In the context of the Human Rights Dialogue between the European Union and the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Bristih Institute of International and Comparative Law undertook a project on "Human Rights in International Law and Iran". One of the outputs of this project is the publication of the present book, designed as a practical guide and reference book for foreign jurists and human rights defenders ... (Quelle: Text Verlagseinband / Verlag)
The paper suggests a conceptual framework for analyzing the relationship between democracy and economic growth based on the international dimension. In essence, democracy positively effects economic growth in a given country when international actors seek to promote democracy in that country by punishing violations of democratic norms with economic sanctions. The paper specifies conditions under which violation of democratic norms gets punished with economic sanctions. First, foreign actors must have an interest in defending democracy in a given country. Second, the costs of defending democracy must not outweigh its benefits. Finally, economic sanctions must be employed as a tool for the defense of democracy. Furthermore, factors that affect the negative impact of economic sanctions on economic growth in the 'target' country are specified in the paper. They are as follows: economic openness of the 'target' country, extent of economic interdependence with sanctioning countries, as well as the structure of the economy and opportunities to diversify economic relations with other foreign actors. Besides, the impact of sanctions on growth depends on the duration of their application. Further, the paper illustrates the logic of the conceptual framework with the empirical example of Latin America. During the Cold War, democracies in the region did not face any economic advantages with regard to international factors. Latin America's Cold War history was highly influenced by the strategic struggle between the US and the Soviet Union. For the US, the main purpose in the region was to carry out the policy of containment of communism. This meant that certain undemocratic but friendly regimes were often supported, while hostile but democratic ones were undermined. The situation changed cardinally after the Cold War ended. When the strategic threat of communism disappeared, the US changed its policy focus from containment of communism to the promotion and defense of democracies. Moreover, Latin America experienced intensive processes of democratization and economic liberalization. This created conditions for the collective system of defense of democracy in the region. Certain factors contributed to the potential impact of economic sanctions in the region in the 1990s. Economic liberalization and higher economic openness made countries more vulnerable to potential sanctions. Furthermore, Latin American countries had high levels of economic interdependence with the US, the EU and other regional democracies, all of which were ready to defend democratic systems. Finally, the disintegration of the Soviet Union and disappearance of non-democracies in the region highly reduced opportunities for economic diversification in the case of economic sanctions. In Latin America in the 1990s, every violation of procedural democratic norms was met with economic sanctions which had negative effect on economic growth in the violating country. These cases were Haiti (1991), Peru (1992) and Guatemala (1993). In the case of Paraguay (1996), the threat of economic sanctions was one of the factors that helped to preserve democratic system in the country. This means that the analysis of the relationship between political regime type and economic growth in Latin America in the 1990s is incomplete and potentially incorrect, if international factors are not taken into account. Finally, the paper gives suggestions for further research, in particular hinting to the possible structural global shift in the democracy-growth relationship in post-Cold War environment. International factors provide a possible explanation why empirically democracies tend to grow faster than autocracies after the end of the Cold War
The paper suggests a conceptual framework for analyzing the relationship between democracy and economic growth based on the international dimension. In essence, democracy positively effects economic growth in a given country when international actors seek to promote democracy in that country by punishing violations of democratic norms with economic sanctions. The paper specifies conditions under which violation of democratic norms gets punished with economic sanctions. First, foreign actors must have an interest in defending democracy in a given country. Second, the costs of defending democracy must not outweigh its benefits. Finally, economic sanctions must be employed as a tool for the defense of democracy. Furthermore, factors that affect the negative impact of economic sanctions on economic growth in the 'target' country are specified in the paper. They are as follows: economic openness of the 'target' country, extent of economic interdependence with sanctioning countries, as well as the structure of the economy and opportunities to diversify economic relations with other foreign actors. Besides, the impact of sanctions on growth depends on the duration of their application. Further, the paper illustrates the logic of the conceptual framework with the empirical example of Latin America. During the Cold War, democracies in the region did not face any economic advantages with regard