Living and Teaching Across Cultures

As long as one lives within the confines of a single culture it is difficult to achieve cross-cultural awareness. Multiculturalism is often simply the tolerance of a dominant culture for minority cultures. Cross-cultural awareness is a state of mind in which one is alert to alternity , the existence of others possessing different and equally valid world views and ways of life. This can be acquired living within or alongside other cultures, when one's own and others' strangeness become readily apparent. Culture shock involves just such a realization. The challenge for the teacher of international relations is to convey the possibility of alternity to students in the classroom. After all, international relations is above all about the interaction between communities possessing separate identities and autonomous wills. The article discusses ways of cultivating cross-cultural awareness, comparing the difficulties of doing so in a society under siege—Israel—with the greater scope available in the cosmopolitan setting of an elite American university.     

浅论当代国家利益的国际性

本文阐述了国内外学者普遍认为国家利益具有国际性。在当代,国家利益的国际性越来越明显和突出,出现了国家利益国际化的趋向:各国国家利益越来越多地分布于海外,受国际环境的影响越来越大;同国际环境关联的国家安全利益内容和范围扩大,涉及经济、文化、信息、生态环境等方方面面。全球化尤其是世界经济一体化进程的加快发展和霸权的无孔不入是出现上述现象的两大原因。当代国家利益所具有的国际性及其国际化趋向,对国际社会和国际关系的发展产生了深远影响。     

Human Security and Constructivism

This article explores the concept of "human security" as an academic and fledgling policy movement that seeks to place the individual—or people collectively—as the referent of security. It does this against a background of evolving transnational norms relating to security and governance, and the development of scientific understanding that challenges orthodox conceptions of security. It suggests that human security is not a coherent or objective school of thought. Rather, there are different, and sometimes competing, conceptions of human security that may reflect different sociological/cultural and geostrategic orientations. The article argues that the emergence of the concept of human security—as a broad, multifaceted, and evolving conception of security—rreflects the impact of values and norms on international relations. It also embraces a range of alliances, actors, and agendas that have taken us beyond the traditional scope of international politics and diplomacy. As a demonstration of change in international relations, of evolving identities and interests, this is best explained with reference to "social constructivist" thought, in contradistinction with the structural realist mainstream of international relations. In a constructivist vein, the article suggests that empirical research is already building a case in support of human security thinking that is, slowly, being acknowledged by decision-makers, against the logic of realist determinism.     

Cantankerous Cooperation: Democracies,Authoritarian Regimes,and the Prisoner's Dilemma

One of the most important debates in the field of international relations is over the effect of regime type on militarized conflict. This debate, however, has rarely extended to how regime type influences other aspects of foreign policy. Using a computer simulated intergroup prisoner's dilemma, we investigate whether democratic decisionmaking groups are more cooperative than authoritarian decisionmaking groups. We argue that differences between cooperation tendencies of groups can be explained by the structure of the decision process. Repeated simulations show that democracies tend to be more consistent in their decisions in comparison to authoritarian groups. Implications for international relations theory and policy are discussed.     

Threat and alignment behavior

Alliance formation and termination are examined in the context of the impact of international threats on efforts to enhance national security. Threats against allies are shown to provide diagnostic information about the prospects that a state will be threatened. This diagnostic information is shown to lead to more sucessful national security‐enhancing actions than do threats against the state itself. The theoretical foundation on which the analysis is based is an expected utility approach to conflict decision making. The empirical domain is the European system from 1816 to 1965.     

Turning down the heat: Influences on conflict management in enduring rivalries

Enduring rivalries represent the most difficult challenges for policy makers seeking to promote international peace and security. Once in place, enduring rivalries account for a disproportionate number of crises, militarized disputes, as well as wars, and include conflicts that are more likely to escalate than those falling in other conflict contexts. Unfortunately, we know very little about conflict management in enduring rivalries from either a theoretical or policy perspective. This study seeks to account for why some rivalries are successfully managed while others persist at high and unabated levels of conflict In addressing these concerns, we explore 35 enduring rivalries over the period 1945–1992. We find that although enduring rivalries are quite resistant to influences that produce changes in their dynamics, both endogenous and contextual influences can exercise a significant impact upon the prospects for conflict management between enduring rivals.     

The politics of foreign debt in Latin America a study of the debtors’ cartel

This analysis of the foreign debt problem in Latin America shows that this economic burden is onerous and will not be reduced in the short run. The region's political leaders perceived that collective bargaining could increase their bargaining leverage with foreign lenders and could produce more advantageous repayment schedules for most nations. However, despite verbal backing and the economic promise of collective bargaining, a debtors’ cartel failed to materialize. Evaluations of the political dynamics in key nations anticipated creditors. This analysis also shows that the debtors’ cartel failed because collective bargaining did not gain domestic political support. Foreign influence was tangential to the outcome. Given this political climate, the chances for a revival of collective bargaining are very slim.     

IR Teaching Reloaded: Using Films and Simulations in the Teaching of International Relations

This article reflects some experiences in teaching International Relations (IR) by using films to supplement the use of simulations and role play scenarios. The authors have used simulations and role play scenarios in order to teach complex issues and theories, and to engage the interest of students. By using films to supplement the use of simulations in classrooms, it is suggested that students become more active in their own learning. A number of ways in which simulations and role play can be used in teaching are established here alongside an array of films that can be shown to students to complement such teaching approaches. The use of films to teach IR theory is also listed. It is concluded that the use of simulations, role play, and films in teaching IR can aid student learning especially in terms of IR theory.     

