Through a Missile Tube Darkly: ‘New Thinking’ about Nuclear Strategy

1993 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 661-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin S. Gray
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
International System ◽  
Arms Control ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Strategic Culture ◽  
Global Security ◽  
Nuclear Strategy ◽  
New Thinking ◽  
The Relationship

Just as the ideas of arms control comprise a picnic basket for sunny international weather, so much of the allegedly ‘new thinking‘ on strategy and security claims to have ‘matched us with His hour’.1 The challenge, purportedly is between realist and ‘transformationist‘ approaches to security,2 between national security and common (or global) security,3 and – of course – between old and new thinking. We are told that ‘[t]here is scope to change the strategic culture of world politics’.4 Some of us old thinkers are a little puzzled by the content of a quotation such as that, since the same authors have written breezily and optimistically, albeit contingently, to be fair, that ‘[t]he “nature” of the [international] system would be changed because of the changed conceptions – strategic cultures – of the units‘.5 The relationship between strategic culture and cultures would stand some careful discussion, while the merit in the claim that there is scope to change ‘the strategic culture of world politics’, whatever that very big idea may mean, remains to be seen.6

5. Strategic Culture

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey S. Lantis ◽  
Darryl Howlett
Keyword(s):  
Security Policy ◽  
Security Studies ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Strategic Culture ◽  
Nuclear Strategy ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
State Behaviour ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Theoretical Issues

This chapter examines the scholarly and policymaking relevance of strategic culture in the contemporary world. Strategic culture may challenge and at the same time enrich prevailing neo-realist assumptions regarding strategy and security. It bridges material and ideational explanations of state behaviour, adding valuable perspectives to understand different countries' contemporary security policy choices. The chapter first considers approaches that address the relationship between culture and nuclear strategy during the cold war before discussing theoretical issues related to strategic culture, including the contribution of constructivism to security studies; the question of ‘ownership’ of strategic culture; and whether non-state, state, and multi-state actors can possess distinctive strategic cultures. It also reviews recent work that explores the link between strategic culture and the acquisition of and threats to use weapons of mass destruction.

God vs. Westphalia: radical Islamist movements and the battle for organising the World

2012 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 589-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
BARAK MENDELSOHN
Keyword(s):  
International System ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
World Politics ◽  
The State ◽  
Al Qaeda ◽  
Political Landscape ◽  
Domestic Affairs ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Religious Actors ◽  
Islamist Movements

AbstractThis article presents the operation of al-Qaeda and Hizb ut-Tahrir, two of the most radical Islamist movements, through the lens of the relationship between religion as an organising principle for world politics and the state-based logic. It examines these groups in the context of repeated attempts by religious actors throughout history to render religion the dominant and constitutive element in world politics. Prior to the Peace of Westphalia, religion had a critical role in shaping the political landscape, but Westphalia relegated religion to a secondary position. While it accepted religion's role in the domestic affairs of the units in the international system, the Westphalian order kept religion subordinated to the logic of the state system. But religion maintained its ability to provide an alternative organisation for world politics. While al-Qaeda and Hizb ut-Tahrir are highly unlikely to bring about systemic change, their ascendance should remind scholars that the existing order is not inevitable and that the resurgence of religion in international politics also involves the resurrection of interpretations of religion that compete with and challenge the logic of the state-based system.

‘A presumption of trust’ in international society

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 634-641
Author(s):  
Nicholas J Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Society ◽  
International System ◽  
World Politics ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
Moral Philosopher ◽  
Security Community ◽  
Moral Skepticism ◽  
Community Theory ◽  
The Relationship

This article reflects on Nicholas J. Rengger’s 1997 article in International Affairs on ‘The ethics of trust in world politics’. The article has received comparably little attention, which is a shame because as I explore in my contribution it remains two decades on a highly important intervention in the on-going debate over the possibilities for developing and sustaining trust in an anarchic international system. Rengger argued that international cooperation, and the idea of international society it rests on, cannot be sustained in the absence of what he called ‘a presumption of trust’. However, he viewed this presumption in late modernity as an increasingly fragile one, and whilst he offered some ways to shore up the crumbling foundation of trust, his moral skepticism as to the possibilities of realising this run through his thinking. Rengger’s concern was that as the practices that ‘ground’ trust erode, cooperation will come to depend solely on rational egoist, interest-based calculations, and that such a basis is unstable and prone to breakdown. The problem that Rengger identified of how to ground authoritative practices of trust in international society remains an urgent one at a time when great power relations are characterised by increasing distrust. Having engaged with some of his key arguments in the article, I end by briefly identifying three problems that his essay would have benefited from considering further. These are (1) the relationship between trust and trustworthiness; (2) the neglect of security community theory; and (3) the potential of ‘godparenting’ (a concept Rengger borrows and develops from the moral philosopher Annette Baier) in international relations.

