Norms reconstituting interests: global racial equality and U.S. sanctions against South Africa

1995 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audie Klotz
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Racial Equality ◽  
Great Power ◽  
State Behavior ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Material Interest ◽  
Global Norms ◽  
Economic Considerations

The extraordinary success of transnational anti-apartheid activists in generating great power sanctions against South Africa offers ample evidence that norms, independent of strategic and economic considerations, are an important factor in determining states' policies. The crucial role of a strengthened global norm of racial equality in motivating U.S. anti-apartheid sanctions illustrates the limitations of conventional international relations theories, which rely primarily on structural and material interest explanations, and supports theoretically derived constructivist claims. In particular, this case suggests that analysts should examine the role of global norms in defining states' interests, rather than viewing norms solely as external constraints on state behavior.

Defending International Norms: The Role of Obligation, Material Interest, and Perception in Decision Making

2001 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 621-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard K. Herrmann ◽  
Vaughn P. Shannon
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Normative Reasoning ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Material Interest ◽  
Individual Perceptions ◽  
Material Interests ◽  
Feature Norms

States defend norms in some cases but not in others. Understanding this variation sheds light on both U.S. foreign policy and the role of normative reasoning. We report the results of four experiments embedded in a survey of U.S. elites. The experiments identified the effects of felt normative obligation (that is, the logic of what is appropriate) and concern for U.S. economic and security interests (that is, the logic of utilitarian consequence) as well as the role played by individual perceptions. We find that perceptions of another actor's motivation, of conflicts as civil or cross-border wars, and of the democratic nature of victims affect decisions to defend a prescriptive norm. This finding means that theories of international relations that feature norms as structural concepts need to consider actor-level cognition when examining the operation of norms. Moreover, we find that when U.S. economic and security interests are at stake there is a much greater inclination to defend norms than when simply normative obligation is present. Most U.S. elites appear to treat the presence or absence of U.S. material interests as a legitimate criterion for deciding whether or not to defend an international prescriptive norm.

scholarly journals Oliver Tambo’s International Policy: Unique Features of the South African Foreign Policy Process and Personality Factor

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-301
Author(s):  
Alexandra Alexandrovna Arkhangelskaya
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Socioeconomic Development ◽  
World Politics ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
External Representation ◽  
Personality Factor ◽  
Leading Role

The aim of the work is to develop an understanding of the role of Oliver Tambo as the actual head of the foreign policy department of South Africa during the period of implementation of the policy of apartheid and the process of decolonization of the African continent. The author’s thesis is that the African National Congress (ANC) foreign policy during the period of South Africa’s activities as a state supporting racial segregation was of the nature of external representation. The development of foreign policy was identical to the formation of a new state. The uniqueness of the analyzed situation is expressed in the fact that for the first time in history, international relations were established not only by a party that does not politically agree with state ideology, but also does not show its loyalty to any political blocs. The theses presented by Oliver Tambo in the conditions of the Cold War were democratic, consistent with the principles of civil choice and were not identified as the need for armed confrontation. It is these aspects that enabled the transition of power to the radical majority to avoid prolonged civil wars or conflicts involving international armed groups. The basis of the methodology is the understanding of the international process during the liberation of Africa and the choice of allies for this process by representatives of the leading world powers. The author uses the historical method and the method of direct oppositions of the position of Oliver Tambo and a significant number of ideological proposals from the leading world powers of the time under investigation. The article shows that the activities of Oliver Tambo fully comply with the regulations and traditions in the performance of their functions by the foreign affairs ministries. The author argues that the leading role of the ANC and O. Tambo in particular is to ensure the preservation of stability in the socioeconomic development of South Africa with the transit of power in the 1990s and the preservation of the pace of development of South Africa in the 2000s. The work examines the period from the appointment of O. Tambo to the post of Secretary General of the ANC to his death. It is noted that, in addition to the revealed features of O. Tambo’s activities for South Africa for the general theory of international relations, the above facts showed how to build cooperation with non-institutional actors in world politics.

