Geography and Foreign Policy, I

1938 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas J. Spykman
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Ethnic Composition ◽  
Simultaneous Action ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Scientist ◽  
The People ◽  
Geographic Factor ◽  
Form Of Government ◽  
Foreign Ministers ◽  
Human Destiny

“La politique de toutes les puissances est dans leur géographie,” conceded the man whose famous retort, “Circonstances? Moi, je fais les circonstances,” indicates his contempt for any agency but the human will as the arbiter of human destiny. But since the Red Sea parted for Moses and the sun obligingly paused for Joshua, the human will has been unable to recapture the control over topography and climate exhibited by those forceful gentlemen, and it is probably safe to say that it was by Russian geography rather than by men that the diminutive Corsican was finally defeated. If he is still living, there is at Waterloo even today a loyal guide who asserts with unshakable conviction that neither genius nor skill but a swampy ditch gave that victory to Wellington.Unfortunately for the political scientist with a fondness for simplification, but fortunately for the statesman striving to overcome the geographic handicaps of his country, neither does the entire foreign policy of a country lie in geography, nor does any part of that policy lie entirely in geography. The factors that condition the policy of states are many; they are permanent and temporary, obvious and hidden; they include, apart from the geographic factor, population density, the economic structure of the country, the ethnic composition of the people, the form of government, and the complexes and pet prejudices of foreign ministers; and it is their simultaneous action and interaction that create the complex phenomenon known as “foreign policy.”

scholarly journals Тhe Russian publicist Alexandre Baschmakoff on the Macedonian question in letters and journalism (1899)

2021 ◽  
pp. 33-59
Author(s):  
Maria M. Beklemisheva
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Ethnic Composition ◽  
The Political ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Russian Foreign Policy ◽  
Main Attention ◽  
Historical Source ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
First Time

The article studies the views of the Slavophile Alexandre Baschmakoff on the essence and solution of the «Macedonian question» in 1899 developed in his book «Bulgaria and Macedonia» and archival letters to Count N. P. Ignatiev, the latter for the first time used as a historical source. Special aspects of the representation of facts in Baschmakoff’s book and letters are highlighted. In addition the author documents the unofficial manner of his trip. It is shown that Baschmakoff sought to reach Macedonia by the time of the alleged general uprising and become a mediator between the rebels and official Russia. One of the main sources of information about the political situation in the region for him during the trip were testimonies of Bulgarian oppositionists, while his concept of ethnic composition in Macedonia was based on his own observations. The main attention in the work is paid to Baschmakoff’s ideas about the necessary Russian foreign policy course in Bulgaria and Macedonia in 1899: in his opinion, the goal of Russian diplomacy should have been an establishment of autonomy in Macedonia avoiding war and an active foreign policy course towards the Balkans.

scholarly journals The Second Declaration of Havana as the Political Manifest of the Socialistic Stage of the Cuban Revolution

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-91
Author(s):  
Artem Aleksandrovich Lepeshkin
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Cuban Revolution ◽  
The Political ◽  
Organization Of American States ◽  
American States ◽  
Foreign Ministers ◽  
The Impact

The Second Declaration of Havana ratified on February 4, 1962 is the most important document of the socialistic stage of the Cuban Revolution. The historical analysis of this document is essential to appreciate all the peculiarity of the socialism formation in Cuba and to understand the origin of the principles of the revolutionary internationalism during the Cuban Revolution. However, investigations, which are dedicated to specifically this issue, does not present in the Russian historiography. The aim of this work is to clarify the role of the Second Declaration of Havana in the process of the socialistic ideology formation in Cuba under specific historical conditions of the first half of the 20th century and also to estimate the impact of the foreign policy of USA and VIII Consultative Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of American States (OAS), which took place in January 1962, onto the radicalization of the Cuban Revolution.

scholarly journals Lithuanian public opinion and the EU membership

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-312
Author(s):  
Elena Dragomir
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The Political ◽  
General Context ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
The Public ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
The People ◽  
The Eu

During the early 1990s, following the restoration of independence, Lithuania reoriented in terms of foreign policy towards West. One of the state’s main foreign policy goals became the accession to the EU and NATO. Acknowledging that the ‘opinion of the people’ is a crucial factor in today’s democracy as it is important and necessary for politicians to know and take into consideration the ‘public opinion’, that is the opinion of the people they represent, this paper brings into attention the public support for the political pro-West project. The paper is structured in two main parts. The first one presents in short the politicians’ discourse regarding Lithuania’s accession to the EU and its general ‘returning to Europe’, in the general context of the state’s new foreign policy, while the second part presents the results of different public opinion surveys regarding the same issue. Comparing these two sides, in the end, the paper provides the answer that the Lithuanian people backed the political elites in their European projects. Although, the paper does not represent a breakthrough for the scientific community, its findings could be of interest for those less familiarized with the Lithuanian post-Cold War history, and especially for the Romanian public to whom this journal mainly addresses.

