The nuclear age has been characterized by an emerging and now well-established norm of nuclear no... more The nuclear age has been characterized by an emerging and now well-established norm of nuclear non-use, the ‘nuclear taboo’. In the realistic and naturalistic setting of the science-fiction TV series Battlestar Galactica, however, nuclear weapons are used frequently and at times massively. Claiming that science fiction can function as an illuminating ‘mirror’ for international relations scholarship and that we can learn something from ‘second-order’ (fictional) worlds, this article explores potential in-show reasons that render the absence of a nuclear taboo plausible within the universe of Battlestar Galactica. We turn to the central pillars of the nuclear taboo in the real world and find them reversed in the show: nuclear weapons are (depicted as) ‘clean’, international institutions are absent, and the enemy is socially constructed as a ‘radical other’, thus rendering the possibility, if not likelihood, of nuclear war plausible. With these insights, we return to our world and argue that, particularly during the years of the George W Bush presidency, the erosion tendencies of the nuclear taboo were indeed quite serious: technological progress and growing political inclination expedited plans to develop usable nuclear weapons, arms control regimes came under considerable strain, and opponents were portrayed as ‘unjust enemies’ or ‘rogues’.
Compliance is a central concept in both the study and practice of international relations, and th... more Compliance is a central concept in both the study and practice of international relations, and the body of literature is correspondingly extensive. Although justice has already been shown to play an important role in international negotiations, its potential impact on actors’ compliance behavior has not been sufficiently explored to date. We examine the relationship between the two concepts, and posit that actors’ perceived justice considerations with a regime influence their compliance behavior. To illustrate the importance of including justice considerations in the study of compliance, we investigate Germany’s behavior as a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty during the 1960–80s. The empirical illustration exemplifies how a member’s justice contentions, borne of an unjust regime, can lead to contested compliance and regime conflict. The case illuminates the need to broaden our understanding of compliance and its complexity in both conceptual and practical terms.
Traditionally, the discipline of International Relations (IR) assumed a state-centric perspective... more Traditionally, the discipline of International Relations (IR) assumed a state-centric perspective. However, as new actors emerged and begun to play an increasingly important role in international politics, the discipline opened itself towards non-state actors. Among these, multinational enterprises (MNEs), their participation in public–private partnerships and their changing role expressed in extended corporate social responsibility (CSR) have caught the interests of scholars as MNEs are no longer simply the object of regulation, but rather become political actors themselves. In a nutshell, regulation of MNEs has changed to regulation together with MNEs. Despite these changes, however, private business actors in general and CSR in particular have predominantly been investigated from rationalist perspectives. Although a fertile and dynamic theoretical field, constructivism has been surprisingly reluctant to deal with MNEs. To counter this reluctance, the paper conceptualises MNEs as “social actors” affected by norms and acting on a logic of appropriateness. This theoretical argument is empirically illustrated by analysing the arguments given by MNEs for participating in CSR. Besides the expected logic of business reasoning in corporate speeches, ideas and arguments such as moral and ethical obligations, changed understandings of the corporate role in society and the will to tackle important global issues can be found in most speeches presenting MNEs as sensitive towards social expectations. As the case of CSR shows, there is an ideational motivation for corporate action beyond rational calculation and expected consequences, indicating that corporate action itself is more complex than rationalist theories commonly suggest.
Marco Fey et al./Elvira Rosert 2013: Die Chance nutzen! Zum Stand von Rüstungskontrolle und Abrüs... more Marco Fey et al./Elvira Rosert 2013: Die Chance nutzen! Zum Stand von Rüstungskontrolle und Abrüstung, in: von Boemcken, Marc/Werkner, Ines-Jacqueline/Johannsen, Margret/Schoch, Bruno (Hg.): Friedensgutachten 2013, Berlin: LIT Verlag, 165-179.
in: Anna Geis/Harald Müller/Niklas Schörnig (eds), The Militant Face of Democracy. Liberal Forces for Good, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 89-123 , 2013
The United Kingdom is one of those democracies that are particularly often involved in military c... more The United Kingdom is one of those democracies that are particularly often involved in military conflicts. Britain went to war five times in the first six years of Tony Blair's premiership alone: 'No British Prime Minister and few world leaders come close' (Kampfner 2003: ix). John Kampfner goes on to say that British intervention ism in the post-Cold War era is no longer defined by traditional concepts of national interest. As I intend to illustrate in this chapter, it is rather the idea of standing up for certain values and being firm against aggressors, both notions stemming from a strong liberal tradition in Britain, as well as the desire to play an active role in shaping international relations — all integral parts of Britain's foreign policy role conception — that help to understand the country's military engagement in the world.
