Proxy War

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyrone L. Groh
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
International System ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Proxy War ◽  
Knowledge Policy ◽  
Rigorous Treatment ◽  
Interstate Competition

This book provides a more comprehensive, definitive, and rigorous treatment of proxy war. This book argues that proxy war can and should remain a useful and effective tool of foreign policy, but that such an endeavor demands better understanding and deliberation. Proxy war serves as a means of indirect intervention when conditions eclipse policies using direct or non-intervention. Indirect intervention, however, is not synonymous with proxy war. Rather, proxy war falls on the spectrum of indirect intervention and includes other options such as simply donating assistance to politically-motivated, local fighters or offering support to mercenary forces from outside the country. Building on this knowledge, policy makers and strategists can better judge how fixed and unchangeable conditions such as the presence of interstate competition, domestic politics, geography, and the characteristics of the international system influence proxy war. More importantly, this book explains the role of conditions that a state can alter or change to improve the utility and efficacy of proxy war—more or less, it provides a “how to” manual for conducting proxy war, should the policy be chosen. The ability to maintain a coherent policy (both internally and externally) and cultivate/maintain control over a proxy’s activities increase the chances that a proxy war policy contributes to the pursuit and attainment of national interests. The book provides a new look at proxy war using uncommon and unused cases to test the concepts presented.

Chinese Foreign Policy: Pragmatism and Strategic Behavior. Edited by Suisheng Zhao. [Armonk, NY and London: M.E. Sharpe, 2004. 319 pp. $26.95. ISBN 0-7656-1285-2.]

2004 ◽  
Vol 180 ◽  
pp. 1095-1097
Author(s):  
Patrick Belton
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Strategic Behavior ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Chinese Foreign Policy ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Chinese Nationalism ◽  
Fresh Material ◽  
The Government ◽  
Rising Power

Suisheng Zhao has assembled this volume from articles recently published in the Journal of Contemporary China, which he edits. Its chapters cover recognizable terrain for political scientists: whether China, as a rising power, will seek to maximize its relative or absolute gains; the likelihood its increasing power will tend towards status-quo or belligerent lines; and the degree of Chinese ‘exceptionalism’ when compared with other countries. As the subtitle might suggest, the contributions present China in a favourable light, stressing how China's leaders have spurned ideological purism for the pragmatic weighing of national interests, with only nationalism to serve as a double-edged sword by conferring legitimacy on the government, but potentially also taking it away. The assertion that strategic calculations govern Chinese foreign policy contrasts with other interpretations, such as those of David Lampton in Same Bed, Different Dreams, who assigns a large role to domestic politics, or Peter Gries in Understanding Chinese Nationalism, who highlights the constraining role of nationalist ideology on the ability of China's leaders to de-escalate crises with other countries. Zhao's contribution lies less in defending the assertion of pragmatism against those competing perspectives and more in drawing upon it in offering fresh material.

scholarly journals Populism and domestic/international politics: theory and practice

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Metawe
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
International Politics ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
International System ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The People ◽  
Interstate Conflicts

Purpose This paper aims to contend that populism is damaging to both domestic and international politics; not only does it erode liberal democracy in established democracies but also fuels authoritarianism in despotic regimes and aggravates conflicts and crises in international system. Design/methodology/approach The research is divided into two main sections. First, it examines how populist mobilization affects liberal democracy, and refutes the claims that populism is beneficial and reinforcing to democracy. Second, it attempts to demonstrate how populism is damaging to domestic politics (by undermining liberal democracy and supporting authoritarianism) as well as international relations (by making interstate conflicts more likely to materialize). Theoretically, populism is assumed to be a strategy used by politicians to maximize their interest. Hence, populism is a strategy used by politicians to mobilize constituents using the main features of populist discourse. Findings The research argues that populism has detrimental consequences on both domestic and international politics; it undermines liberal democracy in democratic countries, upsurges authoritarianism in autocratic regimes and heightens the level of conflict and crises in international politics. Populism can lead to authoritarianism. There is one major undemocratic trait shared by all populist waves around the world, particularly democracies; that is anti-pluralism/anti-institutions. Populist leaders perceive foreign policy as the continuation of domestic politics, because they consider themselves as the only true representatives of the people. Therefore, populist actors abandon any political opposition as necessarily illegitimate, with repercussions on foreign policy. Originality/value Some scholars argue that populism reinforces democracy by underpinning its ability to include marginalized sectors of the society and to decrease voter apathy, the research refuted these arguments. Populism is destructive to world democracy; populists are reluctant to embrace the idea of full integration with other nations. Populists reject the idea of open borders, and reckon it an apparent threat to their national security. The research concludes that populists consider maximizing their national interests on the international level by following confrontational policies instead of cooperative ones.

