<p>Denna uppsats är en kritisk granskning av Samuel P. Huntingtons modell att förstå världspolitiken utifrån, som han presenterar i boken The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. Granskningen utgår från en analys av hans grundläggande begrepp, ”civilization” och ”clash”, och från ytterligare en analys av hur hans modell skiljer sig från andra modeller om världen. Med hjälp av dessa analyser diskuterar jag rimligheten i den tes som han ställer upp och konsekvenserna som hans förutsägelser och policyrekommendationer får, för att sedan kunna bedöma om hans modell är användbar eller inte. Min slutsats är att den inte är särskilt användbar, främst på grund av den oklara betydelsen av hans begrepp. En modell utifrån fler faktorer skulle istället ge oss en bättre förståelse av världen.</p> / <p>This paper is a critical examining of Samuel P. Huntington’s model for understanding world politics, that he presents in his book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. The examining is based on an analysis of his basic concepts, “civilization” and “clash”, and on another analysis of how his model differs from other models about the world. With the help of theses analyses I discuss the reasonableness of the these he formulates and the consequences that his predictions and policy recommendations have, to be able to judge if his model is useful or not. My conclusion is that it’s not very useful, mainly because of the unclear meaning of his basic concepts. Instead, a model based on more factors would give a us a better understanding of the world.</p>

Denna uppsats är en kritisk granskning av Samuel P. Huntingtons modell att förstå världspolitiken utifrån, som han presenterar i boken The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. Granskningen utgår från en analys av hans grundläggande begrepp, ”civilization” och ”clash”, och från ytterligare en analys av hur hans modell skiljer sig från andra modeller om världen. Med hjälp av dessa analyser diskuterar jag rimligheten i den tes som han ställer upp och konsekvenserna som hans förutsägelser och policyrekommendationer får, för att sedan kunna bedöma om hans modell är användbar eller inte. Min slutsats är att den inte är särskilt användbar, främst på grund av den oklara betydelsen av hans begrepp. En modell utifrån fler faktorer skulle istället ge oss en bättre förståelse av världen. / This paper is a critical examining of Samuel P. Huntington’s model for understanding world politics, that he presents in his book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. The examining is based on an analysis of his basic concepts, “civilization” and “clash”, and on another analysis of how his model differs from other models about the world. With the help of theses analyses I discuss the reasonableness of the these he formulates and the consequences that his predictions and policy recommendations have, to be able to judge if his model is useful or not. My conclusion is that it’s not very useful, mainly because of the unclear meaning of his basic concepts. Instead, a model based on more factors would give a us a better understanding of the world.

[pt] O filósofo prussiano Immanuel Kant, depois de questionar se a mente humana pode perceber a realidade como ela de fato é, chegou à conclusão de que a realidade e a aparência da realidade não são a mesma coisa; e que, na verdade, o objeto deve se conformar ao sujeito. Pensadores associados ao pós-modernismo, ao aceitarem estas conclusões, passaram a argumentar que a aparência da realidade é produzida pelos próprios sujeitos e depende de relações de poder e crenças. Esta dissertação, através de uma minuciosa releitura dos então chamados realistas clássicos - embora uma perspectiva pós-moderna - propõe que, na política internacional, os atores empregam o poder subjetivo, que é entendido como um poder que interfere com as ideias e com os objetivos de uma realidade confeccionada do jeito que ela se revela para os sujeitos-alvos. Inspirando-se nos pensadores pós-modernos, abordagens teóricas são aqui exploradas no intuito de conceituar a forma como esse processo pode ser pensado. Inspirando-se no método de Pierre Bourdieu, as conclusões obtidas nesta dissertação são aplicadas a dois casos históricos: a Revolução Francesa e a invasão soviética ao Afeganistão. / [en] The Prussian philosopher Immanuel Kant, after inquiring whether the human mind can grasp reality as it is in itself, came to the conclusion that reality and the appearance of reality are not the same. In fact, he concluded that the object must conform to the subject. Thinkers associated with postmodernism, by accepting these conclusions, came to argue that the appearance of reality is produced by subjects themselves and depends on relations of power and beliefs. This dissertation, through a close rereading of so-called classical realists with a postmodern perspective, proposes that in world politics, actors employ subjective power, which is understood as the power to interfere with ideas, with the goal of custom tailoring reality as is appears to targeted subjects. By drawing on postmodern thinkers, theoretical approaches are explored which serve in conceptualising how this process may be thought of. By drawing on the methodology of Pierre Bourdieu, the insights at which this dissertation arrives are applied to two historical cases, the French Revolution and the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan.

