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Publications (67)
This book uses trust—with its emotional and predictive aspects—to explore international relations in the second half of the Cold War, beginning with the late 1960s. The détente of the 1970s led to the development of some limited trust between the United States and the Soviet Union, which lessened international tensions and enabled advances in areas...
This interview with Robert Jervis explores the early influences on his career, his time working with Thomas Schelling and Erving Goffman, that led to his path-breaking 1970 book, The Logic of Images in International Relations, and his more widely known (although according to Jervis himself less original) Perception and Misperception in Internationa...
Governments are increasingly recognizing the problem posed by internally weak nuclear-capable states. The problem, however, is under-theorized. This article brings together literature on sovereignty and international order, the nonproliferation regime, and weak states, and introduces new concepts to provide a more structured understanding of this p...
This article investigates the role that diplomacy—especially at the highest levels—can play in transforming adversarial relationships. Building on Martin Wight's exploration of these issues, in particular the question of how two adversaries can convince each other that they are serious negotiating partners, the article contends that achieving a sig...
The language of special responsibilities is ubiquitous in world politics, with policy-makers and commentators alike speaking and acting as though particular states have, or ought to have, unique obligations in managing global problems. Surprisingly, scholars are yet to provide any in-depth analysis of this fascinating aspect of world politics. This...
The welfare of people and their division into states are inextricably linked. As Robert Jackson observes, about at least one thing most political theorists agree:
This article explores how it became possible for the former Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to make a major trust-building initiative with his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, at the 1999 Lahore Summit. Building on security dilemma theorizing in the field of International Relations, the present article develops the concept of a “le...
The regime of nuclear non-proliferation depends on more than the cost-benefit calculation. Instead, trust plays a significant role in both maintaining relationships and underwriting shared values. Understanding how trust is built and strengthened is vital as the nuclear landscape changes.
A successful outcome of the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference is widely seen as vital if the NPT is to continue to play an important role in preventing nuclear proliferation. Focusing on the concept of trust, this article offers a novel perspective on the treaty and its future prospects. Too often dismissed as impossible...
This special section of the journal is devoted to an exploration of the relationship between trust and terrorism. The four papers presented here were originally written for a conference on ‘Trust-Building in Conflict Transformation’ held at Gregynog, the University of Wales Conference Centre, on 10–11 September 2008. The event brought together lead...
In 1981 Kenneth Waltz published a controversial Adelphi Paper, ‘The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: More May Be Better’, in which he turned the conventional wisdom on its head by arguing that the spread of nuclear weapons would not be a terrifying prospect. This article rejects the proposition that fear of nuclear destruction can serve as a permanent ba...
This volume is the product of a series of meetings of the Security Research Group in the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth. the meetings were held in 1999 and the first half of 2000 under successive convenors of the Group, Colin McInnes and Nicholas J. Wheeler, the editors of this volume. The programme culminated in a day-long sem...
The current uncertainties about Iran’s motives and intentions reflect the interplay of the psychological and material dimensions of the security dilemma in international politics. In this article NicholasWheeler shows howthe ideological fundamentalismthat animates the Bush White House and its fellow travellers has led the administration to replace...
Wheeler, Nicholas, Coicaud, Jean-Marc, (eds) National Interest Versus Solidarity: Particular and Universal Ethics in International Life (Tokyo: United Nations University Press, 2008) What this book is about: Although this book originated from the issue of humanitarian intervention, it was never meant to be limited to that. Rather, from the outset t...
It is well known in the literature on security dilemma theorising that John Herz coined the concept in the early 1950s, with Herbert Butterfield developing a very similar concept at the same time. What is less well appreciated is that Butterfield powerfully argued in his 1951 book History and Human Relations that there was no prospect of state lead...
Wheeler, Nicholas; Bellamy, Alex, 'Humanitarian Intervention in World Politics', in The Globalization of World Politics : an Introduction to International Relations, eds., John Baylis, Steve Smith (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), pp. 522-539 Established market leader with an impressive line-up of international contributors who are experts i...