The alleged consensus: Italian elites and publics on foreign policy

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-182
Author(s):  
Francesco Olmastroni
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
International System ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Willingness To Use

The article compares the way Italian (governmental and political) elites and (organized and general) publics perceive the international system and conceive of the role of Italy in it by using anad hocsurvey conducted specifically for this study. In order to establish whether a horizontal (left-right) and vertical (top-down) consensus exists on foreign policy, special attention has been paid to divergence and convergence patterns in terms of threat perception, feelings towards the (American and European) allies, support for the main institutional mechanisms of coordination and cooperation, and willingness to use military power to defend the constituted order and the national interest, while controlling for the position and level of action of each actor within the foreign policy-making process as well as her or his ideological orientation. While tracing elites’ and publics’ attitudes towards a wide range of foreign policy and security issues, the article reveals the effect of ideological and situational factors on the strategic preferences of national policy-makers and public opinion. In doing this, it contributes to define both the substance and boundaries of the alleged consensus, based on shared norms and historical legacies, supposedly overcoming socio-economic and political cleavages in matters of foreign policy.

scholarly journals Iran's Foreign Policy Toward Iraq Crisis After 2014

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Zohreh Ghadbeigy ◽  
Masoumeh Ahangaran
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Middle East ◽  
International System ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Major Player ◽  
Islamic Republic Of Iran ◽  
National Power

To achieve national objectives and interests, different countries adopt specific orientations and strategies according to their domestic needs and geopolitical conditions, and based on the structure of the international system. In this regard, Iran's national power components, including strong national government, geopolitical position, and ideological elements, provides this country with a leading role in regional issues. Iran's strategic and geopolitical position, attained through its connection to some issues in the Middle East, provides it a context for serving the role of a regional player. This focus of Iran's foreign policy on regionalism safeguards the country's national interests in the long run. Thus, the Islamic Republic of Iran not only acts as a major player in the Middle East, but also upholds decisions to strengthen its position and to promote its national interests. At present, Iraq crisis is one of the central issues of Iran's foreign policy decisions in the region. In this study, we intended to discover the performance of Iran's foreign policy in Iraq crisis based on the components of its national interests. The investigated hypothesis is developed based on a realistic logic from the perspective of Iran's national interests including political-strategic and economic-commercial interests, as well as development model of Iran-Iraq cooperation.

scholarly journals Neo-classical Realism in International Relations

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 95
Author(s):  
Jalal Dehghani Firoozabadi ◽  
Mojtaba Zare Ashkezari
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
International System ◽  
Policy Studies ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Internal Factors ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Classical Realism ◽  
Distribution Of Power

<p>Neo-classical realism is result of foreign policy studies through studying both structure of international system and domestic factors and their complex interactions with each other. The main goal of neoclassical realism is to find out how distribution of power in international system, motivations and subjective structures of states toward international system shape their foreign policy. Neo-classical realists reject the idea of neo-realism in which it is argued that systemic pressures will immediately affect behaviours of units. They believe that the extend of systemic effects on states behaviour depends on relative power and also internal factors of states in anarchical system. This article is to study how neo-classical realism applies assumptions such as anarchy, effects of structure-agent, role of power in creating behaviours, national interests, survival and security in order to analyse international politics.</p>

