The security dilemma evident in South Africa’s foreign policy towards Africa

Africa Review ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barend Louwrens Prinsloo
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Security Dilemma

Debating Foreign Policy in the Renaissance

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Politics ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
Security Dilemma ◽  
International Theory ◽  
Early Formulation

This book includes a collection of debates on foreign policy from the works of Guicciardini, freshly translated with new commentary. This book brings together eleven pairs of opposing speeches on foreign policy written by Florentine statesman and historian Francesco Guicciardini (1483–1540). Collectively, they constitute a remarkable collection of debates on war, peace, alliance, and more. Incisive and elegant, the debates contain an early formulation of concepts such as the balance of power and the security dilemma — ideas that are still in international politics today. This book highlights the importance of Guicciardini's work for the evolution of international theory and explains why he, alongside Machiavelli, should be considered a leading figure of Realism.

The Caucasus Geopolitical Dilemma

2020 ◽  
pp. 78-107
Author(s):  
Vakhtang Maisaia
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Security Dilemma ◽  
Interesting Point ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
Caucasus Region ◽  
The Way ◽  
Global Powers

The chapter reviews the fierce geopolitical competition between global powers over the hegemony positions in the Caucasus region. The geopolitical security when global powers flex their muscle and are on the way to achieve their missions and goals with assistance of new ideological threshold—Eurasia vs. Neo-Atlantism—induces the emergence of confrontation modality for the regional security perceptions not promoting peace and stability. The new security dilemma for the region is really identified as follows: Russia/China vs. USA/EU. It is an interesting point to consider how the competition affects formulating various foreign policy implications of the regional actors and in what capacity it strains geopolitical configuration in the area.

scholarly journals Was the Cold War a Security Dilemma?

2001 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Jervis
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
The Other ◽  
Security Dilemma ◽  
The World ◽  
Soviet Foreign Policy ◽  
The Cold War

Under the security dilemma, tensions and conflicts can arise between states even when they do not intend them. Some analysts have argued that the Cold War was a classic example of a security dilemma. This article disputes that notion. Although the Cold War contained elements of a deep security dilemma, it was not purely a case in which tensions and arms increased as each side defensively reacted to the other. The root of the conflict was a clash of social systems and of ideological preferences for ordering the world. Mutual security in those circumstances was largely unachievable. A true end to the Cold War was impossible until fundamental changes occurred in Soviet foreign policy.

Realist theories in search of realists: The failure in Europe to advance realist theory

2020 ◽  
pp. 004711782094035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Knud Erik Jørgensen ◽  
F. Asli Ergul Jorgensen
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Security Dilemma ◽  
Realist Theory ◽  
Problematic Relationship ◽  
Dominant Orientation ◽  
Theoretical Innovation ◽  
Strong Position

The realist theoretical tradition has never enjoyed a strong position in Europe. During recent decades, although it is commonly claimed otherwise, it even seems to have lost its limited traction and most of its relatively few representatives. The aim of the article is to analyse this evolution, highlight how realist theorists have contributed limited conceptual or theoretical innovation, been unable to adjust their research agenda to current analytical challenges, and produced relatively few comprehensive empirical studies informed by one or more realist theories. Instead, we observe three main activities. Some realists do meta-studies on realist theory. Others do retrospectives, for instance, (re-)discovering the qualities of classical realist scholars or classical concepts such as the security dilemma. Still others practice ideology that may enjoy certain functions in legitimising national foreign policy orientations but has limited theoretical quality. Thus, textbooks are probably the only remaining context in which realism is presented as constituting a dominant orientation; a fact that highlights the complex and problematic relationship between reality and representation.

Autonomy, necessity, and the small state: ruling Kuwait in the twentieth century

1991 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 565-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Ann Tètreault
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
Small States ◽  
Small State ◽  
Security Dilemma ◽  
Oil Revenues

To reduce its strategic vulnerability, a small state may enter into a cliency relationship with a more powerful state. Among the consequences of cliency for the small state are the acquisition of resources, which can be used against threatening neighbors as well as against domestic populations, and the reduction of autonomy. In 1899, Mubarak, Kuwait's ruler, entered a cliency relationship with Britain. As a result, Kuwait was able to avoid incorporation into the Ottoman Empire. Although Mubarak and subsequent Kuwaiti rulers lost their foreign policy autonomy, they acquired resources enabling them to enhance their domestic autonomy by suppressing elite groups that were formerly integral participants in governing Kuwait. In 1961, oil revenues enabled Kuwait's rulers to end the cliency relationship and to provide their own resources for repressing or pacifying domestic groups. But the fact that oil revenues proved less effective than cliency in maintaining Kuwait's strategic security illustrates the fundamental security dilemma faced by all small states, even rich ones.

Is Chinese Nationalism Rising? Evidence from Beijing

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 7-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alastair Iain Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
East Asia ◽  
Security Dilemma ◽  
Beijing Area ◽  
Coercive Diplomacy ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Chinese Nationalism ◽  
Maritime Disputes ◽  
Popular Nationalism ◽  
Material Power

“Rising nationalism” has been a major meme in commentary on the development of China's material power since the early 1990s. Analysts often claim that rising nationalism, especially among China's youth, is an important force compelling the Chinese leadership to take a tougher stand on a range of foreign policy issues, particularly maritime disputes in East Asia. The rising nationalism meme is one element in the “newly assertive China” narrative that generalizes from China's coercive diplomacy in these disputes to claim that a dissatisfied China is challenging a U.S.-dominated liberal international order writ large. But is this meme accurate? Generally, research on Chinese nationalism has lacked a baseline against which to measure changing levels of nationalism across time. The data from the Beijing Area Study survey of Beijing residents from 1998 to 2015 suggest that the rising popular nationalism meme is empirically inaccurate. This finding implies that there are other factors that may be more important in explaining China's coercive diplomacy on maritime issues, such as elite opinion, the personal preferences of top leaders, security dilemma dynamics, organizational interests, or some combination thereof.

scholarly journals The Unbreakable Relations Between Indonesia-Vietnam Post “Sink the Vessels” Policy: A Complex Systems Approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Rusadi Kantaprawira ◽  
Arry Bainus ◽  
Indra Kusumawardhana
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Complex Systems ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Symbol System ◽  
Policy Action ◽  
Security Dilemma ◽  
Illegal Fishing ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
Fishing Vessels

The vibrant bilateral relations between Indonesia-Vietnam has been tested by the Sink the Vessels policy, a robust measure executed by Indonesia to tackle rampant illegal fishing that encroach Indonesian waters. The policy has caused in the demolition of, among else, Vietnamese fishing vessels; and has also led to near-clash and incidents at sea. Despite these, both countries bilateral relations were far from hostile condition, and uphold their neighbourly relations to manage the illegal fishing problem. How Could Indonesia’s foreign policy action did not further exacerbate Indonesia-Vietnam relations post “Sink the Vessels” policy? To tackle our question, this article probes to describe the complex systems that interwoven Indonesia and Vietnam during the rising tension. We argue that the complex systems encapsulated Indonesia – Vietnam relations post “Sink the Vessels” policy consist of symbol system, interest system, and role system that maintain their friendly bilateral relations, even in the turbulence ocean. This article exposes that Indonesia-Vietnam responds to tackle the problem stems primarily from the linkage between the three systems to escape the security dilemma.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document