Biology, Evolution, and International Security

2018 ◽  
pp. 192-208
Author(s):  
Rose McDermott ◽  
Peter K. Hatemi
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Human Behavior ◽  
International Security ◽  
Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Economic Rationality ◽  
Biological Factors ◽  
Comprehensive Understanding ◽  
Human Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Classical Economic

Current dominant understandings in international security, especially those drawn from notions of classical economic rationality, do not accurately map onto identified human cognitive architecture and processes. As a result, they are limited in their ability to accurately predict human behavior, including violence. After discussing core findings from work in neurobiology, the chapter argues for a greater inclusion of biological factors into the study of international relations. In so doing, there is no intention to negate the influence of larger structural factors, but rather to advocate for the value of including individual variance to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of international relations. The chapter concludes with some speculations about some of the most important questions that might be profitably explored from this perspective going forward.

Human Behavior from an Islamic Perspective

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-105
Author(s):  
Fatimah Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Human Behavior ◽  
Current Trend ◽  
Belief System ◽  
Biological Factors ◽  
Nature Versus Nurture ◽  
Western Psychology ◽  
Conditioned Responses ◽  
The One ◽  
Corrupt Behavior ◽  
Islamic Belief

Western psychology tends to be divisive in dealing with human personality and has been responsible for the nature-versus nurture controversy. On the one hand, it contends that certain corrupt behavior is predetermined by psychological or biological factors from conception—while on the other, it explains behavior as a simplistic series of reinforcements from contingencies and conditioned responses to environmental stimuli. This secular humanistic outlook has produced an ethical relativism that is the current trend in today’s world. This stance is not condemned only by Islam, but also by most religions of the world. This shows that the human nature (fitrah) is still vibrant and dynamic. This article attempts to highlight the importance of the Islamic belief system—which is an integrated and comprehensive way in dealing with human behavior—especially by means of the interaction of nature, nurture, and the spiritual factor in the formation of human behavior.

From Unity to Divergence and Back Again: Security and Economy in Feminist International Relations

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (02) ◽  
pp. 408-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Sjoberg
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
International Security ◽  
Economic Security ◽  
Peace Studies ◽  
Ecological Security ◽  
Global Security ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
Feminist Perspectives

InGender and International Security: Feminist Perspectives on Achieving Global Security, J. Ann Tickner (1992) identified three main dimensions to “achieving global security”—national security, economic security, and ecological security: conflict, economics, and the environment. Much of the work in feminist peace studies that inspired early feminist International Relations (IR) work (e.g., Brock-Utne 1989; Reardon 1985) and many of Tickner's contemporaries (e.g., Enloe 1989; Peterson and Runyan 1991; Pettman 1996) also saw political economy and a feminist conception of security as intrinsically interlinked. Yet, as feminist IR research evolved in the early 21st century, more scholars were thinking either about political economy or about war and political violence, but not both.

scholarly journals The CSTO in new system of coordinates of the global international security. New calls and threats to security for the states of the CSTO and a form of response to them.

2016 ◽  
pp. 7-12
Author(s):  
A. A. Orlov
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
International Security ◽  
Present Moment ◽  
The West ◽  
The World ◽  
New System

Specifics of present moment of historical development is cardinal change of a geopolitical picture of the world. The period of partnership between Russia and the West came to an end. Partnership is succeeded by new structure of the international relations which will be constructed on much more pragmatic basis. At the same time it is obvious that the unipolar world was absolutely not effective. This world finally disbalanced all system of the international relations that was expressed in the number of the regional and local conflicts unprecedented before, and in return in the last two years of direct confrontation between Russia and the West.

scholarly journals The influence of weapons of mass destruction on international security in the second decade of the 21st century

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 109-141
Author(s):  
Włodzimierz Wątor
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Security ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Foreseeable Future ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
Special Significance ◽  
Force Factor ◽  
Precise Estimation

