scholarly journals The Impacts of International Structure on the Foreign Policy of Pakistan

2019 ◽  
Vol II (I) ◽  
pp. 15-23
Author(s):  
Fozia ◽  
Abida Yousaf ◽  
Imran Ashraf

Foreign policy is one of the key tools to maintain the affairs of international relations. Foreign policy of a state is mainly shaped by domestic environment and international system. This study highlights the impacts of international structure on the foreign policy behaviour of Pakistan since 1947. During cold war period, the bi-polar world order mainly shaped the foreign policy of Pakistan. After independence, the economic, political and security challenges pushed Pakistan towards western bloc to protect its interests. Being an ally of west, Pakistan supported USA to contain the spread of communism. With the collapse of Soviet Union, the world order was shifted from bi-polarity to uni-polarity. Consequently, American supremacy shaped the world politics as a sole super power. With the start of 21st century, the incident of 9/11 and in response American invasion of Afghanistan again made Pakistani an ally of USA on their Global War on terror. Pakistan has faced serious consequences as an ally of USA. However, with the emergence of multi-polar world order, now Pakistan has opportunity to balance its relations with global powers like China, Russia and USA on the basis of mutual benefits, equality and equity.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alexander Slocombe

<p>Understanding national identity through foreign policy provides a strong means of ascertaining the prevailing social constructions within a great power nation state. There is a growing need to understand the national identities of Russia and China without pre-theorising or depending on asymmetric comparative studies with regional states. China and Russia are frequently compared to their regional neighbours which undermines understanding their unique identities. There are also frequent misunderstandings of contemporary Chinese and Russian national motives, often likening the modern Russian state to the Soviet Union, or attempting to understand China as a challenger to US unipolarity. Both great powers exhibit common characteristics of authoritarianism, both have recently endured massive social and national changes, and both have global interests that manifest in the Middle East such as securing vital geostrategic resources, both states are conscious of their native Muslim populations and to be recognised as a great power identity both must demonstrate influence in the Middle East. Yet, there have been significant differences in agendas and outcomes of their foreign policy decisions. This thesis seeks to use a constructivist framework to discern Russian and Chinese identity through comparison of their respective foreign policy. Contrary to “neo-realist” and “neo-liberal” arguments that accept state interests as rational, determined by the international system, and not determined by identity, this thesis seeks not to pre-theorise but to identify how their respective actions towards three key case studies in the Middle East; the Syrian Civil Conflict, the Iranian Nuclear Framework, and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, indicate their prevailing social constructions. This thesis compares Russian and Chinese attitudes and actions towards these cases. Despite their similar disposition and principles towards international relations these two nations had significant points of difference. Drawing upon foreign policy analysis and a comparative model this thesis finds that despite the commonalities between the Russian and Chinese nations, Russian identity as great power, unique Eurasian power, and an alternative to the West, ensures a defiance of its relatively weak economic position to engage in positions of leadership in the Middle East, whilst China’s identity constructions that are common with Russia, its great power, civilisational, and alternative to the West constructions manifest despite an increasingly influential and material position in the world order, has provided little incentive to engage in meaningful ways throughout the Middle East’s recent conflicts.</p>


2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mircea Munteanu

Romania's position regarding the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 was the culmination of almost a decade of increasingly autonomous moves vis-à-vis Moscow. Based on new evidence from the Romanian archives, this article paints a more complete picture of Nicolae Ceauşescu's reaction to the invasion of Czechoslovakia, placing it in the context of the international system and especially the Sino-Soviet split. Following the invasion, Romania remained just as committed as before to the goal of ensuring its maneuverability on the world scene, especially with regard to sovereignty and independence. Although Romanian leaders tried not to provoke the Soviet Union outright, they did not back down on important issues concerning Sino-Romanian relations and did not embrace Moscow's call for a common Warsaw Pact foreign policy. Romania did agree to certain compromises, but only because Ceauşescu believed that Romania would remain largely unaffected by them.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-44
Author(s):  
A. P. Tsygankov