in: Marc von Boemcken, Ines-Jacqueline Werkner, Margret Johannsen, Bruno Schoch (Hrsg.), Friedensgutachten 2013, Münster: LIT, 165-179, 2013
Nach acht Jahren George W. Bush war es schlecht bestellt um Rüstungskontrolle und Abrüstung. Präs... more Nach acht Jahren George W. Bush war es schlecht bestellt um Rüstungskontrolle und Abrüstung. Präsident Obama ist es mit einer wesentlich rüstungskontrollfreundlicheren Politik gelungen, das Schiff vor dem Kentern zu bewahren und sogar eine Reihe neuer Akzente zu setzen. Dieser Beitrag beleuchtet den Stand von Rüstungskontrolle und Abrüstung in den Bereichen Massenvernichtungswaffen, konventionelle Rüstung (KSE, ATT und Streubomben) und thematisiert bislang ungeregelte Felder (Weltraum, Cyber, Drohnen) zu Beginn der zweiten Amtszeit Obamas. Er formuliert den Anspruch an die deutsche Außenpolitik, in allen Bereichen proaktive Positionen einzunehmen, den amerikanischen Präsidenten dort zu unterstützen, wo rüstungskontrollpolitische Ideen konvergieren, und stärkere eigene Akzente zu setzen, wo sich in den vergangenen Jahren zu wenig getan hat.
in: Harald Müller/Carmen Wunderlich (eds), Norm Dynamics in Multilateral Arms Control. Interests, Conflicts, and Justice, Athens/London: University of Georgia Press, 163-206, 2013
Theories of international relations conventionally regard great powers as the most important acto... more Theories of international relations conventionally regard great powers as the most important actors in international politics. Research on norms, however, has placed little emphasis on their activities. Research on great powers, in turn, has for the most part neglected the role of norms and focused mainly on material aspects. Highlighting the role of the normative fabric of the international system in this volume compels us to look at the roles great powers play as norm entrepreneurs in arms control regimes.
We regard the United States and Russia as established great powers. While the United States has been the dominant power since the end of World War II, the position of Russia is somewhat delicate as it was never a global hegemon but instead the primary challenger to the US-led international order.
Both, however, played a pivotal role in the creation of the regimes under scrutiny here, given the assumption of nuclear parity. They should act valiantly in a) defending and enforcing the regimes and b) opposing norm change; something that the United States – as the permanent number one – is expected to do even more than Russia.
China and India are rising great powers. Both were great empires in the past, but were subjected to repression and humiliation during the era of imperialism. They were comparatively weak when the current world order was established in the aftermath of World War II and remained on the periphery of world politics during the Cold War. From the 1980s (China) and 1990s (India) onwards, both started a spectacular rise. They can thus be expected to put forward alternative norms to those existing and to justify their proposals by arguing that the present order is profoundly unjust. They might also be more hostile towards those regimes that had been established before their rise began (NPT and BWC) than towards those that have been established later (e.g., CWC, SALW PoA).
in: Harald Müller/Carmen Wunderlich (eds), Norm Dynamics in Multilateral Arms Control. Interests, Conflicts, and Justice, Athens/London: University of Georgia Press, 141-160, 2013
Both long-term trends in the international system and individual events, shocks, or traumata of a... more Both long-term trends in the international system and individual events, shocks, or traumata of a certain magnitude hold potential for triggering norm change in arms control regimes. They might challenge dominant ideas and ideological paradigms, put new issues on the table that call for collective action, alter cost-benefit calculations of member states, or shake the international balance of power, and thus impact on both agency and structure. While scholars often invoke exogenous events as explanations for institutional change, such events can also inhibit change within a given normative structure: “Exogenous shock remains an indeterminate explanation” and thus cannot be used for forecasting (Legro 2000, 423). We analyze the impact of three exemplary significant international developments and events for their effects on international arms control: the current power shift from the transatlantic area to Asia, the end of the Cold War within half a decade, and the rise of the terrorist threat after the singular event of 9/11.
in: Mannitz, Sabine (ed.): Democratic Civil-Military Relations Soldiering in 21st Century Europe, London: Routledge (Cass Military Studies), 45-64, 2012
In this chapter, I argue that the British ideal for soldiering developed in the context of the se... more In this chapter, I argue that the British ideal for soldiering developed in the context of the separation and convergence of the military and society. Professionalism itself, the central attribute of the image of the British soldier, has transformed along these lines. In this regard, the military has responded to calls for greater convergence towards the democratic society to which it belongs. The military, once an Imperial force, is understood today to be a force for good in the world that protects not only British interests in the narrow sense but also the values for which the UK stands, such as human rights and democracy. It is thus surprisingly in line with both Janowitz’s idea that the military reflects the core principles and values of society and Huntington’s notion of the need for institutional and cultural separation.