This provides the first comprehensive analysis of the concept of the 'security dilemma'. By exploring the theory and practice of the security dilemma through the prisms of fear, cooperation and trust, it considers whether the security dilemma can be mitigated or even transcended analysing a wide range of historical and contemporary cases.
Wheeler, Nicholas; Booth, Ken , 'Uncertainy - Rethinking the Security Dilemma', in Security Studies: An Introduction, ed., Paul Williams (Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2008), pp. 131-150 Table of Contents: 1. Introduction Paul D. Williams Part 1: Theoretical Approaches 2. Realism Colin Elman 3. Liberalism Cornelia Navari 4. Game Theory Frank C. Zagare...
This report focuses on the question of where authority should be located for the use of force. This question has been a matter of considerable controversy since NATO unilaterally employed force to protect the Kosovars in March 1999. At the heart of this debate has been the question of whether the UN Security Council should be the only body that can...
The current uncertainties about Iran?s motives and intentions reflect the interplay of the psychological and material dimensions of the security dilemma in international politics. In this article NicholasWheeler shows howthe ideological fundamentalismthat animates the Bush White House and its fellow travellers has led the administration to replace...
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is at the heart of the world's collective security system. It is upon this body that rests 'primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security' (UN Charter, Article 24). In this article, we examine the current debate regarding the legitimacy crisis facing the UNSC. We consider i...
Tom Farer opens the roundtable by outlining a five-part test for legitimate humanitarian intervention and questioning the utility of the term ‘cosmopolitan’ in this context. Five responses are offered. Daniele Archibugi highlights the problem of legitimate authority for intervention and offers a separate four-stage process which he believes contrib...
Amidst the general disappointment that accompanied last month’s world summit, there were several important rays of hope. One of these, and perhaps in the longer-term the most important, was the General Assembly’s (GA) endorsement of the ‘responsibility to protect’. One hundred and ninety one states committed themselves to the principle that the rul...
1. Introduction Christian Reus-Smit; 2. The politics of international law Christian Reus-Smit; 3. When states use armed force Dino Kritsiotis; 4. Soft law, hard politics, and the Climate Change Treaty Robyn Eckersley; 5. Emerging customary norms, and anti-personnel landmines Richard Price; 6. International law, politics, and migrant rights Amy Guro...
This article develops a critical conception of security by showing the limits of traditional realist and pluralist discourses. It does this by exploring the deficiencies of realist and pluralist approaches when it comes to thinking about the promotion of human rights. Realism leads to moral indifference and a myopic approach to security and plurali...
Table of contents: Humanitarian Intervention: The Moral Dimension Anthony F. Lang, Jr. Part One: Issues 1. The Moral Basis of Humanitarian Intervention Terry Nardin 2. Normative Frameworks for Humanitarian Intervention Nicholas Onuf 3. Hard Cases Make Bad Laws: Law, Ethics, and Politics in Humanitarian Intervention Simon Chesterman 4. Is There an I...
Argues that we are witnessing the development of a new norm of military intervention for humanitarian purposes in contemporary international society. Since the end of the Cold War, the United Nations Security Council has been more active in the realm of intervention, extending its Chapter VII powers into matters that had previously belonged to the...
This edited book investigates the controversial place of humanitarian intervention in the theory and practice of International Relations. Although the subject has gained greater prominence, it continues to have an uneasy relationship with both the major schools of thought in the discipline of IR, and the behaviour of states, international organizat...
Keywords: Bush Doctrine, international order, weapons of mass destruction, sovereignty, American exceptionalism This article considers whether the Bush Doctrine seeks to establish a new rule for the preventitive use of force against states and terrorist groups armed with weapons of mass destruction. Alternatively, does the Doctrine aim to carve out...