Parliament as the Foreign Policy Actor: the Resources of the Parliamentary Diplomacy

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 316-321
Author(s):  
Boris I. Ananyev ◽  
Daniil A. Parenkov
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Security ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Conservative Approach ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Policy Actor ◽  
Security Challenges ◽  
Essential Idea ◽  
Per Se

The aim of the article is to show the role of parliament in the foreign policy within the framework of the conservative school of thought. The authors examine both Russian and Western traditions of conservatism and come to the conclusion that the essential idea of “the rule of the best” has turned to be one of the basic elements of the modern legislative body per se. What’s more, parliament, according to the conservative approach, tends to be the institution that represents the real spirit of the nation and national interests. Therefore the interaction of parliaments on the international arena appears to be the form of the organic communication between nations. Parliamentary diplomacy today is the tool that has the potential to address to the number of issues that are difficult to deal with within the framework of the traditional forms of IR: international security, challenges posed by new technologies, international sanctions and other.

scholarly journals Interdependance, linkage et système international : de l'analyse conceptuelle aux problèmes de politique étrangère

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-352
Author(s):  
Irnerio Seminatore
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
International System ◽  
Political Context ◽  
International Policy ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The North ◽  
Interdependence Theory ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Impact

The emergence and evolution of the literature dealing with interdependence in the international System is looked into. An attempt is made to show its significance and main points as well as its implications. The debates on interdependence within the North-American political context are regarded as solutions to the preceding issues on dependence. Interesting passages are dedicated to the impact of the interdependence theory on the interpretation of the international system, as illustrated by two schools of thought in foreign policy (Kissinger-Brzezinski). Linkage of the tactical and strategic aspects to the economic and political interrelation of international relations, as put forward by policy makers, has brought to the fore the difficulties and limits of negotiation in the face of competition and in the aftermath of confrontation. This paper offers subtle, yet positive, conclusions on the use of the interdependance theory in international policy.

La CEE e i paesi in via di sviluppo: le contraddizioni emerse dalla politica agricola (1957-1992)

2009 ◽  
pp. 37-46
Author(s):  
Giuliana Laschi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
External Action ◽  
Development Cooperation ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Political Choices ◽  
European Policies ◽  
International Role

- The EEC doesn't have a proper foreign policy, so the international dimension of the Community has grown on a sui generis foreign policy, in which doesn't always coexist community and national interests. Given the intergovernmental nature of the external issues of the EEC, on international policy of the Community has been relevant the member states and their individual action in foreign policy. The international role of the EEC was not produced by overall political choices, but rather from external action of internal policies. Action that often produces and has produced incoherent results between the European policies of agriculture, trade and development cooperation, which are often in conflict with each other and thus threaten to undermine their potential positive effects. The policies analysed in historical perspective are able to outline not only the inside action of the Community as expression of the composition of national positions, but also the international aims of the EEC, even in the absence of a proper foreign policy.Parole chiave: Politiche della CEE, Studi storici sulla CEE, Politica agricola comune, Politica estera della CEE, Cooperazione allo sviluppo della CEE, Politiche incoerenti EEC Policies, EEC Historical Perspective, Common Agricultural Policy, EEC Foreign Policy, EEC Development Policy, EEC Incoherent Policies

5. The Developing World in International Politics

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Hobden
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
International Politics ◽  
Developing World ◽  
International System ◽  
Nuclear Proliferation ◽  
Global Politics ◽  
The Cold War

This chapter examines the role of developing countries in international politics. International relations, as a discipline, has traditionally overlooked the significance of the developing world in global politics. The chapter begins by discussing the reasons for this and why such an oversight is lamentable. It then considers the position of the developing world throughout the large structural changes that have occurred in the international system since 1945: North–South relations during and after the Cold War and the emerging multipolar world, in which China is anticipated to return to the centre of international politics. The chapter also explores topics such as the United Nations’s involvement in development issues and its role in decolonization, U.S. foreign policy under the two Obama administrations, and nuclear proliferation.

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