My...
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Finnemore, Martha . "Constructing norms of humanitarian intervention." the culture of national security . n. page. Print
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The UN was formed for the principle of advocating and maintaining international peace and security, which combines many responsibilities to re- picture the world in a new reasonable way. Tim Dunne describes United Nations as “a multi-purpose agency directed to specific goals including collective security, peace-keeping, health, environmental and human rights concerns” (Dunne, 2007, p.103). Provided that the UN is a ‘multi-purpose’ organization, it will be improper to explain its contribution to the international scene centered on a specific objective; therefore this paper will present a description of UN and its activities, followed by an empirical assessment of Realism in United Nations peacekeeping. The closing section will portray a perspective of the IR theory that is relevant to the UN role in maintaining peace and security.
Currently, liberalism is a political ideology that explains foreign policy by interpretation of individual thoughts and how these thoughts are espoused (Doyle, 2012) According to this approach spread of democratic institutions worldwide is seen as inseparable action to promote peace internationally. The implementation of peaceful tough and an isolated peace have been achieved by the liberal states. So...
Realism as defined, actually applies to pretty much anything. Whether discussing science, mathematics, ethics, or politics, the nature and application of realism can be applied. As such, it is essential therefore to narrow down the scope of individual study on realism. For the purpose of this paper, the focus will remain on realism solely in terms of its application to International Relations of which it is seemingly the most dominant of theories.1 Also called “Political Realism”, its antithesis is generally considered to be Liberalism. Political Realism stresses the conflicting and competitive nature required of states that seek to remain stable and positively ever evolving. Adversely, Liberalism suggests the necessity of cooperation amongst states.2 The defining factor therefore in Realism is the ever present necessity of a state to look out for its own well-being while promoting its...
Chandler, David G. "The Road to Military Humanitarianism: How the Human Rights Ngos Shaped a New Humanitarian Agenda." Human Rights Quarterly. 23.3 (2001): 678-700. Print.
The creation of the study of international relations in the early 20th century has allowed multiple political theories to be compared, contrasted, debated, and argued against one another for the past century. These theories were created based on certain understandings of human principles or social nature and project these concepts onto the international system. They examine the international political structure and thrive to predict or explain how states will react under certain situations, pressures, and threats. Two of the most popular theories are known as constructivism and realism. When compared, these theories are different in many ways and argue on a range of topics. The topics include the role of the individual and the use of empirical data or science to explain rationally. They also have different ideological approaches to political structure, political groups, and the idea that international relations are in an environment of anarchy.
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 complex issue of humanitarian intervention is widely argued and inherently controversial. Humanitarian intervention involves the coercive action of states intervening in areas for the sole purpose of preventing or halting the killing or suffering of the people there. (1, 9, 5) It is an issue argued fervently amongst restrictionists and counter-restrictionists, who debate over whether humanitarian intervention is a breach of international law or a moral requirement. (10) Restrictionists argue that Articles 2 (7) and 2 (4) of the United Nations (UN) Charter render forcible humanitarian intervention illegal. The only legitimate exception to this, they claim, is the right to self defence, as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter. (1-472) This position is contested by counter-restrictionists, who insist that any and all nations have the right, and the responsibility, to prevent humanitarian disasters. (8-5) Despite the declaration of a ‘new world order’, the post-Cold war world has not been a more peaceful one: regional and ethnic conflicts have, in fact, proliferated. Between 1989 and 1993, for example, thirteen new peacekeeping operations were launched by th...
Magno, A., (2001) Human Rights in Times of Conflict: Humanitarian Intervention . Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, 2 (5). [online] Available from: [Accessed 2 March 2011]
For the most part of second half of twentieth century, realist mode of thinking had dominated the discipline of international relations (IR), at least in the United States. Scholars and diplomats such as Hans Morgenthau and Henry Kissinger steered US foreign policy towards a state centric realist ‘highway’. The main signposts on that highway, among many others, were anarchy, national security, sovereignty and power politics. However, in 1960s, realism came under attack for its lack of scientific vigor. In response to their critics, neo-realists attempted to develop their methodology on a truly ‘positivist’ grounds to account for an objective and universal ‘science’ of IR (Tickner, 1992; 11). In the subsequent decades, realist ideology, along with its dominant positivist methodology, was confronted by multiple schools of thought. Notable among these are, liberal institutionalism, Marxism, constructivism and Critical theory of Frankfort School. The particular ‘voices of dissent’ (George & Campbell, 1990; 269) under consideration in this paper, however, are postmodern and feminist responses to mainstream realist and liberal IR theory. In the light of post-structural and feminist insights to social theory and knowledge construction, the paper endeavors to build on the thesis that mainstream IR has been narrowly defined and contested by the dominant players of the field. In carrying out this narrowly defined ‘modernist’ project, it is argued here that mainstream IR has excluded multiplicity of voices and issues. Furthermore, these voices and issues not only have the potential to bring their unique insights to IR, but are also sensitive to changes in international affairs. The second part of argument flows naturally from the first prep...
Doyle, Michael W. and G. John Ikenberry, eds. (1997) New Thinking in International Relations Theory. Boulder, CO: Westview Pres.
UN. Department of Public Information (1995). United Nations peace-keeping: Information notes. Update, December 1994. Retrieved from UN website: http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/past/unikom/background.html
The study of international relations takes a wide range of theoretical approaches. Some emerge from within the discipline itself others have been imported, in whole or in part, from disciplines such as economics or sociology. Indeed, few social scientific theories have not been applied to the study of relations amongst nations. Many theories of international relations are internally and externally contested, and few scholars believe only in one or another. In spite of this diversity, several major schools of thought are discernable, differentiated principally by the variables they emphasize on military power, material interests, or ideological beliefs. International Relations thinking have evolved in stages that are marked by specific debates between groups of scholars. The first major debate is between utopian liberalism and realism, the second debate is on method, between traditional approaches and behavioralism. The third debate is between neorealism/neoliberalism and neo-Marxism, and an emerging fourth debate is between established traditions and post-positivist alternatives (Jackson, 2007).