"June 2002" / Bibliography: leaves 229-270. / ix, 270 leaves ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / This thesis examines the changes in diplomacy of China, the West, Tibet and India from 1911 to 1951, while Tibet functioned as an independent country, and during 1951 to 1959 while under Chinese control. Tibet maintained its own currency, government, armed forces and way of life until 1959. The thesis also examines the cultural shifts in the political, social and military spheres in these countries. It assumes that the general world trend in political life has been towards increasingly intolerant and extreme politics. If Tibet remains part of China with little chance of resuming independence, it is because the Chinese government and people were quicker to adopt radical Western philosophies than the Tibetans were. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of History, 2002

"October 2003" / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 364-412) / x, 412 leaves : ill., maps ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Establishes a unifying theory for the concept of middle power. Hybridisation theory is presented as a basis for analysis, policy development and prediction of middle power statecraft and perceived power. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, School of History and Politics, Discipline of Politics, 2004

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This dissertation examines the emergence of revisionism in the foreign policies of the great powers: it is concerned with the rise of 'challenger' states. Current approaches to the rise of challengers (arguments from 'structure', 'prudence', and 'historical sociology') are if generally useful also incomplete, leaving the emergence of several great power challengers not fully explained. This dissertation offers a new explanation, not as a replacement but as a complement to these theories, and in doing so accomplishes two tasks: first, it explains cases previously unaccounted-for; and second, it does so in a fashion that acknowledges the co-determination of domestic and international politics. The new model suggests that the seeds of challenges to international orders are often found in the wartime experience itself, in social pacts between elites and societal groups struck to achieve mobilization requirements. Violation of these pacts in the postwar period can in turn generate powerful political movements for the overthrow of both the domestic and international postwar orders. The explanation offered by this model is then applied to five cases of great power behaviour after major wars. While imperfect in its ability to account for great power behaviour in all these cases and thus requiring refinement, the model obtains sufficient support to warrant further exploration of these and other cases in future studies.

Despite that we are in the midst of profound changes in communications technologies, there is a remarkable gap in the International Relations literature devoted to exploring the implications of these changes. In part, this can be attributed to the discipline’s conservative tendencies; generally, International Relations theorists have resisted studying major discontinuity in the international system. The few studies that do attempt to account for change typically focus on modes of production or destruction as determinant variables. Though there are rare exceptions, many of them also tend towards a form of mono-causal reductionism. When considered at all, communications technologies are viewed through the prism of, or are reduced to, these other factors. This study seeks to remedy this gap by examining the relationship between large-scale shifts in modes of communication and “world order” transformation -- the structure or architecture of political authority at a world-level. Drawing from the work of various “medium theory” scholars, such as Harold Innis and Marshall McLuhan, the study outlines an open-ended, non-reductive theory at the core of which is the argument that changes in modes of communication facilitate and constrain social forces and ideas latent in society. This hypothesized process can be likened to the interaction between species and a changing natural environment: new communications environments “favour” certain social forces and ideas by means of a functional bias towards some and not others, much the same as environments determine which species prosper by “selecting” for certain physical characteristics. In other words, social forces and ideas survive differentially according to their “fitness” or match with the new communications environment -- a process that is both open ended and contingent. The study is organized into two parts: Part one examines the relationship between printing and the medieval to modem world order transformation in Europe; Part two examines the relationship between new digital-electronic-telecommunications (called “hypermedia”) and the modem to postmodern world order transformation. The study suggests that the hypermedia communications environment is contributing to the dissolution of modern world order by facilitating the transnationalization of production, the globalization of finance, the rise of complex, non-territorial social networks, and the de-massification of “national” identities. The hypermedia environment is also helping to re-focus security concerns from an inter-national to an intra-planetary context. While it is far too early to provide a clear outline of the emerging postmodern world order, the trends that are unearthed in this study point away from single mass identities, linear political boundaries, and exclusive jurisdictions centred on territorial spaces, and towards multiple identities and non-territorial communities, overlapping boundaries, and non-exclusive jurisdictions.