The Cold War and After

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Trachtenberg
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
International System ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Nuclear Strategy ◽  
Book Deal ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Historical Issues ◽  
Shed Light

What makes for war or for a stable international system? Are there general principles that should govern foreign policy? This book explores how historical work can throw light on these questions. The essays in this book deal with specific problems—with such matters as nuclear strategy and U.S.–European relations. But the book's main goal is to show how in practice a certain type of scholarly work can be done. The book demonstrates how, in studying international politics, the conceptual and empirical sides of the analysis can be made to connect with each other, and how historical, theoretical, and even policy issues can be tied together in an intellectually respectable way. These essays address a wide variety of topics, from theoretical and policy issues, such as the question of preventive war and the problem of international order, to more historical subjects—for example, American policy on Eastern Europe in 1945 and Franco-American relations during the Nixon–Pompidou period. But in each case, the aim is to show how a theoretical perspective can be brought to bear on the analysis of historical issues, and how historical analysis can shed light on basic conceptual problems.

Constructing Identity in “Glocal” Politics

1998 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 81-106
Author(s):  
M. A. Muqtedar Khan
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
International Relations ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Socioeconomic Conditions ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Important Concept ◽  
Construction Of Identity ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This paper seeks to understand the impact of current global politicaland socioeconomic conditions on the construction of identity. I advancean argument based on a two-step logic. First, I challenge the characterizationof current socioeconomic conditions as one of globalization bymarshaling arguments and evidence that strongly suggest that along withglobalization, there are simultaneous processes of localization proliferatingin the world today. I contend that current conditions are indicative ofthings far exceeding the scope of globalization and that they can bedescribed more accurately as ccglocalization.~H’2a ving established thisclaim, I show how the processes of glocalization affect the constructionof Muslim identity.Why do I explore the relationship between glocalization and identityconstruction? Because it is significant. Those conversant with current theoreticaldebates within the discipline of international relations’ are awarethat identity has emerged as a significant explanatory construct in internationalrelations theory in the post-Cold War era.4 In this article, I discussthe emergence of identity as an important concept in world politics.The contemporary field of international relations is defined by threephilosophically distinct research programs? rationalists: constructivists,’and interpretivists.’ The moot issue is essentially a search for the mostimportant variable that can help explain or understand the behavior ofinternational actors and subsequently explain the nature of world politicsin order to minimize war and maximize peace.Rationalists contend that actors are basically rational actors who seekthe maximization of their interests, interests being understood primarilyin material terms and often calculated by utility functions maximizinggiven preferences? Interpretivists include postmodernists, critical theorists,and feminists, all of whom argue that basically the extant worldpolitical praxis or discourses “constitute” international agents and therebydetermine their actions, even as they reproduce world politics by ...

The Logic of American Nuclear Strategy

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Kroenig
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Security ◽  
International Security ◽  
The United States ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Security Studies ◽  
Nuclear Deterrence ◽  
Nuclear War ◽  
Nuclear Strategy ◽  
Empirical Record

What kind of nuclear strategy and posture does the United States need to defend itself and its allies? According to conventional wisdom, the answer to this question is straightforward: the United States needs the ability to absorb an enemy nuclear attack and respond with a devastating nuclear counterattack. These arguments are logical and persuasive, but, when compared to the empirical record, they raise an important puzzle. Empirically, we see that the United States has consistently maintained a nuclear posture that is much more robust than a mere second-strike capability. How do we make sense of this contradiction? Scholarly deterrence theory, including Robert Jervis’s seminal book, The Illogic of American Nuclear Strategy, argues that the explanation is simple—policymakers are wrong. This book takes a different approach. Rather than dismiss it as illogical, it explains the logic of American nuclear strategy. It argues that military nuclear advantages above and beyond a secure, second-strike capability can contribute to a state’s national security goals. This is primarily because nuclear advantages reduce a state’s expected cost of nuclear war, increasing its resolve, providing it with coercive bargaining leverage, and enhancing nuclear deterrence. This book provides the first theoretical explanation for why military nuclear advantages translate into geopolitical advantages. In so doing, it resolves one of the most intractable puzzles in international security studies. The book also explains why, in a world of growing dangers, the United States must possess, as President Donald J. Trump declared, a nuclear arsenal “at the top of the pack.”

scholarly journals Ethical Issues in Consent for the Reuse of Data in Health Data Platforms

