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.     

Audience Costs and Interstate Crises: An Empirical Assessment of Fearon's Model of Dispute Outcomes

In a recent article, James Fearon advances an innovative approach to the study of interstate crises. He adds to the traditional view (that crisis outcomes are influenced by the balance of capability and the balance of resolve) the notion that domestic political audiences exert a strong influence over which state in a crisis is likely to achieve a successful outcome. His game-theoretic analysis yields a number of interesting hypotheses, which are tested in this study using data on militarized disputes, the structure of polities, and national capability. In general the results strongly support Fearon's model, though we find that relative national capabilities do tend to affect the outcomes of crises. This study highlights the importance of combining formal models of political events with large-N empirical tests.     

Democratic theory and practice: An evolving discourse

The New Challenge of Direct Democracy by Ian Budge. London: Polity Press, 1996. Pp.viii + 203. £45 (hardback); £12.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 7456 1231 8 and 1765 4

QUANGOs and Local Government: A Changing World edited by Howard Davis. London and Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 1996. Pp.104. £25 (hardback). ISBN 0 7146 4735 7

Extraordinary Politics: How Protest and Dissent are Changing American Democracy by Charles C. Euchner. Boulder, CO: Westview press, 1996. Pp.xiv + 290. £51.50 (hardback); £14.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 8133 2905 1 and 2906 X.

Rethinking Local Democracy edited by Desmond King and Gerry Stoker. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1996. Pp.x + 254. £40 (hardback); £12.99 (paperback). ISBN 0 333 63852 2 and 63853 0

Local Democracy and Local Government edited by Lawrence Pratchett and David Wilson. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1996. Pp.xii + 266. £37.50 (hardback); £11.99 (paperback). ISBN 0 333 66432 9 and 66433 7

Social Democracy in a Post‐Communist Europe edited by Michael Waller, Bruno Coppieters and Kris Deschouwer. London: Frank Cass, 1994. Pp.xii + 203. £30 (hardback); £15 (paperback). ISBN 0 7146 4522 2 and 4092 1     

Better Multimethod Design:The Promise of Integrative Multimethod Research

As this symposium suggests, we are in the middle of a boom time for multimethod research in the social sciences. Gary Goertz's essay shows how case studies can test claims about causal pathways; this suggestion should be seen as an element of a broader set of possibilities. “Integrative multimethod designs” provide a family of compelling strategies for linking qualitative and quantitative components of an overall design, while also enhancing the quality of causal inferences. Given that rigorous and credible causal inferences are essential to both scholars and policymakers, integrative multimethod research designs deserve our attention.     

The Promise of Transnational NGO Dialogue: The Argument and the Challenges

Over the past few decades, a vast body of literature has emerged that strives to conceptualise transnational relations between non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This article explores this debate by mapping out two theoretical approaches that can be broadly defined as an ideational and a materialist approach. Particular attention is paid to the different ways in which one can understand the mutual impact of NGOs operating domestically and transnationally. The paper argues that combining the insights from both approaches improves our understanding of NGO dialogue.     

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。     

毛里塔尼亚民主进程浅析

2005年"八三变革"开启了毛里塔尼亚的民主进程.此前,塔亚政权虽然自20世纪90年代初就在毛塔进行了民主改革,但其表面化和不彻底性都与此次以"八三变革"为开端的民主改革有本质区别.2005年变革以来,毛塔的民主进程稳步推进.政变后建立的军政权在其承诺的19个月过渡期内成功地组织了多次民主选举,保证了军政权还政于民的顺利进行.2007年4月,毛塔组成以阿卜杜拉希总统为首的新政权,继续在民主化道路上前行,改变了一党独断的体制.毛塔新政权执政以来,坚持民主政治的方向,不论在执政理念还是在执政方略上都发生了显著变化.     