Despite that we are in the midst of profound changes in communications technologies, there is a remarkable gap in the International Relations literature devoted to exploring the implications of these changes. In part, this can be attributed to the discipline’s conservative tendencies; generally, International Relations theorists have resisted studying major discontinuity in the international system. The few studies that do attempt to account for change typically focus on modes of production or destruction as determinant variables. Though there are rare exceptions, many of them also tend towards a form of mono-causal reductionism. When considered at all, communications technologies are viewed through the prism of, or are reduced to, these other factors. This study seeks to remedy this gap by examining the relationship between large-scale shifts in modes of communication and “world order” transformation -- the structure or architecture of political authority at a world-level. Drawing from the work of various “medium theory” scholars, such as Harold Innis and Marshall McLuhan, the study outlines an open-ended, non-reductive theory at the core of which is the argument that changes in modes of communication facilitate and constrain social forces and ideas latent in society. This hypothesized process can be likened to the interaction between species and a changing natural environment: new communications environments “favour” certain social forces and ideas by means of a functional bias towards some and not others, much the same as environments determine which species prosper by “selecting” for certain physical characteristics. In other words, social forces and ideas survive differentially according to their “fitness” or match with the new communications environment -- a process that is both open ended and contingent. The study is organized into two parts: Part one examines the relationship between printing and the medieval to modem world order transformation in Europe; Part two examines the relationship between new digital-electronic-telecommunications (called “hypermedia”) and the modem to postmodern world order transformation. The study suggests that the hypermedia communications environment is contributing to the dissolution of modern world order by facilitating the transnationalization of production, the globalization of finance, the rise of complex, non-territorial social networks, and the de-massification of “national” identities. The hypermedia environment is also helping to re-focus security concerns from an inter-national to an intra-planetary context. While it is far too early to provide a clear outline of the emerging postmodern world order, the trends that are unearthed in this study point away from single mass identities, linear political boundaries, and exclusive jurisdictions centred on territorial spaces, and towards multiple identities and non-territorial communities, overlapping boundaries, and non-exclusive jurisdictions. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

This study examines the Socialist Republic of Romania as a Stalinist state which employs a personality cult. The leader of a state is the focus of a personality cult, but he does not enjoy the status it gives without consent from elsewhere within the government. In order to determine where this power comes from, three possible sources are discussed. These are: Nicolae Ceausescu, president of Romania; the state bureaucracy; and the people. The Soviet Union, during the time of Stalin, is used as a comparative element. When Nicolae Ceausescu came to power he did so with the consent of the elite. As the Romanian elite are less inclined to support his policies, Ceausescu has had to continually take steps to stay ahead of the opposition. The Romanian people also lent their support to Ceausescu earlier, and have since become discontented with the regime. This study concludes that a leader with a personality cult must have some form of consent to come into power, but his personal characteristics will determine how he leads and whether or not he will be able to remain in power if that consent is withdrawn. / M.A.

"June 2002" Bibliography: leaves 229-270. This thesis examines the changes in diplomacy of China, the West, Tibet and India from 1911 to 1951, while Tibet functioned as an independent country, and during 1951 to 1959 while under Chinese control. Tibet maintained its own currency, government, armed forces and way of life until 1959. The thesis also examines the cultural shifts in the political, social and military spheres in these countries. It assumes that the general world trend in political life has been towards increasingly intolerant and extreme politics. If Tibet remains part of China with little chance of resuming independence, it is because the Chinese government and people were quicker to adopt radical Western philosophies than the Tibetans were.

This dissertation is a cross-national, empirical study of human rights conditions in a dynamic international political economy. The scope of the examination covers 176 developed and developing countries from 1980 through 1993. Through evaluating the numerous theoretical aspects of human rights conceptualization, I draw upon Shue's framework and consider whether there are indeed "basic rights" and which rights should fit into this category. Further, I address the debate between those who claim that these rights are truly universal (applying to all nations and individuals) and those who argue that the validity of a moral right is relative to indigenous cultures. In a similar vein, I empirically investigate whether various human rights are interdependent and indivisible, as some scholars argue, or whether there are inherent trade-offs between various rights provisions. In going beyond the fixation on a single aspect of human rights, I broadly investigate subsistence rights, security rights and political and economic freedom. While these have previously been addressed separately, there are virtually no studies that consider them together and the subsequent linkages between them. Ultimately, a pooled time-series cross-section model is developed that moves beyond the traditional concentration on security rights (also know as integrity of the person rights) and focuses on the more controversial subsistence rights (also known as basic human needs). By addressing both subsistence and security rights, I consider whether certain aspects of the changing international political economy affect these two groups of rights in different ways. A further delineation is made between OECD and non-OECD countries. The primary international focus is on the effects of global integration and the end of the Cold War. Domestic explanations that are connected with globalization include economic freedom, income inequality and democratization. These variables are subjected to bivariate and multivariate hypothesis testing including bivariate correlations, analysis of variance, and multiple OLS regression with robust standard errors.

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