Counting the Seven Weeks War: Dyads, Disputes and Balances of Power

2005 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Moul

Abstract. The usual quantitative study of inter-state war and peace tallies observations on hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dyads or pairs of states. These observations miss elementary features of inter-state relations that should be examined when testing Realist explanations of war and peace. The way in which three prominent studies (Bremer, 1992; Bueno de Mesquita, 1981; 1985) chose to count the Seven Weeks War dramatically reveals the theoretical difficulties when tallying dyads. Re-analyses of these studies demonstrate the sensitivity of the results to particulars of 1866 Germany and, more importantly, illustrate the merits of analyzing the dispute rather than the state dyad or the state-dyad year.Résumé. L'étude quantitative des périodes de guerre et de paix entre États comptabilise des observations relatives à des centaines, parfois des milliers de dyades ou paires d'États. Ces observations ne prennent pas en compte certaines caractéristiques élémentaires des relations entre États qui devraient pourtant être examinées lorsque l'on teste les théories réalistes expliquant guerre et paix. La manière dont trois études reconnues (Bremer, 1992; Bueno de Mesquita, 1981; 1985) ont choisi de comptabiliser la guerre des Sept Semaines révèle de manière éclatante les difficultés théoriques dans la comptabilisation des dyades d'états. De nouvelles analyses de ces études ont démontré la sensibilité des résultats aux caractéristiques de l'Allemagne de 1866, mais soulignent surtout les mérites de l'analyse des disputes par rapport à l'analyse des dyades d'États ou des dyades d'États annuelles.

Author(s):  
Timo Duile

AbstractContributing to recent debates on indigeneity, this article investigates contradictions of indigeneity, especially the “indigenous paradox,” that is, the formation of indigeneity through claiming sovereignty and autonomy from the state by acknowledging the very state and its laws as the framework for those claims, in the context of Indonesia. After analyzing how indigeneity came into existence in the Indonesian context, this article sheds light on the process of indigenous recognition in the Duri highlands, South Sulawesi. It is argued that the contradictions of indigeneity concern not only indigenous—state relations, but also narratives on tradition and history, and most of all, economic contradictions. It is the recognition of the overall framework of capitalism and the state which makes possible the emergence of alternative local economies based upon solidarity. Drawing on Louis Althusser’s concept of overdetermination, this article suggests that indigeneity shapes the way how economic contradictions are expressed, and while it provides local spaces for alternative economies, indigeneity is also prone to being incorporated into the logics of capitalism.


Author(s):  
Jean Allain

Joseph-Mathias Gérard de Rayneval’s Preface to his Institutions du Droit de La Nature et des Gens sets out the content of his study. The Preface outlines each of the three Books and the Appendix, wherein he considers the fundamentals of the Law of Nations in the wake of the French Revolution and the coming to power of Napoleon Bonaparte. Those consideration are developed by first providing an understanding of the internal functioning of the State so as to then build an understanding of the Law of Nations. Having set out the principles which govern inter-State relations, Rayneval provides an Appendix which focus on the policy considerations for those seeking to navigate the art of governing.


Author(s):  
Thamer Abdullah Eid Alsubaie

    What was the sporadic intercourse to facilitate contacts among various ancient political entities in different parts of the world became organized inter-state relations between nations and states, supported diplomacy as the art of settling disputes by negotiations. Negotiations have become the essential instrument at the core of contemporary international relations that are constantly changing in time and space. The negotiations brought the shift of major importance and had direct impact on international relations. The international organizations have been empowered to assist governments of its member states in progressive liberalization of trade in all areas. Negotiations have intensified the inter-state relations contacts collection of information about the ways other societies are organized and act. Negotiations have become primary tools in building international consensus on most important issues of security, war and peace. This research aimed to assess the role of negotiations in international relations. In order to achieve this aim, the researcher reviewed articles and research that dealt with examining the origin of the research variables, and also aimed to identify the relationship between these variables. In addition to that, the researcher conducted in depth interviews with 15 key officials in Saudi Arabia. The results of the study found that effective negotiations have a positive impact on the quality of international relations. Of the main recommendations of the study is that it is essential that the negotiator have the required sets of skills to ensure an effective negotiation process.    