to international factors. Latin America's Cold War history was highly influenced by the strategic struggle between the US and the Soviet Union. For the US, the main purpose in the region was to carry out the policy of containment of communism. This meant that certain undemocratic but friendly regimes were often supported, while hostile but democratic ones were undermined. The situation changed cardinally after the Cold War ended. When the strategic threat of communism disappeared, the US changed its policy focus from containment of communism to the promotion and defense of democracies. Moreover, Latin America experienced intensive processes of democratization and economic liberalization. This created conditions for the collective system of defense of democracy in the region. Certain factors contributed to the potential impact of economic sanctions in the region in the 1990s. Economic liberalization and higher economic openness made countries more vulnerable to potential sanctions. Furthermore, Latin American countries had high levels of economic interdependence with the US, the EU and other regional democracies, all of which were ready to defend democratic systems. Finally, the disintegration of the Soviet Union and disappearance of non-democracies in the region highly reduced opportunities for economic diversification in the case of economic sanctions. In Latin America in the 1990s, every violation of procedural democratic norms was met with economic sanctions which had negative effect on economic growth in the violating country. These cases were Haiti (1991), Peru (1992) and Guatemala (1993). In the case of Paraguay (1996), the threat of economic sanctions was one of the factors that helped to preserve democratic system in the country. This means that the analysis of the relationship between political regime type and economic growth in Latin America in the 1990s is incomplete and potentially incorrect, if international factors are not taken into account. Finally, the paper gives suggestions for further research, in particular hinting to the possible structural global shift in the democracy-growth relationship in post-Cold War environment. International factors provide a possible explanation why empirically democracies tend to grow faster than autocracies after the end of the Cold War
In the beginning of the 21st century different features of the transformation of the contemporary international system could be studied. Among these features changes in nature of threats, actions of main actors of international system concerning changing security environment, appearance of new centers of power and military confrontation between the USA and Russia could be distinguished. Impact of polarity of the international system towards international security was one of the most popular topics of international relations in the second half of the 20th century. Concept of polarity as certain distribution of power in international system became very popular due to Realism school of international relations. Many different studies were made concerning this topic in the Cold War period, but after the end of the Cold War topics of international system and polarity in the international system seemed as unimportant and lost its significance. The new importance of polarity conception was brought by the emergence of new types of threats to international security and by unequal distribution of power in the international system that created unipolar structure with one superpower and several smaller centers of power in the beginning of the 21st century. In this article few presumptions and conclusions concerning the transformation of the contemporary polar structure of international systems were made. First presumption is that contemporary international system is transforming from strict unipolarity with one exceptionally strong superpower to modified unipolarity with one superpower and several emerging centers of power.[.].
In the beginning of the 21st century different features of the transformation of the contemporary international system could be studied. Among these features changes in nature of threats, actions of main actors of international system concerning changing security environment, appearance of new centers of power and military confrontation between the USA and Russia could be distinguished. Impact of polarity of the international system towards international security was one of the most popular topics of international relations in the second half of the 20th century. Concept of polarity as certain distribution of power in international system became very popular due to Realism school of international relations. Many different studies were made concerning this topic in the Cold War period, but after the end of the Cold War topics of international system and polarity in the international system seemed as unimportant and lost its significance. The new importance of polarity conception was brought by the emergence of new types of threats to international security and by unequal distribution of power in the international system that created unipolar structure with one superpower and several smaller centers of power in the beginning of the 21st century. In this article few presumptions and conclusions concerning the transformation of the contemporary polar structure of international systems were made. First presumption is that contemporary international system is transforming from strict unipolarity with one exceptionally strong superpower to modified unipolarity with one superpower and several emerging centers of power.[.].
