Use of Internet Sources in International Studies Teaching and Research

This bibliographic review discusses and evaluates cost-free, reliable, quality online content useful to academics in international studies teaching and research at the college level, including how and where to locate such materials through guides, directories, gateway sites, repositories, and various types of search engines; considerations about Internet use in college classes; and undergraduate assignments that use sources of information from the Internet. There is also consideration of characteristics and trends of college student use of the Internet for research purposes, the "invisible" or deep web, electronic information literacy for academics, and maintaining current awareness on the fast-changing web.     

The Uses and Limits of the Model United Nations in an International Relations Classroom

The Model United Nations, already a mainstay of many undergraduate institutions, not only provides a useful framework for particular classes, but also offers an opportunity to integrate several elements of an undergraduate international studies curriculum. However, it is not without challenges for the instructor. To use the Model United Nations format effectively requires the instructor to plan carefully, coordinate activities with the other elements of a class, and never allow the "game" to overwhelm the learning. When done correctly, the excitement generated by the Model United Nations can be a key for opening the world to students who might otherwise have drifted through the mandatory introduction to international relations. The process of student teaching student, both within and across courses, is beneficial for the experienced student and the novice alike, encouraging peer interaction and cooperative learning. As an instructional device, the Model UN is not a panacea, but a valuable supplement to more conventional teaching methods.     

Looking Beyond the National Level: Foreign Direct Investment Attraction in U.S. States

International relations scholars need to look beyond the national level because U.S. states and governors are increasingly important actors in world politics. One way to look at their international activities is by examining the ways in which U.S. states seek to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), just one research puzzle at the nexus of international relations and U.S. state politics, two fields that rarely talk to one another. After pointing out the gaps within theories from international relations and international political economy, this paper describes the evolving global roles of both U.S. states and governors and shows how U.S. states attract FDI through the use of their international offices and governor-led overseas missions. Empirical findings indicate that U.S. states' international offices and a higher level of economic interdependence help states attract FDI, and the paper argues that extension of institutional approaches from IPE may be valuable for future research about the international capabilities of subnational governments and their leaders.     

Principles on a collision course? State sovereignty meets peoples' right of self-determination in the case of Kosovo

Sovereignty and self-determination are central features of international relations and international law. The concepts are often depicted as conflicting and incompatible. In addition, the meaning, application and relevance of both concepts continue to form the subject of debate. In practice, they remain important, fiercely protected and centrally placed in conflicts concerning territorial integrity or political status. In this paper, we argue that our understanding of the concepts and their interrelationships can be enriched by looking past conventional and often rigid conceptualisations, instead placing more emphasis on the ways in which they are used in particular cases. The aim of this paper is to analyse how state sovereignty and peoples' right to self-determination are given meaning in state practice. The paper focuses on the case of Kosovo, and in particular statements submitted by 36 United Nations member states to the International Court of Justice. Analysing the ways in which states use the concepts to rationalize and justify their position on the Kosovo case reveals several diverging and sometimes conflicting understandings that indicate a need to go beyond and problematize the clear-cut and inflexible conceptualizations that often shape the academic debate on the concepts of state sovereignty and peoples' right of self-determination.     

What Can Be Done to Internationalize Teacher Training? A Research Report on the Undergraduate Training of Secondary School Teachers

Editor's Introduction : The following excerpted report discusses the interaction of the international studies field and teacher education programs at colleges and universities around the country. The reform of teacher education in whatever substantive area is a topic at the forefront of initiatives from the federal government in Washington, DC, as well as ones from private foundations. One such initiative has recently been launched by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and is called Teachers for a New Era (TNE). Linking 11 universities across the country, TNE can be viewed as an innovative attempt to better integrate the content education provided by colleges of arts and sciences with the pedagogical knowledge resident in schools of education. The ultimate aim is to impact student learning by producing better classroom teachers nation-wide. The following article engages many of these same topics as they relate to the international studies education. The Editors hope that you will find the article thought-provoking, and we invite comments and responses from members of the ISA community.     

多学科、兼顾历史与现状、教学相长：南洋研究院华人研究特点与存在问题（2000-2006）

南洋研究院的华侨华人研究体现了多学科、兼顾历史与现状、教学相长的特色。除了经济、历史、政治学(国际关系)等主要学科外,南洋院师生越来越多地借重民族学、宗教学、金融学、人口学、语言学、管理学、图书及版本学等学科理论与方法研究华侨华人。在侧重华侨华人现状研究时,仍继续关注华人史研究。在相关学位课程带动下,硕博生的学位论文研究日益成为南洋院华侨华人研究的重要组成部分。就总体而言,南洋院的华侨华人研究仍呈现创新能力弱、文献单薄、低水平重复等问题,这既是国内文科重量化考核导向的结果,也与研究人员浮躁的学术态度相关。     