The article outlines reasons for the significant increase of the hazard posed by weapons of mass destruction in the current decade. Despite the international community’s efforts made throughout the years, it has not been possible to eliminate them, significantly lower their arsenal or prevent their building or transfer. What has increased is the importance of weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear ones, as a force factor in international relations. This tendency will probably continue in the foreseeable future. Therefore, the article focuses on explaining the mechanisms of this process and its connections with numerous events and facts influencing international security. Special significance is ascribed to a precise estimation of the risk posed by weapons of mass destruction and determination of its hierarchy. Moreover, the article presents the forms and methods of the activities undertaken by countries and international organisations regarding the prevention of proliferation (via disarmament treaties and informal forums) and assesses their effectiveness.

scholarly journals Socio-Psychological Effects of Deviation: A Sociological Appraisal

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Psychology ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Special Reference ◽  
Human Behavior ◽  
Psychological Effects ◽  
Biological Factors ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Prejudice And Discrimination ◽  
Global World

The paper explores how people think and behave. However, various schools of thought have evolved through the development of social psychology on human behavior. While such scientists attribute a certain behavior to biological factors such as genetics, others consider early childhood experiences to be more likely affecting behavior. Such approaches or perspectives largely need investigations with special reference to the current global world. Concepts such as social influence, attribution, prejudice and discrimination, attitudes etc. play role here. The paper investigates why deviance occurs? How does it affect a society? However, since the early days of society, scholars have developed theories to explore what deviance and crime mean to society. Deviance being an accidental result of disorder and anomie, and a symptom of internal breakdown, it usually leads to crime. Method of research used in the present research is of qualitative type which is very popular in social sciences. Conclusion reaches the result that due to the unbridled and increasing urbanization and the emergence of a controversial society, deviation of socio-psychological norms is inevitable.

scholarly journals A biological infrastructure for communication underlies the cultural evolution of languages

2008 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 518-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. de Ruiter ◽  
Stephen C. Levinson
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Main Function ◽  
Human Species ◽  
Primate Brain ◽  
Human Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Development Of Language

AbstractUniversal Grammar (UG) is indeed evolutionarily implausible. But if languages are just “adapted” to a large primate brain, it is hard to see why other primates do not have complex languages. The answer is that humans have evolved a specialized and uniquely human cognitive architecture, whose main function is to compute mappings between arbitrary signals and communicative intentions. This underlies the development of language in the human species.

The regional dimensions of state failure

2010 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 951-972 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEFAN WOLFF
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Analytical Model ◽  
International Security ◽  
State Failure ◽  
The Political ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
Empirical Observation ◽  
Policy Debates ◽  
Definition Of

AbstractThe academic and policy debate on state failure reaches back to the early 1990s. Since then, its empirical and analytical sophistication has grown, yet the fact that state failure is a regional phenomenon, that is, that it occurs in clusters of geographically contiguous states, has largely been overlooked. This article first considers the academic and policy debates on state failure in the Political Science/International Relations and Development Studies literatures, and offers a definition of state failure that is derived from the means of the state, rather than its ends. Subsequently engaging with existing scholarship on the concept of ‘region’ in international security, the article develops a definition of ‘state failure regions’. Further empirical observation of such regions and additional conceptual reflections lead to establishing an analytical model for the study of state failure regions and allow indentifying a number of concrete gains in knowledge and understanding that can result from its application.

Instructional Design in Digital Environments and Availability of Mental Resources

2013 ◽  
pp. 81-104
Author(s):  
Renae Low ◽  
Putai Jin ◽  
John Sweller
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Design ◽  
Cognitive Architecture ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
Human Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Digital Environments ◽  
Welfare Workers ◽  
Mental Resources

In this digital era, the gap between the elderly and younger generations in their use of computer-based technology is wide, and many researchers in behavioural and social sciences, along with educators, welfare workers, and policy makers, are concerned about this disturbing phenomenon. However, it is not clear whether this discrepancy is due to a lack of previous access to information technology or declining mental ability in the course of aging. The purpose of this chapter is to consider the aged subpopulation’s needs and their ability to use digital technology from the perspectives of human cognitive architecture and the principles of instructional design guided by cognitive load theory. The authors focus on the following critical issues: a) the evolution and formation of human cognitive architecture, b) cognitive functioning as influenced by aging, c) compatibility between elderly people’s available mental resources and the cognitive requirements of digital equipment, and d) guidelines for human-computer multimedia interactions derived from the accumulated experimental evidence on effective instructional design and delivery.

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