2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alisher Faizullaev

Summary Diplomacy makes extensive use of symbols, rituals and ceremonies. This practice is related to the nature of the state and diplomatic representation: (a) states and their intentions can be objectified through symbols, symbolic actions and interactions; and (b) diplomatic agencies and agents symbolically represent the state. Symbolism in diplomacy helps people to capture the meaning of international affairs and socially and individually to experience states and inter-state relations. Symbols, rituals and ceremonies in diplomacy are designed to create a shared sense and also to motivate and regulate the moods of groups and individuals who directly or indirectly participate in or observe diplomatic practice. Linguistics, imagery and ritualistic/ceremonial formats of symbolism exist in diplomatic practice. Each can have communicative, regulative and affective functions. Symbolism is meaningful and instrumental in making sense of states and international politics and in managing and regulating inter-state relations. However, diplomatic symbolism can also be used formally and manipulatively.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 357-378
Author(s):  
Jiun Bang

Summary As a ‘banal’ everyday practice of state conduct, diplomatic summonses — colloquially known as a ‘dressing down’ — are a rich yet untapped source for research. To that end, this article’s objectives are to: 1) introduce this practice of reprimand between states, along with a sample dataset of summonses in North-East Asia from 2000 to 2016; and 2) then extract valuable contributions that summonses could make to a variety of ongoing discourses. Specifically, the article highlights a summons’ ability to reveal the foreign policy priorities of a state, as well as emphasise the need to think about dyadic relations as a set of two separate relations that might not exhibit the kind of reciprocity or symmetry that scholars have come to associate with inter-state relations. Along the way, the article also suggests ramifications for the ongoing literature on ‘emotions’, given the nature of summonses and its aspect of ‘insult’ or ‘shaming’.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-45
Author(s):  
Akihiko Shimizu

This essay explores the discourse of law that constitutes the controversial apprehension of Cicero's issuing of the ultimate decree of the Senate (senatus consultum ultimum) in Catiline. The play juxtaposes the struggle of Cicero, whose moral character and legitimacy are at stake in regards to the extra-legal uses of espionage, with the supposedly mischievous Catilinarians who appear to observe legal procedures more carefully throughout their plot. To mitigate this ambivalence, the play defends Cicero's actions by depicting the way in which Cicero establishes the rhetoric of public counsel to convince the citizens of his legitimacy in his unprecedented dealing with Catiline. To understand the contemporaneousness of Catiline, I will explore the way the play integrates the early modern discourses of counsel and the legal maxim of ‘better to suffer an inconvenience than mischief,’ suggesting Jonson's subtle sensibility towards King James's legal reformation which aimed to establish and deploy monarchical authority in the state of emergency (such as the Gunpowder Plot of 1605). The play's climactic trial scene highlights the display of the collected evidence, such as hand-written letters and the testimonies obtained through Cicero's spies, the Allbroges, as proof of Catiline's mischievous character. I argue that the tactical negotiating skills of the virtuous and vicious characters rely heavily on the effective use of rhetoric exemplified by both the political discourse of classical Rome and the legal discourse of Tudor and Jacobean England.


Author(s):  
Alex J. Bellamy

This chapter demonstrates that the downwards pressure that state consolidation placed on mass violence was amplified by the type of state that emerged. Across East Asia, governments came to define themselves as “developmental” or “trading” states whose principal purpose was to grow the national economy and thereby improve the economic wellbeing of their citizens. Governments with different ideologies came to embrace economic growth and growing the prosperity of their populations as the principal function of the state and its core source of legitimacy. Despite some significant glitches along the way the adoption of the developmental trading state model has proven successful. Not only have East Asian governments succeeded in lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, the practices and policy orientations dictated by this model helped shift governments and societies away from belligerent practices towards postures that prioritized peace and stability. This reinforced the trend towards greater peacefulness.


Author(s):  
Nancy M. Wingfield

This chapter explores a variety of issues central to the turn-of-the-century Austrian panic over trafficking. They include anti-Semitism, Jews as protagonists and victims, and mass migration in an urbanizing world, as well as why particular Austrian cities were associated with the trade in women. The chapter analyzes the government’s domestic and international efforts to combat trafficking, as well as the role bourgeois reform organizations played. It explores the relationship between the trafficker and the trafficked, arguing that these women and girls were not simply victims, but sometimes willing participants, or something in between, in order to sketch a more nuanced picture of turn-of-the-century “white slaving.” The term “trafficker” is employed to reflect the way sources (the state, journalists, reform groups) viewed the issue, not because it can be proved that the problem was as widespread as they claimed.


Author(s):  
Kubo Mačák

This chapter traces the development of the law of belligerent occupation in order to identify trends relevant to the regulation of internationalized armed conflicts. It observes that despite the general grounding of this body of law in a state-centric paradigm, several isolated developments have contemplated the possibility of non-state actors becoming belligerent occupants of a portion of state territory. Moreover, the chapter highlights that the law of belligerent occupation has undergone a fundamental transformation as part of a general trend of individualization and humanization of international law. Therefore, it is no longer simply a brake on inter-state relations and a protector of states’ interests and institutions. Instead, the law has gradually brought individuals’ interests to the fore, putting persons before institutions and individuals before states. Overall, the chapter uncovers the historical reasons that support an extensive view of the applicability of the law of occupation to modern internationalized armed conflicts.


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