"民主和平论"剖析

冷战结束以后 ,“中国威胁论”在美国持续升温。持此观点的人一直运用作为西方国际关系理论“铁律”的“民主和平论”来论证所谓“中国威胁”。文章认为 ,“民主和平论”及其演绎出的“中国威胁论” ,从本质上看是在宣扬一种历史上一直存在的“西优东劣”的“善恶对立”式的寓言。文章得出结论认为 ,依据“民主和平论”推断“中国威胁论” ,其自身恰恰体现出的是其反民主、反和平和对当今世界和平构成威胁的特性。     

论泰国民主之父比里·帕侬荣的民主思想

比里·帕侬荣被认为是泰国1932年革命的主要领导者之一和民主主义政治家。本文首先介绍比里的生平和政治生涯,而后分析比里民主主义思想形成背景。接着,重点考察他的民主思想的主要内容,并对他的民主主义思想进行评析,认为比里是泰国当代的民主之父。     

NATO Special Operations: Promise and Problem

NATO special operations forces (SOF) are at a crossroads as the NATO role in Afghanistan winds down. After more than a decade of development, NATO SOF have greatly increased their ability to operate together in the field and in headquarters. If the alliance continues to emphasize SOF development, these forces can play a major role in future NATO campaigns, particularly outside Europe. Moreover, SOF can be maintained effectively in times of austerity. Yet intelligence sharing, particularly in real time, is currently one of the major limitations on NATO SOF, creating divisions between United States and United Kingdom on one hand and much of the rest of NATO on the other. In order to make truly effective use of SOF the alliance needs to make fundamental changes to its decades old system for sharing intelligence.     

巴基斯坦的扶贫政策浅析

巴基斯坦自独立以来,各届政府在消除贫困、发展经济方面采取了诸多措施,虽然在某种程度上也取得了一定的成绩,但由于历史和现实等方面的客观原因,实际效果并不明显。近年来,巴基斯坦政府进一步加大了扶贫力度,并从经济改革等角度进行了有益的尝试,收到了一定效果,本文拟对其实际效果进行分析。     

The Implications of Myanmar's Democratic Transition

正Since assuming power in March 2011,Myanmar’s civilian government has been committed to democratic transition in the country that is in accordance with the Constitution.Its efforts have not     

Democratic Transition and Institutional Crafting: The South Korean Case

The article first analyses the critical events leading up to democratic transition in South Korea and then examines the choices made regarding the new democratic rules during autumn 1987. Earlier studies have focused mainly on the new rules themselves, but few have analyzed the actual crafting process. This study remedies that oversight as it investigates not only what lay behind the choices made regarding institutional crafting, but also how the new rules shaped the founding elections of the new democracy. The article argues that some of the difficulties that South Korea has experienced in consolidating its democracy may in fact be due to flaws in the institutional crafting process during democratic transition. As such the South Korean case shows that the type of democratic transition may place certain restrictions on the comprehensive approach needed for an institutional crafting process that must go beyond the immediate electoral considerations of individual political leaders. It shows that close co-operation among oppositional forces is essential when during democratic transition institutional crafting takes place. The article reaches the conclusion that if these issues had been addressed in 1987, the alternation in power that occurred in late 1997 would probably have happened sooner.     

中国对阿富汗局势稳定的作用探索

美国发动阿富汗反恐战争至今已逾9年,阿富汗仍是地区冲突和安全危机的热点,稳定与重建的目标远未实现,继续引发国际社会的密集关注。事实已经表明,阿富汗问题的解决不能单靠武力,必须寻求政治和外交途径。中国是阿富汗稳定与重建的主要利益攸关方,现状与前景直接影响中国的国家利益和战略安全。中国需要在正确评估局势和确定自身利益的基础上制定战略,应对恐怖主义和极端主义的挑战,寻求发挥重要作用的机遇,对地区稳定和国际安全有所作为。     

An Economic Limitation to the Zone of Democratic Peace and Cooperation

Scholars such as Walker Conner have argued that ethnically based nationalism is likely to reinforce trends toward political fragmentation, particularly in the Third World, even as the momentum of integration and interdependence continue apace. There has been little or no discussion of the implications this sort of fragmentation poses for multi‐national states threatened with such disintegration. This article examines the problem from the vantage point of multi‐ethnic societies and from the perspective of the government's extractive capability vis‐a‐vis society. The exploratory data analysis suggests that ethnic cleavages alone may not constitute serious separatist potential without the presence of substantial systematic political discrimination.