A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of Zululand (South Africa), in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Arts in Systematic Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy, 2012. / The academic field of IR has been haunted by its Westerncentric philosophical founding masters. This has consequently led almost the overall (if not the entire) literature, of this particular academic discipline, to have become a typical platform wherein the Eurocentric driven masternarratives have become consolidated, as the norm. The interrogation of pedagogy thus led to concerns of indoctrination, as a direct result of the dogmatic views (as specifically derived and driven by the literature of Western philosophy), which overtime has informed the bulk of IR (theory) literature. Themes of racism, dynamics introduced by the role of language, sexism, (Feminism, gender, patriarchy) even the age factor of authoritative IR theorists, amongst other factors, are thus brought afore and engaged in detail, hopefully not in an overly complex manner. Within this study, concepts such as Worldview are interrogated and stripped of their implied scholarly innocence. When studied closer, expressions (which have led to the formation of Mainstream IR theories), as located within the bulk of IR literature, reveal that what is presented as nuanced and structured thought, may specifically be traced back, and realized as mere rhetorical echoes of pioneering Western philosophers. From such an Eurocentric/Westerncentric foundation, as specifically located in the suspected scholarly body of Western Philosophy, this exploratory study, has thus inevitably placed an enormous question mark, on what may possibly be / have been the contribution of the other (non-Eurocentric / non-Westerncentric) IR theories. Particular investigative focus would hopefully, be placed upon securing a possible existence of an Afrikan philosophical Worldview, as may possibly be / have been informed by the doctrine of Afrocentricity. It should thus be understood that this particular study, is mainly interested, in what may currently be or have been Afrikan contribution to IR theory. The specific employment of Afrocentricity should hopefully be read, as an effort by the author of this study, to secure the sought Afrikan contribution to IR, from a local/from below (Afrikan) narrative perspective. Such an effort, may hopefully within this study, be linked to the chief aim(s) of Afrikan philosophy. / National Research Foundation (NRF), Stellenbosch University and TATA Foundation.

This thesis has sought to investigate the nature of the governance system relating to basketball in Taiwanese society with emphasis on the development of basketball against the backdrop of societal development in Taiwan and in the broader political-cultural environment. Two complementary theoretical approaches are adopted in this study: those of governance theory at the meso level of analysis; and a strategic-relational approach at the macro level to explain the ways in which governance decisions are taken in strategically selective contexts which facilitate and constrain certain actions and thus outcomes. The empirical analysis draws on a qualitative case-study approach, which was based on documentary materials and semi-structured interviews. Three major cases, namely, the collapse of the Chinese Basketball Alliance, the emergence of the Super Basketball League and the sporting links with China, were selected on the basis of their significance in the operational governance of basketball. The first is a specific event, the second focuses on a particular process, and the third on the impact of context. The perceptions of the stakeholders in the specific groups were reviewed in order to compose insights into their account of the principal interests and forces in the governance system. Interview transcripts and government reports were subject to coding employing Nvivo 9 qualitative data analysis software, and coding and analysis were undertaken employing an ethnographic content analysis approach. While governance theory provides an explanatory framework at the meso-level of analysis, the thesis argues for embedding this within a wider strategic relational meta-theoretical account. This emphasises the dialectic relationship between strategic, reflexive actors and the strategic selectivity of the context of decision-making which privileges certain strategies and tactics, and explains the structural coherence (and/or patterns of incoherence) which have emerged in the evolving nature of the governance of basketball in Taiwan. By focusing on these three inter-related studies, we provided linked spatio-temporal forms of explanation of how the collapse of the CBA provided the strategic context and strategic resources for the emergence of the SBL and the Sina Basketball Club s migration to China. Subsequently the case of the SBL and Sina provided the strategic context and strategic resources for Taiwanese players migration to China as individual sportsmen. The thesis has thus produced explanations of how the outcomes of one case provide the strategically inscribed selectivity of the next which with recursively selected strategies and tactics on the part of stakeholders produces the structured coherence/pattern (and / or incoherence) of the Taiwanese (male) prospective-professional basketball system.

