Noam Chomsky and the realist tradition

2009 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
RONALD OSBORN
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Social Science ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Us Foreign Policy ◽  
World War ◽  
Noam Chomsky ◽  
National Power ◽  
Key Aspects

AbstractThis article examines the assumptions that underlie Noam Chomsky's politics and argues that his analysis of US foreign policy since World War II may best be situated within the realist tradition in international relations. Chomsky's left realism has not been adequately understood or addressed by IR scholars for both political and disciplinary reasons. In opposition to most classical realists, he has insisted that intellectuals should resist rather than serve national power interests. In contrast to most political scientists, he has also refused to theorize, critiquing much of the enterprise of social science in terms of what he sees as highly suspect power interests within the academy. Hostility to Chomsky's normative commitments has consequently prevented IR scholars from discerning key aspects of his project, as well as important historical and theoretical continuities between radical and realist thought.

New Perspectives on Appeasement: Some Implications for International Relations

1988 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Structural Change ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Structural Approach ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
World War ◽  
British Foreign Policy ◽  
Contemporary Writing ◽  
Traditional Image

AbstractHistorical research since the opening of the British archives in the late 1960s has brought about a substantial revision of the image of appeasement that had generally been accepted after World War II. Yet the traditional image has scarcely been questioned in contemporary writing on international relations. This article examines some of the central themes in recent studies relating to appeasement: the “structural” approach, which offers a new overall interpretation; the economic, military, and intelligence “dimensions” of British foreign policy in the 1930s; and the breaking down of traditional stereotypes of the roles of Chamberlain and Churchill. This reappraisal has important implications for the discipline of international relations, its view of the origins of World War II, and theories of international structural change.

Foreign Policy and Social Change: Japan and the United States

1995 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-97
Author(s):  
Tadashi Aruga
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Cold War ◽  
International Relations ◽  
The United States ◽  
World War ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Peace And War

In the second half of the nineteenth century, Japan moved from isolation and pacifism towards a militarized foreign policy. It relumed to pacifism after its defeat in World War II. The United States discarded its pacifist stance as it entered World War II and reaffirmed its commitment to a militarized foreign policy at the onset of the Cold War. Because both Japan and the United States had been outside or at the periphery of international relations for such a long time, these shifts tended to be far more dramatic than those experienced by European nations, accustomed as they were to an international milieu where peace and war coexisted.

International Relations—Still an American Social Science?: Toward Diversity in International Thought. Edited by Robert M. A. Crawford and Darryl S. L. Jarvis. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001. 394p. $88.50 cloth, $29.95 paper.

2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (1) ◽  
pp. 258-259
Author(s):  
Timothy Dunne
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
World War I ◽  
Social Science ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Real World ◽  
State University ◽  
World War ◽  
American Social Science ◽  
Looking Glass

Early accounts of the development of the discipline of international relations (IR) attribute causal significance to changes in the “real” world. In this respect, historigraphy was a reflection in history's looking glass, such that World War I created idealism, and World War II prompted the revival of realism. The editors of International Relations—Still and American Social Science? remind us that the identity of the discipline is also a reflection of geopolitical and cultural circumstances. The sixteen essays seek to reawaken the question of the identity of the discipline and how this has been transmitted and contested. There is no doubt that the book will be widely read and is likely to find its way onto many postgraduate course lists. It is also likely to find critics and supporters in fairly equal number, which is reason alone to applaud the labors of the editors.

scholarly journals The Soviet Union and the Post-World War II Foreign Policy of Czechoslovakia as Assessed by American Diplomacy

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Artem Zorin
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Party System ◽  
Marshall Plan ◽  
General Context ◽  
World War ◽  
Soviet Government ◽  
Direct Pressure

This article examines how American diplomats and international relations experts perceived Czechoslovak foreign policy priorities between the end of World War II and the consolidation of communist power in the ČSR in 1948. The purpose of the work is to identify the Soviet factor in US policy towards Czechoslovakia, the peculiarities of the perception of the country in the general context of Soviet-American relations and the genesis of the Cold War. The research is based on documentary sources from different archives: the US National Archives, the Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, and the archive of Ambassador L. A. Steinhardt at the Library of Congress. Archival documents are supplemented by articles from the American press. The author concludes that during this period, the perception of Czechoslovakia by the Americans was ambivalent and controversial. On the one hand, the existence of a democratic multi-party system made it possible to consider the ČSR part of the West, but, on the other hand, its pro-Soviet foreign policy forced the Americans to regard it as being behind the Iron Curtain. The real foreign activities of the Czechoslovak government led by communist K. Gottwald directly demonstrated Czechoslovakia’s orientation toward close relations with the USSR and its loyalty to the Kremlin. Because of this, the degree of Prague’s dependence on Moscow was a subject of serious discussion and reflection among American experts in international relations. Some of them unconditionally placed the ČSR among the Soviet satellites, while others considered it the last outpost of democracy in Eastern Europe. A turning point in the perception of Czechoslovakia was its refusal to participate in the Marshall Plan under the direct pressure of the Soviet government. After that, Prague’s inability to resist Soviet pressure and its dependence on Moscow became apparent to the Americans.

scholarly journals FUTURE OF REBALANCING POLICY UNDER TRUMP: A CASE FOR CONTINUITY

2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-139
Author(s):  
Younis Chughtai ◽  
Khurram Iqbal
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
Us Foreign Policy ◽  
System Level ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
World War ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Future ◽  
Offensive Realism

Trump’s foreign policy outlook and his rhetorical predispositions suggest that the American foreign policy is about to undergo drastic changes in terms of substance matter of policy. The arrival of Trump at the helm of affairs has built a conventional perception of gradual American retreat from the Obama’s rebalancing policy and its pacific-centric outlook. Any abrupt change in this policy of rebalancing will have serious repercussions for the regional economic, political and security architecture designed by America since world-war II. In this context, Offensive Realism, that takes system level variables as the primary determinants of foreign policy of great powers, offers a valuable framework to understand and explain the future course of Obama’s policy of rebalancing under the incumbent administration. To this end, this article is aimed at delving into the theoretical and historical reservoirs related to the US foreign policy along with the current practices of Trump administration to test the claims of continuity or transformation in the US foreign policy of rebalancing in the Asia Pacific region. This article asserts that Obama’s rebalancing policy would continue in the future with certain tactical adjustments related to the implementation of policy.

Greenland as a self-governing sub-national territory in international relations: past, current and future perspectives

Polar Record ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 404-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Ackrén ◽  
Uffe Jakobsen
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Policy Formation ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
World War ◽  
The World ◽  
Foreign And Security Policy

ABSTRACTGreenland was used by the US as a platform and as an extended arm within its security and foreign policy during the World War II and the cold war. After this things changed, although Greenland remained important in Danish-US relations under the umbrella of NATO. Nowadays, the geostrategic position of Greenland between North America and Europe is gaining fresh prominence in the race for natural resources in the Arctic. Many issues arise from the prospective opening of the Arctic, all of which may have fateful impacts on future development in the region. Climate change, claims related to the extension of the continental shelf, exploitation and exploration of natural resources, together with the protection of indigenous peoples are all current issues that must be taken into consideration in the context of security and foreign policy formation in Greenland. The future of the Thule Air Base is also relevant. This article reviews developments from the World War II to the present regarding international relations from a Greenlandic perspective. As a self-governing sub-national territory within the realm of Denmark, Greenland does not have the ultimate decision-making power within foreign and security policy. The new Self-Government Act of 2009, however, gives Greenland some room for manoeuvre in this respect.

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