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1401. 'Level of Analysis' and 'Unit of Analysis': A Case for Distinction

Author:
Nuri Yurdusev
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
This paper takes the view that the 'level of analysis' problem, first posed by J.D. Singer (1961), has not been discussed to the extent that it deserves in the literature of International Relations. The Concepts of the 'level of analysis' and the 'unit of analysis' have widely been used interchangeably. The author attempts to make a distinction between the 'level of anlaysis' and the 'unit of analysis', arguing that the 'level of anlaysis' in an issue of how to study (methodology and context) and the 'unit of analysis' is one of what to study (actor and object). It is suggested that, although a distiction is possible and necessary between those issues, thay cannot completely be separated. They are actually linked to each other through the idea of the whole.
Topic:
International Relations

1402. The European Union and Resolution of Regional Conflicts

Author:
Bahar Rumelili
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
This study argues that the forms of identity relations that the European Union (EU) establishes with outsider states shapes the Union's ability to postively influence conflicts involving those states. The European identitiy promoted by the EU embodies both inclusive and explosive aspects. While the EU has invoked the inclusive aspects of its identity in relation to the states in Central and Eastern Europe, it has constructed Morocco to be inherently different, and fluctuated between inclusion and exclusion in the case of Turkey. These various identity relations have shaped the EU's impact on Polish-German, Spanish-Moroccan, and Greek-Turkish relations show how an inclusive EU can contribute to the resolution of conflicts on its borders, the cases of Spanish-Moroccan and pre-1999 Greek-Turkish relations demonstrate how an exclusionary EU can end up aggravating the conflicts.
Topic:
International Relations
Political Geography:
Europe and Turkey

1403. Avoiding Disarmament Failure: The Critical Link in DDR An Operational Manual for Donors, Managers, and Practitioners

Author:
Peter Swarbrick
Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Small Arms Survey
Abstract:
The disarmament of combatants from warring groups in armed conflict is vital to establishing the state's monopoly over the use of force in a country. The dissolution of fighting forces and the reintegration of their former members into society are likewise essential for long-term peace and stability, and the development of the country's national economy.
Topic:
International Relations, Arms Control and Proliferation, and War
Political Geography:
Democratic Republic of the Congo

1404. A Contemporary Challenge to State Sovereignty: Gangs and Other Illicit Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) in Central America, El Salvador, Mexico, Jamaica, and Brazil

Author:
Max G. Manwaring
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:
Another kind of war within the context of a “clash of civilizations” is being waged in various parts of the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere around the world. Some of the main protagonists are those who have come to be designated as first-, second-, and third-generation street gangs, as well as their various possible allies such as traditional Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs). In this new type of war, national security and sovereignty of affected countries is being impinged every day, and gangs' illicit commercial motives are, in fact, becoming an ominous political agenda.
Topic:
International Relations
Political Geography:
Europe, Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Mexico

1405. Security Cooperation; A Key to the Challenges of the 21st Century

Author:
Gregory Dyekman
Publication Date:
11-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:
Peacetime military engagement has been a key component of U.S. defense strategy in the post-Cold War era to shape the international environment in ways favorable to U.S. interests. Since September 11, 2001 (9/11), a concerted Department of Defense effort has transformed engagement activities to a broader concept of security cooperation aimed at creating partnerships and building the capacity of allies and partners to meet the challenges of the uncertain and complex security environment. When it comes to security cooperation, however, there will always be a tension between balancing military readiness with security cooperation. Most argue that readiness is the most important priority. But, if adequately funded and properly executed, security cooperation activities may build partners and prevent conflicts. Investing early in shaping activities may avoid exponentially larger expenditures later. In the strategic environment over the next decade, this tension will continue to exist and manifest itself in challenges to security cooperation in resourcing, assessment, and coordination. This paper examines the role of security cooperation in the emerging security environment and the challenges the United States must overcome to be effective.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Globalization, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States