in: Jäger, Thomas (Hrsg.): Die Welt nach 9/11. Auswirkungen des Terrorismus auf Staatenwelt und Gesellschaft, Wiesbaden: VS Verlag, 32-52, 2012
US-Regierung und Kongress haben auf die traumatischen Ereignisse des 11. Septembers 2001 (9/11) m... more US-Regierung und Kongress haben auf die traumatischen Ereignisse des 11. Septembers 2001 (9/11) mit Strategien der Rückversicherung reagiert, die eine Reihe von Paradigmenwechseln in der Innen- und Außenpolitik bewirkten. Anhand der Beispiele veränderter Praktiken und Diskurse in der innerstaatlichen Sicherheits- und der nuklearen Rüstungskontrollpolitik nach 9/11 lässt sich zeigen, dass der Administration von Präsident George W. Bush insbesondere eine Erweiterung der eigenen Handlungsspielräume gelang. Das alles überlagernde neue Paradigma des Counterterrorism führte zu einer Neujustierung der normativen Ordnung der amerikanischen Sicherheitspolitik.
in: Jan Helmig/Niklas Schörnig (eds), Die Transformation der Streitkräfte im 21. Jahrhundert. Militärische und politische Dimensionen der aktuellen "Revolution in Military Affairs", Frankfurt/M. (Campus), 203-223., 2008
The defense industry and some countries’ armed forces recognize the great potential of additive m... more The defense industry and some countries’ armed forces recognize the great potential of additive manufacturing or 3-D printing. This is evident in the growing number of 3-D printing fairs, printathons, and defense dollars going to military applications of the technology. 3-D printing allows the quicker, cheaper, and easier development of weapons and even entirely new weapon designs.
This applies to the full range of weapons categories: small arms and light weapons (e.g., guns and grenade launchers), conventional weapon systems (e.g., drones and missiles), and possibly even weapons of mass destruction.
3D printing – or additive manufacturing – is a challenging dual-use technology: One and the same ... more 3D printing – or additive manufacturing – is a challenging dual-use technology: One and the same device can print toys or guns. This Report explains the basics of the technology, describes its current applications, and provides an overview of its global diffusion. It shows the potential of this emerging technology and analyzes its possible risks with respect to the proliferation of small arms, major weapon systems, and even weapons of mass destruction. It investigates how 3D printing might pose serious challenges to national and international security. First proposals of risk mitigation through safeguards, export controls, cyber security, awareness raising, and industry self-regulation are discussed.
Compliance is a central concept in both the study and practice of international relations. While ... more Compliance is a central concept in both the study and practice of international relations. While it is a theoretically fascinating concept, its vital implications in the practical reality of international relations should necessitate no explanation. In the field of security in general, and arms control in particularly, it is of vital importance to maintaining agreement and sustaining a regime. The study of compliance, and more specifically, the introduction of new ways of thinking about and understanding compliance, is therefore of great importance and interest to both academics and practitioners. The body of literature on compliance in political science and international law is extensive. However, the possible influence of justice on compliance behavior has not been explored, although justice has already been shown to play an important role in international negotiations (not to mention its increasing saliency in a variety of disciplines such as evolutionary biology, anthropology an...
Traditionally, the discipline of International Relations (“IR”) assumed a state-centric perspecti... more Traditionally, the discipline of International Relations (“IR”) assumed a state-centric perspective. However, as new actors emerged and begun to play an increasingly important role in international politics, the discipline opened itself towards non-state actors. Among these, multinational enterprises (“MNE(s)”), their participation in public-private partnerships and their changing role expressed in extended corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) have caught the interests of scholars as MNEs are no longer simply the object of regulation, but rather become political actors themselves. In a nutshell, regulation of MNEs has changed to regulation together with MNEs. Despite these changes, however, private business actors in general and CSR in particular have predominantly been investigated from rationalist perspectives. Although a fertile and dynamic theoretical field, constructivism has been surprisingly reluctant to deal with MNEs. To counter this reluctance, the paper conceptualises MNEs as “social actors” affected by norms and acting on a logic of appropriateness. This theoretical argument is empirically illustrated by analysing the arguments given by MNEs for participating in CSR. Besides the expected logic of business reasoning in corporate speeches, ideas and arguments such as moral and ethical obligations, changed understandings of the corporate role in society and the will to tackle important global issues can be found in most speeches presenting MNEs as sensitive towards social expectations. As the case of CSR shows, there is an ideational motivation for corporate action beyond rational calculation and expected consequences, indicating that corporate action itself is more complex than rationalist theories commonly suggest.
