International Relations

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand your own emotions as well as others. Emotional intelligence is important to effectively manage behavior, to navigate social situations, and to make personal decisions. Emotional intelligence is made up of four core skills that pair up under two primary competencies: personal competence and social competence.

Précis
Africa faces the usual panoply of challenges endemic in developing countries with too few instruments and too few resources, while also grappling with the perennial problem of managing development. These are sequencing of policy reforms, all subject to the political constraints of containing the disruptive impacts of policy reforms to acceptable levels. This is a particularly important problem for Africa given the very narrow margins for manoeuvre imposed by fiscal and external deficits, subsistence levels of household income for much of the population and a complex political weave in the regions social fabric. Getting the priorities right and managing change are thus particularly vital issues for African integration. Hence, infrastructure development (energy, ICT, roads, railways, hydro dams, power transmission and industry – sugar factories, metallurgy, fertilizer plants…), a consumer goods revolution is just beginning in much of Africa. Emerging export industries—in mining, manufacturing and exportable services— are already making their mark as sources of growth in the economy and will soon overtake traditional foreign exchange earnings from minerals and agricultural goods. However, two overwhelming pressures in Africa's current economic climate—inflation and challenging new regulations—are putting strains on private business and could potentially dent the country's positive growth prospects. Hence, Africa should modify regulatory policies that inflate business costs and depress urban consumer incomes, go for bolder and more unconventional agricultural policies and put in place a smarter set of policies for the financial sector. Much of the public investment laid out in the two cases are needed, justified , and on the whole appropriate, but how such investment is to be financed remains only partially addressed and the issue of who should carry out the investments is—in at least three specific cases—quite questionable. The case for government investments in public goods such as roads and power infrastructure is undeniable, as it is laying the essential founda-tions—the necessary conduits and circuitry—of a modern economy.

Cyber conflict between states is a growing trend. There is a large body of research on cyber conflict, but there is very little quantitative analysis to support the theories or to assist in predicting future use of cyber operations. Using a logistic regression analysis, this thesis studies cyber conflicts between dyadic rivals from 2001 to 2011 to answer under what conditions cyber incidents occur between dyadic rivals in the past in the hopes to better analyze and predict future cyber incidents. The data demonstrate that the geographic proximity between dyads increases the probability of a cyber incident occurring while any or both of the dyads holds membership in NATO causes a decrease in the probability that cyber operations occur between dyadic rivals. The share of military personnel, military expenditure, and energy consumption is not enough to explain cyber incident trends. The results also show that many of my variables are conditional upon each other for their significance. It is imperative that states address the issues surrounding cyber conflict as the trend is increasing. At the present, the fear of retaliation will always be present as some argue that cyber defensive capabilities will never overtake cyber offensive capabilities as the latter is constantly transforming and evolving while the former is constantly playing “catch up.”

The fall of the Muslim civilization resulted from the rejection of reason. The rejection of reason was a result of the characterization of the use of reason to know revelation as kufr. The rejection of reason became explicit in the shutting of the gates to ijtihad and was reinforced by al-Ghazali’s attack on philosophers. The rejection of reason found political expression in the repression of the rationalists by Musa al-Hadi in 786. The slaughter of five-thousand philosophers was an event analogous to the Reign of Terror of the Jacobins, under Maximilien Robespierre during the French Revolution. Sixteen thousand followers of “tradition” were beheaded at the guillotine with the emergence of the Age of Reason, touted by the European Enlightenment, a millennium afterwards. In Islam, the rejection of reason made it harder to understand and follow revelation. The perception that “all knowledge is in the Quran” did not help matters. This was an example of perfunctory thought. For it automatically withheld the designation of “knowledge” from all knowledge not in the Quran. This perception was based on a problematic understanding of epistemology or what constitutes knowledge. It was a reflection of hubris. In response to the bewilderment caused the prohibition of the use of reason, exegetes alleged that revelation features “ambiguous” passages. The rejection of reason made it hard to know and follow revelation. It also made it hard to understand key terms as “mutashabihat,” “hikma,” and “hawa.” As a result, Muslims turned to tradition, which replaced reason for the purpose of explaining revelation. But to “explain” revelation, tradition had to be elevated to an “equal” of revelation and subsequently even “above” revelation.
For the expectation that it would “explain” revelation placed tradition in the position of a “judge” of revelation. The elevation of tradition above revelation reversed the relation of revelation and tradition. The word of God was subordinated to the words of persons. The reversal of the relationship between revelation and tradition facilitated the adoption of the teaching of abrogation. The abrogation of the peace verses by the ayah as-sayf transformed Islam into “political Islam.” The abrogation of revelation by tradition transformed Islam into “traditional Islam.” The application of the teaching of abrogation warped penal law. The abrogation of revelation by tradition subjugated revelation to tradition. Hence, the process that led to this requires attention. It is necessary to restore revelation to its pre-eminence in relation to tradition, to rehabilitate reason, and to ensure that all laws are in agreement with revelation rather than based on inclination. (4 pages)