In the beginning of the 21st century different features of the transformation of the contemporary international system could be studied. Among these features changes in nature of threats, actions of main actors of international system concerning changing security environment, appearance of new centers of power and military confrontation between the USA and Russia could be distinguished. Impact of polarity of the international system towards international security was one of the most popular topics of international relations in the second half of the 20th century. Concept of polarity as certain distribution of power in international system became very popular due to Realism school of international relations. Many different studies were made concerning this topic in the Cold War period, but after the end of the Cold War topics of international system and polarity in the international system seemed as unimportant and lost its significance. The new importance of polarity conception was brought by the emergence of new types of threats to international security and by unequal distribution of power in the international system that created unipolar structure with one superpower and several smaller centers of power in the beginning of the 21st century. In this article few presumptions and conclusions concerning the transformation of the contemporary polar structure of international systems were made. First presumption is that contemporary international system is transforming from strict unipolarity with one exceptionally strong superpower to modified unipolarity with one superpower and several emerging centers of power.[.].
The article presents the theoretical framework that could be used in analyzing the opposition of state sovereignty and human rights in international relations. As the methodological tool is chosen the English School of international relations, which is known as a via media, a third way between realism and liberalism. The English School is generally divided into two major camps – pluralism and solidarism, distinguishable by their positions on the role of values in international society. The pluralistic variant of English School is closer to realism, and the solidarist variant – to liberalism. The main concept which represents the English School is the international society. According to the definition by H. Bull and A. Watson, international society is a "group of states (or, more generally, a group of independent political communities) which not merely form a system, in the sense that the behaviour of each is a necessary factor in the calculations of the others, but also have established by dialogue and consent common rules and institutions for the conduct of their relations, and recognise their common interest in maintaining these arrangements". Pluralists and solidarists perceive the concept of international society differently. The pluralist concept of international society refers to the positivist tradition of international law. According to that tradition, international law is the law between states only and exclusively. The statement that only sovereign states can become members of the international society is of fundamental importance in the pluralist approach. The scope of pluralist international society is fairly minimal, centered on shared concerns about international order under anarchy, and thus largely confined to agreement about sovereignty, diplomacy, and non-intervention.[.].
The article presents the theoretical framework that could be used in analyzing the opposition of state sovereignty and human rights in international relations. As the methodological tool is chosen the English School of international relations, which is known as a via media, a third way between realism and liberalism. The English School is generally divided into two major camps – pluralism and solidarism, distinguishable by their positions on the role of values in international society. The pluralistic variant of English School is closer to realism, and the solidarist variant – to liberalism. The main concept which represents the English School is the international society. According to the definition by H. Bull and A. Watson, international society is a "group of states (or, more generally, a group of independent political communities) which not merely form a system, in the sense that the behaviour of each is a necessary factor in the calculations of the others, but also have established by dialogue and consent common rules and institutions for the conduct of their relations, and recognise their common interest in maintaining these arrangements". Pluralists and solidarists perceive the concept of international society differently. The pluralist concept of international society refers to the positivist tradition of international law. According to that tradition, international law is the law between states only and exclusively. The statement that only sovereign states can become members of the international society is of fundamental importance in the pluralist approach. The scope of pluralist international society is fairly minimal, centered on shared concerns about international order under anarchy, and thus largely confined to agreement about sovereignty, diplomacy, and non-intervention.[.].
The article presents the theoretical framework that could be used in analyzing the opposition of state sovereignty and human rights in international relations. As the methodological tool is chosen the English School of international relations, which is known as a via media, a third way between realism and liberalism. The English School is generally divided into two major camps – pluralism and solidarism, distinguishable by their positions on the role of values in international society. The pluralistic variant of English School is closer to realism, and the solidarist variant – to liberalism. The main concept which represents the English School is the international society. According to the definition by H. Bull and A. Watson, international society is a "group of states (or, more generally, a group of independent political communities) which not merely form a system, in the sense that the behaviour of each is a necessary factor in the calculations of the others, but also have established by dialogue and consent common rules and institutions for the conduct of their relations, and recognise their common interest in maintaining these arrangements". Pluralists and solidarists perceive the concept of international society differently. The pluralist concept of international society refers to the positivist tradition of international law. According to that tradition, international law is the law between states only and exclusively. The statement that only sovereign states can become members of the international society is of fundamental importance in the pluralist approach. The scope of pluralist international society is fairly minimal, centered on shared concerns about international order under anarchy, and thus largely confined to agreement about sovereignty, diplomacy, and non-intervention.[.].