The nuclear age has been characterized by an emerging and now well-established norm of nuclear no... more The nuclear age has been characterized by an emerging and now well-established norm of nuclear non-use, the ‘nuclear taboo’. In the realistic and naturalistic setting of the science-fiction TV series Battlestar Galactica, however, nuclear weapons are used frequently and at times massively. Claiming that science fiction can function as an illuminating ‘mirror’ for international relations scholarship and that we can learn something from ‘second-order’ (fictional) worlds, this article explores potential in-show reasons that render the absence of a nuclear taboo plausible within the universe of Battlestar Galactica. We turn to the central pillars of the nuclear taboo in the real world and find them reversed in the show: nuclear weapons are (depicted as) ‘clean’, international institutions are absent, and the enemy is socially constructed as a ‘radical other’, thus rendering the possibility, if not likelihood, of nuclear war plausible. With these insights, we return to our world and argue that, particularly during the years of the George W Bush presidency, the erosion tendencies of the nuclear taboo were indeed quite serious: technological progress and growing political inclination expedited plans to develop usable nuclear weapons, arms control regimes came under considerable strain, and opponents were portrayed as ‘unjust enemies’ or ‘rogues’.
Compliance is a central concept in both the study and practice of international relations, and th... more Compliance is a central concept in both the study and practice of international relations, and the body of literature is correspondingly extensive. Although justice has already been shown to play an important role in international negotiations, its potential impact on actors’ compliance behavior has not been sufficiently explored to date. We examine the relationship between the two concepts, and posit that actors’ perceived justice considerations with a regime influence their compliance behavior. To illustrate the importance of including justice considerations in the study of compliance, we investigate Germany’s behavior as a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty during the 1960–80s. The empirical illustration exemplifies how a member’s justice contentions, borne of an unjust regime, can lead to contested compliance and regime conflict. The case illuminates the need to broaden our understanding of compliance and its complexity in both conceptual and practical terms.
Traditionally, the discipline of International Relations (IR) assumed a state-centric perspective... more Traditionally, the discipline of International Relations (IR) assumed a state-centric perspective. However, as new actors emerged and begun to play an increasingly important role in international politics, the discipline opened itself towards non-state actors. Among these, multinational enterprises (MNEs), their participation in public–private partnerships and their changing role expressed in extended corporate social responsibility (CSR) have caught the interests of scholars as MNEs are no longer simply the object of regulation, but rather become political actors themselves. In a nutshell, regulation of MNEs has changed to regulation together with MNEs. Despite these changes, however, private business actors in general and CSR in particular have predominantly been investigated from rationalist perspectives. Although a fertile and dynamic theoretical field, constructivism has been surprisingly reluctant to deal with MNEs. To counter this reluctance, the paper conceptualises MNEs as “social actors” affected by norms and acting on a logic of appropriateness. This theoretical argument is empirically illustrated by analysing the arguments given by MNEs for participating in CSR. Besides the expected logic of business reasoning in corporate speeches, ideas and arguments such as moral and ethical obligations, changed understandings of the corporate role in society and the will to tackle important global issues can be found in most speeches presenting MNEs as sensitive towards social expectations. As the case of CSR shows, there is an ideational motivation for corporate action beyond rational calculation and expected consequences, indicating that corporate action itself is more complex than rationalist theories commonly suggest.
Marco Fey et al./Elvira Rosert 2013: Die Chance nutzen! Zum Stand von Rüstungskontrolle und Abrüs... more Marco Fey et al./Elvira Rosert 2013: Die Chance nutzen! Zum Stand von Rüstungskontrolle und Abrüstung, in: von Boemcken, Marc/Werkner, Ines-Jacqueline/Johannsen, Margret/Schoch, Bruno (Hg.): Friedensgutachten 2013, Berlin: LIT Verlag, 165-179.
in: Anna Geis/Harald Müller/Niklas Schörnig (eds), The Militant Face of Democracy. Liberal Forces for Good, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 89-123 , 2013
The United Kingdom is one of those democracies that are particularly often involved in military c... more The United Kingdom is one of those democracies that are particularly often involved in military conflicts. Britain went to war five times in the first six years of Tony Blair's premiership alone: 'No British Prime Minister and few world leaders come close' (Kampfner 2003: ix). John Kampfner goes on to say that British intervention ism in the post-Cold War era is no longer defined by traditional concepts of national interest. As I intend to illustrate in this chapter, it is rather the idea of standing up for certain values and being firm against aggressors, both notions stemming from a strong liberal tradition in Britain, as well as the desire to play an active role in shaping international relations — all integral parts of Britain's foreign policy role conception — that help to understand the country's military engagement in the world.
