Explore the vast range of titles available.

Smaller nations have a special place in the international system, with a striking capacity to defy the expectations of most observers and many prominent theories of international relations. This volume of classic essays highlights the ability of small states to counter power with superior commitment, to rely on tightly knit domestic institutions with a shared \"ideology of social partnership,\" and to set agendas as \"norm entrepreneurs.\" The volume is organized around themes such as how and why small states defy expectations of realist approaches to the study of power; the agenda-setting capacity of smaller powers in international society and in regional governance structures such as the European Union; and how small states and representatives from these societies play the role of norm entrepreneurs in world politics -- from the promotion of sustainable solutions to innovative humanitarian programs and policies..

Have institutional reforms been successful in reducing persistent gender gaps in economic and political participation? This paper argues that, at the roots of current gender inequalities, there are traditional patriarchal social structures in which power is unequally distributed, with men traditionally holding authority over women. The power imbalance is manifested in governance arrangements, of which we consider discriminatory formal laws and informal normative systems that perpetuate gender inequality. We review the evidence on the effectiveness of reforms addressing gender inequality and applied via formal law changes. Given the possibility of endogeneity issues as reforms may have been adopted in countries where attitudes toward women had already been improving, we focus on micro-empirical studies that tackle this challenge. The evidence suggests that some reforms have been successful in reducing inequalities. Power and norms can shift and sometimes temporary interventions can deliver long-term results.

Conventional narratives suggest that the African Union Commission (AUC), like most international public administrations and international organisations (IOs) housed in the less materially endowed regions of the world, exercises no meaningful agency on international issues. This article however seeks to show that the AUC is neither a glorified messenger and docile follower of orders of governments nor is it an empty vessel that timidly goes where the wind of governments blows. Rather, the AUC exercises significant agency on issues that affect not just the African continent but also the broader international system. The AUC is often at the heart of international agenda-setting, norm development, decisionmaking, rule creation, policy development, and it sometimes offer strategic leadership. The article demonstrates six pathways through which the AUC acts like a tail wagging a dog. Die gängige Meinung ist, dass die Kommission der Afrikanischen Union (AUC), wie die meisten internationalen öffentlichen Verwaltungen und internationalen Organisationen (IO), die in ärmeren Regionen der Welt beheimatet sind, keine bedeutende Handlungsfähigkeit in internationalen Fragen besitzt. Dieser Artikel versucht zu zeigen, dass die AUC weder ein Bote und fügsamer Erfüllungsgehilfe von Regierungsbefehlen ist noch ein williges Fähnchen im Wind der Regierungen. Vielmehr übt die AUC einen bedeutenden Einfluss auf Themen aus, die nicht nur den afrikanischen Kontinent, sondern auch das internationale System betreffen. Die AUC steht oft im Mittelpunkt von internationalem Agenda-Setting, der Entwicklung von Normen, Entscheidungsfindungen, der Schaffung von Regeln, der Politikentwicklung, und bietet ab und zu sogar strategische Führung. Dieser Artikel zeigt sechs Wege auf, wie es der AUC gelingt, als Underdog Führung zu übernehmen.

In twenty-first-century international relations, the telling of stories is as important an instrument of national power as are military strength or economic prowess. Geared not towards coercion or inducement but rather drawing on the forces of attraction and persuasion, such practices can be attributed to the realm of soft power, which plays a key role in today's great-power politics. Starting from these premises, the article explores the role of memory and its relation to soft power. By way of an empirical example, it argues that the recourse to and utilisation of memory constitutes a crucial component in China's quest for global power. In so doing, the article first establishes a conceptual bridge between soft power and memory in international relations. Subsequently, by taking into account contemporary empirical evidence, it identifies and discusses two select narratives – colonialism and tianxia – as core components of Chinese mnemonic soft power.

