Independence Day as a Cosmopolitan Moment: Teaching International Relations

This essay expands upon a teaching approach that I used in my introductory international relations (IR) course for three semesters prior to September 11, 2001. The vast majority of the curriculum of the course is read through Independence Day , a 1996 blockbuster Hollywood film. Beginning with the film and the concept of world order it arguably provides through a fictional moment of world peace (or hegemony, depending how one interprets the leading role of the U.S. in the film and the significance of the Fourth of July holiday as the world's Independence Day, hence ID4 ) students are able to understand several key concepts in IR theory, as well as the major paradigms of IR thought that I present to them. ID4 presents the viewer with the IR field's two great mythological narratives, realism and idealism, and preserves the notion of the nation-state as the predominant actor and unit of analysis for understanding world history and key events in that history.     

An Examination of Reciprocal Associations Between Social Preference,Popularity, and Friendship during Early Adolescence

Getting along with peers becomes increasingly important to health and well-being during early adolescence (10–14 years). Young adolescents may succeed with peers when they are well-liked by and popular among the larger peer group (or at the group-level of social complexity). They might also fare well with peers when they are able to form numerous mutual and high quality friendships (at the dyadic-level of social complexity). Theory emphasizes the interrelatedness of different types of peer experiences, but few longitudinal studies have examined the interplay among and between group- and dyadic-level peer experiences in the same study. As a result, it is not known whether group-level peer experiences are predictors of dyadic-level peer experiences, and/or vice versa. To address this limitation, this study examined the prospective and reciprocal relations between four indices of peer experiences, preference (or being highly liked and not disliked by peers), popularity (or having a reputation as popular), friendship quantity (or having many mutual friends), and friendship or relationship quality, during early adolescence. Participants were 271 adolescents (49% girls; M_age?=?11.52 years) who completed peer nominations of preference and popularity, a self-report measure of friendship quality, and nominated friends at two waves (Wave 1: November, Grade 6; Wave 2: October, Grade 7). Structural equation modeling indicated that friendship quantity predicted increases in preference and popularity and that friendship quality predicted increases in friendship quantity. Initial popularity was associated with decreases in preference. The importance of these findings for future research is discussed along with study limitations.     

Regional leadership—Japanese style: Japan through the crisis

The Japanese government faces many competing challenges as it seeks to balance its multilateral and bilateral relationships within and beyond the region: whilst addressing its rapidly changing contentious domestic politics, there is pressure for it to realign relations with the USA, manage the rise of China, strengthen links with its region and continue to deal with its lingering historical legacy. All of these demands are now set against the backdrop of a so-called ‘lost decade’ of economic woes and global economic recession. This article demonstrates how the Japanese government is apparently adopting a de facto multilevel foreign policy, attempting to engage in a range of bilateral and collective initiatives simultaneously and to assume a regional leadership role whilst having to manage difficult bilateral relations, notably with the USA and China.