International relations can be considered as a set of interactions between the actors of international system. As a result of these interactions some actors gain a reputation of reliable and stable while the others perform as irrational and unpredictable. The main goal of these masters' theses was to identify when and how should the seemingly "irrational" behavior of the international actor be considered as a rational strategy aiming at some certain objectives. The subject of this research is the interactions between two states in which the structural and comparative power of the one state is lower than the one of the other. Under these circumstances the state which possesses lower power seeks to raise it in relation to the stronger state. The author of this research hypothesizes that the aim of the behavior which seems irrational to the other players of the international system may be the creation of the conditions of uncertainty. The later can be used as a means of rising structural power of the actor who necessitated it. The Author approaches the logic of the theory of rational choice as well as examines the prospects of using the particular models of game theory as a tool of analyzing the abovementioned interactions of two states the structural and comparative power of which is notably unequal. After analyzing the impact of imperfect information as well as the mistrust in the rationality of the partners of the game, the Author comes to conclusion that the abovementioned factors may be intentionally encouraged to bind the rationality of the adversary.
International relations can be considered as a set of interactions between the actors of international system. As a result of these interactions some actors gain a reputation of reliable and stable while the others perform as irrational and unpredictable. The main goal of these masters' theses was to identify when and how should the seemingly "irrational" behavior of the international actor be considered as a rational strategy aiming at some certain objectives. The subject of this research is the interactions between two states in which the structural and comparative power of the one state is lower than the one of the other. Under these circumstances the state which possesses lower power seeks to raise it in relation to the stronger state. The author of this research hypothesizes that the aim of the behavior which seems irrational to the other players of the international system may be the creation of the conditions of uncertainty. The later can be used as a means of rising structural power of the actor who necessitated it. The Author approaches the logic of the theory of rational choice as well as examines the prospects of using the particular models of game theory as a tool of analyzing the abovementioned interactions of two states the structural and comparative power of which is notably unequal. After analyzing the impact of imperfect information as well as the mistrust in the rationality of the partners of the game, the Author comes to conclusion that the abovementioned factors may be intentionally encouraged to bind the rationality of the adversary.
In the thesis transformation of the international organizations will be analyzed. Nation-state foreign policy approach will be applied to the analysis, because international organizations are a peculiar kind of political systems. This leads to the general key research question: how and why do international organizations change? The methodological purpose of the thesis is too show the limits of existing scholarship on international organizations, because they neglect the external factors behind actual change within international organizations. The organizations NATO and the UN were chosen as cases. The UN from an international law point of view is undeniably the most important IO and the only truly system-wide IO; whereas NATO is seen by many as simply the strongest IO due to its combined military strength. In the thesis it will be argued that the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 served as an external shock and had an empirical effect on NATO and the UN. The main empirical aim of the analysis is to explore 9/11 effect upon two cases of IOs, namely the UN and NATO, in an attempt to gain better understanding of their transformation processes. The intention is also to explore the further effect of this change upon the security policy situation of small states. The research question of the thesis: how and why were the United Nations and North Atlantic Treaty Organization affected by the events of 9/11? Therefore the following tasks are set in the analysis: 1. to construct an approach to the study of change within international organizations applying nation-state foreign policy approach; 2. to analyse the effect of the end of the Cold War upon NATO and the UN; 3. to elaborate on the UN and NATO policy change following to 9/11 terrorist attacks upon the United States and evaluate the strength of NATO and the UN in terms of their commonality, specificity and autonomy; 4. to explore the further effect of the change in the UN and NATO upon the security policy situation of small states. Analysis confirmed that paradigmatic and radical changes in IOs are due to the external dynamics: external shocks, that is. The analysis showed that the influence of the external shocks significantly depends on how it challenges the original purpose and activities of the organizations. Applying Charles Hermann's (1990) external shock framework showed that the end of the Cold War and the events of 9/11 had bigger impact on NATO than the UN. However, the UN experienced minor adjustment as it had to deal with slight program (after the Cold War) and goal (after 9/11) changes. As predicted, the shift from regional issues to global area is not effects small countries negatively. The de-regionalization of both IOs cases makes small member states feel left behind and less solidarity. Although Denmark and Lithuania declare full support to the NATO and UN activities and understand that changes are necessary for the organizations, they are deeply concerned about the global shift of the organizations as the change effects their security policy. In the analysis the comparative and descriptive analytical method is being used.