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex McKeown ◽  
Miranda Mourby ◽  
Paul Harrison ◽  
Sophie Walker ◽  
Mark Sheehan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Personalised Medicine ◽  
Data Reuse ◽  
Remote Access ◽  
Risk Indicators ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Thinking ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractData platforms represent a new paradigm for carrying out health research. In the platform model, datasets are pooled for remote access and analysis, so novel insights for developing better stratified and/or personalised medicine approaches can be derived from their integration. If the integration of diverse datasets enables development of more accurate risk indicators, prognostic factors, or better treatments and interventions, this obviates the need for the sharing and reuse of data; and a platform-based approach is an appropriate model for facilitating this. Platform-based approaches thus require new thinking about consent. Here we defend an approach to meeting this challenge within the data platform model, grounded in: the notion of ‘reasonable expectations’ for the reuse of data; Waldron’s account of ‘integrity’ as a heuristic for managing disagreement about the ethical permissibility of the approach; and the element of the social contract that emphasises the importance of public engagement in embedding new norms of research consistent with changing technological realities. While a social contract approach may sound appealing, however, it is incoherent in the context at hand. We defend a way forward guided by that part of the social contract which requires public approval for the proposal and argue that we have moral reasons to endorse a wider presumption of data reuse. However, we show that the relationship in question is not recognisably contractual and that the social contract approach is therefore misleading in this context. We conclude stating four requirements on which the legitimacy of our proposal rests.

Technological Change and the International System

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 545-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen V. Milner ◽  
Sondre Ulvund Solstad
Keyword(s):  
Technology Adoption ◽  
Technological Change ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
International System ◽  
New Technology ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Adoption Of Technology ◽  
Adoption Of New Technology

ABSTRACTDo world politics affect the adoption of new technology? States overwhelmingly rely on technology invented abroad, and their differential intensity of technology use accounts for many of their differences in economic development. Much of the literature on technology adoption focuses on domestic conditions. The authors argue instead that the structure of the international system is critical because it affects the level of competition among states, which in turn affects leaders’ willingness to enact policies that speed technology adoption. Countries adopt new technology as they seek to avoid being vulnerable to attack or coercion by other countries. By systematically examining states’ adoption of technology over the past two hundred years, the authors find that countries adopt new technologies faster when the international system is less concentrated, that changes in systemic concentration have a temporally causal effect on technology adoption, and that government policies to promote technology adoption are related to concerns about rising international competition. A competitive international system is an important incentive for technological change and may underlie global technology waves.

scholarly journals Climate bones of contention: How climate variability influences territorial, maritime, and river interstate conflicts

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-150
Author(s):  
Cody J Schmidt ◽  
Bomi K Lee ◽  
Sara McLaughlin Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Western Hemisphere ◽  
Intrastate Conflict ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Interstate Conflicts ◽  
The Relationship

Many scholars examine the relationship between climate variability and intrastate conflict onset. While empirical findings in this literature are mixed, we know less about how climate changes increase the risks for conflicts between countries. This article studies climate variability using the issue approach to world politics. We examine whether climate variability influences the onset and militarization of interstate diplomatic conflicts and whether these effects are similar across issues that involve sovereignty claims for land (territory) or water (maritime, river). We focus on two theoretical mechanisms: scarcity ( abundance) and uncertainty. We measure these concepts empirically through climate deviation (e.g. droughts/floods, heat waves/cold spells) and climate volatility (greater short-term variance in precipitation/temperature). Analyses of issue claims in the Western Hemisphere and Europe (1901–2001) show that greater deviations and volatility in climate conditions increase risks for new diplomatic conflicts and militarization of ongoing issues and that climate change acts as a trigger for revisionist states.

scholarly journals The hierarchical society: the politics of self-determination and the constitution of new states after 1919

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 372-396
Author(s):  
Maja Spanu
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
International Relations ◽  
International Society ◽  
International System ◽  
World Politics ◽  
League Of Nations ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
World War ◽  
New States ◽  
History Of

International Relations scholarship disconnects the history of the so-called expansion of international society from the presence of hierarchies within it. In contrast, this article argues that these developments may in fact be premised on hierarchical arrangements whereby new states are subject to international tutelage as the price of acceptance to international society. It shows that hierarchies within international society are deeply entrenched with the politics of self-determination as international society expands. I substantiate this argument with primary and secondary material on the Minority Treaty provisions imposed on the new states in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe admitted to the League of Nations after World War I. The implications of this claim for International Relations scholarship are twofold. First, my argument contributes to debates on the making of the international system of states by showing that the process of expansion of international society is premised on hierarchy, among and within states. Second, it speaks to the growing body of scholarship on hierarchy in world politics by historicising where hierarchies come from, examining how diverse hierarchies are nested and intersect, and revealing how different actors navigate these hierarchies.

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