in: Marc von Boemcken, Ines-Jacqueline Werkner, Margret Johannsen, Bruno Schoch (Hrsg.), Friedensgutachten 2013, Münster: LIT, 165-179, 2013
Nach acht Jahren George W. Bush war es schlecht bestellt um Rüstungskontrolle und Abrüstung. Präs... more Nach acht Jahren George W. Bush war es schlecht bestellt um Rüstungskontrolle und Abrüstung. Präsident Obama ist es mit einer wesentlich rüstungskontrollfreundlicheren Politik gelungen, das Schiff vor dem Kentern zu bewahren und sogar eine Reihe neuer Akzente zu setzen. Dieser Beitrag beleuchtet den Stand von Rüstungskontrolle und Abrüstung in den Bereichen Massenvernichtungswaffen, konventionelle Rüstung (KSE, ATT und Streubomben) und thematisiert bislang ungeregelte Felder (Weltraum, Cyber, Drohnen) zu Beginn der zweiten Amtszeit Obamas. Er formuliert den Anspruch an die deutsche Außenpolitik, in allen Bereichen proaktive Positionen einzunehmen, den amerikanischen Präsidenten dort zu unterstützen, wo rüstungskontrollpolitische Ideen konvergieren, und stärkere eigene Akzente zu setzen, wo sich in den vergangenen Jahren zu wenig getan hat.
in: Harald Müller/Carmen Wunderlich (eds), Norm Dynamics in Multilateral Arms Control. Interests, Conflicts, and Justice, Athens/London: University of Georgia Press, 163-206, 2013
Theories of international relations conventionally regard great powers as the most important acto... more Theories of international relations conventionally regard great powers as the most important actors in international politics. Research on norms, however, has placed little emphasis on their activities. Research on great powers, in turn, has for the most part neglected the role of norms and focused mainly on material aspects. Highlighting the role of the normative fabric of the international system in this volume compels us to look at the roles great powers play as norm entrepreneurs in arms control regimes.
We regard the United States and Russia as established great powers. While the United States has been the dominant power since the end of World War II, the position of Russia is somewhat delicate as it was never a global hegemon but instead the primary challenger to the US-led international order.
Both, however, played a pivotal role in the creation of the regimes under scrutiny here, given the assumption of nuclear parity. They should act valiantly in a) defending and enforcing the regimes and b) opposing norm change; something that the United States – as the permanent number one – is expected to do even more than Russia.
China and India are rising great powers. Both were great empires in the past, but were subjected to repression and humiliation during the era of imperialism. They were comparatively weak when the current world order was established in the aftermath of World War II and remained on the periphery of world politics during the Cold War. From the 1980s (China) and 1990s (India) onwards, both started a spectacular rise. They can thus be expected to put forward alternative norms to those existing and to justify their proposals by arguing that the present order is profoundly unjust. They might also be more hostile towards those regimes that had been established before their rise began (NPT and BWC) than towards those that have been established later (e.g., CWC, SALW PoA).
in: Harald Müller/Carmen Wunderlich (eds), Norm Dynamics in Multilateral Arms Control. Interests, Conflicts, and Justice, Athens/London: University of Georgia Press, 141-160, 2013
Both long-term trends in the international system and individual events, shocks, or traumata of a... more Both long-term trends in the international system and individual events, shocks, or traumata of a certain magnitude hold potential for triggering norm change in arms control regimes. They might challenge dominant ideas and ideological paradigms, put new issues on the table that call for collective action, alter cost-benefit calculations of member states, or shake the international balance of power, and thus impact on both agency and structure. While scholars often invoke exogenous events as explanations for institutional change, such events can also inhibit change within a given normative structure: “Exogenous shock remains an indeterminate explanation” and thus cannot be used for forecasting (Legro 2000, 423). We analyze the impact of three exemplary significant international developments and events for their effects on international arms control: the current power shift from the transatlantic area to Asia, the end of the Cold War within half a decade, and the rise of the terrorist threat after the singular event of 9/11.
in: Mannitz, Sabine (ed.): Democratic Civil-Military Relations Soldiering in 21st Century Europe, London: Routledge (Cass Military Studies), 45-64, 2012
In this chapter, I argue that the British ideal for soldiering developed in the context of the se... more In this chapter, I argue that the British ideal for soldiering developed in the context of the separation and convergence of the military and society. Professionalism itself, the central attribute of the image of the British soldier, has transformed along these lines. In this regard, the military has responded to calls for greater convergence towards the democratic society to which it belongs. The military, once an Imperial force, is understood today to be a force for good in the world that protects not only British interests in the narrow sense but also the values for which the UK stands, such as human rights and democracy. It is thus surprisingly in line with both Janowitz’s idea that the military reflects the core principles and values of society and Huntington’s notion of the need for institutional and cultural separation.
