Welcome to the Students of International Relations and the Diplomats!
The principal objective of Cosmopolitikos.com is to provide the students of International Relations and the practitioners with the best set of tools to reach an understanding of World Politics.
Defining International Relations
Both, the object of investigation and the discipline that studies it.
Usually a branch of Political Science, the study of International Relations is a multidisciplinary amalgam, drawing from diverse social sciences (Diplomatic history, philosophy, sociology, ecology,...), with the main sub-fields being international politics, international law and international political economy. The study of International Relations focuses its attention mainly on:
Cosmopolitikos' Notes: Multipolar Power Systems and International Stability
New addition to the Cosmopolitikos' Notes, a comprehensive summary of Karl Deutsch and J. David Singer's “Multipolar Power Systems and International Stability,”. In their article, the authors are attempting to show that multipolirity is more stable than bipolarity and less prone to war. They explain this by the increase of opportunity to cooperate and the decrease of the allocation of attention.
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Political Documents: Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)
Ever wonder what a peaceful world system would look like? This might have been one of the purpose of what brought American Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg and French foreign minister Aristide Briand to draw the General Treaty for the Renunciation of War, also known as the Pact of Paris. This pact is arguably the most important idealistic inter-war document to outlaw war as a mean of resolution of international conflicts after the Convent of the League of Nations.
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Stuff of Interest online...
Solomon M. Hsiang, Kyle C. Meng & Mark A. Cane - Civil conflicts are associated with the global climate
"Natural climate cycles seem to have a striking influence on war and peace around the equator. Tropical countries face double the risk of armed conflict and civil war breaking out during warm, dry El Niņo years than during the cooler La Niņa phase of the El Niņo/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), according to an analysis published today in Nature" (Quirin Schiermeier - Nature News - August 24, 2011).
FPA Great Decision - Is U.S. power in decline? (2011)
Foreign Policy Association Great Decision's host, Ralph Begleiter, interviews Richard Gowan, Associate Director of the Center on International Cooperation, David Shorr, senior fellow at the Stanley and other specialists concerning U.S. power in today's world.
International cooperation subjects political leaders to an ongoing test: balancing national needs with a commitment to building a durable international order. How has an increasingly interconnected and shrinking world affected the viability of existing agreements and institutions? What economic, social, political and security concerns are currently on the agendas of intergovernmental bodies, and what is the future U.S. role?
About Libya
Wikipedia - LibyaConversations with History - Joseph S. Nye, Jr. on Power (March 24, 2011)
Conversations with History's host, Harry Kreisler, interviews theorist of International Relations and author of Power and Interdependence (1977), Soft Power (2004) and The Future of Power (2011), Joseph S. Nye, Jr. Entitled "Power (March 24, 2011)", Nye offers a typology of power and talks about military, economic, soft power and smart power.
President Obama's Speech in front of the UK Parliament - May 25, 2011
U.S., U.K. ties enduring: Obama (CBC News/The Associated Press, Canada) Includes President Obama's speech.Jorge Heine - On the Manner of Practicing the New Diplomacy
In an essay, Mr. Ambassador of Chile Jorge Heine argues that in today's world the old diplomacy, the “club model”, is not as efficient as in the golden age of national sovereignty. Diplomats need to take the opportunity offered by global technologies and horizontal networks. Mr. Heine analyses, through the lens of his own experience, the changes in the manner of practicing diplomacy.
War and Natural Born Killers or What we can learn from our cousins
Robert M. Sapolsky. “A Natural History of Peace,” Foreign Affairs 85, 1 (January/February 2006), pp. 104-120.
In an interesting article, Robert M. Sapolsky, Professor of Biological Sciences and Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences at Stanford University shows how our nearest cousins, the primates, can teach us tricks about our relationship with violence. Unlike what was thought few decades ago, humans are not naturally aggressive but able to make their own history, of peaceful behaviour and of cooperation. This contradicts the main assumption of the realist tradition which has a pessimistic opinion of human nature, seeing human beings as deeply egotistic, competitive and seeking the maximization of power as a way to ensure its own survival. An article that puts things in perspective... and shows that we might not be as unique after all.
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