In the thesis transformation of the international organizations will be analyzed. Nation-state foreign policy approach will be applied to the analysis, because international organizations are a peculiar kind of political systems. This leads to the general key research question: how and why do international organizations change? The methodological purpose of the thesis is too show the limits of existing scholarship on international organizations, because they neglect the external factors behind actual change within international organizations. The organizations NATO and the UN were chosen as cases. The UN from an international law point of view is undeniably the most important IO and the only truly system-wide IO; whereas NATO is seen by many as simply the strongest IO due to its combined military strength. In the thesis it will be argued that the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 served as an external shock and had an empirical effect on NATO and the UN. The main empirical aim of the analysis is to explore 9/11 effect upon two cases of IOs, namely the UN and NATO, in an attempt to gain better understanding of their transformation processes. The intention is also to explore the further effect of this change upon the security policy situation of small states. The research question of the thesis: how and why were the United Nations and North Atlantic Treaty Organization affected by the events of 9/11? Therefore the following tasks are set in the analysis: 1. to construct an approach to the study of change within international organizations applying nation-state foreign policy approach; 2. to analyse the effect of the end of the Cold War upon NATO and the UN; 3. to elaborate on the UN and NATO policy change following to 9/11 terrorist attacks upon the United States and evaluate the strength of NATO and the UN in terms of their commonality, specificity and autonomy; 4. to explore the further effect of the change in the UN and NATO upon the security policy situation of small states. Analysis confirmed that paradigmatic and radical changes in IOs are due to the external dynamics: external shocks, that is. The analysis showed that the influence of the external shocks significantly depends on how it challenges the original purpose and activities of the organizations. Applying Charles Hermann's (1990) external shock framework showed that the end of the Cold War and the events of 9/11 had bigger impact on NATO than the UN. However, the UN experienced minor adjustment as it had to deal with slight program (after the Cold War) and goal (after 9/11) changes. As predicted, the shift from regional issues to global area is not effects small countries negatively. The de-regionalization of both IOs cases makes small member states feel left behind and less solidarity. Although Denmark and Lithuania declare full support to the NATO and UN activities and understand that changes are necessary for the organizations, they are deeply concerned about the global shift of the organizations as the change effects their security policy. In the analysis the comparative and descriptive analytical method is being used.
In the thesis transformation of the international organizations will be analyzed. Nation-state foreign policy approach will be applied to the analysis, because international organizations are a peculiar kind of political systems. This leads to the general key research question: how and why do international organizations change? The methodological purpose of the thesis is too show the limits of existing scholarship on international organizations, because they neglect the external factors behind actual change within international organizations. The organizations NATO and the UN were chosen as cases. The UN from an international law point of view is undeniably the most important IO and the only truly system-wide IO; whereas NATO is seen by many as simply the strongest IO due to its combined military strength. In the thesis it will be argued that the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 served as an external shock and had an empirical effect on NATO and the UN. The main empirical aim of the analysis is to explore 9/11 effect upon two cases of IOs, namely the UN and NATO, in an attempt to gain better understanding of their transformation processes. The intention is also to explore the further effect of this change upon the security policy situation of small states. The research question of the thesis: how and why were the United Nations and North Atlantic Treaty Organization affected by the events of 9/11? Therefore the following tasks are set in the analysis: 1. to construct an approach to the study of change within international organizations applying nation-state foreign policy approach; 2. to analyse the effect of the end of the Cold War upon NATO and the UN; 3. to elaborate on the UN and NATO policy change following to 9/11 terrorist attacks upon the United States and evaluate the strength of NATO and the UN in terms of their commonality, specificity and autonomy; 4. to explore the further effect of the change in the UN and NATO upon the security policy situation of small states. Analysis confirmed that paradigmatic and radical changes in IOs are due to the external dynamics: external shocks, that is. The analysis showed that the influence of the external shocks significantly depends on how it challenges the original purpose and activities of the organizations. Applying Charles Hermann's (1990) external shock framework showed that the end of the Cold War and the events of 9/11 had bigger impact on NATO than the UN. However, the UN experienced minor adjustment as it had to deal with slight program (after the Cold War) and goal (after 9/11) changes. As predicted, the shift from regional issues to global area is not effects small countries negatively. The de-regionalization of both IOs cases makes small member states feel left behind and less solidarity. Although Denmark and Lithuania declare full support to the NATO and UN activities and understand that changes are necessary for the organizations, they are deeply concerned about the global shift of the organizations as the change effects their security policy. In the analysis the comparative and descriptive analytical method is being used.
