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271. Security Studies: Classic to Post-Modern Approaches

Author:
Vildan Meydan
Publication Date:
12-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:
What kinds of security threats do states currently face in international relations? What areas do security studies cover in the discipline? Contrary to the military security-oriented structure of the Cold War period, the new era requires a more inclusive and alternative approach to security studies due to the effects of globalization. Therefore, many areas that were seen as low politics issues in the early years of the discipline have begun to play an important role in shaping today’s international system and the security perception of states. For someone seeking to answer the above questions, Security Studies: Classic to Post-Modern Approaches, edited by Arda Özkan and Göktürk Tüysüzoğlu, is a good starting point. Within the framework of its eighteen chapters, the book is an important reference that not only deals with the classical approaches of the discipline, such as military issues, but also explores post-modern approaches and contemporary topics, such as energy, environment, migration, and so on.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Book Review
Political Geography:
Global Focus

272. The Making of the World: How International Organizations Shape Our Future

Author:
Asiye Gün Güneş Gülal
Publication Date:
12-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:
The role of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the global system is a contentious issue. States delegate some responsibilities and in certain instances accept growing autonomy. Coalitions address complex environments, wasteful overlaps and jurisdictional trespass, turning them into productive divisions of labor. Therefore, Yves Schemeil aims to explain in his new book, The Making of the World: How International Organizations Shape Our Future, the expansion, collaboration, competition, and death of international organizations (IO), offering “a concise and topical discussion” to distinguish the book from the IOs literature. The book examines the impact of IOs on daily life and the exogenous contexts that constrain their action, focusing on inputs rather than outputs and emphasizing networks rather than single units. It highlights the interplay between factors employed in IOs, such as collaborative trends and networking potential. Networks are essential for IOs as they help prevent deadlocks, make the fight for narrower win-sets obsolete, and solve the credibility problem by generating trust. IOs have, moreover, invented new ways of management and governance, making their organizations more flexible, cognitive, transformative, and networking-based.
Topic:
International Organization, Non-Governmental Organization, Book Review, and International Order
Political Geography:
Global Focus

273. Impact of the Montreal Protocol on Decision-Making Processes for Participation: A Case Study of Türkiye

Author:
Derya Gül Öztürk
Publication Date:
12-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:
This study provides a comprehensive analysis of Türkiye’s decision-making processes in the context of the international ozone regime, particularly focusing on the country’s engagement in the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol during the 1980s and early 1990s. Utilizing process tracing methodology and primary sources, and adopting an interest-based framework the research delves into Türkiye’s involvement and pinpoints the principal determinants of its international environmental policy. The study argues that Türkiye’s approach to environmental cooperation in the Convention and Protocol was shaped by the incentive and sanction provisions of the Montreal Protocol, efforts to align Türkiye’s commercial and political relations with the European Community, the growing involvement of Western countries in the agreements, and the potential environmental prestige gained from cooperative endeavors. The study emphasizes the trade provisions and Article 5 status within the Montreal Protocol, both of which played a critical role in influencing Türkiye’s policy choices. This significance primarily stems from the requirement for new calculations in abatement costs. It illuminates the causal links between specific design elements of the ozone regime and their impact on Türkiye’s policy decisions.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Climate Change, Montreal Protocol, Ozone, and International Environmental Politics
Political Geography:
Turkey and Global Focus

274. Citizenship Hierarchies: Talent Programs, Commodification Debates and Citizenship at the Nexus of Market and Desirability Logics

