Suchergebnisse

This book is a systematic effort by leading international scholars to map the trends in major-power warfare and explore whether it is waxing or waning. The main point of departure is that major-power war as a historical institution is in decline. This does not mean, though, that wars between states are in general disappearing. While there is some convergence in the conclusions by individual authors, they are by no means unanimous about the trend. The articles explore different causes and correlates of the declining trend in major-power warfare, including the impact of the international structu.

A strategically weighed discussion on the reasoning, history and consequences of the Nordic balance. After the Second World War, large security and defense policy decisions were made that affected Scandinavia when the Soviet Union wanted a higher stake in Finland and Norway and Denmark sought to protect themselves against another occupation by joining NATO. In practice this came to mean that foreign policy in Finland was virtually dictated by the president, Sweden remained neutral but strongly defended, and the strategic importance of Denmark diminished. The balance remained functional as long as Norway kept permanent NATO bases and nuclear missiles outside its borders and Finland prepared a strong defense force against possible NATO and Soviet attacks. L. Pitkaniemi

Contends that capitalism has two complementary political attributes -- aggression & peace. Which of these aspects we see is bound up in the dominating stage of the capitalist economy & its linkages to political power, particularly state power. This is to say, the face of capitalism we recognize is contingent on historical circumstances. At the present time, capitalism is tending more toward peace than war. Indeed, we may be regarding the advent of a new phase of capitalist peace in international relations among major powers. K. Coddon

Conflict prevention has become a fashionable term again but with varied & confusing meanings for academics & the policy community. It raises the issue of the use & justification of coercive power including military intervention. The United States has embraced the notion of preventive action as an entry point for military pre-emption. This is formulated in the National Security Strategy of 2002 in which the move is from deterrence to protection. The EU (& Russia), while hesitant in embracing it, does not reject prevention, military pre-emption & the move to protection outright in the Solana doctrine. This is leading to differences between the more interventionist powers in the EU (eg, Britain & France) & those with a more pacifist neutral tradition. Adapted from the source document.

Examines the argument that major interstate war is in decline as a policy option & interrogates the notion of a post-World War II "discontinuity." Kant's purported pacifism & cosmopolitanism are problematized, as is modern political & military scholarship contending that major-power war is becoming obsolescent. The technological deterrent is also examined, as are the rise of the international system, global economic & political development, & multilateral norms, laws, & ethics. The decline of major war depends on some basic social & global transformations; this thesis therefore contradicts the notion that major-power war can vanish in the absence of significant alterations in root human & social conditions. K. Coddon

The volume's concluding chapter recaps major themes & issues arising from the question of whether major war is in decline. A chief conclusion from the contributions is that institutional & normative shifts matter. The process by which international law & norms have been institutionalized has altered international relations, perhaps permanently. It is obvious that international institutions & norms are not yet sufficiently potent to present an absolute deterrent to major war; it is just as obvious that the institutions of collective security & international law are not fail-safe. Yet international institutions have garnered new significance by establishing new normative standards & media for negotiation & communication. K. Coddon

This review of recent literature on political, economic, & cultural regionalism shows that this area of inquiry has become increasingly fragmented not only as a result of debates between the protagonists of methodological approaches but also because of underlying changes in international relations. Traditional views concerning the state-centric regional system are being challenged by the concentration of political & military power at the top as well as by transnational networks built around economic ties & cultural identities. Early post-Cold War expectations that regions & regional concerts would form the foundation for a new international order have proven untenable. Instead, regions appear to arise either through the dissemination of various transactions & externalities or as protection against the hegemony of capitalist globalization & great-power politics. Older conceptions of regionalism need to be redefined & reintegrated into current international relations theories. 155 References. Adapted from the source document.