The End of the Cold War as a Hard Case for Ideas

2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
William C. Wohlforth

The articles in this special issue of the journal succeeded in meeting the core objective set out in the introduction: to refine, deepen, and extend previous studies of the role of ideas in the end of the Cold War. In particular, they confront more forthrightly than past studies a major challenge of studying ideas in this case; namely, that ideas, material incentives, and policy all covaried. Two other important problems for those seeking to establish an independent role for ideas remain to be addressed in future studies. Facing those problems as squarely as the contributors to this issue have faced the covariation problem will yield major benefits for the study of ideas in this case and in international relations more generally.

2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 3-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Tannenwald ◽  
William C. Wohlforth

The end of the Cold War helped to prompt new interest in the study of ideas in international politics. Once the province of a few dedicated researchers on the fringes of the discipline, scholarship on the role of ideas now occupies an important place in the mainstream of North American and especially European international relations research. The five articles in this special issue of the journal are intended to move the research agenda on ideas and the end of the Cold War to a new level of rigor. They develop new models of how ideas affected the outcome and, in so doing, take stock of this event to refine our understanding of how ideas work in international politics. Although we seek a deeper understanding of the end of the Cold War itself, we also use this seminal case to clarify and advance the debate over the role of ideas in international politics more generally.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 434-456
Author(s):  
Liliane Klein Garcia

Ao observar o sistema unipolar que emergiu do final da Guerra Fria, é marcante o sentimento de insegurança geopolítica gerada pela existência de apenas uma superpotência global e as dúvidas da atuação do Estado soberano nessa conjuntura. Nesse paradigma, Capitão América: Guerra Civil é lançado com uma simbologia contestadora do papel do hegemon no sistema internacional. Com isso, inicialmente é exposto o enredo do filme, seguido das teorias liberal e realista das Relações Internacionais e da semiótica greimasiana. Com isso em vista, é feita a análise dos símbolos do longa-metragem e, por fim, se conclui que os autores do texto tinham como objetivo disseminar uma mensagem de união política entre os americanos.     Abstract: Observing the unipolar system emerging from the closure of the Cold War, is remarkable the sentiment of geopolitical insecurity generated by the existence of only one global superpower and the doubts about the role of the sovereign State in such system. In this paradigm, Captain America: Civil War is released with a contesting symbology about the role of the hegemon in the international system. Therefore, first it is exposed the movie plot, followed by the liberal and realist theories of international relations and the French semiotics. With this in mind, the symbols in the feature are analised and, in conclusion, it is stated that the authors wish to convey a message in bipartisan union amongst the American people. Keywords: International Relations Theory, Semiotics, Captain America.     Recebido em: setembro/2019. Aprovado em: maio/2020.


SEEU Review ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-109
Author(s):  
Gurakuç Kuçi

Abstract The end of the Cold War changed the world order. This change created opportunities for a short time to have an international hegemony to switch to international polycentrism. Huntington had anticipated and explained a confrontation and remake of the international order. This author explains that Islam as a civilization does not have a core state like other civilizations. Turkey today is one of these countries which is trying to take this role of the core state for Islamic civilization. The creation of the core state for Islamic civilization, and the making of all world civilizations with core states, pushed the world into the “civil-centrism” international detachment. However, Turkey as a core for Islam civilization, to the nuclearisation of Turkey can be done with the blessing and assistance of the “West”. Creating these civil-centrist centres also makes it possible to achieve peace and agreements in the global interest more easily.


Author(s):  
Umar Suryadi Bakry

<p>This article tries to explain some thoughts on the importance of cultural factors in the study of International Relations (IR).  The mainstream theories of international relations since the end of the World War II have ignored the role of cultural factors in world politics. But, after the Cold War era in 1990s, culture began to enter the center of research on international relations.  After the Cold War ended, cultural factors become particularly prominent and began to gain more attention from the scholars of International Relations. There are at least three prominent theories which are increasingly taking into account the role of cultural factors in international relations, that is, Huntington’s “clash of civilization” theory, Nye’s “soft power” theory, and constructivism theory. In addition, since the 1990s, many studies conducted by IR scholars have focused on the relationship between culture and the foreign policy of a country. The emergence of international culturology as a sub-field of IR studies further confirms that culture is an important variable in international relations.</p>


Res Publica ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-84
Author(s):  
Huri Türsan

The joint international action against Iraq and the search for a new security doctrine following the end of the Cold War, led, in the early '90s, to a revival of the notion of collective security embodied in several international agreements. This notion is based on the assumption of responding collectively to international aggression. However, the international guagmires of recent years and especially the case of former Yugoslavia where international organizations have played the role of alibi to agression, has once more, dealt a major blow to the illusion of the implementation of the principles of collective security. In a way similar to the 1930s and the bipolar balance of power of the Cold War, collective security seems ephemeral today. We can therefore safelypredict that in the foreseeable future, international relations wilt continue to be shaped by the balance of specific state interests and not by universally applied principles of collective security.