Author:
Özlem Altan Olcay and Evren Balta
Publication Date:
12-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:
In recent years, an increasing number of nations have developed and institutionalized immigration programs aimed at attracting high-net-worth individuals, promising expedited residency and, in many cases, a streamlined path to citizenship. These initiatives target individuals expected to contribute economically, whether through immediate financial investments, capital transfers, or desirable professional skills deemed essential for national economic competitiveness. This article critically examines the rise of talent programs against the backdrop of scholarship studying investment-based citizenship schemes. While there is a developed literature studying investment-based citizenship programs and criticizing the imposition of neoliberal rationalities on state-induced meanings and practices of citizenship, there is less attention paid to the implications of these so-called merit-based citizenship programs. We argue that both sets of schemes follow a neoliberal market logic, prioritizing immigrants based on their perceived economic value. We explore how these programs disembed potential immigrants from their social contexts and perpetuate market-based inequalities. Thus, we propose that despite the distinctions often made between talent programs and investment schemes, both contribute to the reinforcement of a global citizenship hierarchy. Drawing on examples from Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries’ skilled migration initiatives, we demonstrate how these programs shape discourses of selectivity and “deservingness” for future citizenship. Through a comprehensive analysis of legal frameworks and policy databases, the study highlights the complex interplay between migration policies, commodification of citizenship, and global hierarchies. Ultimately, it calls for a deeper understanding of the continuities and transformations in citizenship logics enabled by the infusion of market dynamics into migration policies.
Topic:
Markets, Migration, Inequality, Citizenship, Hierarchy, and Immigration Policy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

275. A Legal Notion of Adverse Inference in WTO Case Law

Author:
Markiyan Malskyy
Publication Date:
01-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
Gathering evidence is of utmost importance in any legal proceeding. However, sometimes, one of the parties may hide specific evidence, which complicates the adjudicators’ reaching of a fair conclusion. For such cases, judges or arbitrators can use several tools, one of which is adverse inference. An adverse inference is a negative conclusion that may be drawn from a party’s failure to provide some evidence without a valid excuse for non-production. By drawing it, adjudicators assume this evidence would harm the party’s interests. At the same time, adverse inference is quite a radical tool because it may strongly impact the final decision. Because of this, adjudicators are sometimes cautious about using it. This paper analyzes the notion of adverse inference in the context of the dispute resolution mechanism available in the WTO. In particular, three cases were summarized in which the Appellate Body made interesting findings regarding the application of adverse inference. As a result of the work, conclusions from these cases are made that can be used by lawyers in future WTO disputes, as well as in other international and national dispute resolution fora.
Topic:
World Trade Organization, Dispute Resolution, Fact-Finding, and Adverse Influence
Political Geography:
Global Focus

276. Notes Towards a Multifaceted Approach to Political Stability

Author:
Radu Carp and Łukasz Perlikowski
Publication Date:
01-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
This paper seeks to improve comprehension of issues related to political stability. The primary elucidating tool employed is the multifaceted approach to political stability. This is the idea that similar political stability mechanisms can be observed in many different political contexts. These phenomena consist of conspicuous discrepancies between the stability of dimensions or layers of the political sphere. The lack of congruency between political stability and economic stability, differences between the stability of government authorities and the stability of the whole political system, or the gap between social and political stability are examples that are not difficult to grasp in ordinary observations of political appearances. The main task of this paper is to explain and elaborate on the reasons behind this phenomenon. As an additional value, some suggestions of how our findings can change the view on the method of research on political stability are to be found. The outcome of our investigation can be applied to comparative politics, constitutional studies, and political system analysis. The paper is particularly significant for empirically oriented political theory.
Topic:
Political stability, Asynchronism, and System Analysis Approach
Political Geography:
Global Focus

277. Nationalism, Capitalism and Hostility Towards Environmental Policies: A Theoretical Study

Author:
Piotr Walwicz
Publication Date:
01-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The article explores a possible connection between nationalism, capitalism, and nationalist movements’ common hostility towards environmental policies. It draws from materialist assertions about the capitalogenic nature of ecological degradation and modernist theories of nationalism, which explain it as a product or by-product of capitalist modernization. By employing theories of nationalism’s instrumentality in preserving the existing social hierarchies, the article proposes that this approach might be extrapolated onto socioecological hierarchies, which are contested or have their fundamental rules challenged by many environmental policies. Nationalism may then be seen as an instrument of capital – personified by the privileged elites – taking advantage of an ideology that appeals to those ‘left behind’ by modernization and globalization to thwart or delay changes to the socioecological status quo. An identity-based movement is thus utilized to protect the continuing exploitation and appropriation of nature. This proposed connection underscores the need for further empirical research, which is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of the topic and its potential impact on environmental policies.
Topic:
Environment, Nationalism, Capitalism, and Modernity
Political Geography:
Global Focus