This thesis examines the study of images in International Relations (IR). Even though images play an important role in global politics, images have received little attention by IR scholars. In this thesis I aim to answer how images can be studied. I conduct two analyses, which I call ‘single image analysis’, and ‘multiple images analysis’ to answer the research question of ‘how did images of children in the Syrian war shape global political narratives and identities´. I argue that images of children in the Syrian war though their emotional value (re)produced as Syrian identity of ‘misery’, ‘chaos’, and ‘hopelessness’. And images (re)produced narratives of who is ‘good’ and ‘bad’. Two analyses are conducted to discuss the different ways images can be analysed. I argue that single image analysis and the multiple images analysis have their own strengths and weaknesses and applicable in different cases. Also, I argue further theoretical and methodological discussions on how to study images would benefit IR as a whole.

This thesis argues that the end of Soviet Marxism and a bipolar global political imaginary at the dissolution of the short Twentieth Century poses an obstacle for anti-systemic political action. Such a blockage of alternate political imaginaries can be discerned by reading the work of Francis Fukuyama and "Endism" as performative invocations of the closure of political alternatives, and thus as an ideological proclamation which enables and constrains forms of social action. It is contended that the search through dialectical thought for a competing universal to posit against "liberal democracy" is a fruitless one, because it reinscribes the terms of teleological theories of history which work to effect closure. Rather, constructing a phenomenological analytic of the political conjuncture, the thesis suggests that the figure of messianism without a Messiah is central to a deconstructive reframing of the possibilities of political action - a reframing attentive to the rhetorical tone of texts. The project of recovering the political is viewed through a phenomenological lens. An agonistic political distinction must be made so as to memorialise the remainders and ghosts of progress, and thus to gesture towards an indeconstructible justice which would serve as a horizon for the articulation of an empty universal. This project is furthered by a return to a certain phenomenology inspired by Cornelius Castoriadis, Claude Lefort, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Ernesto Laclau. The thesis provides a reading of Jacques Derrida and Walter Benjamin as thinkers of a minor universalism, a non-prescriptive utopia, and places their work in the context of new understandings of religion and the political as quasi-transcendentals which can be utilised to think through the aporias of political time in order to grasp shards of meaning. Derrida and Chantal Mouffe's deconstructive critique and supplement to Carl Schmitt's concept of the political is read as suggestive of a reframing of political thought which would leave the political question open and thus enable the articulation of social imaginary significations able to inscribe meaning in the field of political action. Thus, the thesis gestures towards a form of thought which enables rather than constrains action under the sign of justice.

No description available.

[pt] Muitas das perspectivas críticas às Relações Internacionais (RI) argumentam que a conceitualização acadêmica do internacional-global está calcada na universalização da modernidade Ocidental alternativa superior ao pensamento político. Entretanto, esta perspectiva raramente teoriza a Economia Política do Conhecimento (EPC) que sustenta a superioridade de certos princípios através das trocas mercadológicas desiguais de saber universitário. A perspectiva da EPC têm se destacado nos últimos anos, discutindo o impacto da globalização capitalista na padronização neoliberal da educação, impacto este bastante evidenciado nas universidades brasileiras. Apesar disso, a abordagem da economia política pouco contribui para refletir a própria significação do global e do internacional como dinâmica de poder central. Navegando nestas lacunas teóricas, a presente pesquisa se debruça sobre a EPC, porém teorizando como esta economia política pode ser considerada internacional e global. A pergunta da pesquisa é: como a experiência pedagógica no ensino superior brasileiro, bem como sua inserção em uma EPC, ajudam a conceituar o internacional e o global? A metodologia da pesquisa consiste em engajar com esta experiência através de uma textualização autobiográfica que interliga relatos sobre a sala de aula de docentes e discentes em turmas brasileiras de graduação, pós-graduação e preparatório comunitário. Com esta metodologia, a pesquisa explora abordagem teórica denominada estudo internacional crítico, que sugere as salas de aula como pontos nodais de uma EPC internacional-global multifacetada, que, por sua vez, empurra a pedagogia para suas formas mais dialógicas. Através desta abordagem, a pesquisa argumenta em favor da relação coconstitutiva entre a pedagogia e a política internacional-global. / [en] Many critical perspectives on International Relations (IR) argue that the academic conception of the international-global is based on the universalization of Western modernity as the superior alternative to political thought. However, this perspective rarely theorizes the Political Economy of Knowledge (PEK) that sustains the superiority of certain principles through unequal market exchanges of university knowledge. The PEK perspective has stood out in recent years, discussing the impact of capitalist globalization on the neoliberal standardization of education, an impact that is quite evident in Brazilian universities. Despite this, the political economy approach does little to reflect the very meaning of the global and the international as a central dynamic of power. Navigating these theoretical gaps, the present research focuses on the PEK, but theorizing how this political economy can be considered international and global. The research question is: how does the pedagogical experience in Brazilian higher education, as well as its insertion in an PEK, help to conceptualize the international and the global? The research methodology consists of engaging with this experience through an autobiographical textualization that interconnects reports about the classroom of teachers and students in Brazilian undergraduate, graduate and communiarian prepschools classes. With this methodology, the research explores the theoretical approach called critical international study, which suggests classrooms as nodal points of a multi-faceted international-global PEK, which, in turn, pushes pedagogy towards its most dialogical forms. Through this approach, the research argues in favor of the co-constitutive relationship between pedagogy and international-global politics.