[PL]
Zdecydowana większość systemów politycznych na Bliskim Wschodzie jest sklasyfikowana jako autorytaryzmy lub reżimy hybrydowe, tj. łączące elementy demokratyczne i autorytarne. Jak dotychczas klasyczne teorie demokratyzacji nie były w stanie w pełni wyjaśnić zjawiska trwałości autorytaryzmu w tym regionie, co doprowadziło do wykształcenia się tzw. nurtu post-demokratyzacji. Niniejszy artykuł pokrótce wyjaśnia przyczyny deficytu demokracji na Bliskim Wschodzie oraz wskazuje jak model analityczny Hinnebuscha (2010, 2014), traktujący o procesach państwotwórczych z perspektywy socjologii historycznej, może przyczynić się do lepszego zrozumienia problemu. Artykuł konkluduje, że demokratyzacja lub jej brak jest reakcją decydentów politycznych na impulsy (możliwości, ograniczenia i zagrożenia) krajowe oraz międzynarodowe. Demokratyzacja jest tylko jedną z opcji, jaką dany reżim może obrać w procesie państwotwórczym, który z kolei opiera się na trzech filarach: procesie narodotwórczym, rozwoju gospodarczym oraz procesie budowania władzy.

[ENG]
The vast majority of political systems in the Middle East is classified as authoritarian or hybrid, i.e. entailing both democratic and authoritarian features. So far the classical democratisation theories have failed to explain the problem of authoritarian resistance in the region which resulted in the emergence of so-called post-democratisa-tion. This article briefly explains the democracy deficit in the Middle East and indicates how the analytical model of historical sociology of state formation, as advanced by Hinnebusch (2010, 2014), can contribute to our understanding of the problem. The analysis concludes that democratisation, or lack of thereof, is a reaction of decision-makers to impulses reaching them from both national and international environments: possibilities , constraints, and threats. Democratisation is only one of the multiple options available , which the regime can select in the state-formation process, which in and of itself is based on three pillars: nation-building, economic development, and authority-building.

Kriege und moderne militärische Konflikte bergen das wirkmächtige Potential den Verlauf der Geschichte in einer derart gestauchten chronologischen Abfolge der Geschehnisse zu verändern, die es für Gesellschaften schwer macht, sie in ihrer Gesamtheit und ihren überaus komplexen Konsequenzen zu fassen. Mindestens ebenso schwierig ist es für kleinere sozialen Entitäten, die blutigen, schockierenden, traumatischen und tieftraurigen persönlichen Erfahrungen, die ein Krieg mit sich bringt, zu begreifen. Dennoch sind die Assoziationen, die mit dem historischen Ereignis und der Erfahrung Krieg einhergehen, vielfältiger und facettenreicher, als man zunächst annehmen könnte. Wie das Kriegsgeschehen und sein mittelbares sowie unmittelbares Nachspiel erlebt werden, ist abhängig davon, aus welcher Perspektive man einen Krieg und seinen Ausgang erlebt. Welche Motive ein Staat, eine Nation oder eine Gesellschaft gehabt hat, die Krieg führte, mit welchem Ergebnis dieser Krieg zu einem Ende kam und welche kollektiven oder auch persönlichen Erfahrungen mit ebendiesem Kriegsende verbunden waren, spielt daher die maßgebliche Rolle, wenn man über die Rezeptionsgeschichte und die Erinnerungskultur einer Nation an einen Krieg spricht und sich dieser Problematik mithilfe eines kunsthistorischen, archäologischen, architektonischen oder auch soziologischen Zugangs nähert.

The paper examines the nexus among the concepts of democracy, globalisation and technology, arguably the three most interdependent notions affecting the way and speed in which global dynamics and diplomatic practises were transformed. It analyses the evolution of non-state actors' engagement in multilateral processes between the Stockholm Conference in 1972 and the Rio+20 Conference in 2012. The experience of the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY) at the Rio+20 Conference is introduced as a case study to illustrate the practical application of the nexus and its impact on stakeholder engagement. The analysis recognises that the nexus offers a real opportunity to improve diplomacy means and practices and encourage further exploration into the nexus’ full potential.

Because of its extensive Mediterranean history, France had a particular responsibility when the Arab revolutions broke out in 2011. The strategies defined by Paris in Libya and Syria, implemented through foreign policy, have proved to be less effective than expected. Although distinct, both were pursuing the same aim: the expansion of friendly democratic regimes in the Southern European neighborhood bloc.

