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611. The Realist Theory of the International Relations: Origin, Scope, Critique

Author:
Mustafa Aydin
Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
Realist theory occupies a special place in the theoretical development of International Relations discipline. As the dominant theory of the discipline from mid-1930s up until mid-1980s, realism has often been dubbed as the theory of the International Relations because of its overwhelming influence on IR academia. In addition to controversial concepts it brought into IR discussions, realism has served the discipline by pioneering the study of international developments through conceptual analysis instead of traditional methods based on historical, legal, and philosophical studies. Although its various fundamental aspects (such as its conservative approach to world politics, emphasis on state and power, failure to define national interest convincingly, deterministic approach to international politics) have been criticized over the years from many perspectives, realist tradition has re-emerged time and again as the leading conceptual explanation of the discipline. Finally, despite all its exposed weaknesses, the realist theory of IR, with its clear and simple explanations, is still the most widely used approach in the area.
Topic:
International Relations, International Political Economy, and Political Economy

612. Political Conditionality of Economic Interactions in the Middle East; Turkey's Relations with Iran, Iraq, and Syria

Author:
Mustafa Aydin and Damla Aras
Publication Date:
06-2004
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
The political logic (i.e., political perceptions of the ruling elite in a given country and nature of the political relations with other countries) determines economic activity, not the other way around, among the proto-capitalist states of the Middle East. As the political ties has primacy in the region in determining the course of economic relations, even market oriented democratic (or quasi-democratic) countries have to accept the prominence of political-strategic relations when dealing with such states. This paper will examine the interrelated fluctuation of trade and political tensions between Turkey and its immediate Middle Eastern neighbours - Iran, Iraq, and Syria. It will highlight the political determinants of the relationship between these countries; will discuss the role of the US as the independent variable; and will assess the possible effects of the emergence of Justice and Development Party government in Turkey on country's political and economic relations with its Middle Eastern neighbours.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Europe, Iran, Turkey, Middle East, and Syria

613. Power and Systemic Dependence from Liberalism to Neoliberalism

Author:
Yücel Bozdaglioglu and Çinar Özen
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
This paper analyzes and compares the concept of power as defined both in liberalism/neolibaeralism and realism. As a result of this analysis, it is presented that there is not a big difference between the definitions of liberal/neoliberal and realist approaches in terms of the goals and both schools converge in that aspect. While realism emphasizes the importance of military power, liberalism/neoliberalism points out the importance of power arising from economic relations. Under this analytical framework, a definition of systemic power is presented. Systemic power is not the capacity of a state to have a direct influence on others' behaviors but power that arises from a state's ability to change the political and economic structure of the system. In this context, systemic power is crucial in creating and maintaining hegemony.
Topic:
International Political Economy and Political Theory

614. Fiscal Policy in the New Open Economy Macroeconomics and Prospects for Fiscal Policy, Coordination

Author:
Leonor Coutinho
Publication Date:
06-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
This paper reviews the analysis of fiscal policy in the new open economy macro-economics literature, in view of increasing interest in the question of transmission and coordination of policies across countries, stirred by developments in this literature and by the formation of the euro area. The analysis focuses on two main points: (i) the identification of welfare spillover effects to third countries; and (ii) the assessments made so far of the potential gains from pursuing non-cooperative and cooperative fiscal stabilisation policies. Regarding welfare spillovers, some additional results are derived to examine whether the exchange rate regime (flexible or fixed) matters for the size of these spillovers, and whether the type of policy pursued (balanced-budget or debt-financed) matters. Fixed exchange rates only seem to postpone the costs from the short to the long run, but the type of policy is crucial in determining the welfare impact of fiscal expansions. With respect to policy coordination, attention is drawn to the need to reflect on a potential role for fiscal policy as a stabilisation tool, and on possible interactions between fiscal and monetary policy.
Topic:
Economics and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Europe

615. China and Southeast Asia: The Difference of a Decade

Author:
Catharin Dalpino and Juo-yu Lin
Publication Date:
04-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Over a span of several years, China's relations with the nations of Southeast Asia have shifted in quiet increments. The accumulated effect, however, has been profound. A concerted diplomatic effort to woo countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which now includes all countries in the region excepting East Timor, has reaped multiple benefits for Beijing. It is beginning to alter the political balance in the region as alignments with extra-regional powers are shifting, however subtly. In some aspects, the change is more dramatic. Economic relations have expanded rapidly; for example, trade between China and Southeast Asia is seventeen times larger today than it was twenty-five years ago.
Topic:
Economics, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
China, Beijing, Asia, and Southeast Asia