In the International Relations state image is perceived not only as the source of soft power but also as identity. Identity is more of how we see us, and image is about how they see us. Image is especially important for so called new states which have emerged or returned to the international arena after collapse of the Soviet Union. They had to position themselves on to the geographical and mental map of Europe and the entire world. So what is the image of the Baltic States when they became the real members of NATO and the EU, how they are portrayed in the international media, what are differences and similarities between them and are they seen as one region? The purpose of this study: to reveal what are the image of each Baltic state and the whole image of the Baltic region in the international press. The content analysis of the articles in 'Financial Times' and 'The Economist' (in the period from 1 of May 2004 until the end of 2007) was carried out. The main findings are summarized below: • During the analyzed period Estonia was most visible in 'The Economist', but Lithuania was most visible in 'Financial Times'. Aggregated results of both newspapers show that Lithuania was most visible, Estonia is slightly less visible and Latvia is least visible. • The image of Estonia was most positive, the image of Lithuania was less positive and Latvia's image was least positive. On the other hand Estonia's image is also most controversial. • The analysis of Baltic States images enables to outline the factors which have positive and negative influence to each state's image: The most negative effect on Lithuania's image was caused by domestic politics events. Paradoxically, but Lithuania's attempt to join eurozone has had positive effects to its image. Though it was unsuccessful trial, it has received much media attention and advocating in the side of Lithuania. Lithuanian active initiatives in recent years in the field energetic security have been reverberated in the international press too. However, Lithuania's Eastern foreign policy and democracy promotion initiatives have been mentioned only episodically. Important disadvantage of Lithuania's image compared to other Baltic States has been the lack of attention to its culture and tourism attractiveness. The most negative effect on Latvia's image was the danger of overheating economy and hard landing which intertwined with political crisis too. Main advantages – high level NATO meeting in Riga and the visit of G. Bush. The positive image of ex-president V. Vike- Freiberga has also had positive effects. Moreover, Latvian culture, especially music, has been quite widely introduced. However, Latvia's situation is worst as Latvia is least visible and its image is least positive. The most negative effect on Estonia's image was the conflict with Russia over removal of Soviet memorial in Estonia. Even if Estonia's position was understood, this event ruined the image of Estonia as quite, internally rather well integrated and business friendly country. The strengths of Estonia's image have been: economical competitiveness, development of IT sector, high quality of private business schools, interesting culture, attractive tourism destination, positive images of political leaders. • Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia most often have been named as Baltic countries, Baltics, Balts, less frequent regional identifications have been Central and Eastern Europe (or Eastern Europe). • Main narratives and meanings which define the Baltics are: Baltic states are the success stories of political and economical transformation; Baltics experience most booming economic growth in the EU (Baltic tigers); The image of Baltics as victims of history; Contemporary relations between Baltics and Russia are tense and complicated (Russia is the 'other' for the Baltics); Baltics are close to Nordic countries trough their active economic relations.