Asian Survey ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 953-970 ◽  
Author(s):  
KIM HYUNG JONG ◽  
LEE POH PING

ASEAN’s dialogue mechanism has been evolving from consensus-seeking to strategic means, to use the Habermas distinction. This consensus norm was maintained during the Cold War because of rapport among ASEAN leaders and the presence of an external threat. However, ASEAN expansion to 10 countries, the emergence of non-traditional threats to security, and democratization have weakened this norm.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 8-25
Author(s):  
Sergei Belov ◽  
William Partlett ◽  
Alexandra Troitskaya

With the end of the Cold War, many assumed that socialism, together with the specific constitutional values and political structures was dead (or dying). This article will challenge these assumptions. Post-Cold War reality did not, however, follow these assumptions. Some countries, especially in Asia, continue to adhere to socialist constitutional approaches. Some cannot fully overcome their socialist legacy. And still others include socialist values in their constitutions and practice. These values and ideas warrant study. Most notably, socialism carries with it a certain set of values and, consequently, a corresponding pressure on legal institutions. The authors, guest editors of this special issue of the Russian Law Journal on the socialist legacies in the world constitutions, outline a general approach for the study of socialist constitutional legacies. The article therefore addresses (a) the methodology of socialist constitutional legacies analysis, (b) the core values of the socialist constitutions and (c) ways in which socialist constitutional ideas and concepts can be combined with the principles of constitutionalism. This analysis raises a number of important – but under-researched questions. One is the extent to which these socialist ideas or concepts are actually socialist. Another is the extent to which these ideas can be included in constitutional discourse.


2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-339
Author(s):  
CHRISTOPHE JAFFRELOT

The students of transnational flows, including James Rosenau,1have pertinently highlighted the growing assertion of ‘sovereign free actors’ at the expense of ‘sovereign bound actors’ in what they call postinternational politics.2Dealing mostly with the end of the Cold War era, they have tended to focus on the increasingly important role of not only the multinational firms but also of the financial companies on newly globalized markets, and not only law-abiding but also illicit traffickers (of drugs, arms etc.) which have prospered along with increasingly more effective means of communication.They have almost completely ignored the transnationalization of religions, except from the point of view of fundamentalisms and related terrorist networks. Sociologists have paid more attention to this development.3But these studies, which have mostly focused on the impact of migrations,4have tended to under estimate the resilience of state boundaries5and have often neglected the circulation of ideas, especially from the point of view of the learning networks—the very object of this Special Issue which concentrates on one particular creed: Islam.


2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Tannenwald

This article responds to key methodological and theoretical challenges posed by the literature on the role of ideas in international relations, especially the literature on ideas and the end of the Cold War. The article develops a theoretical framework that guides the analysis of the empirical articles that follow. It identifies explanatory strategies for the role of ideas and seeks to clarify key methodological issues in the study of ideas. The article defines terms, identifies several different relationships between ideational and material factors, and lays out a series of “tests” for evaluating the causal effect of various kinds of ideas and ideational mechanisms. It then seeks to clarify two primary issues: whether it is possible to draw a clearer line between the material and the ideational; and what is meant by “constitutive effects” and “constitutive explanation.” The article defends the notion of constitutive explanation and shows how both causal analysis and constitutive analysis are valid explanatory strategies for the role of ideas.


Author(s):  
Cary Fraser

This chapter examines decolonization during the Cold War. It suggests that decolonization can be considered both as a response to the globalization of European influence and as a process of globalization which paved the way for the dismantling of the North Atlantic-centered international system. The chapter contends that decolonization during the Cold War was about the rethinking of the nature of the global order and the role of race and citizenship therein. It also argues that decolonization is the proof and constant reminder that the bipolar order pursued by the superpowers and their allies after the war was never a stable framework for the management of international relations.


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