1406. On the Uses of Cultural Knowledge

Author:
Sheila Miyoshi Jager
Publication Date:
11-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:
The wide-spread recognition of the need for cultural knowledge in counterinsurgency has been noted and actively promoted recently by the Department of Defense (DoD). General David H. Petraeus, commanding general of the Multi-National Force Iraq (MNF-I), has been at the vanguard of these efforts. As the commander of the 101st Airborne Division in the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003, he later took responsibility for governing Mosul, Iraq's second largest city. Relying on his experiences in Mosul, General Petraeus is currently in charge of a major new counterinsurgency effort in Iraq.
Topic:
International Relations and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States and Iraq

1407. The Eastern Dimension of America's New European Allies

Author:
Janusz Bugajski
Publication Date:
10-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:
This monograph provides a set of recommendations to the United States, NATO allies, and EU institutions in promoting a more consequential Eastern Dimension. Above all, the U.S. administration needs to clearly make the argument that progress toward stable states and secure democracies in a widening Europe and an expanding trans-Atlantic community that encompasses the Black Sea zone is in America's national interests and serves its strategic goals. The eventual inclusion of all East European states that are currently situated outside NATO and the creation of a wider Alliance would help expand and consolidate democratic systems, open up new markets, stabilize Washington's new allies, and increase the number of potential U.S. partners.
Topic:
International Relations and NATO
Political Geography:
United States, Washington, and Eastern Europe

1408. The United States and ASEAN-China Relations: All Quiet on the Southeast Asian Front

Author:
Ian Storey
Publication Date:
10-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:
While the overall security situation in Southeast Asia is something of a mixed bag with grounds for both optimism and pessimism, one of the most encouraging trends in recent years has been the development of the Association for Southeast Asian Nation's (ASEAN) relations with major external powers. Relations between China and ASEAN in particular have demonstrated a marked improvement over the past decade, thanks to a combination of burgeoning economic ties, perceptions of China as a more constructive and responsible player in regional politics, and Beijing's “charm offensive” toward Southeast Asia. Overall, the development of ASEAN-China relations poses few security challenges to the United States: Good relations between China and ASEAN enhance regional stability, and a stable Southeast Asia is clearly in America's interests, especially with Washington focused on events in the Middle East. Although ASEAN-China relations are very positive, this does not necessarily mean the United States is losing influence in Southeast Asia, or that ASEAN members are “bandwagoning” with China. In fact, they are hedging by keeping America engaged and facilitating a continued U.S. military presence. While ASEAN-China relations are relatively benign today, several sources of potential friction could create problems in Sino-U.S. relations: these are Taiwan, Burma, and the South China Sea dispute. This monograph examines each of these scenarios in turn.
Topic:
International Relations and International Organization
Political Geography:
United States, China, Israel, Taiwan, Beijing, and Southeast Asia

1409. American Grand Strategy for Latin America in the Age of Resentment

Author:
Gabriel Marcella
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:
The fear that extra-hemispheric powers would strategically deny Latin America as a friend of the United States has animated American statesmen since the 19th century. Such fear certainly pervaded the Cold war competition. Today the challenge to the security and well-being of Latin America is neither ideological, nor military, nor external. Strategic denial is more likely to come about from a highly combustible blend of poverty, crime, despair, corruption, resentment, and antidemocratic sentiments that promise a vague 21st century socialism under new authoritarian clothing. The sentiments are sinking deep roots in the socio-political landscape, and they are profoundly anti-American.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Cold War
Political Geography:
United States and Latin America

1410. The Reserve Policies of Nations: A Comparative Analysis

Author:
Richard Weitz
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:
Throughout the world, military reserves are changing. National governments are transforming the relationships between their active and reserve components; the allocation of roles and responsibilities among reserve forces; and the way they train, equip, and employ reservists. One central precept is driving these changes: Nations no longer consider their reservists as strategic assets suitable primarily for mobilization during major wars. Whereas previously they managed reservists as supplementary forces for use mainly during national emergencies, major governments now increasingly treat reservists as complementary and integral components of their “total” military forces.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, and Government