In the 1990s a consensus has emerged in international relations and foreign policy analysis according to which it has become necessary to move from single-level approaches towards multilevel theorising. The thesis suggests that the network approach is especially suited for the development of a multilevel theory of foreign policy decision-making because it has already been successfully applied to national, transnational and international levels of analysis. The thesis expands the scope of the network approach by proposing a 'multilevel network theory' that combines all three levels. Moreover, the thesis addresses the widespread criticism that network models fail to explain the process of decision-making by putting forward testable hypotheses regarding the exercise of pressure and the changing preferences among political actors. The aim of the approach is to examine how networks among national, transnational and international actors influence foreign policy making. The thesis suggests that the outcome of the decision-making process can be explained by the formation of a majority coalition in favour of a particular policy. In order to test the proposed multilevel network theory, the thesis examines four cases of foreign policy decision-making after the end of the Cold War. The case studies include: (1) the decision of the British government to support air strikes in Bosnia, (2) the abolition of the tactical air-to-surface missile project by the British government in 1993, (3) the first despatch of German Tornados to Bosnia, and (4) the reduction of German export controls on goods with civil and military applications ('dual-use'). By analysing cases in which two Western European governments had the final decision-making authority, the thesis illustrates how 'national' foreign policy decisions can be the consequences of domestic, transnational and international pressure.

No description available.

Realist international relations theory is the most influential theoretical approach in the discipline of international relations. Within the realist paradigm there are several realist approaches. Various approaches, including classical realism, neorealism, offensive realism, neo-classical realism, and game theory, are part of the realist paradigm but some make different theoretically relevant assumptions, notably about international politics, international actors and actors' motivations. The first part of this thesis seeks to demonstrate how, despite their other differences, a fundamental assumption that anarchy determines the nature of international politics is characteristic of realist theorists as notable and different as classical realists Thucydides, Niccolo Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, Edward Hallett Carr and Hans Morgenthau, structural realist Kenneth Waltz, offensive realist John Mearsheimer, realist game theory analysis of international relations, and neoclassical realists Victor Cha, Thomas Christenson and Gideon Rose. This demonstration establishes the basis for proceeding to a critique of realists' fundamental anarchy assumption. The second part of this thesis presents an argument that realists' fundamental assumption that anarchy determines the nature of international politics has been responsible for theoretical shortcomings of realist analyses, and argues that a complexity basis for international relations theory would offer theoretical and analytical advantages. The cost of the assumption of anarchy for realist analyses is demonstrated in a critique of realist accounts of the outbreak of World War I, the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, and regional political integration in Europe. These major international developments should be readily addressed by the realist or any other paradigm of international relations theory. In all three cases, the factors involved leave realists struggling to re-visit their assumptions about international politics in order to explain what occurred. While such re-assessments have included a variety of efforts to broaden or redefine the factors considered, the role and implications of anarchy as a foundational assumption of realist theorising has rarely been questioned, and it remains a central realist premise. Complexity theory is being embraced in a variety of fields of social inquiry, including politics and international relations. This thesis proposes that the complexity of international politics is something that needs to be embraced and not sidelined. This is the case whether the international politics in question was in ancient times or the twenty-first century. The complexity of international politics, not anarchy, needs to be operationalised as the foundational assumption of international relations theory, in order to build international relations theorising on a more appropriate basis that can be applied more fruitfully in the descriptions and explanations of empirical international relations analyses. / Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2009

No description available.