in: Jäger, Thomas (Hrsg.): Die Welt nach 9/11. Auswirkungen des Terrorismus auf Staatenwelt und Gesellschaft, Wiesbaden: VS Verlag, 32-52, 2012
US-Regierung und Kongress haben auf die traumatischen Ereignisse des 11. Septembers 2001 (9/11) m... more US-Regierung und Kongress haben auf die traumatischen Ereignisse des 11. Septembers 2001 (9/11) mit Strategien der Rückversicherung reagiert, die eine Reihe von Paradigmenwechseln in der Innen- und Außenpolitik bewirkten. Anhand der Beispiele veränderter Praktiken und Diskurse in der innerstaatlichen Sicherheits- und der nuklearen Rüstungskontrollpolitik nach 9/11 lässt sich zeigen, dass der Administration von Präsident George W. Bush insbesondere eine Erweiterung der eigenen Handlungsspielräume gelang. Das alles überlagernde neue Paradigma des Counterterrorism führte zu einer Neujustierung der normativen Ordnung der amerikanischen Sicherheitspolitik.
in: Jan Helmig/Niklas Schörnig (eds), Die Transformation der Streitkräfte im 21. Jahrhundert. Militärische und politische Dimensionen der aktuellen "Revolution in Military Affairs", Frankfurt/M. (Campus), 203-223., 2008
The defense industry and some countries’ armed forces recognize the great potential of additive m... more The defense industry and some countries’ armed forces recognize the great potential of additive manufacturing or 3-D printing. This is evident in the growing number of 3-D printing fairs, printathons, and defense dollars going to military applications of the technology. 3-D printing allows the quicker, cheaper, and easier development of weapons and even entirely new weapon designs.
This applies to the full range of weapons categories: small arms and light weapons (e.g., guns and grenade launchers), conventional weapon systems (e.g., drones and missiles), and possibly even weapons of mass destruction.
3D printing – or additive manufacturing – is a challenging dual-use technology: One and the same ... more 3D printing – or additive manufacturing – is a challenging dual-use technology: One and the same device can print toys or guns. This Report explains the basics of the technology, describes its current applications, and provides an overview of its global diffusion. It shows the potential of this emerging technology and analyzes its possible risks with respect to the proliferation of small arms, major weapon systems, and even weapons of mass destruction. It investigates how 3D printing might pose serious challenges to national and international security. First proposals of risk mitigation through safeguards, export controls, cyber security, awareness raising, and industry self-regulation are discussed.
Compliance is a central concept in both the study and practice of international relations. While ... more Compliance is a central concept in both the study and practice of international relations. While it is a theoretically fascinating concept, its vital implications in the practical reality of international relations should necessitate no explanation. In the field of security in general, and arms control in particularly, it is of vital importance to maintaining agreement and sustaining a regime. The study of compliance, and more specifically, the introduction of new ways of thinking about and understanding compliance, is therefore of great importance and interest to both academics and practitioners. The body of literature on compliance in political science and international law is extensive. However, the possible influence of justice on compliance behavior has not been explored, although justice has already been shown to play an important role in international negotiations (not to mention its increasing saliency in a variety of disciplines such as evolutionary biology, anthropology an...
Traditionally, the discipline of International Relations (“IR”) assumed a state-centric perspecti... more Traditionally, the discipline of International Relations (“IR”) assumed a state-centric perspective. However, as new actors emerged and begun to play an increasingly important role in international politics, the discipline opened itself towards non-state actors. Among these, multinational enterprises (“MNE(s)”), their participation in public-private partnerships and their changing role expressed in extended corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) have caught the interests of scholars as MNEs are no longer simply the object of regulation, but rather become political actors themselves. In a nutshell, regulation of MNEs has changed to regulation together with MNEs. Despite these changes, however, private business actors in general and CSR in particular have predominantly been investigated from rationalist perspectives. Although a fertile and dynamic theoretical field, constructivism has been surprisingly reluctant to deal with MNEs. To counter this reluctance, the paper conceptualises MNEs as “social actors” affected by norms and acting on a logic of appropriateness. This theoretical argument is empirically illustrated by analysing the arguments given by MNEs for participating in CSR. Besides the expected logic of business reasoning in corporate speeches, ideas and arguments such as moral and ethical obligations, changed understandings of the corporate role in society and the will to tackle important global issues can be found in most speeches presenting MNEs as sensitive towards social expectations. As the case of CSR shows, there is an ideational motivation for corporate action beyond rational calculation and expected consequences, indicating that corporate action itself is more complex than rationalist theories commonly suggest.