616. Cross-Strait Relations: A Time for Careful Management

Author:
Richard Bush
Publication Date:
04-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
On the face of it, relations between China and Taiwan have improved significantly since the saber-rattling of 1999 and 2000. Economic relations have never been better. Two-way trade is around $40 billion annually, and the Mainland has become Taiwan's largest export market, displacing the United States. Taiwan companies continue to invest in the PRC at record rates, in order to keep their products competitive through cheaper Chinese labor. The product mix of Taiwan factories on the mainland is shifting from items like shoes and toys to high-end goods like semi-conductors and notebook computers. As machinery moves, so do people, and the number of Taiwan people living most of the time in the PRC is hundreds of thousands. With this growing economic interaction come shared interests and better mutual understanding. Neither side would benefit from conflict, and both know it. The chance of growing tensions seems low.
Topic:
Economics, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States, Taiwan, and Asia

617. The Second Term of Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa: The Dual Problems of Performance and Capacity

Author:
Wilson Wong
Publication Date:
04-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
In the more than five years since Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty, it has suffered economical, social, and political decline. The root cause of this decline, and the key variable for the next five years, is institutional weakness. Specifically, the Hong Kong government must address the dual problems of poor performance and low capacity in order to reverse the decline and get Hong Kong back on track for economic growth and institutional development.
Topic:
Economics, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Asia

618. Japanese Economic Stagnation: Still in Neutral

Author:
Edward Lincoln
Publication Date:
04-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
One of the discouraging problems in Northeast Asia over the past decade has been the lengthy malaise in the Japanese economy and the inability of government, business, and the public to forge effective solutions. In the decade since 1992, the average annual real (inflation-adjusted) economic growth rate has been only one percent—positive but very low and punctuated by four recessions in which gross domestic product (GDP) fell for at least two consecutive quarters. The financial sector is weighed down under an enormous amount of non-performing loans that has only grown larger over time. Meanwhile, Japan has become the first industrial country since the 1930s to experience deflation—a decline in the overall price level.
Topic:
Economics, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Japan, Asia, and Northeast Asia

619. Chinese State, Chinese Society: Facing a New Century

Author:
Jae Ho Chung and Zhang Ye
Publication Date:
04-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The Sixteenth Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was convened during November 8-15, 2002. The Congress reconfirmed the Party's strong commitment to the three key tasks of achieving modernization, accomplishing national unification, and safeguarding world peace and development. The outgoing CCP General Secretary Jiang Zemin, on behalf of the Fifteenth Central Committee, emphasized the need for further political changes at the grassroots and presented the target of quadrupling China's gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020. Jiang also projected that China's armed forces would possess fewer but better troops “ with Chinese characteristics. ”
Topic:
Economics, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
China and Asia

620. Crisis on the Korean Peninsula

Author:
Richard Bush, Dean Nowowiejski, and Tomatsu Nakano
Publication Date:
04-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Most signs during the late summer and early fall of 2002 pointed to progress on the Korean peninsula. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il had finally grasped, it appeared, the need for international moderation and domestic reform. The United States seemed ready to respond in kind. But with the visit to Pyongyang in October of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly – the first high-level contact since the Bush Administration came into office – the situation quickly unraveled. Instead of offering the “bold initiative” that was reportedly in the works, Kelly confronted his interlocutors with evidence that their government had mounted a new, clandestine uranium-based nuclear program. The North Koreans refused to disavow the program and insisted on their right to nuclear weapons. Kelly responded that the United States would not engage the DPRK unless and until it abandoned the program. The status of the 1994 U.S.-DPRK Agreed Framework, which had capped North Korea's plutonium-based program in return for international assistance in meeting its civilian energy needs, was uncertain at best. The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), the mechanism for providing that aid, stopped heavy fuel oil shipments to North Korea at the end of 2002 at American insistence.
Topic:
Economics, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States, Asia, Korea, and Sinai Peninsula