Liberalism is often referred to as “idealism” in the literature of the field. Do you feel this term accurately describes the liberal view of international relations? When the word “liberal” is invoked, I have to admit it brings to mind the derogatory epithet used by George H.W. Bush to attack Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential race. I also think of tree-hugging hippies having love-ins at Woodstock. So to discover that the term “liberal” actually means: 1) Not limited to o...

Will the United States be forever the sole power in the world stage? Kenenth Waltz said, "The American aspiration to freeze historical development by working to keep the world unipolar is doomed." (p. 345) Let's react to this in the context of the "rise of China." Kenneth Waltz said that America was trying to maintain "the least durable of international configurations": a unipolar world (Kaufman 339). Unipolar worlds are by their very nature fragile, since two forces work against i...

I knew Islam repressed women, especially the more hard-line Islam... but I have got to give these women props for thinking "outside the box". From Yahoo! News : RIYADH (Reuters) - Tired of playing second fiddle to men in conservative Saudi Arabia, five women decided if you can't beat them, join them. Al Watan newspaper said the five women underwent sex change surgery abroad over the past 12 months after they developed a "psychological complex" due to male domination. Women in ...

Is the balance of power at work in the world today? The balance of power is constantly at work, though not always involving the actors with whom we are familiar. And not always in ways that are obvious to the untrained eye. Our world can experience war, terrorism, bloodshed... or peace, prosperity, and understanding... and the balance of power is maintained. For our planet to have a balance of power, power must be concentrated in those nations who are willing to maintain the status qu...

In you conversations thus far, you guys have not honed in on some key assumptions about Classical Realists and the questions have not prompted to a great extent to confront some issues. Thus, I am going to lay them out. Realists assume that the state is and will always be the principal actors in global affairs. True? They assume that decision-makers are rational and capable of defining national interests. True? They assume that decision-makers will "do whatever is necessary" to protect...

A fellow student in my Master's program recently said, >> I see the U.S. losing ground on other fronts as well: academics, employment, technology, healthcare, just to name a few. And to that I say hooray! Globalization is the best way to bring Third-World nations up to our standard of living. It's about time India, China, and Eastern Europe were given the opportunity to work themselves out of their nations' despondency. To take India as a specific example, soon high-tech workers ...

From Reuters News : SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California man in the process of getting a divorce said on Monday he was suing a popular online dating service that barred him from joining until his marriage is officially over. John Claassen, a 36-year-old lawyer, said he was ready to resume dating but maintains that Pasadena, California-based agency eHarmony is violating his civil rights by not letting him use its service before his divorce is official. The Oakland, Californi...

What is power? What is the difference between political and economic power? Is there such a thing as cultural power? What is the difference between power and influence or power and force? Power, officially, is "control over the minds and actions of other actors in order to maintain the distribution of power that exists in a particular moment. More generally, the ability to control resources, to control the behavior of other actors, to control events, to control the outcomes of interac...

Oh my goodness... I cannot believe this year. I am not the most talented NCAA tournament bracket picker. I am the first to admit that I don't know the teams or their relative strengths well enough to make more than an uneducated guess at filling out the bracket. But I enjoy pitching in my five dollars to the club and hope for the best. I think it's like playing the lottery, but for me it's a quick pick. Okay: here is what I predicted, at least for the Final Four... Texas bea...

I think Iran is building its nuclear capability because it has two clear goals: 1) the destruction of Israel. 2) self-preservation. With Americans on either side of them, in Afganistan and Iraq, and a nuclear Pakistan, India, and China? What are your thoughts?

What is the role of international law in international relations? International law serves as an arbiter between the nations as they strive to one-up each other. Law provides "norms of permissible and impermissible behavior, sets a body of expectations, provides order, protects the status quo, and legitimates the use of force by a government to maintain order" (Mingst, 186). It keeps the Iraqs from invading the Kuwaits... again. International law establishes rules of conduct and order ...

VERSUS... This is a hilarious story, and I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy for Carlos Boozer. Who did he think he was renting to? He should be happy they didn't turn the place into a smoking crater in the LA Foothills. From FOX Sports online: Carlos Boozer has struggled to stay on the court the last few years, but the Utah Jazz forward recently came very close to landing in court. And the target of Boozer's legal ire? None other than Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Prince. Acc...

Apparently allowing Muslims the right to self-determination is having unexpected consequences. After the liberation of Afghanistan they have adopted Shari'a law, which claims that converting to Christianity is punishable by death, as an infidel who has caused harm to Islam. From the Times of London Online : PRESIDENT BUSH led international condemnation of Afghanistan yesterday over the case of a Muslim who converted to Christianity and now faces the death penalty under the country's...

Why is the concept of a system a powerful descriptive and explanatory device in IR? The Encyclopedia Britannica defines a system as a "set of formal legal institutions that constitute a "government" or a "state." This is the definition adopted by many studies of the legal or constitutional arrangements of advanced political orders." By encapsulating the power of the state into a system, scholars distill a complex nation-state down to its primal essence: a structure with a working dynamic...

Why is there increased attention to the international political economy? Money truly is what makes the world go around. The climate today is one of increased wariness regarding the future. We look at the economy as a fragile entity that needs constant tinkering through rate increases and decreases from the Federal Reserve. Trade deficits and surpluses are managed through constant statecraft and diplomacy, through the establishment of free trade zones and economic unions, tariffs, and em...