Search results

In reviewing the history of portions of international studies, I reflect on how we might best advance knowledge. I dwell on two issues: questions of method & the urgency of refocusing our efforts on leaders & domestic affairs as the centerpiece for understanding the world of international relations. I argue that scientific progress is best made by combining three methodological approaches in our research: formal, mathematical logic to ensure internal consistency in arguments about complex & contingent relations among variables; case studies & archival research to evaluate verisimilitude between theory & action; & statistical analysis to establish the generality of the hypothesized relations among variables. Often such methodologically diverse & progressive research will best be accomplished by encouraging collaboration rather than by perpetuating the current norm of penalizing co-authorship especially among junior scholars. I offer concrete examples of advances in knowledge achieved through the employment of mathematical reasoning & statistical analysis as many have cast doubts about the substantive contributions of these particular approaches. My perspective is, of course, personal & may not be shared by many others. I set out my thoughts, therefore, with the hope that they will stimulate constructive debate & dialogue & that they will serve to integrate diverse approaches to international affairs. 39 References. Adapted from the source document.

Although the prevalence of project teams in international organizations is growing rapidly, while influencing the governance of organizations at the global, regional, and local levels, the response of organizations to such changes has been slower, according to authors A. I. Mockaitis, L. Zander, and H. De Cieri (2018). Organizations need to look at virtual project team development opportunities, methods, tools to learn to work in a multicultural space. The uptake of improvement opportunities for organizations would have a positive impact on many aspects like competition, efficiency, and reputation. In this context, it is important to analyse and research the uniqueness of virtual project teams and the problems arising in the management of these teams, because in the international business environment, the operation of these teams is a necessary condition for business to operate effectively.
The article analyses the emerging problems in virtual project team management in international companies. A theoretical overview of possible problems in managing virtual project teams is presented, the results of the performed qualitative research are presented. During the research, managers working in international companies who lead a virtual project team were interviewed using the qualitative research method. The study was conducted in 2019-2020 and involved 9 informants working in Lithuania, the United Kingdom, the United States, Bangladesh, France, Malaysia, and Poland.
The results of the study revealed the opinion of virtual project team leaders how these teams differ from traditional teams. The results revealed problems that may arise in the management of virtual project teams, such as misunderstanding and ambiguity of transmitted information, lack of emotion, presence and loss of information, higher time costs for work tasks, different, culturally influenced work principles and etiquette, and loss of personal and work balance boundaries. These problems are addressed in several ways, openly throughout the group, individually or through an external team.

As international organizations become ever more prominent in global politics it is increasingly urgent to understand their power, their limits, and their effects. Now in its fourth edition, this leading textbook provides the definitive introduction to modern international organizations, from the legal charters of their beginnings, to the issues they engage with in the contemporary world. In his analysis of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the International Criminal Court and ten other prominent global institutions, Hurd combines legal, empirical, and theoretical approaches in an accessible and cohesive package. Fully revised and updated, this latest edition includes topical cases and controversies involving international organizations, such as Brexit, trade wars, environmentalism, forced migration and border disputes. It will be of interest to undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in international organizations, international institutions, global governance, and international law.

Considers the impact of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks for understanding politics & international relations theory. Focus is on the ramifications for international politics. Following a look at the discipline of terrorist studies, the attacks' consequences for international security are assessed in terms of hard & soft security. Attention is given to globalization as a cause of disaffection & a facilitator of terrorism. The possibility that the US & its foreign policy have an exacerbating effect in some terrorist acts is then considered, along with whether the international system is likely to be more uni- or multipolar in the near future as a function of the (particularly US) response to the terrorist attacks. It is suggested that this response has resulted in increasing international tensions, notably between India & Pakistan. The relationship between security & civil liberties is contemplated in closing. References. J. Zendejas

Why do states recognize an obligation to observe the rules of international law? Existing accounts of international legal obligation suffer from the problem of 'interiority'. They first ground obligation in some internal feature of the international legal system — such as consent, fairness or dialogue — but when these turn out to be insufficient, they fall back on assumptions about the legitimacy of the international legal system itself, for which they cannot account. The roots of this problem ultimately lie in flawed conceptions of politics that underlie these accounts. To overcome this problem, this article proposes an alternative, 'interstitial' understanding of politics that locates politics at the intersections of idiographic, purposive, ethical and instrumental forms of reason and action. This understanding of politics enables us to rethink the nature of institutional rationality, and in turn the bases of international legal obligation. Furthermore, it provides us with a conceptual framework that illuminates the relationship between historically grounded modes of politics and the legitimacy of particular institutional forms, including the modern system of international law. This argument is illustrated through an explanation of the sacral logic of obligation that undergirded the international legal system in the Age of Absolutism.

This article contributes to a burgeoning literature on political leadership, offering an interim assessment of Jeremy Corbyn's tenure as leader of the UK Labour party. At the time of writing, the candidate of the party's Left had been leader for a mere seven months. Media commentators and pundits have been critical of Corbyn's platform and performance, gleefully predicting his imminent demise. On the other hand, the 'Corbynistas' who swelled Labour's ranks in the aftermath of the 2015 defeat have remained steadfast and committed supporters. Their hope is not only that Labour will win the next election, but that Corbyn can recast the landscape of British politics by challenging the economic and political establishment which has assented to the growth of inequality and austerity.

"Using the lenses of realism, liberalism, the English School and constructivism, this book explains how the divisions and differences in African identities affect African international politics. This book explores the African condition in the twenty-first century. It analyses how geographical, racial, ethnic, linguistic, religious and power differences shape continental and intercontinental relations in Africa through the creation of identities and values which militate against intra-continental or regional relations. The author assesses inclusionary and exclusionary, rational and irrational relationships, interactions and non-interactions which occur between geographical, linguistic, racial and religious entities in Africa. He suggests that, in these moments, one entity will negatively relate, interact or refuse to interact with another entity for the gains of the former and to the detriment of the latter, or even to the detriment of both entities. Examining the possibility of creating identities and values that can unite Africa as a continent and Africans as a people, this book will be of interest to scholars of African politics, international relations and political theory"--

In this book, Chad E. Nelson examines the point when leaders fear revolution is spreading and how that affects international politics. He argues that leaders fear contagion only when they have a significant revolutionary movement of their own, and when they do, it prompts hostility toward the revolutionary state and cooperation with similar contagion fears, sometimes in contrast to geopolitical pressures. Nelson tests this theory by assessing the response by major powers to revolutions and revolts from an the major ideological movements of the last two centuries, including the American Revolution, the Russian Revolution, the Italian Fascist revolution, and the Iranian Islamist Revolution.