Nach acht Jahren George W. Bush war es schlecht bestellt um Rüstungskontrolle und Abrüstung. Präs... more Nach acht Jahren George W. Bush war es schlecht bestellt um Rüstungskontrolle und Abrüstung. Präsident Obama ist es mit einer wesentlich rüstungskontrollfreundlicheren Politik gelungen, das Schiff vor dem Kentern zu bewahren und sogar eine Reihe neuer Akzente zu setzen. Dieser Beitrag beleuchtet den Stand von Rüstungskontrolle und Abrüstung in den Bereichen Massenvernichtungswaffen, konventionelle Rüstung (KSE, ATT und Streubomben) und thematisiert bislang ungeregelte Felder (Weltraum, Cyber, Drohnen) zu Beginn der zweiten Amtszeit Obamas. Er formuliert den Anspruch an die deutsche Außenpolitik, in allen Bereichen proaktive Positionen einzunehmen, den amerikanischen Präsidenten dort zu unterstützen, wo rüstungskontrollpolitische Ideen konvergieren, und stärkere eigene Akzente zu setzen, wo sich in den vergangenen Jahren zu wenig getan hat.
Swedish Radiation Safety Authority Report 2014: 4, Feb 2014
The study analyses the relationship between the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, NPT and various... more The study analyses the relationship between the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, NPT and various initiatives and institutions ('clubs') based outside the NPT framework, which aims to improve and strengthen the Treaty. The study identifies conflicts and possible synergies and proposes options for developing and improving the interaction between the NPT and 'clubs' in order to increase the overall efficiency.
The report describes facts about the various non-proliferation 'clubs', and also analyses and formulates conclusions about the various international initiatives in non-proliferation. The subject is vast and the report therefore cannot naturally go in depth but provides useful information for those working in the area, but also for those generally interested. The report contains several ideas that can be studied further.
The increasing number of troop deployments by democratic states after the end of the Cold War has... more The increasing number of troop deployments by democratic states after the end of the Cold War has subjected the 'second social contract' – the (in most cases unwritten) agreement regulating relations between society, government and the armed forces – to new stresses.
This report sets out to name the causes and subsequent dangers of this development, urging for future deployment decisions to be more thoroughly and carefully considered. If the democratic responsibility for military deployments is not taken seriously, the gap grows between the armed forces and civilian society.
"One of the most intriguing findings in the literature on WMD arms control is the particularly su... more "One of the most intriguing findings in the literature on WMD arms control is the particularly successful diffusion of the norm of non-use (e.g. Tannenwald, Price). While the destruction of two Japanese cities triggered a ‘nuclear taboo’ in the world as we know it, there is no such norm in the Battlestar Galactica (BSG) universe, although the 2003-2009 TV-series starts with a nuclear holocaust that destroys a whole civilization.
We argue that the failure of a taboo to develop in BSG can be attributed to three key factors: (1) Horrendous effects of nuclear weapons, crucial for the emergence of the taboo in our world, are, if present at all, significantly mitigated in the series. (2) In our international system, a tight web of discourses, regimes and institutions facilitated the emergence of strong norms against the use of nuclear weapons. The BSG universe does not know such institutions, not to speak of arms control or even comparable international interaction. (3) Both actors, Cylons and Colonials, socially construct each other as a ‘radical other’, which renders possible – and even calls for – the goal of destroying the enemy with no means precluded.
Using BSG as a science-fictional quasi-factual, we outline dangers to ’our’ taboo which, in contrast to BSG, are very real, especially since the Bush years: (1) technological progress and growing political inclination to develop ‘clean’ mini nukes, (2) continuous portrayal of opponents as ‘unjust enemies’ or rogues, and (3) arms control regimes under considerable strain.
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For decades, ballistic missile defense (BMD) had been an issue that was among the most contested ... more For decades, ballistic missile defense (BMD) had been an issue that was among the most contested ideas in US national security. Supporters and opponents were strictly divided along party lines: Republicans were in favor, Democrats against. Over the past ten to fifteen years, however, a consensus seemed to have emerged: Democrats apparently gave up their resistance against BMD. Materialist accounts for this change of heart have been offered: the changing threat environment resulting from nuclear and ballistic missile programs in North Korea and Iran, a maturing of technology, and the return of a deferential Congress after 9/11.
Yet, to quote the late Kenneth Waltz, “missile defense is a joke” and the arguments against it are powerful indeed. In fact, the US Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system as deployed since 2004 not only comes at enormous costs and has severe technological problems but could very well decrease US security in the long-term. The persisting consensus on its necessity in the defense establishment and on Capitol Hill is thus puzzling.
As will be argued, material and geopolitical factors as well as domestic politics accounts are ill-suited for shedding light on the puzzling change of the Democrats’ position. Instead Jeffrey Legro’s approach of ideational change after exogenous shocks is introduced, which apparently has greater explanatory power but needs to be refined in order to capture the staying power of BMD ideas.
