Private Eyes in the Sky: Emerging Technology and the Political Consequences of Eroding Government Secrecy

2021 ◽  
pp. 002200272098728
Author(s):  
Erik Lin-Greenberg ◽  
Theo Milonopoulos

How do emerging technologies that erode governments’ near-monopolies on intelligence information affect public support for leaders and their foreign policies? Technologies—like imagery satellites—that were once the domain of state governments are now increasingly available to commercial and private actors. As a result, non-government entities can now exercise the disclosure decision, publicly divulging information whose release was once controlled by states. We argue that non-government entities with access to these technologies serve as alternative information sources that can verify government claims or reveal activities governments have not previously acknowledged. Using original survey experiments we find that commercial satellite imagery can serve as an informational cue that shifts public opinion, and, depending on its content, either attenuates or bolsters the effect of similar cues from government sources. The findings advance debates over secrecy in international relations and on the effect of emerging technologies in the security domain.

Author(s):  
Edana Beauvais

Abstract Understanding the legacy of settler colonialism requires understanding the nature and scope of anti-Indigenous attitudes. But what, exactly, are the political consequences of anti-Indigenous attitudes? Answering this question requires recognizing that attitudes toward Indigenous peoples are distinct from White racial attitudes toward other disempowered groups. In this paper, I introduce a novel measure of Indigenous resentment. I then show that Indigenous resentment is an important predictor of policy attitudes using data collected from an original survey of White settlers. I estimate the effect of both Indigenous resentment and negative affect on policy attitudes—opposition to welfare and support for pipeline developments—to make the case that Indigenous resentment is a better measure of anti-Indigenous attitudes than affective prejudice, and that Indigenous resentment is an important omitted variable in the study of public opinion in settler societies.


Author(s):  
Peter Mandaville

This chapter examines the issue of identity in the Middle East from an Islamic perspective. It shows how Islam, in a variety of forms, has interacted with the domestic, regional, and international politics of the region. The chapter first provides an overview of the history and concepts of Islam and international relations in the Middle East before discussing the relationship between pan-Islam, colonialism, and the establishment of modern nation states in the Middle East, using Egypt and Saudi Arabia as case studies. It then explores the political economy of Islamic revival as well as the role of Islam in Cold War geopolitics and in foreign policymaking. It also considers how globalization has acted as a facilitator of transnational Islam and concludes by assessing how the Arab Spring has created new opportunities and challenges for the Islamic movement, along with their implications for Arab states’ foreign policies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 66
Author(s):  
Ahmad Nazari

One of the research topics which intrigues researchers in the subject areas of applied linguistics, international relations and politics is political discourse and the way it is perceived and represented in the media. Researchers have analysed and interpreted the political and international relations discourse of various politicians and diplomats in different countries. By the same token, Iran, as a country with an influence on the political issues of the Middle East and a role in international dynamics and trends, has devoted a plethora of research to itself where researchers have examined and critiqued the international and foreign policies of Iran in various periods of time, in relation to various countries and in connection with various political and international events and situations. However, a search carried out by the present researcher showed that there are not many publications on how the British mass media, newspapers in particular, perceive and represent the Iranian government’s international relations discourse. To address this lacuna, a corpus of news stories and reports extracted from two renowned British newspapers, the Guardian and Daily Mail, was analysed by adopting a double hermeneutic content analysis approach. The results suggest that the two newspapers, in spite of being famous for having polar political views, seem to have similar perceptions and representations of the above discourse. The study also provides directions for further research in other contexts. 


2020 ◽  
pp. 106591292095741
Author(s):  
Nathan Kar Ming Chan ◽  
Lev Nachman ◽  
Chit Wai John Mok

This article assesses how contemporary forms of regional assimilation by centralizing states affect the political behavior of threatened social groups within peripheral polities. Recent mainlandization, “the blurring of the physical, social, cultural and psychological border between Mainland China and Hong Kong,” has constrained the region’s autonomy. Here, we consider the political consequences of Chinese mainlandization. How does mainlandization affect the likelihood of political participation in Hong Kong? Drawing and expanding upon theories of social identity, we argue that mainlandization increases the political involvement among those who make the choice to identify as Hong Konger because this is the group under threat by China’s recent actions. Hong Kongers politically mobilize as a response to mainlandization to combat Chinese threat and to improve the status of their identity group, of which their own sense of selves is also tied to. Using an original survey experiment, we find support for our theory. Hong Kongers are influenced by mainlandization to attend contentious protests, recruit others to attend such rallies, and sign pro-democratic petitions. We conclude by noting implications for China’s increasing attempt to assimilate this electoral autocracy and discuss how our research informs Hong Kong political activism in 2019 and 2020.


