scholarly journals Game of Thrones and International Politics in Realism Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol IV (IV) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Ahsan Riaz ◽  
Muqarrab Akbar ◽  
Rafidah Nawaz

Since the Second World War realism paradigm has been most prominent and successful in the discipline of international relations. Realist theory interprets the role of the state in world politics in which the state's national interest is the primary variable. To attain the state's national interest power (in military and economic terms) is a very essential tool. The element of power has shaped the anarchic political system. HBO's Season' Game of Throne' is most compatible with the approaches of the international political system, especially to understand the realist paradigm. In this season different power centers were playing the game of power politics. Iron Throne had a hegemonic status and was considered as a supreme power in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, which created the anarchy. Competing for the power, losing the power, and attaining the power was creating the an archical situation in the whole season in which different actors and kingdoms made their strategies and joined uneven alliances. So Game of Throne is providing a better way to comprehend the international anarchy and political realism.

Author(s):  
G. John Ikenberry

The end of the Cold War was a “big bang” reminiscent of earlier moments after major wars, such as the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and the end of the world wars in 1919 and 1945. But what do states that win wars do with their newfound power, and how do they use it to build order? This book examines postwar settlements in modern history, arguing that powerful countries do seek to build stable and cooperative relations, but the type of order that emerges hinges on their ability to make commitments and restrain power. The book explains that only with the spread of democracy in the twentieth century and the innovative use of international institutions—both linked to the emergence of the United States as a world power—has order been created that goes beyond balance of power politics to exhibit “constitutional” characteristics. Blending comparative politics with international relations, and history with theory, the book will be of interest to anyone concerned with the organization of world order, the role of institutions in world politics, and the lessons of past postwar settlements for today.


2021 ◽  
pp. 324-324
Author(s):  
Martin Wight

Wight described this book as a ‘primer or introduction’ to American realism concerning international politics, with attention to the views of Halle, Kennan, Lippmann, Morgenthau, Niebuhr, Nitze, and Spykman, among others. Thompson highlights continuities with traditional diplomatic theory, illustrated notably by Churchill’s statesmanship and political philosophy. In Wight’s view the book presents ‘original thinking of a high order’. Moreover, Thompson ‘brings out more clearly than some realists the limitations of the “national interest” principle’. Wight concludes that Thompson stands out as ‘a realist of the centre, likely neither to be accused of disparaging morality, nor to be so emotionally disturbed by the consequences of clear vision that he emigrates for Utopia.’


1998 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 1-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayşe Buğra

This paper discusses the role played by the extensive, nation-wide network of sales agents organized by the leading Turkish manufacturer of consumer durables, Arçelik, in the formation of mass consumption markets in the post-Second World War era. The case study attempts to draw attention to a relatively less explored dimension of the industrialization experience of developing countries by shifting the usual emphasis on the structure of production toward the organization of consumption. This shift of emphasis serves to highlight certain society-specific mechanisms of market formation which compensate the limitations of the market-forming role of the state in the context of twentieth-century late industrialization.


2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 404-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Antonio Vieira ◽  
Helton Ricardo Ouriques

In this paper we examine the BRICS by focusing on one of its member states: Brazil. More specifically, we focus on the relationship between Brazilian foreign policy under President Lula (2003-2010), U.S. hegemonic decline, and the commodity boom that provided economic resources to sustain Brazil’s position in world politics. With the world financial crisis of 2008, Lula’s belle époque came to an end. Without the abundant resources of commodity exports, Lula’s successor, Dilma Rousseff, tried unsuccessfully to combat the economic slowdown by further strengthening the economic role of the state. With this expansionist economic policy, she was elected for a second term in office, but immediately embraced the previous orthodox economic policies, what coupled with lack of support from the Congress, threw the government into crisis. As a result, not only has the political economy of Brazil re-aligned with the interests of financial capital, but also its foreign policy has returned to its historical alignment with the United States. Our contention is that the BRICS will soon be of no relevance to Brazil.


Author(s):  
Robert Schuett

What does it mean to be a foreign-policy realist? Why is it important to get Hans Kelsen right? How can open society ideals be reconciled with the tragedies of world politics? It is widely acknowledged that the rules-based international order is under assault by visions of illiberal democracy at home and powerful autocracies abroad. The Schmittians old and new are making a comeback, and neorealists in particular continue to pit realism against liberalism: where there is only power or nothing, all else is scorned as naïve, including Kelsen. The book challenges the neorealist myth of power politics and conventional views of the Austrian-American jurist in international relations theory. Revisiting Kelsen’s life and thought through the prism of classical realism, the supposed Kantian idealist is presented as a calm yet bold, progressive political realist who has continued analytical and normative relevance in the study of politics and world order. The case is made that a synthesis of political realism and progressive policies is possible. No matter what the Schmittians say or do, what is in a liberal democracy’s so-called national interest is not a function of causality, necessity, or any other natural laws of impersonal forces or anarchical structures. Rather, what is willed, or not willed, on any given day in politics and international relations is the product of political imputation, moral choice, and individual and collective human agency.