The fate of East Timor provides a barometer for how far the normative structure of international society has been transformed since the end of the Cold War. In 1975, the East Timorese were abandoned by a Western bloc that placed accommodating the Indonesian invasion of the island before the protection of human rights. Twenty-five years later, it wa...
This article examines what moral theories are available to justify the harming of the innocent in war. Focusing on US conduct of the war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda, the article examines how far the US is responsible for the deaths of Afghan civilians. Although US actions have been justified in terms of respect for the Just War principle of no...
Although in many respects the wars of the 1990s are not as new as is sometimes suggested, what is new is the complete breakdown of traditional state structures resulting in complex emergencies. What is also new is that the language of a threat to ‘international peace and security' has been stretched from its traditional inter-state referent to enco...
The fate of East Timor provides a barometer for how far the normative structure of international society has been transformed since the end of the Cold War. In 1975, the East Timorese were abandoned by a Western bloc that placed accommodating the Indonesian invasion of the island before the protection of human rights. Twenty-five years later, it wa...
The promotion of human rights, the punishment of crimes against humanity, the use of force with respect to humanitarian intervention: these are some of the complex issues facing governments in recent years. The contributors to this book offer a theoretical and empirical approach to these issues. Three leading normative theorists first explore what...
Keywords: humanitarian intervention, international society, justification, legitimacy, military intervention, norm, pluralism, solidarism, UN Security Council Argues that there has been a change of norm in relation to the legitimacy of humanitarian intervention in the 1990s. It shows how humanitarian justifications for the use of force lacked legit...
To date, there has not been a sustained attempt to bring the philosophy of the Third Way into foreign policy. In order to fill this gap, the authors turn to the idea of ‘good international citizenship’ pioneered by the former Australian Foreign Minister, Gareth Evans. It is argued that good international citizenship provides a conceptual rationale...
This article examines some of the justifications that have been proffered as to why “we” should sacrifice in the name of common humanity. The first section examines the views of two leading thinkers who reject the statist paradigm, Bhikhu Parekh and Michael Walzer. Focusing on Parekh's and Walzer's conception of the state as a moral agent, and thei...
Hedley Bull is one of the most influential theorists of his generation. His attempt to build a theory of international politics which was neither the servant of realpolitik nor the child of Wilsonian idealism remains the most convincing framework for understanding state practice. This article seeks to reassess Bull's contribution to the subject by...
This chapter will examine the origins of British nuclear strategy, and place Britain’s strategic ideas and planning in the context of its perceptions of the Soviet Union and the United States during the period of the Attlee Government. It is argued that Britain’s security in the early postwar period was contingent upon the protection of one superpo...
Abstract will be provided by author.
The answer is an extraordinary amount based on what I heard at a fascinating workshop held on 25 May in the delightful surroundings of the Château de Bossey, a short coach ride from Geneva. The meeting on 'Human Security, Human Nature, and Trust-Building in Negotiations' was organised by the 'Disarmament as Humanitarian Action, Making Multilateral...
Abstract will be provided by author.
Executive Summary The concept of trust has been marginalised in the theory and practice of International Relations, and this has had negative consequences for exploring viable alternatives to a nuclear-armed world. For the most part, the mainstream has conceded the view that because of the inescapable uncertainties that confront governments about t...
Keywords: security dilemma, security dilemma dynamics, security dilemma sensibility, mitigation, uncertainty, nuclear weapons, ideological fundamentalism. It is well known in the literature on security dilemma theorising that John Herz coined the concept in the early 1950s with Herbert Butterfield developing a very similar concept at the same time....
Keywords: INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON INTERVENTION AND STATE; UN SECURITY COUNCIL; SECRETARY-GENERAL HIGH-LEVEL PANEL ON THREATS; CHALLENGES AND CHANGE; USE OF FORCE; SOVEREIGNTY AS RESPONSIBILITY; HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION; R2P LITE; DARFUR; KOSOVO Within a very short space of time the 'Responsibility to Protect' has moved from a concept developed...