2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 400-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milja Kurki ◽  
Hidemi Suganami

Causal inquiry has been a controversial matter in International Relations scholarship in recent years. While many new ‘non-positivist’ stances on causal analysis have been developed in recent years, many post-positivist and critical theorists in the discipline have remained unconvinced of the virtues of causal inquiry. Crucially, the political consequences of causal analysis seem to be a sticking point for many such critics. Yet, the politics of causal analysis are, we argue, complex and relatively poorly engaged with at present. Indeed, the arguments against causal analysis, which rely on warnings concerning the political nature of causal analysis, are inadequate and incomplete. We contend here that causal analysis is, indeed, political but that this does not mean that we should not engage in causal inquiry. On the contrary, we argue that this is what makes causal inquiry interesting and important in social science. A more nuanced and reflective approach to dealings with the politics of causal analysis is needed, and it is such a response that we provoke critics of causal analysis to consider.


2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wetherell

Every discipline which deals with the land question in Canaan-Palestine-Israel is afflicted by the problem of specialisation. The political scientist and historian usually discuss the issue of land in Israel purely in terms of interethnic and international relations, biblical scholars concentrate on the historical and archaeological question with virtually no reference to ethics, and scholars of human rights usually evade the question of God. What follows is an attempt, through theology and political history, to understand the history of the Israel-Palestine land question in a way which respects the complexity of the question. From a scrutiny of the language used in the Bible to the development of political Zionism from the late 19th century it is possible to see the way in which a secular movement mobilised the figurative language of religion into a literal ‘title deed’ to the land of Palestine signed by God.


2017 ◽  
pp. 110-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Kużelewska

This article analyses the impact of constitutional referendums on the political system in Italy. There were three constitutional referendums conducted in 2001, 2006 and 2016. All of them have been organised by the ruling parties, however, only the first one was successful. In the subsequent referendums, the proposals for amending the constitution have been rejected by voters. The article finds that lack of public support for the government resulted in voting „no” in the referendum.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 330-347
Author(s):  
Hugo Agra

O artigo analisa um tema pouco abordado na literatura brasileira de relações internacionais: a atuação das políticas externas do Brasil e do México para a criação do Grupo de Contadora (1983), Grupo de Apoio à Contadora (1985) e do Grupo do Rio (1987). Esses grupos tiveram papéis importantes nas tentativas de estabilização dos problemas políticos, econômicos e sociais da América Central a partir dos anos 1980. O artigo está dividido em quatro partes: i) compreensão da criação do Grupo de Contadora, do Grupo de Apoio à Contadora e a atuação do Brasil e do México, ii) destaque aos principais objetivos desses dois grupos, iii) explica o “dilema” das políticas externas do Brasil e do México diante das ações estadunidenses para a América Central e iv) e descreve a criação e os objetivos do Grupo do Rio. Por meio de uma pesquisa explicativa, onde é fundamental reunir informações sobre vários assuntos para entender de forma mais abrangente um tema específico, o artigo faz uso de fontes secundárias que analisam as relações internacionais da América Latina e os processos decisórios das políticas externas do Brasil e do México na década de 1980, além de algumas fontes primárias, como documentos oficiais dos acordos celebrados e declarações presidenciais disponíveis em arquivos dos sites eletrônicos da presidência ou chancelaria dos países. Conclui-se mostrando que os dois países foram fundamentais para o processo de estabilização política, principalmente na região centro-americana, não só pela importância histórica, política e econômica de cada um, mas também pelo fato de que a formação desses grupos foram importantes para dirimir litígios, acelerar a resolução de conflitos entre os países do continente, além de ter sido um período de aproximação e fortalecimento da relação bilateral Brasil-México.         ABSTRACT: The article analyzes a theme little addressed in the Brazilian literature of international relations: the performance of the foreign policies of Brazil and Mexico for the creation of the Contadora Group (1983), the Contadora Support Group (1985) and the Rio Group (1987). These groups played important roles in attempts to stabilize the political, economic and social problems of Central America from the 1980s onwards. The article is divided into four parts: i) an understanding of the creation of the Contadora Group, the Contadora Support Group and the actions of Brazil and Mexico, ii) highlighting the main objectives of these two groups, iii) explaining the "dilemma" of the foreign policies of Brazil and Mexico in the face of US actions for Central America, and iv) describing the creation and objectives of the Rio Group. By means of an explanatory survey, where it is essential to gather information on various subjects in order to understand more comprehensively a specific theme, the article makes use of secondary sources that analyze the international relations of Latin America and the decision-making processes of the foreign policies of Brazil and Mexico in the 1980s, in addition to some primary sources, such as official documents of the agreements signed and presidential declarations available on the archives of the electronic sites of the presidency or chancellery of the countries. It concludes by showing that both countries were fundamental to the process of political stabilization, especially in the Central American region, not only because of their historical, political and economic importance, but also because the formation of these groups was important to settle disputes, accelerate the resolution of conflicts between the countries of the continent, and was a period of rapprochement and strengthening of the bilateral relationship between Brazil and Mexico. Keywords: International Relations; Latin America; Contadora Group; Rio Group.       Aprovado em: setembro/2019. Recebido em: agosto/2020.


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