SOUTH AFRICA'S EMERGING PARLIAMENTARY DIPLOMACY AND SOFT POWER

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley Masters
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Policy Decision Making

This analysis considers the emergence of South Africa's parliamentary diplomacy, or the role of Parliament on the international stage, since 1994. The early discourse both within Parliament and in academic analysis, reflects an emphasis on the role of oversight and the role of Parliament in the foreign policy decision-making process. Recognition of the role of parliamentary diplomacy has been slow to develop, although Parliament is increasingly acknowledging its role as an international actor. This has seen the development of structures and policy to support this. The value of parliamentary diplomacy as part of a country's international relations, however, remains an area in need of further deliberation. This analysis begins by unpacking the concept of parliamentary diplomacy before addressing the emerging role and value of parliamentary diplomacy for South Africa, particularly through the linkages between parliamentary diplomacy and soft power in promoting foreign policy.

Norms and sanctions: lessons from the socialization of South Africa

1996 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audie Klotz
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Cold War ◽  
South African ◽  
Racial Equality ◽  
Military Policy ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Vast Array ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Target States

In response to South Africa's increasingly institutionalized racial discrimination during the postwar years, transnational anti-apartheid activists advocated a vast array of global sanctions. With the formal abolition of apartheid in 1991, sanctions advocates celebrated the apparent success of the international community's efforts in promoting a global norm of racial equality in South Africa. Since similar sanctions are an increasingly popular policy in the post-Cold War world, the South African case offers a useful starting-point for re-evaluating the utility of sanctions as a non-military policy. However, despite the prominent role of a norm of racial equality in anti-apartheid sanctions, both advocates and critics of international sanctions still generally ignore norms analytically. Expanding our conceptual framework beyond the realist assumptions implicit in most sanctions analyses enables us o t understand better why international actors adopt sanctions and how these measures affect target states.

scholarly journals Russia and Eurasia. Russian identity and prejudices of the West

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-199
Author(s):  
A. Giannotti
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Great Power ◽  
The West ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
Vladimir Putin ◽  
Eurasian Region ◽  
Russian Identity

Over the last years, relations between Russia and the West have undergone a continuous deterioration in all major international scenarios, with Moscow playing a leading role from Eastern Europe to the Middle East. Western prejudices and lack of confindence toward Russia are not new and sink their roots well before the Revolution of 1917. They have been a constant of international relations for at least six centuries and still prevent true cooperation and understanding of the deepest motivations of Kremlin policies. In particular, western observers and policy makers seem to be unable to understand the peculiarities of the Russian identity and its eurasian dimension. This article proposes a brief analysis of the system of Russian-Western relations in the light of the so-called rusofobija, the Russian position in the Eurasian region with the geopolitical consequences of the USSR’s disintegration and the return to the role of great power under Vladimir Putin.

scholarly journals Western Belarus in Soviet-Polish relations: from the Treaty of Riga to reunification with the BSSR

2019 ◽  
pp. 17-26
Author(s):  
Mikalai M. Miazga
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Great Power ◽  
Soviet Leadership ◽  
Soviet State ◽  
Policy Goals

The article aims to show the role of Western Belarus in the Soviet-Polish relations in 1939–1941. It is revealed that for both the USSR and Poland the Belarusian question had no independent value, and was part of the policy of each of these states, aimed at achieving broader foreign policy goals. For the Soviet leadership, it was a struggle to revise the order of things that was established in Eastern Europe within the framework of the Versailles-Riga system of international relations. This policy assumed the inclusion of Western Belarus in the Soviet state. For Poland, the possession of Western Belarus was one of the most important conditions for achieving great power status, without which it was difficult to resist the Russian-German «geopolitical grip». The outcome of the struggle between the USSR and Poland for the territory of Western Belarus was inextricably connected with the collapse of the Versailles system, which made it possible to reunite Western Belarus with the BSSR.