寻求普遍的中国国际关系理论：一项不可能的使命？

近年来,中国学术界对构建国际关系理论“中国学派”的大讨论缺乏科学哲学的指引,陷入观点之争,形不成共识。诸多观点差异的根本分歧在于国际关系究竟是一门科学还是艺术。自然主义者坚持社会世界的科学研究和社会理论的普遍性。反自然主义者则坚持社会世界的人文研究和社会理论的特殊性。在创建国际关系理论“中国学派”的争论中,自然主义者反对国际关系理论特殊性（如“中国学派”）的提法,反自然主义者则反对国际关系理论的普适性。作者认为寻求一种既具有普遍性同时也包含中国特色的国际关系理论是可能的。原因在于,理论产生包含理论建构和理论证明两个过程,理论证明遵循普遍性逻辑,理论建构遵循特殊性逻辑。理论普遍性体现在它遵循共同的证明逻辑,特殊性则体现在理论假说的创造上。由于理论假说提出是创造性过程,使得中国要素的渗入成为可能。中国人对问题的思考,必然带上中国文化与思维方式的烙印,由此提出理论假说,经由验证而成为理论学说,最终将刻上“中国”印记。基于此,创建一种具有普遍性的中国国际关系理论是可能的。     

Comic Relief: Using Political Cartoons in the Classroom

Political cartoons are an excellent classroom tool to build students' critical thinking skills, to generate lively classroom discussions, and to get students excited about politics. Cartoons should be treated as serious commentary on political affairs. Interpreting a cartoon requires that the viewer be familiar with current issues and debates, savvy about the cultural context, and capable of analytical judgments. This technique capitalizes on the visual learning style of many students and interjects an added interactive dimension to classroom discussions. This article discusses some of the challenges of using cartoons in the classroom, including where to locate them. The text is accompanied by several representative cartoons.     

The Futures of Conflict: Exploring the Use of Comparative Scenarios in Track II Peacebuilding

This paper develops a prototype for a new type of conflict analysis tool designed to be used as part of a Track II peacebuilding process. The tool, termed Conflict Analysis through the Structured Evaluation of Scenarios (CASES), provides information on relevant comparative cases by systematically analyzing cases from the Minorities at Risk (MAR) data set. From these 285 groups in the data set, the CASES report identifies five comparison cases , designed to illuminate potential future trajectories of the subject case , the Kurds. In the CASES report, each of the comparison cases represents a scenario, a possible future of the subject case. The report therefore contains five brief narratives that describe the Kurdish case as if they were the subject cases. The report is designed to be used as part of a Track II peacebuilding process.     

Promise and Performance: An Evaluation of Journals in International Relations

What kind of international relations research gets published in the field's most recognized journals? Who are its authors? This study investigates the subject matter, methodology, and origin of recent research published in top international relations journals, building on earlier work that has investigated the contents of journals. This study investigates the contents of three international relations journals— International Studies Quarterly , International Organization , and World Politics — which have been consistently ranked as the top three journals in international relations. Data are for the ten most recent completed volume years, 1995–2004. This study finds that international relations scholarship in these three journals focuses on a relatively narrow range of subjects and is produced by a rather homogeneous group of scholars.     

在新的国际秩序中构筑中日关系的新平衡

中日两国在两千多年的交往过程中,双边关系既有处于平衡状态的时期,也有处于平衡状态被打破的时期。而对于中日关系的平衡状态起到巨大影响作用的主要有主客观两种因素。客观因素主要指不断变化的国际和地区秩序;主观因素主要指中日两国的历史记忆。世界金融危机的爆发开启了国际秩序的新的深刻变革,而在新的国际秩序中,中日两国间的新平衡状态也将不会超出准世界大国与经济大国间关系这一框架。而为了进一步促进中日两国间平衡状态的形成,则有必要通过增强"友好记忆",弱化"对立记忆"来改善两国间的历史记忆。     

External Intervention in Ethnic Conflict

Recently, ethnicity has received greater attention from international conflict scholars. This study explores a new aspect of how ethnic composition of states and the power of ethnic kin affect external state interventions in ethnic conflicts. Here it is hypothesized that states with dominant ethnic groups but still-significant ethnic minorities are expected to be more prone to intervention in ethnic conflict than states without one of these two characteristics. A new measure is proposed to capture such variation in ethnic composition more precisely. Looking at large-N panel data, it is found that ethnically fractionalized states with dominant ethnic groups are indeed the most likely to intervene in ethnic conflicts. Additionally, the power of the embattled ethnic kin minority, as determined by its settlement patterns in the host state, also increases the likelihood of intervention. Traditional variables like proximity and capability retain statistical significance. However, ethnic variables have the strongest effects on interventions in ethnic conflict.     

The Influence of Advisers and Decision Strategies on Foreign Policy Choices: President Clinton's Decision to Use Force in Kosovo

In the following paper, I analyze the influence of advisers and domestic political factors on President Clinton's decision to use force against Slobodan Milosevic and the Serbs in Kosovo in March 1999. I present an analysis and examination of President Clinton's decision-making process, using press reports, personal speeches, etc. In other words, I attempt to trace the process by which Clinton came to the decision to use force in Yugoslavia. Specifically, using the poliheuristic theory, I argue that President Clinton's decision was influenced by noncompensatory domestic political calculations and the strong influence of his Secretary of State, Madeleine K. Albright. Examining how advisers interact with one another, their status in the advisory group, and the manner in which presidents solicit information from advisers will further our understanding of how, when, and under what conditions national security-level decision makers make decisions.