Over the past few years, the term “toxic masculinity” has entered public debate in Namibia as a way to describe apparently problematic forms of masculine behaviour, particularly in the light of high levels of gender-based violence. Originating in Western discourse, the term itself is difficult as it can stifle meaningful and transformative conversations concerning men. Describing “toxic masculinity” as a trope, and indicating that tropes of violence have been used and politicised before, this article proposes a different way of reading men: via the mask. To do this, the “tropological place” is introduced as a space of intimacy and trust, in which the kinds of masks that men wear become visible. Although the introduction of “toxic masculinity” into debates around masculinities in Namibia should be acknowledged as an important starting point for conversations, this article urges researchers to think beyond it, encouraging more lateral relations with those that we research.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is currently in the throes of redefining itself as not just China's ruling party, but also as the dominant political force of global China. Following the path of Chinese globalisation, this project overlaps with – but is different from – China's much maligned strategy of influencing and interfering in the society and politics of other countries. The principal aim of the CCP's global extension is not to meddle in the affairs of other countries, but tying Chinese people, goods, money, business, and institutions that have ventured abroad back into the strategy and domestic system of China and the CCP. The article shows that China's emerging superpower is informed both by China's unique pattern of globalisation and the CCP's own understanding of the nature, aims, and modalities of its rule, which can only partially be compared to those of earlier superpowers.

With China’s global rise, both its state leadership and key academics have engaged in developing a civilisational discourse for the twenty-first century partly based on ancient cosmological concepts. This article explores the meanings of and intentions behind this discourse, including its promise of a Chinese-led world order, and discusses its intended audience and international appeal. In the backdrop of theoretical debates on empires and their missions, the article claims that without a corresponding cultural appeal, China’s rising economic power and geostrategic clout are insufficient conditions to realise an empire in the classical sense. Growing inconsistencies mar the country’s imperial ambitions, such as those between a global civilising outreach and a toughening domestic embrace. Instead, imperial rhetoric is cautiously integrated in the party-state’s restoration of a Chinese “empire within,” indicating self-centredness and a lurking re-traditionalising of Chinese state power.

Rethinking Private Authorityexamines the role of non-state actors in global environmental politics, arguing that a fuller understanding of their role requires a new way of conceptualizing private authority. Jessica Green identifies two distinct forms of private authority--one in which states delegate authority to private actors, and another in which entrepreneurial actors generate their own rules, persuading others to adopt them. Drawing on a wealth of empirical evidence spanning a century of environmental rule making, Green shows how the delegation of authority to private actors has played a small but consistent role in multilateral environmental agreements over the past fifty years, largely in the area of treaty implementation. This contrasts with entrepreneurial authority, where most private environmental rules have been created in the past two decades. Green traces how this dynamic and fast-growing form of private authority is becoming increasingly common in areas ranging from organic food to green building practices to sustainable tourism. She persuasively argues that the configuration of state preferences and the existing institutional landscape are paramount to explaining why private authority emerges and assumes the form that it does. In-depth cases on climate change provide evidence for her arguments. Groundbreaking in scope,Rethinking Private Authoritydemonstrates that authority in world politics is diffused across multiple levels and diverse actors, and it offers a more complete picture of how private actors are helping to shape our response to today's most pressing environmental problems

The international politics of the Middle East fills a major gap in the field of middle eastern political studies by combining international relations theory with concrete case studies. It will be of immense benefit to students of middle eastern politics, international relations and comparative politics. The book begins with an overview of the rules and features of the middle east regional system - the arena in which the local states, including Egypt, Turkey, Israrel and Arab states od Syria, Jordan and Iraq, operate. It goes on to analyse foreign policy-making in key states, illustrating how systematic determinants contrain this policy-making, and how these contraints are dealt with in distinctive ways depending on particular domsetic features of the individual states. Finally, the book goes on to look at the outcomes of state policies by examining several major conflicts including the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Gulf War, and the system of regional alignment. The book assesses the impact of international pentrartion in the region, including the hsitorica reasons behind the formation of the regional state system. It also analyses the continued role of the external great powers, such as the United States and the former Soviet Union and explains the process by which the region has besome incorporated into the global capitalist market.