The article discusses the modern stage of international relations as a transition from the US-centric to another, polycentric world order. America has many opportunities to infl uence the formation of the future world order, which it uses for maintaining a dominant role in the world. However, America also has severe weaknesses for making the global transition; the main one considers the psychological unpreparedness of the country’s establishment for a change in the global role of the United States. The country’s transitional situation gives rise to an identity crisis, accompanied by the most heated debates in the political class regarding the development of foreign policy and strategy. In the variety of positions and narratives of the American strategy, one can distinguish (1) proponents of the liberal globalization and maintaining America’s dominant position, (2) advocates of superpower status and resource dominance by coercion and (3) realists or those who call for building a new global balance of power and coordinating the US interests with other powers. This identity crisis is associated with the globally changing position of the country that has been at the center of the international system for the past 75 years. The American political class was never monolithic before and even during the Cold War, representing a range of diff erent foreign policy ideas and positions. However, foreign policy disagreements previously did not question the national identity and fundamental value of the country. For America, these values were associated with a global role in promoting the ideals of freedom and liberal democracy, previously underpinned by confrontation with the USSR. The disappearance of the Soviet power strengthened the position of liberal globalists and enhanced the strategic narrative of the global promotion of American values. The diff erence of the contemporary period is that nationalists and realists no longer accept the arguments of liberal globalists, resulting in a deepening of ideological polarization in the political class and society. The domestic ideational and political crisis splits the elites, delays the transition to a new world order, and makes it impossible to pursue a sound international strategy. Such a strategy will be the result of both an internal political struggle and a response of the country’s leadership to the processes of pluralization and polycentrism developing in the world.


2019 ◽  
pp. 111-118
Author(s):  
George Zviadadze

After transformation of unipolarity and reformatting world order system, a question been forwarded on how new system is to be founded on. As it is known classical international relations system developed since Westphalia Agreement of 1648 has been composed mainly by the state as key actors of international politics. The system has been developed two type of regimes: soft bipolarity and balance of power interchanged in several period of time consequently. One of the characteristic features of globalization is a fundamental change of the international system and world order. It differs from the world of post-Cold War period with the stance of different actors of international relations on each other as well as with the forms of sharing power and that of interconnections. In that context there were four phases of the international relations systems: the system of Westphalia, the system of Vienna, the system of Versailles, the system of Yalta-Potsdam and later international relations were transformed into bipolarity one. Since demolishing classical Cold War order and entering into new epoch of anarchic scenario, the states as key actors of the system have been diminishing in favour of so-called “nonstate actors”. However, in the international system of the 21st century, the nationstate still has particular functions. It represents the dominant element of the world politics which can influence the behaviour of the population and non-state actors.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Mokhamad Toha Rudin

The aim of this study is to conduct a critical analysis of Kissinger’s article “America’s Assignment” on Newsweek 2004, and to elaborate US foreign policy toward Islam world and Terrorism after the end if the Cold War, this article also tries to find the ideology or tradition of American foreign policy reflected in Kissinger’s article “America’s Assignment”, and how is Realism ideology reflected in the article. The study employs library research in which the data gathered from books, journals, magazines, and internet. The study also employs Van Dijk’s critical linguistic model for the critical analysis of Kissinger’s “America’s Assignment”.The result of the study shows that Kissinger’s “America’s Assignment” reflects both "multilateralistrealist” and “realist-idealist” perspectives for the US foreign policy that the US government should employ. He argues that no single superpower in the world could manage the world order alone without the participants of other world countries. He opposes W. Bush’s unilateral foreign policy toward Iraq though he agrees to “the move toward empire (terrorist) must be halted immediately”. He also argues that bringing democracy into the world, especially Iraq and Muslim worlds, is necessary in order to set up the new world order. The study also shows that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, there is a new ideological and cultural conflict between Islam, especially the militant fundamentalist in the fringe of Islam, against the US (Western) globalization of democratization. The new conflict is also generated by the Western phobia toward Islam that can be traced back to the mid-century when the War of Crusade between Islam and Christianity happened.Keywords: US foreign policy, Realist, Idealist, Multilateralist, Unilateralist


