scholarly journals Violence Against Civilians During Armed Conflict: Moving Beyond the Macro- and Micro-Level Divide

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laia Balcells ◽  
Jessica A. Stanton
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Event Data ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Violence Against Civilians ◽  
Different Levels

Early research on wartime violence against civilians highlighted a distinction between macro- and micro-level approaches. Macro-level approaches, grounded in the international relations subfield, focus on variation across countries or conflicts, while micro-level approaches, more influenced by the comparative politics subfield, focus on variation within countries or conflicts. However, some of the recent research on civilian targeting does not fit neatly into this dichotomy—such as research comparing subnational units or armed groups across conflicts or research relying on geo-referenced event data for multiple conflicts. We review the literature and advocate moving beyond the language of the micro- and macro-level divide, instead focusing on the determinants of violence against civilians at five different levels of analysis: international, domestic, subnational, organizational, and individual. While acknowledging significant advances in the field, we argue for continued research aimed at developing a more integrated theoretical understanding of the multiple actors and interactive social processes driving violence against civilians. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Political Science, Volume 24 is May 11, 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals Pioneer teachers: How far can individual teachers achieve agency within curriculum development?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Kneen ◽  
Thomas Breeze ◽  
Emma Thayer ◽  
Vivienne John ◽  
Sian Davies-Barnes
Keyword(s):  
Education Reform ◽  
National Level ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Teacher Agency ◽  
Institutional Level ◽  
Meso Level ◽  
Curriculum Framework ◽  
New Curriculum ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Different Levels

AbstractEducation reform requires the commitment and investment of teachers if it is to succeed. Recognising the importance of teacher engagement, some countries have made teacher agency a feature of their curricula. Wales has embraced the notion of teacher agency within the building of its new curriculum by creating a body of Pioneer teachers to shape its new curriculum framework. This paper considers the nature of teacher agency experienced by a group of these Pioneers working on the expressive arts area of the curriculum. It does so through an exploration of the ecological nature of teacher agency, as theorised by Emirbayer and Mische (1998), and it considers agency through a framework of different levels: the micro-level focuses on the individuals and their personal contributions; the macro-level considers Pioneers’ work at national level, liaising with teachers from across the country and taking responsibilityfor creating the curriculum; the meso-level refers to where the two former levels come together, i.e. the Pioneers’ work within their own institution, trialling the new curriculum. The evidence indicates that teacher agency was easier to achieve at micro-level and macro-level, than at meso-level. This paper suggests, therefore, that achieving teacher agency at institutional level is more complex and challenging than is the case at the other levels. Greater understanding and attention are, therefore, needed about how to achieve teacher agency in teachers’ different spheres of work, particularly when working at institutional level.

Comparative Politics in Borderlands: Actors, Identities, and Strategies

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Braun ◽  
Otto Kienitz
Keyword(s):  
Political Violence ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Border Studies ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Border Regions ◽  
Local Identities ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
Measurement Strategies

Comparativists are increasingly researching national border regions. Yet the distinct way in which proximity to borders independently shapes politics is rarely theorized explicitly. Drawing on the emerging subdiscipline of border studies, we identify three types of border effects: Borders involve specific actors, shape local identities, and provide distinct strategies, each of which directly affects key areas of comparative politics. An in-depth review of work on political violence and state formation shows that specifying these effects ( a) demands that comparativists consider the ways in which borderlands differ from other regions and be careful in attributing processes found there to nations as a whole, ( b) improves theories by elucidating scope conditions, and ( c) scrutinizes the validity of our research designs and measurement strategies. We end with a call to move from a comparative politics in border regions to a comparative politics of border regions that contextualizes how borders alter political processes. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Political Science, Volume 25 is May 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals Mixing and CP Violation in the Charm System

2021 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Lenz ◽  
Guy Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Cp Violation ◽  
Online Publication ◽  
Charm Physics ◽  
Science Volume ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
The Standard Model ◽  
Theoretical Predictions

In recent years charm physics has undergone a renaissance, which has been catalyzed by an unexpected and impressive set of experimental results from the B factories, the Tevatron, and LHCb. The existence of [Formula: see text] oscillations is now well established, and the recent discovery of CP violation in D0 decays has further renewed interest in the charm sector. In this article, we review the current status of charm-mixing and CP-violation measurements and assess their agreement with theoretical predictions within the Standard Model and beyond. We look forward to the great improvements in experimental precision that can be expected over the coming two decades and to the prospects for corresponding advances in theoretical understanding. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science, Volume 71 is September 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Race in International Relations: Beyond the “Norm Against Noticing”

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bianca Freeman ◽  
D.G. Kim ◽  
David A. Lake
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Law ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Racial Justice ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
Race And Racism ◽  
Racial Hierarchy ◽  
Global Movement

The global movement for racial justice and the rise of anti-Asian hate at the height of the pandemic have called new attention to race and racism in international politics. Although critical theorists have decried the “norm against noticing,” other scholars of international relations have long sidestepped the possible role of race in shaping contemporary international affairs. New studies of hierarchy in international relations open the door for new understandings of race in world politics. We propose an analytic framework for the relationship between racial hierarchy, international law, and foreign policy, demonstrating that race can help explain patterns of interstate interactions that sustain an unequal global order. Positing two faces of racism in international relations, we examine how race biases international law in practice and affects the assessment of foreign threats and national interest. We discuss key methodological challenges in empirical research on race in international relations, focusing on issues of measurement, aggregation, and causation. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Political Science, Volume 25 is May 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals The Causes of Populism in the West