This article adopts the theoretical framework of complex realism to trace the evolution of the Islamic Republic of Iran's foreign policy and developmental activities in Africa between the 1980s and the 2000s. Contrary to common assumptions, the deradicalization of the Islamic Republic's foreign policy in Africa began not under the moderates in the early 1990s, but under the conservatives in the mid-1980s. This period marked the first time that the Islamic Republic instrumentalized development to advance its strategic interests in Africa—a policy that has continued despite the factionalization of Iran's political elite. Based on one year of archival research and interviews in Iran, this article is the first to investigate the history and activities of the Islamic Republic's rural development organization, Construction Jihad, in Africa. It posits that development, instead of arms or ideology, has enabled Iran to make the farthest inroads into the continent due to Africa's sizeable agrarian economies, widespread rural poverty, and formidable developmental challenges.

Despite their other theoretical differences, virtually all scholars of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agree that the organization's members share an almost religious commitment to the norm of non-intervention. This article disrupts this consensus, arguing that ASEAN repeatedly intervened in Cambodia's internal political conflicts from 1979 to 1999, often with powerful and destructive effects. ASEAN's role in maintaining Khmer Rouge occupancy of Cambodia's UN seat, constructing a new coalition government in exile, manipulating Khmer refugee camps and informing the content of the Cambodian peace process will be explored, before turning to the 'creeping conditionality' for ASEAN membership imposed after the 1997 'coup' in Phnom Penh. The article argues for an analysis recognizing the political nature of intervention, and seeks to explain both the creation of non-intervention norms and specific violations of them as attempts by ASEAN elites to maintain their own illiberal, capitalist regimes against domestic and international political threats.
[the full version is available via my website, http://www.leejones.tk]

In this paper, I argue that IR needs to pay greater attention to the theorisation of emotion, and that a focus needs to be on having a rich understanding of the ‘generalisable’ mechanisms through which a state’s ‘collective emotions’ are triggered and produced. I posit that the generation of collective emotions is affected by whether and how much the symbols or symbolistic cues of a ‘superior’(or ‘master’) national identity are manifested visually and persistently in our daily lives. Based on the forgoing discussions, I make three basic theoretical propositions
and four IR-sensitive assumptions about when a state’s collective emotions are generated and how they are related to the state’s external actions.

(This paper is written in Korean)

this report is to provide an assessment of the current and potential importance of tuna to the economy of Mozambique.  This study forms part of a series of reports commissioned by WWF to provide regional and country specific evaluations of the importance of tuna to WIO economies.

The activities of all relevant DWFS are profiled including the EU and the East Asian Fleets.

This article examines dynamics of financial surveillance and risk-based regulation in the context of ongoing activities to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Close analysis of the situation in the UK reveals entangled forms of co-regulation and ultimately co-production of surveillance that challenge ‘institutional boundaries’ of the state regarding policing and intelligence practices. It is argued that ongoing transformations in the anti-money laundering field reveal a dual movement that combines forms of indirect administration with a process of ‘neoliberal bureaucratization’.The article aims to show how current policies against ‘dirty money’ still paradoxically work on the basis of heterogeneous goals and misapprehensions between ‘professionals of security’ and ‘professionals of finance’.

In this paper we examine which key factors at the macroeconomic level are associated with the economic growth performance of the South African economy. These drivers have been identified by assessing the economic events that occurred during the period 1960-2013. During this period, the South African economy went through two economic and political systems: an apartheid system that covered the period 1948-1993; and a democratic system from 1994 to date. Regardless of the economic system implemented, we find the accumulation of physical capital, human capital development, international trade, real exchange rate growth, and inflation as the most significant macroeconomic drivers of economic growth in South Africa. We also find that the weak performance of the South African economy in recent years has been grossly affected by declining trends in the accumulation of capital stock, low quantities and quality of human capital, worsening balance of payments position, and real exchange rate instability.

Keywords: South Africa; Open Economic Growth; Macroeconomic Drivers

JEL Classification: E65, O55

On the History of Political Philosophy is a lively and lucid account of the major political theorists and philosophers of the ancient Greek, Roman, medieval, renaissance, and early modern periods. Topics include discussions concerning human nature, social justice, the origin of law and human rights, the rise and development of different forms of government, idealism and realism in international relations, the distinction between just and unjust war, and the sources of public authority and the nature of legitimate sovereignty. The organizing principle of the book is the idea that the great political thinkers were searching for the best political order and a criterion for human conduct in both domestic and international politics. Demonstrating the continued relevance of historical ideas to today's problems, the author traces ongoing discussions about politics by examining the ideas of key political theorists. The book is intended for use in courses on political philosophy or the history of political philosophy.
https://www.routledge.com/On-the-History-of-Political-Philosophy-Great-Political-Thinkers-from-Thucydides/Korab-Karpowicz/p/book/9780205119745

El interés del presente libro reside en analizar el impacto y la recepción que el conflicto árabe-israelí ha tenido en el escenario político argentino. En este sentido, las investigaciones buscarán reconocer la particularidad de las definiciones producidas por los diversos actores atendiendo el carácter específico en el contexto de su elaboración. Entre los aportes que pretende brindar la presente compilación se encuentran los de reconocer la dinámica del debate acerca de la “cuestión israelí”, la “causa palestina” y el sionismo en el escenario político nacional en un período amplio de la historia argentina: desde mediados de la década del 40´ hasta los albores de la gestión kirchnerista.