A Challenge to Political Scientists

1943 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 692-697 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Foote Whyte
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Scientist ◽  
Political Ethics ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Form Of Government ◽  
American Form

When the American form of government and our democratic way of life hang in the balance of armed conflict, the political scientist feels impelled more than ever to rally to the defense of these values. He Writes volumes to defend our system and to attack the systems of our enemies. He writes political philosophy and political ethics—just plain politics is forgotten.The uninformed layman might expect from his title that the political scientist would be an expert in the analysis of political processes in his own community. He would be disappointed. The following comment made by Aristotle centuries ago applies with equal validity to the problem of political science today: “Must we not admit that the political science plainly does not stand on a similar footing to that of other sciences and faculties? I mean that while in all other cases those who impart the faculties and themselves exert them are identical (physicians and painters, for instance), matters of Statesmanship the Sophists profess to teach, but not one of them practices it, that being left to those actually engaged in it: and these might really very well be thought to do it by some singular knack and by mere practice rather than by any intellectual process; for they neither write nor speak on these matters (though it might do more to their credit than composing speeches for the courts or the assembly)….” Since the politician of today remains inarticulate when it comes to discussing his methods for publication, the responsibility of building a science of politics, if there is to be such a science, continues to rest with the political scientists.

The Democratic Revolution at Rhodes

1961 ◽  
Vol 11 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 166-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. A. F. Bruce
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Good Deal ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
The People ◽  
Internal Politics ◽  
New Information ◽  
Democratic Revolution

At some time during the years 398–395 B.C. the people of Rhodes revolted against Sparta, freed themselves from the oppression of the Spartan empire and admitted to their city the Persian fleet commanded by Conon, the Athenian. This fact was overlooked by Xenophon, but reported by Diodorus (14. 79. 6) and Pausanias (6. 7. 6) who quotes Androtion. It seemed, before the discovery of the Hellenica Oxyrhynchia, that the revolt of Rhodes from Sparta was in some way associated with internal party strife, for Xenophon relates that exiled Rhodian oligarchs appealed to Sparta for help in 391 B.C. Such an interrelation between internal politics and foreign policy had, of course, been a feature of Greek political life since the early years of the Peloponnesian War, as Thucydides was not slow to recognize. The discovery of the Hellenica Oxyrhynchia, which devotes a chapter to a democratic revolution at Rhodes in 395 B.C, provided a good deal of new information on the political situation in that city, notably that, contrary to what we might have expected, the revolt from Sparta and the democratic revolution were not contemporaneous. Let us review briefly the details of these two events as far as our information permits.

Cincinnati

1928 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 385-387
Author(s):  
S. Gale Lowrie
Keyword(s):  
Reform Movement ◽  
The Political ◽  
Large Measure ◽  
The Real ◽  
The People ◽  
Form Of Government ◽  
Good Government ◽  
Personal Qualities ◽  
Real Test ◽  
New System

The charter group was again successful in the November elections in Cincinnati and retained the six seats won in the first contest, while the Republican organization lost one seat to an Independent candidate. Seven of the nine councilmen were reёlected to office. The victory of the charter ticket was due in large measure to public approval of the unusual accomplishments of the last two years, and in part to the political sagacity of the leaders throughout the series of campaigns. The election of 1924, which resulted in the adoption of the council-manager form of government with a council chosen by proportional representation, and the election of two years ago which “kept the charter in the hands of its friends,” have been described in the pages of this journal. It was appreciated that the real test of the reform movement would come at the election of 1927 when the charter party would be on the defensive. This test has now been met.Cincinnati was fortunate in the character of the men who composed the first council under the new system. They employed a manager with administrative ability, a charm of manner which quickly ingratiated him with the people, and a personality which complemented the personal qualities of the councilmen themselves. These men elected by the people did not refuse leadership, and the mayor especially has become a dominant force in the community. The combination of Mayor Seasongood and Manager Sherrill is an unusual one. The former is a leader of reform; the latter, the man to carry out the policies which the representatives determine upon. Consequently, the manager himself never became a campaign issue. Both groups pledged him support. As the mayor said of him, “He personifies the people's own desire for good government.”

scholarly journals ‘Enemies of the people’: Donald Trump and the security imaginary of America First

2021 ◽  
pp. 136914812110484
Author(s):  
Georg Löfflmann
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
The Political ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Blame Attribution ◽  
Policy Choices ◽  
External Threats ◽  
The People ◽  
Fear And Anxiety