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheri Berman
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Politics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Supply Side ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
The West ◽  
Demand And Supply ◽  
Structure And Agency ◽  
Right Wing Populism

The global ascendance of populism has produced an explosion of research, bringing together scholarship on American and comparative politics as well as encouraging intellectual exchange among political scientists, economists, and sociologists. A good way to get a handle on what is now a wide-ranging and interdisciplinary literature is to focus on the key debates characterizing it. This article reviews the literature on the causes of populism, and in particular right-wing populism, in the United States, Europe, and other advanced industrial nations generally, but much of this literature draws on and refers to research on other parts of the world as well. This review analyzes the nature as well as the strengths and weakness of demand- and supply-side explanations of populism, economic grievance–based and sociocultural grievance–based explanations of populism, and structure- and agency-based explanations of populism. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Political Science, Volume 24 is May 11, 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Mechanisms and microfoundations in International Relations theory

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-389
Author(s):  
WILLIAM MCGINLEY
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Central Place ◽  
International Relations Theory ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Ir Theory ◽  
Unit Level ◽  
The Past ◽  
Micro Level

AbstractThis article looks at prospects for a mechanism-based research strategy in the study of International Relations. Over the past three decades, the notions of mechanism and microfoundation have taken a central place in discussions of explanation and ‘micro-macro’ problems in social science. The upshot of much of this discussion has been a call for mechanism-based explanations – explanations of macro-level phenomena in terms of micro-level mechanisms. Some work of this kind can already be found in IR theory, including in systemic research. However, a number of IR theorists, including Kenneth Waltz and Alexander Wendt, have argued that micro-oriented strategies like this will not work, pointing to incongruities between system- and unit-level phenomena. This article argues that these pose less hindrance to a fully-developed model of mechanism-based explanation, and that the field has much to gain from further exploration of this strategy. In particular, mechanism-based explanations could help bring structure back to the centre of discussion in IR theory, and might even give us a way out of the field's own micro-macro problems.

scholarly journals Mars and Venus in Action? The US and EU’s foreign relations strategies in academic discourse

2018 ◽  
pp. 27-44
Author(s):  
Ieva Giedraityte
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Foreign Relations ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Historical Experience ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
The Us ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Comparison Criteria ◽  
Level Of Analysis ◽  
The Eu

[full article and abstract in English] This article reviews the existing academic literature that compares and explains the differences between the US and the EU’s external actions. An analytical matrix is devised to group publications by level of analysis (micro-, mid-, and macro) and by theme of comparison criteria. The key findings are that in the macro level of analysis, authors tend to compare the role actors have in international relations before claiming either that the EU is a different kind of power due to its peculiar historical experience, or that the EU is weak due to its complicated structure and lack of military capacities. Furthermore, authors conducting their analyses at the micro level tend to find more similarities between the EU and the US’s external actions than those working at the macro level. The article concludes by making a point in favour of further comparisons as an essential tool to better understand the EU and other actors in international relations.

scholarly journals What Can We Learn from Written Constitutions?

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Elkins ◽  
Tom Ginsburg
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Science Volume ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
The Face

This article responds to a set of well-known challenges to empirical research on formal institutions in comparative politics. We focus on the case of written constitutions and discuss the scholarly utility of studying such documents in the face of four analytic and theoretical challenges. Each of these challenges, in turn, implies a set of empirical questions, for which we invoke original data to sketch a broad-brushed set of answers. The data analysis and accompanying discussion suggest a set of guidelines for how written constitutions should be deployed in comparative research designs on topics that involve political institutions. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Political Science, Volume 24 is May 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals Analysis of the Malian conflict dynamics – exploiting ACLED database

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 046-064
Author(s):  
Jan Kofroň ◽  
Michal Opletal ◽  
Matyáš Zrno
Keyword(s):  
Geographical Distribution ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Event Data ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Geographical Spread ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Quantitative Characteristics ◽  
Micro Level

Focusing on current Malian conflict, the aim of the article is to demonstrate usefulness of the „Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project“ database for the analysis of intra-state conflicts. At the macro-level the paper analyzes geographical spread of the conflict and its key quantitative characteristics (numbers of fatalities stemming from different types of incidents). At the micro-level it focuses on Malian region Mopti. At this level the paper analyzes geographical distribution of various incidents and the interaction of the key armed groups operating within the region.

scholarly journals Molecular Polaritonics: Chemical Dynamics Under Strong Light–Matter Coupling

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao E. Li ◽  
Bingyu Cui ◽  
Joseph E. Subotnik ◽  
Abraham Nitzan
Keyword(s):  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Chemical Dynamics ◽  
Strong Light ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Matter Coupling ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Collective Response ◽  
Technical Issues ◽  
Experimental And Theoretical Studies

Chemical manifestations of strong light–matter coupling have recently been a subject of intense experimental and theoretical studies. Here we review the present status of this field. Section 1 is an introduction to molecular polaritonics and to collective response aspects of light–matter interactions. Section 2 provides an overview of the key experimental observations of these effects, while Section 3 describes our current theoretical understanding of the effect of strong light–matter coupling on chemical dynamics. A brief outline of applications to energy conversion processes is given in Section 4. Pending technical issues in the construction of theoretical approaches are briefly described in Section 5. Finally, the summary in Section 6 outlines the paths ahead in this exciting endeavor. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Physical Chemistry, Volume 73 is April 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

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