The "We" Problem in Teaching International Studies

This article addresses the problems that emerge when students in international studies courses approach the subject matter from the perspective of the first person plural. Whether in terms of "we,""us," or "our," many college students choose to adopt a personal perspective in discussions of international affairs. While it is natural for students to base their analysis of international studies on their personal observations and experiences, this inclination to adopt a collective first person approach detracts from the scholarly neutrality toward which students of global studies should aspire. Furthermore, a first person plural approach to course subject matter creates the false impression among students that they are all in agreement over contentious issues of global interactions and the theories employed to study them. The article concludes with suggestions for remedying the "we" problem, and offers advice for instructors who have encountered it in their own classroom.     

Looking beyond States: Openings for international bureaucrats to enter the institutional design process

Surprisingly little research investigates a stark reality: the vast majority of today’s international intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) were crafted not by states alone, but with participation by international bureaucrats working in pre-existing IGOs. What explains this phenomenon? Drawing on international relations scholarship, this article develops predictions involving the capabilities of states, or a matter’s salience to states. The predictions are tested with a new and original dataset that captures, for the first time, variation in the roles that international bureaucrats play in the institutional design arena. Statistical analyses find that states’ need for expertise, as well as the design negotiations’ distance from high-politics, leave openings for international bureaucrats to enter institutional design processes. The findings enhance our understanding of institutional design, principal-agent relationships, non-state actors, and divisions of labor in contemporary global governance.     

Simulating the Creation of a New International Human Rights Treaty: Active Learning in the International Studies Classroom

This article details a simulation of formulating a new international human rights treaty designed for an introductory international studies course. Student understanding and interest in a range of international relations topics—including diplomacy, two –level games, international law, human rights, and group decision making—are reinforced by actively engaging the students in policy formulation and state –to –state negotiations. The article is structured around the four key components of active learning approaches—educational objectives, design parameters, procedures, and assessment and debriefing—in order to provide a full understanding of the goals, set –up, process, and advantages of the simulation. The simulation has been successfully run multiple times at both a large state university and a small liberal arts institution. Supportive student feedback and an interesting variety of outcomes indicate that this simulation is a positive addition to the course and reinforces the use of active learning approaches in the international studies classroom.     

Structures of influence and cooperation‐conflict

This paper outlines a structural approach to the analysis of patterns of influence and amity‐enmity in international politics. Structure is defined as a set of relations between pairs of social units, which justifies the use of graph theory to represent structures. Graph theoretical models of international structure are explored—one for each of the two types of relations. The author devises some typologies and observes changing structures. A tendency toward hierarchy in influence structures and toward bipolarization in cooperation‐conflict structures is discussed. It is hypothesized that high degrees of hierarchy and polarization are inimical to international peace. The graph theoretical studies yield intuitively reasonable results and the models appear to be useful in making several concepts of international relations theory more precise.     

Apologies in International Politics

This article examines the growing conventional wisdom that apologies and other acts of contrition are necessary for international reconciliation. I create and test a theory that connects a country's remembrance with that country's image—threatening or benign—in the eyes of former adversaries. I evaluate the theory in two post-World War II case studies: South Korean relations with Japan and French relations with Germany.

This article offers three major findings. First, it substantiates the claim that denials inhibit reconciliation. Japanese denials and history textbook omissions have elevated distrust and fear among Koreans (as well as Chinese and Australians). Second, although whitewashing and denials are indeed pernicious, the conventional wisdom about the healing power of contrition must be seriously reconsidered. Evidence from the Japanese and other cases suggests that contrition risks triggering a domestic backlash, which alarms former adversaries. Finally, there is good news for the prospects of international reconciliation: countries have reconciled quite successfully without any contrition at all. West Germany actually offered very little contrition at the time of its dramatic reconciliation with France; many other countries have restored close and productive relations without contrition. The best course for reconciliation is to remember the past in ways that are unifying, rather than divisive, and minimize the risk of backlash.     

Bringing Practitioner Experience into the Classroom: The United Nations Intensive Summer Study Program

Diplomatic practitioners and policy makers represent an important, although frequently neglected, resource for teaching about international relations. The insights and stories provided by practitioners regarding key processes and events are often able to inspire our students to engage complex material and to play a much more active role in their own learning. While it is possible to argue that any type of practitioner contact is beneficial in terms of going beyond the material covered in textbooks, there are definite challenges associated with how to most effectively integrate these experiences with overall student learning. What type of format is most conducive to providing students with an insider's view? What type of preparation is required before contact with practitioners? How can student learning be evaluated in terms of assignments and debriefing activities? And finally, are traditional student feedback mechanisms appropriate for a course that involves a substantial practitioner component? This article investigates each of these challenges in the course of discussing one mechanism for bringing practitioner experience into the classroom, the United Nations Intensive Summer Study Program.     