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alexander Slocombe

<p>Understanding national identity through foreign policy provides a strong means of ascertaining the prevailing social constructions within a great power nation state. There is a growing need to understand the national identities of Russia and China without pre-theorising or depending on asymmetric comparative studies with regional states. China and Russia are frequently compared to their regional neighbours which undermines understanding their unique identities. There are also frequent misunderstandings of contemporary Chinese and Russian national motives, often likening the modern Russian state to the Soviet Union, or attempting to understand China as a challenger to US unipolarity. Both great powers exhibit common characteristics of authoritarianism, both have recently endured massive social and national changes, and both have global interests that manifest in the Middle East such as securing vital geostrategic resources, both states are conscious of their native Muslim populations and to be recognised as a great power identity both must demonstrate influence in the Middle East. Yet, there have been significant differences in agendas and outcomes of their foreign policy decisions. This thesis seeks to use a constructivist framework to discern Russian and Chinese identity through comparison of their respective foreign policy. Contrary to “neo-realist” and “neo-liberal” arguments that accept state interests as rational, determined by the international system, and not determined by identity, this thesis seeks not to pre-theorise but to identify how their respective actions towards three key case studies in the Middle East; the Syrian Civil Conflict, the Iranian Nuclear Framework, and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, indicate their prevailing social constructions. This thesis compares Russian and Chinese attitudes and actions towards these cases. Despite their similar disposition and principles towards international relations these two nations had significant points of difference. Drawing upon foreign policy analysis and a comparative model this thesis finds that despite the commonalities between the Russian and Chinese nations, Russian identity as great power, unique Eurasian power, and an alternative to the West, ensures a defiance of its relatively weak economic position to engage in positions of leadership in the Middle East, whilst China’s identity constructions that are common with Russia, its great power, civilisational, and alternative to the West constructions manifest despite an increasingly influential and material position in the world order, has provided little incentive to engage in meaningful ways throughout the Middle East’s recent conflicts.</p>


Author(s):  
Tony Smith

This chapter examines Woodrow Wilson's comprehensive program for world order that came to constitute the foundation of liberal democratic internationalism, also known as Wilsonianism. Wilson's policy, designed “to make the world safe for democracy,” was not a radical departure from traditional American national security policy. His proposals to restructure world politics on the basis of a liberal world order were consistent with basic propositions of past American foreign policy. The chapter first considers the theory and practice underlying Wilsonianism before discussing the dilemma of Wilson's policy in Europe. It also explores the virtues of Wilsonianism for the postwar world, such as its acknowledgment of the fundamental political importance of nationalism. Finally, it emphasizes the resurgence of Wilsonianism in American foreign policy in the aftermath of World War II.


2021 ◽  

As the Cold War came to a close in 1991, US President George H. W. Bush famously saw its shocking demise as the dawn of a 'new world order' that would prize peace and expand liberal democratic capitalism. Thirty years later, with China on the rise, Russia resurgent, and populism roiling the Western world, it is clear that Bush's declaration remains elusive. In this book, leading scholars of international affairs offer fresh insight into why the hopes of the early post-Cold War period have been dashed and the challenges ahead. As the world marks the thirtieth anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet Union, this book brings together historians and political scientists to examine the changes and continuities in world politics that emerged at the end of the Cold War and shaped the world we inhabit today.


2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 763-797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacie E. Goddard

AbstractHow do institutions shape revisionist behavior in world politics? Applying a network-relational approach to revisionist states and challenges to institutional order, I conceive of institutions as networks—as patterns of ongoing social transactions in which revisionists are embedded. Revisionist behavior is shaped by how a state is positioned within this existing network of institutions. A state's position significantly influences the material and cultural resources the state can deploy in pursuit of its aims, and thus the revisionist's strategy. Focusing on two measures of network position—access and brokerage—I propose four ideal types of revisionists and their strategies in the international system: integrated revisionists, who are likely to pursue institutional engagement; bridging revisionists, who will seek rule-based revolution; isolated revisionists, who prefer to exit the institutional system; and rogue revisionists, who have few resources at hand, and thus ultimately must resort to hegemonic violence. I test these ideal types in four cases of revisionists and institutional orders: Russia in the 1820s; Prussia in the 1860s; the Soviet Union in the early Cold War; and Japan in the 1920s and 1930s.


TEME ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 1389
Author(s):  
Igor Miodrag Pejić

The main goal of this paper is to explain the need for geopolitics and how it influenced the decision making of various statesmen throughout political history. Since ancient times, geopolitical conditions have determined the courses and strategies of various civilizations driving them into conflict or allowing them to prosper. In the 19th century geopolitics became a necessary knowledge for statesmen, politicians and leaders who wished to engage into a turbulent arena of world politics. For them the geopolitics provided awareness and information about other world players, about their assets and liabilities, strengths and weaknesses. Following the rules of geopolitics grand strategies have been designed. The grand strategy of containment marked an entire epoch in modern human history. Employed by the US, containment was aimed against the Soviet Union in order to curb its expansion and to sustain the balance of power. Although successful, after its initial objective took a new shape of statehood, containment as a strategy had a rough time adjusting to the new world order. First section of the article will be dedicated to the development of geopolitics and how it influenced the states and their foreign policy decision making. In the second part of the article there will be an attempt to explain how containment worked as a grand strategy during the Cold War, its objectives, methods of applications and most importantly how does containment work in our contemporary world and is it viable as a strategy for achieving foreign policy goals?


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