1991 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iver B. Neumann ◽  
Jennifer M. Welsh

The dominant role of the realist paradigm in international relations theory has left little room for the study of the role of cultural variables in world politics. The two central tenets of the realist theoretical game-plan—the primacy of the sovereign state system, and the autonomy of that system, from domestic political, social and moral considerations—focus our attention on the vertical division of the world into sovereign states, rather than on the horizontal forces and ties that cut across state frontiers. The result is the metaphor for the interaction of states as the mechanical one of the billiard table, with power politics as the primary dynamic.


1952 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 343-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas I. Cook ◽  
Malcolm Moos

World politics today is admittedly bipolar, and it seems destined to remain so within the foreseeable future. Beset by its sustained tension, Americans have been led to debate, sometimes acrimoniously, the proper foundations, scope, and content of an effective foreign policy. Since presumably the central theme and central purpose of this debate is the definition of what constitutes the American national interest, the first objective is to define the idea of national interest. Thereafter it is necessary to draw proper deductions relevant to the total world situation, and in turn to apply these deductions as policy to the forces there at work. These forces—political, economic, ideological, and military—in their interconnectedness collectively constitute the raw materials for assessment, judgment, planning, and action in our policy-making.Resultant differences of opinion therefore can take place at different levels. Initially there are vastly divergent concepts of the characteristics of a nation, of the role of nations in the world, and of the nature of interests proper to a nation. The scope of these divergencies is often hidden by our tendency to find in the term “national interest” connotations of particularism, of exclusiveness, of the nation as against, or superior to, the rest of the world.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Michael Zürn

Abstract This response to my critics discusses four claims that are central for A Theory of Global Governance. The first claim is that observing a high level of conflict and contestation in world politics is not proof of the unimportance of global governance, since many of the current conflicts and contestations are about international institutions. The second claim is that the 1990s saw a rise of trans- and international authority beyond the nation-state that is essential for the rise of a global political system. Third, a global system of loosely coupled spheres of authority relies on ‘critical deference’ (reflexive authority) but also contains numerous elements of coercion. And fourth, a technocratic legitimation of intrusive international authorities cannot build on emotions or a sense of belonging. This deficit creates a political opportunity structure that allows for the rise of a myriad of dissenters. The relative importance of them depends on the availability of resources for mobilization and not on the quality of reasons for resistance.


2020 ◽  
pp. 168-193
Author(s):  
Graham Harrison

The chapter starts with an overview of the rise of modern development politics, showing how it was a manifestation of post-imperial sovereignty in a world order constructed by Britain, America, and other developed capitalist nations. It emphasizes the challenge of sovereignty and nationalism for post-colonial governance. It highlights the historical features of urgency, insecurity, and nationalism for post-colonial developmentalism. It then offers a treatment of Japan as a post-imperial developer. Commencing with the establishing of a national economy in the late 1700s, the chapter focuses on the Meiji politics of national development through imperialism and support for large companies. It focuses on the post-Second World War recovery and sustained transformation. It reviews the role of the state, the insecurities of post-war governance, the national vision of business, and the role of America. The chapter outlines the mass social improvements that resulted from capitalist transformation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-208
Author(s):  
Abdollah Rasekhi

To examine the ways in which the Islamic Azad University interacts with the power centers in order to cooperate, constructivist school and power-knowledge theory have been used as a theoretical framework. In this research, scientific cooperation is emphasized instead of commercialization of scientific researches in Iran and in the Islamic Azad University. The role of the university is to organize cultural frameworks and to introduce them to the system for planning. Islamic Azad University pursues the interests of power centers to strengthen the system, expand knowledge and promote cultural values. The power centers combine the activity and the type of sovereignty with the prevailing culture in the universities and seminaries, where the scientific and religious teachings are involved in the process of legitimizing the dominant political system. The interaction of the Islamic Azad University with power centers through mutual and shared understanding, identifying the potentials and capacities of each other, in general, would meet the needs of both parties, improve functions of the organizations, maintain scientific independence and develop the university’s financial resources and, in particular, lead to the participation of members of university in the development of the country and the preservation of the political system in large-scale decision-making, assisting socialization and urban management and ultimately maintaining the human and physical assets of the Islamic Azad University.


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