India as a Global Power: The Strategic Culture Problems

2021 ◽  
pp. 097492842110477
Author(s):  
Sergey I. Lunev ◽  
Ellina P. Shavlay
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Strategic Thinking ◽  
Global Politics ◽  
Great Power ◽  
Strategic Culture ◽  
Global Impact ◽  
Global Power ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Government

The article reviews India’s contested role of a great power in global politics. Although showing tangible results across all the aspects pertaining to the great power status, in international relations India is still largely underestimated and even overlooked. Politicians and scholars generally mention three main reasons behind that phenomenon: weak social and economic figures, the country’s relatively narrow global impact the absence of strategic culture. We argue that the latter is key, and that it is in the process of being remedied. In fact, India already has all the prerequisites for being recognised as a ‘great power’, since it has political, military, economic and cultural capabilities corresponding to the status. It is simply a matter of time and coordinated efforts of the government to formulate and implement a consistent foreign policy and economic strategy as well as a change in Indian elite’s strategic thinking which will enable untapping India’s existing potential and successfully meeting the objective of increasing its influence in global politics.

Chinese Political Nostalgia and Xi Jinping's Dream of Great Rejuvenation

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Adele Carrai
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
National Identity ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Historical Memory ◽  
Great Power ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Global Power ◽  
The Future ◽  
China Dream

China's emergence as a great power has been accompanied by the official rhetoric of the China Dream of Great Rejuvenation (weida fuxing 伟大复兴). Although there are conflicting views among academics and political elites about the exact content of the China Dream, one of its features is the nostalgia for China's past and its five-thousand-year-old civilization. Xi Jinping's current rhetoric of a China Dream of Great Rejuvenation uses a reinvented history as an asset for the future, linking China's natural progress as a global power with a selective re-reading of its millennial history. While much existing literature already discusses China's Great Rejuvenation, this article looks more specifically at the role of historical memory and deconstructs the key interconnected components that support Xi's rhetoric, namely, the chosen trauma, glory, and amnesia. The conclusion offers some general remarks about the effect of this rhetoric on China's domestic and foreign policy and some of the risks that accompany it. This article contributes to the debates on the influence of memory in International Relations (IR), showing how constructed memories of history can significantly impact both national identity and foreign policy.

Cutting across doctrines: positive adjustment in Japan

1985 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michèle Schmiegelow
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Rational Expectations ◽  
International Relations Theory ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Positive Adjustment ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Anticipatory Adjustment ◽  
Control Regime

Japan's economy keeps changing too fast, its economic policies are too active and independent, and its domestic structures seemingly deviate too much from Western patterns to conform to theories that rely on general equilibrium in mature economies. Static economics, including recent monetarist, supply-side, and rational expectations models, some aspects of dynamic and development economics, and most of the neoliberal current in international relations theory are seriously challenged. On the other hand, the mercantilist paradigm, theories focusing on the role of the state, and analyses exclusively adopting the subsystemic level of international relations theory have substantial problems with the ample evidence of adaptation to external factors, the dynamism and Schumpeterian qualities of Japanese private enterprises and the far-reaching liberalization of Japan's foreign-exchange and foreign-trade control regime. As the only OECD member to have pursued “anticipatory adjustment” on the macrolevel and as the obvious model for the OECD category of “positive adjustment,” Japan presents a case of universal relevance. It suggests propositions linking targets and instruments of quantitative and qualitative policies, as well as processes of internalization of global factors and externalization of domestic factors. It provides material for revising, extending, and integrating international relations theory and the theory of economic policy.

scholarly journals Reflections on the Role of Ubuntu as an Antidote to Afro-Phobia

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Gideon Muchiri Kaungu
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
Social Intervention ◽  
Black Africans ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Foreign Nationals ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Natural Home

Abstract This article argues that xenophobic acts towards black foreigners remain a human rights challenge in South Africa. Foreign nationals, mostly black Africans, continue to experience physical attacks, discrimination and looting of businesses, as well as targeted crime. Prevalent xenophobic attitudes continue to trouble the conscience of all well-meaning South Africans. There is ample evidence that xenophobia has morphed into afro-phobia, the hatred of black foreigners. Xenophobia continues to evolve and attackers are increasingly linking the presence of foreign nationals to socio-economic challenges facing the country. This article argues that, even though South Africa's Constitution does not expressly identify Ubuntu as a national value, it does recognize customary law and many of its provisions are anchored in Ubuntu philosophy. This article proposes Ubuntu, or African “humanness” whose “natural home” should be located in South Africa, as a pragmatic social intervention and a morally sustainable solution to address xenophobia that would be acceptable to both South Africans and foreign nationals.

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