世界政治“平靖进程”的技术变迁支撑

二战后,世界政治经历了"平靖进程",具体体现为:"大国罕有战事""国家罕有消亡"。本文融合国际政治经济学与国际安全研究,展示二战后的技术变迁改变了大国的"意愿"与"能力",支撑了世界政治新变化。在马尔萨斯时代,由于技术水平低下,生存物资稀缺,生存保障匮乏,人类面临持续的安全难题。二战后,技术发展影响了当代大国的"意愿"与"能力",让世界政治呈现新变化。技术变迁给大国提供了更为丰富的选择,让大国使用武力征服的意愿降低;同时,随着技术变迁,尤其是在"核革命"后,大国确保自身安全的能力更强,使得"大国罕有战事"。得益于技术变迁,大国利益半径扩大,即便距离遥远地域的变化也与自身息息相关,大国保障遥远海外利益的意愿提升;同时,技术变迁扩大了大国的权力投射,让世界各国,尤其是大国保障体系稳定的能力更强,致使"国家罕见消亡"。随着技术变迁,世界政治已呈现出很多与传统智慧不同的方面,孕育国际交往的新理念。     

扩大东盟留学生教育规模 推进广西高校国际化

留学生教育是推动高校向国际化迈进的重要因素。在中国一东盟合作背景下,扩大东盟国家留学生在广西的规模对推进广西高校的国际化具有重要意义。本文阐述了留学生教育与学校国际化的关系,分析了东盟留学生在广西高校的现状并就如何在良好的发展契机下进一步加大东盟留学生规模,推动广西高校的国际化进程提出了措施和构想。     

Nationalist Sources of International Economic Integration

Most scholars of international relations and nationalism presume that nationalist ideology acts uniformly to hinder international economic integration, globalization, and free trade. This article challenges the conventional wisdom by developing an analytical framework of the incentives majority and minority nationalists face in the realm of foreign economic relations. Defining nationalism as the promotion of the autonomy, unity, and identity of the nation, it argues that nationalists have strong possible motivations both for and against close economic ties with foreign nations and states. As a result, oftentimes nationalists must make trade-offs among their goals of autonomy, unity, and identity when developing foreign economic policy preferences. Case studies of nationalist organizations in Quebec, India, and Ukraine that favor a high degree of international economic integration are presented to show the usefulness of the analytical framework.     

战后菲律宾华文教育研究综述

二战结束后，菲律宾华侨社会经历了深刻变化。“菲化运动”对华社产生强烈冲击，华侨社会陷入动荡。在菲律宾政府放宽华侨入籍条件后，华侨社会逐步演变为华人社会，其政治认同也发生了转变。这些因素不但对菲律宾华文教育的发展环境产生影响，也使其性质发生了根本性的变化。菲律宾华文教育的发展与华人社会紧密关联，是深入反映华侨华人社会处境的一面镜子。为此，研究战后菲律宾华文教育可为进一步了解菲华社会提供良好视角，同时也可为当前汉语国际传播提供借鉴。     

My Experiences of the Region during the Last Century - with Particular Reference to Sino-British Relations

The author describes his early diplomatic experiences as a Chinese language student during the Cultural Revolution, followed by his first posting to Peking. Hong Kong was then a major issue between China and Britain. He examines the tensions and difficulties of those years and the first signs of better days ahead. He details his involvement in the upgrading of diplomatic relations, and the first ministerial exchanges. His final overseas posting was to Hong Kong, first to head the Trade Commission, and then, importantly, to manage the final four years of detailed negotiations with China over the handover.     

My Experiences of the Region during the Last Century – with Particular Reference to Sino-British Relations

The author describes his early diplomatic experiences as a Chinese language student during the Cultural Revolution, followed by his first posting to Peking. Hong Kong was then a major issue between China and Britain. He examines the tensions and difficulties of those years and the first signs of better days ahead. He details his involvement in the upgrading of diplomatic relations, and the first ministerial exchanges. His final overseas posting was to Hong Kong, first to head the Trade Commission, and then, importantly, to manage the final four years of detailed negotiations with China over the handover.     

Levels of analysis problems in international studies∗

The international studies literature often refers to the “level of analysis problem.” This paper points out that what has often passed for a single problem actually consists of at least three separate issues: the use of aggregate data to make ecological inferences in statistical analyses; the definition of primitive units in international relations theory; and the identification of the effects of systems on their individual constituent units. The paper goes on to show that some of the problems that have been discussed under the “level of analysis” rubric can be better understood if each of these different issues is considered separately.