Regardless of its military might, the current availability of powerful, easily-concealed weapons makes it difficult for any nation to ensure peace at home or abroad. Moreover, there is growing concern that fear-based strategies of defense and peace-making cannot create or maintain lasting peace. Against this dismal backdrop, recent research documents the effectiveness of a new peace-creating technology which is profound in its concept, affordable, and easily implemented. Over forty presented or published studies on this technology, which was derived from ancient Vedic knowledge by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, confirm its ability to reduce conflict, promote international cooperation, reduce societal disorder, and improve quality of life. The research is so compelling that, for the first time in modern history, alternative, nonthreatening strategies for securing peace can be realistically proposed.

International conference. Trieste, Novembre, 13-15 2014
This conference aims at analyzing the history of Italy’s nuclear energy policies during the Cold War, by placing the Italian case in a comparative perspective and highlighting the importance of the international context in shaping the country’s specific experience. It builds upon a previous conference, organized by Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A and the University of Trieste in 2012 (Nuclear Energy in Italy after the Second World War: Research, Culture, Politics - http://www.elettra.trieste.it/Ippolito/). This conference proposes to examine the ways in which international politics and economics, technological and scientific exchanges, as well as social and cultural movements, influenced Italian nuclear energy policies, both civilian and military. Furthermore, it seeks to understand how the Italian case compares to other national histories, in Western and Eastern Europe, the U.S., Latin America, Asia and Africa.
With few important exceptions, the Italian case has largely remained on the margins of a growing scholarship on the history of nuclear energy. This conference intends to provide a venue for work-in- progress by junior and senior scholars, with the aim of consolidating a national and international research group on this topic. We are particularly interested in fostering an interdisciplinary dialogue and encourage papers that use a variety of approaches, such as history, science and technology studies, physics, engineering, political science, economics, international relations, anthropology, and geography.
Some of the issues that the conference will address are:
1. The ways in which the Cold War shaped Italian civilian and military nuclear policies.
2. The role public opinion, social and cultural groups, anti-nuclear and pro-nuclear movements, had in shaping Italian nuclear policies.
3. The ways in which an interdisciplinary approach such as that of Science and Technology Studies (STS) might provide a new understanding about the history of nuclear energy in Italy.

This conference is organized by Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., the Department of Humanities of the University of Trieste, the Department of Political Sciences of the University of Roma Tre, and the Department of Documentary, Linguistic-Philological and Geographic Sciences of the University of Rome “La Sapienza”.
The working group responsible for the conference programme includes professors and researchers from the University of Trieste – Humanities Department; University of Roma Tre – Political Science Department; Machiavelli Center for Cold War Studies – CIMA; University of Rome “La Spaienza” - Physics Department and Departments for Documentary, Linguistic-Philological and Geographical Sciences; Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A.


Scientific Committee:
Giovanni Battimelli (University of Rome “La Sapienza”)
Elisabetta Bini (University of Trieste)
Igor Londero (Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A.)
Leopoldo Nuti (University of Roma Tre)
Giovanni Paoloni (University of Rome “La Sapienza”)
Carlo Rizzuto (Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A.)
Elisabetta Vezzosi (University of Trieste).


Organizing offices: Giulia Iannuzzi (University of Trieste)
Contacts: nuclearitaly@gmail.com
Web: www.elettra.eu/Conferences/2014/NuclearItaly

Neo- or structural realism is famously said to lack a theory of the state. Resisting the urge to devise one, I would instead argue that structural realist theories—most notably the original theory of Kenneth Waltz—implicitly contain a theory of the state. What has eluded commentators is that this theory is prescriptive rather than descriptive. Insightful readers like Goddard and Nexon and Rathbun have unpacked Waltz’s (nondeterminative) prescriptions for state behavior in the international system. This article will unpack those prescriptions for state order. Two conclusions emerge from this analysis: (i) structural realism implicitly reads essential features of the modern state into what are otherwise proclaimed to be nonspecific like units in anarchy and (ii) the ideal-typical state prescribed by Waltz’s theory most resembles Hobbes’ Leviathan. Making these connections explicitly may indicate why certain historical systems are a better “fit” for Waltz’s analytical construct and also serves to properly situate structural realist theories within the larger framework of political (not international relations) liberalism.