Blogs & Short Pieces
International Organizations and Global Peaceful Change
T. V. Paul and Anders Wivel December 9, 2024 The role of international organizations (IOs) in global politics is as complex as it is critical. Today, they are arenas of contestation among established and rising states as well as domestic politics of major states in particular, the US. With nearly 8,000 formal and informal IOs operating across various domains, their capacity to influence world affairs is undeniable. Yet, their ability to foster “peaceful change”—defined broadly as nonviolent transformation in global and regional politics—remains a subject of intense debate. At their best, IOs promote dialogue, resolve disputes, and establish norms that prevent conflict. At their worst, they can perpetuate inequality, lock in existing power dynamics, and exacerbate tensions. Whether IOs act as architects of a more peaceful order or as instruments of hegemony depends largely on how they are wielded in a world increasingly shaped by great power rivalry… Keep reading original post on cambridgeblog.org.
“The Importance of Racial Inclusion in Security Studies,” E-International Relations
Amitav Acharya and T.V. Paul July 6, 2022 As two past presidents of ISA who originally came from the Global South, and who maintain substantial teaching and research links there, we have witnessed the association’s progress in inclusivity. The intellectual perspective on ‘Global IR’ that Acharya has promoted, is increasingly accepted as an approach of significance as evident in scholarship and course inclusions. It was during Paul’s presidency that the Global South Task Force was established. It came out with a number of recommendations which were adopted by the Governing Council at its meeting in San Francisco in March 2018 and its report contains many ideas for racial inclusivity. The recommendations on conference attendance, travel grants, participation in ISA governing bodies, journal submissions/acceptance rates, and training programs by ISA/affiliated sections/caucuses for scholars from the global south were aimed at making ISA more globally-oriented. ISA implemented some of these proposals. Among them, the Committee on the Status of Engagement with the Global South and the holding of regular regional conferences in global south venues were two concrete achievements. There is also greater discussion within ISA on the need for inclusivity as evident in the efforts by the International Security Studies (ISS) Section. The next step should be a similar effort to improve the status of Blacks and indigenous scholars who are not yet playing a significant role in the discipline. A presidential task force is urgently needed in this area… Keep reading original post on E-International Relations.“(De-)Globalisation and International Order,” The Duck of Minerva
Markus Kornprobst and T.V. Paul January 24, 2022 What will become of liberal order as “deglobalizing” pressures continue to mount? And what happens to globalization as liberal order comes under increasing pressure? Indicators of economic interdependence show signs of plateauing. Even as NATO and Russia square off against one another, the alliance faces significant internal challenges. From decreasing global direct investment to Brexit, it looks like the trends of the 1990s are reversing. We recently edited a special issue of International Affairs — “De-globalization? The Future of the Liberal International Order” — that addresses these questions in depth. Its contributors examine the domestic politics of great and middle powers, non-state actors and transnational networks. They disaggregate liberalism and international order into their constituent elements, which allows them to focus on trends in specific sub-orders – such as inter-state and human security, global finance and trade, education and knowledge production, global health, and migration… Keep reading original post on The Duck of Minerva.The Corona Virus Crisis: The Latest of Many Challenges to the Liberal International Order
T.V. Paul
May 2020
The current corona virus crisis is the latest of a series of challenges that the liberal international order has faced during the past several decades. A number of illiberal, populist leaders have emerged in the US, Brazil, India, Turkey, and Hungary in particular who represent the ideological challenge from within. As globalization’s appeal wanes, liberalism is likely to confront new challenges all across the world in the coming years. (Read more)