Quantum approaches to International Relations theory have proliferated rapidly in recent years, challenging the field to come to terms with the influence of physics at its philosophical foundations. These new theoretical perspectives draw on quantum physics, quantum social theory, and prior quantum interventions in other disciplines of social science. But unlike prior debates around the desirability of "adding" science to the study of world politics (Morgenthau 1946; Kindleberger 1958; Bull 1966), the call of quantum IR theory is one for transformation (Barad 2007; Fierke 2022; Murphy 2021c; O’Brien 2021; Zanotti 2018). In this dissertation, I explore the stakes and scope of this quantum transformation to better understand the process of quantizing inquiry into International Relations. The first chapter sets out the metatheoretical stakes of quantizing IR by engaging with critical responses to prior works of quantum. Situating quantum approaches in the broader intellectual history of the field, I argue that understanding the "cost" of quantizing IR cannot take the form of a cost/benefit logic, instead recognizing the opportunity cost of remaining Newtonian. The second chapter turns to the development of quantum mechanics within physics to demonstrate the relatability of key concepts for social inquiry, despite the vernacular divide. The third chapter turns to methodology, discussing the philosophical sources supporting 'quantizing through translation,' drawing on both the quantum social theory of Karen Barad and broader influences including Walter Benjamin, actor-network theory, and Donna Haraway. The next trio of chapters serve to demonstrate the breadth of quantum's utility across the discipline through a set of conceptual case studies related to major subfields of IR. The fourth chapter speaks to debates in peace and security studies, and provides a quantized account of violence through a diffractive reading of Johan Galtung's "Violence, Peace, and Peace Research." The fifth chapter turns to foreign policy and strategic studies, arguing that the non-traditional diplomatic strategy of "track two diplomacy" abides a quantum game-theoretic logic, and that this can only be fully appreciated by interrogating its quantum-like assumptions. Chapter six then addresses international political economy through an attempt to redefine "the market" in quantum terms. Recognizing the stakes and scope of quantum IR explored through the dissertation, the conclusion reaffirms the case for quantum to be understood as transformation rather than addition, and sets out future directions for research in quantum IR.

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In this thesis my aims are twofold. First, I provide an auto-history of the concept of reason in Anglophone IR from 1919 to 2009. I uncover the centrality of the language of reason. I show that the concept of reason has constituted, undergirded, and empowered many prominent IR scholars’ discourses. Second, I bring out a taxonomy of four construal of rationality. I argue that IR thinkers have spoken in four languages of reason. Kantian reason stands in a relation opposed to passion, emotion and instinct, and makes the stipulation that to base actions on the intellect is prerequisite for pursuing interest and moral conduct. I argue that the British Liberal Institutionalists, Has Morgenthau, Richard Ashley and Andrew Linklater are bearers of this construal. Utilitarian reason refers to the maximization of interests under constraints, where interest can be defined as strategic preference, emotional attachment, or cultural value and constraints as a two-person game, uncertainty or risk. I demonstrate how Thomas Schelling, Herman Kahn, Glenn Snyder, Robert Keohane, Robert Gilpin, Helen Milner, Andrew Moravcsik and many other theorists use the concept. Axiological reason means following rules, cultures and norms, and always uses game as an analytical foundation and attends to the problem of how to enforce rules. I argue that Kenneth Waltz, Nicholas Onuf, Friedrich Kratochwil and K.M. Fierke have deployed the concept to construct their theories. Historical reason views all values as conditioned within a specific spatial-temporal background, and insists that moral problems, which are constituted in the margin of every political conduct, must be solved by overcoming universal morality and the unilateral pursuit of interest. I show that Raymond Aron, Martin Wight, David Boucher and Christian Reus-Smit have conceived of reason in this way.

Recently, many authors from various theoretical backgrounds have written books or articles trying to clarify what the role of the sovereign state is within the wider political context of “global politics.” This thesis seeks to critically engage with the way in which this debate has been framed by the vast majority of these authors. Indeed, while most authors frame this debate as an essentially empirical disagreement concerning the objective composition of global politics, we will be arguing that it is really a debate that concerns the problem of political foundation and the possibly changing nature of the dominant ways of answering this problem in contemporary “global politics.” From this perspective, the vast majority of those involved in this debate simply pass over - as somehow analytically uninteresting - most of the questions that would really need to be explained and understood. This thesis seeks to address this crucial oversight