Recently, a new IR movement called Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) has become more influential and achieved certain success when states like Sweden, Canada and France adopted these theories. This study will analyse Switzerland’s foreign policy to understand to what extent it is a FFP. Feminist Foreign Policy Analysis has developed new frameworks to answer this research question. Such as Aggestam and True’s four commitments, which is adapted in this thesis. Through a qualitative content analysis, policy documents of the Swiss government are analysed for gender mainstreaming, international development assistance, Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and gender equality mechanisms. The findings are that the implementation of WPS policies is at an advanced stage, and the international development assistance includes clearly defined budget goals and many pro-gender objectives. On the other hand, there is a lack of gender mainstreaming throughout Switzerland’s core foreign policy papers and gender equality mechanisms are rather sparse. The research concludes that, although Swiss FP contains feminist elements, it cannot be defined as feminist.

The Nordic countries continued disregard for their colonial past and persistent discrimination and forced assimilation has created a hostile environment for the indigenous population within the nation-states. The contemporary situation faced by the Sámi peoples of northern Europe is beset with inadequate political representation, an unequal hieratical structure, and a neglect of the Sápmi region's nature preservation. The purpose of this thesis is to provide a contemporary perspective on the protection of indigenous rights as well as the political emancipation of the national Sámi communities contrasted against the academic research on the topic. Through the use of interviews with Sámi political and cultural figures various themes were developed that concerned the current situation. These were then used in the analysis to create a red thread through the academic literature and its connection and points of contention with the perception presented by the interviewees. This analysis showcases the hierarchical structure and subsequent insufficient political representation of the Sámi peoples and the current movement to reject the nation-states' agendas and challenge their policies rather than comply and try to negotiate for influence on matters that concern the indigenous group. Additionally, the green colonialism that continues the Nordic countries’ neglect and discrimination is outlined, as well as how international organisations work towards improving indigenous rights by criticizing the nation-states. The interviews confirm how the national assemblies operate and regard Sámi interests as non-issues. This is further reflected in the academic literature that showcases the insufficient political representation and better chances of influence on the international scene.

This thesis explores the pressing need for reform within the United Nations Security Council, a key organization in global governance, in the form of a case study. The main purpose of the research is to understand how its reform could enhance its legitimacy while attending to the possible opposition from the USA, China, and Russia. It encompasses historical information, from the League of Nations to the reform proposals throughout history, culminating in the present debates, as well as useful theoretical approaches for the analysis. Through the Syrian Civil War, it describes the Council struggle to handle contemporary geopolitical issues. The insights of the Intergovernmental Negotiations Framework and the Elements Paper are crucial to research the current reform debates, and other literature from scholars, International Organizations and media are also employed. The analysis investigates the research question and hypothesis, and the conclusion helps summarize the findings. The thesis serves as a call for a better articulated Security Council that can better confront the complexities of our multipolar world with effectivity and effectiveness.