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The author discusses the progressive transformation of the cyberspace into one more battleground for international conflicts. The article begins with an analysis of the concept of cyber war, and a discussion about the difficulties of establishing a rigorous conceptualisation within the framework of the Law of Armed Conflict/International Humanitarian Law. Then, the capabilities and vulnerabilities of great powers are also object of analysis, and the complex role of non-state actors in cyber conflicts. The article ends with a discussion about the difficulty of assessing the economic impact of cyber attacks. Adapted from the source document.

This article focuses on the normative implications International Relations Theories have on reality. The objective is to produce inferences about the impacts these theories could provoke on states' behavior. Firstly, this article shows the divide between two set of theories. Some conceive the possibility that a group of states renounces the use of violence among each other. Other perspective consider that the very essence of international relations is the state of war amongst everyone, which makes perpetual peace unachievable. Secondly, this study presents the analytical and prescriptive differences between the theories that reckon the possibility of peace. Adapted from the source document.

Thucydides & Giucciardini both acknowledged the existence of recurrent patterns in relations among states. The behavior of major powers is constrained by the specific characteristics of the international system, namely international anarchy, balance of power & the security dilemma. Balance of power theory establishes war as a state instrument in international conflicts. The balance of power is an essential mechanism for regulating equilibrium in international anarchy, including in mature international anarchy. Theory suggests that when the balance ceases to exist the risks of war increase. The rise of Asian powers may radically change the existing balances & enhances the risks of war among major powers. Adapted from the source document.

This article argues that constructivism would have much to offer to theoretical constructions of peace in case it was able to distance itself from the realist ontology of wars and conflicts, since understanding peace as "socially constructed" means understanding and analyzing the shared ideas that inform agents' interaction at the international level. To pursue the argument, the focus of Alexander Wendt's approach is here inverted and the theoretical possibilities for peace are assessed -- not those of conflict -- regarding each of the anarchical cultures identified by the author: the hobbesian, the lockean and the kantian. Adapted from the source document.

In just a few years, Colombia & Venezuela, two of the most stable democracies in Latin America, changed deeply & are now at the center of major regional conflicts. The extreme fragmentation & polarization of the political systems in both countries combined with deep social conflicts & the rise of charismatic leaders have created a most volatile environment which has transformed the foreign policies of Colombia & Venezuela & forced them to become regional troublemakers. References. Adapted from the source document.

This article considers the relevance of Reinhold Niebuhr's thought for contemporary international relations. Beginning with an overview of the problem of morality in realist theory, the article suggests that moral precepts shape readings of the national interest &, therefore, posits that morality & interests are inseparable. Next, Niebuhr's thought, as it pertains to the possibility of a moral politics, is analyzed. Suggesting that Niebuhr's mutuality provides a map for political action, the article maintains that limited justice is attainable in international politics. But attainable justice requires an appreciation of power, & a rejection of idealism & utopianism. Lastly, the article evaluates Niebuhr's relevancy in light of the Iraqi war & its consequences. Adapted from the source document.

In this paper, I will examine a number of most notorious examples of Russia's conflictual relations with adjacent post-Soviet states like Estonia, Georgia, & Ukraine. I will then extend my analysis to Russia's controversial relations with Great Britain & NATO, & conclude by referring to the case of the Kaliningrad oblast. In my judgment, all these cases demonstrate how uneasy is the overcoming of the Soviet heritage in Russia's foreign policy & what kind of collisions the inevitable reactualization of this heritage might entail. Adapted from the source document.

Oil & geopolitics are the Siamese twins of the 20th century. The need to control energy sources has varied with the demographic factor in energy consumption & has led to the struggle for the Middle East & more broadly for the resources of Eurasia. Entering the 21st century the world is not facing a conflict of civilizations but a subterranean war for control of oil & gas which underlies the major international conflicts of our time. Adapted from the source document.

Today, Europe is living a new decisive time as it has been in its past after World War II, in search of unity in diversity in the name of a peace project to safeguard future. If, on the one hand, Europe expresses aspirations for profound changes in its external environment, in the domestic context, it ends up colliding with aspects linked to sovereignty and human rights; on the other hand, in European foreign policy, the model reveals the search to legitimize its action. Precisely, the objective and the motivation of this study seek, through the qualitative methodology in Political Science, to analyse and understand the current context of the European Union in the international system. In fact, it is identified that this new hierarchy of powers, in the reaffirmation of the Westphalian system, where economic power comes, is bound to consolidate the democratic development between the old and new times of international relations in the destiny of Europe. From the results obtained during the analysis, in order to face again the unpredictability of the world scenario, it is a reality that Europe must promote the re-encounter of an alternative role, in other words, to assume its initial project of European edification in the name of equality of circumstances and rights of its affirmation in the global arena.