The discursive domain of (in)security is integral to nationalist populism, as documented in the political rhetoric of Donald Trump. This article combines insights from political psychology on blame attribution with scholarship in International Relations on security narratives to show how the reframing of national identity through a populist security imaginary elevated internal ‘enemies of the people’ to an ontological status of equal, or even superior standing to that of external threats to national security. Portraying internal and external Others as equally existential threats endangering the ‘real’ United States informed both foreign policy choices and mobilised voters through an affective persuasion of audiences, actively dividing society for political gain. Populist appeals to resentment, fear, and anxiety constituted a shared affective space between Trump and his followers that provided a source of mutual ontological reassurance and the legitimation of America First measures from immigration restrictions to trade protectionism and a Jacksonian foreign policy.

scholarly journals Is Democracy Possible Without a Restriction of the Suffrage?

Studia Humana ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-10
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Alfano
Keyword(s):  
Western World ◽  
The Political ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Winston Churchill ◽  
Democratic Practice ◽  
The People ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Universal Suffrage ◽  
Form Of Government ◽  
The Right

Abstract Today, the concept of democracy seems inextricably linked with that of universal suffrage. But is it true? To let that anyone with a given age has the right to vote is a very good democratic practice, or would prefer to question the criteria for access to this right, perhaps to develop new systems? The current crisis of democracy in the Western world is symptomatic of a detriment of the political consciousness of the people? And yet it is very likely to be admissible and that only from the mass, the large numbers, rises the better choices? In this paper I try to answer these questions, drawing from personal opinions and thoughts, which I hope will inspire questions and curiosity in those who, like me, believes that any system is always perfectible, and that its aim should be to that perfection, without fear of asking uncomfortable questions. Personally, in fact, I can accept democracy as “the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried”, to quote a famous statement by Winston Churchill. But not for that I give up, and I try other ways. Ways that are more satisfying, more fair and keep us away from the horrors that only an angry mob can do.

Towards a Democratic Theory

1945 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herman Finer
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Scientist ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Form Of Government ◽  
Soviet Communism

The principal, indeed the desperate, task of democracy is to maintain itself; its second, to improve and refine itself. It is well to conceive our problem in practical terms, as it tends to sharpen and limit the inquiry; and, in a sense, part of the answer, at least, lies in the terms in which the question is posed. The problem is not an exercise in theory, but is urgently practical. So is the answer. But as all political science teaches, though it may come in institutional and psychological devices, in the background, promising and perhaps mocking, there is also the metaphysical element. And the last is inescapable. For this question needs solution: What Marxism is to Soviet Communism, and what Racialism is to the Nazi State, is X to Democracy. What is X?For we cannot assume that uncultivated men and women, unshaped by their institutions that already exist, or without a doctrine, can operate the democratic form of government. If that were so, nobody would have thought of education. If the instinctive response of mankind to its social problems were democracy, or ineluctably something else, the political scientist could happily surrender his Ph.D. and close his college doors.

scholarly journals STATE OF DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN POLICY OF SOUTHERN DAGESTAN IN THE FIRST THIRD OF THE 18th CENTURY

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 18-23
Author(s):  
N A Magomedov
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Objective Assessment ◽  
The State ◽  
Ethnic Composition ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
Complex Relationships

Basing on the data of written sources and historical literature, the author of the article presents the state of domestic and foreign policy in Southern Dagestan in the first third of the 18th century when the interests of many world powers, most regularly the interests of Russia, Iran and Turkey, collided and entwined here. The internal political state of Dagestan was characterized by political decentralization, diversity of ethnic composition of the population, complex relationships between individual feudal estates and unions of rural communities, interference of neighboring countries in the internal affairs of societies, it all heightened already tense situation in the region. The state of the Dagestan people at the beginning of the 18th century was so tragic and they were so embittered by outrage of Persian administration that contemporaries predicted the inevitability of the people’s rising, which ultimately happened. In the article, key problems of the East Caucasus and West Caspian region are considered against the wide background of international events. The author gives a balanced and objective assessment of the foreign policy orientation of the leaders of the peasant masses, local feudal lords and rulers in the anti-Iranian uprisings, which took place in the first third of the 18th century. It is established that a distinctive feature of the political life of the peoples of Southern Dagestan during this period was a definite orientation toward Russia in the course of the struggle against Iranian domination and active opposition to the aggressive aspirations of Turkey. It did not meet the foreign policy interests of the Iranian and Turkish authorities, which were incited by Western European states, primarily by Britain and France, to the conquests in the Caucasus.

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