278. The Re-integration of Regional Studies as a Sub-Discipline of International Relations

Author:
Jakub Zajaczkowski
Publication Date:
01-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The aim of this article is to analyse the ontological and epistemological dimensions of the main stages of the development of regional studies as a sub-discipline of international relations. The research problem of the article focuses on the interdependence and significance of regional studies as a sub-discipline within the scholarly discipline of international relations. The issue of regionalism and the region arose in the period of the establishment of international relations as a scholarly discipline during the interwar years, and was further conceptualized in the 1950s and 1960s during the Cold War period. The status of regional studies was then marginalized in methodological, ontological and epistemological discourse by the main theoretical trends of international relations. As a result, it was only after the end of the Cold War that we witnessed a gradual, systemic process of reintegration of regional studies within the discipline. This article argues that the reintegration of regional studies into the discipline of international relations is a function of two parallel processes that are interrelated: the transformation of the liberal international order after the end of the Cold War and increased pluralism in scholarly discourse within the discipline of international relations. These developments and their associated academic implications have contributed to the consolidation and strengthening of regional studies as a major subdiscipline of international relations.
Topic:
International Relations, Liberalism, and International Order
Political Geography:
Global Focus

279. Generative AI and WMD Nonproliferation: Why Diplomats and Policymakers Need to Pay Attention Now and Develop AI Literacy

Author:
Natasha Bajema
Publication Date:
12-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
Abstract:
The rapid advancement of generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT) has opened a Pandora’s box of opportunities and risks for nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. A new primer from the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies by Dr. Natasha E. Bajema cuts through the hype to explain what policymakers and diplomats really need to know about generative AI to understand its impact on the WMD domain. While media attention has focused on ChatGPT and other generative AI models potentially helping bad actors develop weapons, the reality for the WMD domain is more nuanced. Predictive AI tools are already being deployed in military applications. These narrow, task-specific systems can analyze data patterns to support decision-making, but also introduce new risks through cyber vulnerabilities and data biases. Meanwhile, current generative AI models still struggle with accuracy and reliability—they are prone to making up false information and are not yet capable of transferring the tacit knowledge needed for weapons development. However, this could change as the technology advances.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Nonproliferation, Artificial Intelligence, and Generative Models
Political Geography:
Global Focus

280. Russia, The Global South and Multilateral Nuclear Diplomacy after the Invasion of Ukraine

Author:
Hanna Notte
Publication Date:
05-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Nonproliferation Policy Education Center
Abstract:
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 had a detrimental impact on multilateral nuclear diplomacy. The war caused an earthquake in procedure, paralyzing processes at the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations First Committee, and meetings dealing with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. This was the case even as Russia’s nuclear saber-rattling and occupation of Ukrainian nuclear power plants, and Europe’s recommitment to nuclear weapons, demonstrated the ongoing need for nuclear dialogue. States from the Global South tended to navigate cautiously vis-à-vis Russia across the multilateral nuclear negotiating forums. Amid greater difficulties in forging common positions on nuclear issues related to the Ukraine war, these states were also frustrated with what they perceived as a deprioritization of their interests in multilateral nuclear diplomacy. Western states, especially during the first year of the war, were seen as exercising unwelcome pressure on the Global South to take sides against Russia. Russia, meanwhile, pursued a dual strategy, undermining nonproliferation efforts and chipping away at trust in legacy institutions, while also leveraging these forums in pursuit of greater alignment with states in the Global South. The implications of these different dynamics for the health of the nuclear order may take some time to fully play out, but will likely be profound.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Nuclear Weapons, Nonproliferation, Multilateralism, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Russia, Global Focus, and Global South