The body of literature in political science and international law that tackles the question of wh... more The body of literature in political science and international law that tackles the question of what determines the effectiveness of global governance arrangements is continuously growing. Justice, a term central to political theory and increasingly salient in disciplines such as brain research, evolutionary biology, anthropology and experimental economics, has hardly been identified as one of the parameters of regime membership behavior and regime stability. As compliance with regime rules is a central parameter of governance “effectiveness”, we explore in this paper the relationship between regime justice – as seen by the members – and members’ compliance with regime rules.
After a brief sketch of the small body of work on justice in international relations, we propose the introduction of justice as a factor influencing states’ compliance behavior. We emphasize the importance of utilizing the subjective notions of justice held by the actors themselves, instead of objective, external ideas about justice. We further posit that states interpret regime rules in light of their justice perceptions, which shapes their compliance behavior.
In order to illustrate the proposed connection between an actor’s justice perceptions and its compliance behavior, we present the case of Germany’s deviations from its commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). As we demonstrate, Germany had substantial justice grievances regarding the regime, which shaped its interpretation of the treaty’s text, and subsequently its widely criticized behavior. We conclude with proposals on the direction of future research on justice in international relations.
The ongoing professionalization of the armed forces in democracies and their meanwhile routine – ... more The ongoing professionalization of the armed forces in democracies and their meanwhile routine – albeit not always well legitimized or prepared – participation in often complex military missions, raise certain questions with regard to the state of affairs of democratic civil-military relations. During the past two decades, the burden that society and political leadership place on the members of the armed forces amplified at breath-taking speed. What can be observed, especially in the endgame of the Afghanistan war, is an increasing alienation or gap between the public, the soldiers and the political elites. From a practical as well as a normative point of view it is imperative for democracies to counter such tendencies. Deriving from Democratic Peace and Republican Security theory as well as Clausewitzian thinking, this paper advocates to follow the British example and introduce in more Western democracies what they call the “Military Covenant”. Such a covenant can be conceived as a second social contract that governs the mutual obligations and rights of society, its military and political decision makers, and therewith helps restoring concordance. Predictably, such a normative construction would lead to a much higher selectivity of military interventions and much deeper and more intense debates about their justification.
Die Situation rund um das nordkoreanische Nuklearwaffenprogramm spitzt sich durch den jüngsten Au... more Die Situation rund um das nordkoreanische Nuklearwaffenprogramm spitzt sich durch den jüngsten Austausch verbaler Drohungen zwischen Nordkorea und den USA weiter zu. Das Land ist seinem Ziel, eine nukleare Drohkapazität gegenüber den USA aufzubauen, deutlich nähergekommen. Präsident Trumps heftige Reaktionen mögen einerseits von Hilflosigkeit zeugen und begründeten Anlass zur Besorgnis geben, andererseits kann dieses unkonventionelle Verhalten im Rahmen einer vernünftigen Gesamtstrategie den Konflikt durchaus verändern. Fraglich ist allerdings, ob die US-Regierung zu einer solchen Gesamtstrategie angesichts der Probleme im Weißen Haus überhaupt fähig ist. Das gilt erst recht für das Krisenmanagement.
A growing number of defense-industrial 3D printing fairs, print-a-thons and the amount of defense... more A growing number of defense-industrial 3D printing fairs, print-a-thons and the amount of defense dollars, particularly in the US, going into the technology of 3D printing speak to the fact that the defense industry and some countries’ armed forces recognize the great potential of the technology. 3D printing indeed allows the quicker, cheaper, and easier development of weapons, and even entirely new weapon designs. This applies to the full range of weapons categories: Small arms and light weapons (e.g. guns and grenade launchers), conventional weapon systems (drones, tanks, missiles, hypersonic scramjets) – and possibly even weapons of mass destruction.
In der diesjährigen Rede zur Lage der Nation hat Präsident Obama erneut einen relativ hohen Antei... more In der diesjährigen Rede zur Lage der Nation hat Präsident Obama erneut einen relativ hohen Anteil seiner begrenzten Redezeit auf Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik verwendet – und damit den sich über seine zwei Amtszeiten abzeichnenden Trend bekräftigt. Exakt ein Viertel seiner knapp 6.500 Worte (für die er dieses Jahr 59 Minuten und 56 Sekunden benötigte) füllten Themen wie IS und Syrien/Irak, der Abzug aus Afghanistan, die Ukraine-Krise und russische Aggression, das Tauwetter in der Karibik, die Verhandlungen rund um das iranische Atomprogramm, Cybersicherheit, Ebola, Guantanamo und die „größte Gefahr für zukünftige Generationen“: Klimawandel.
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We regard the United States and Russia as established great powers. While the United States has been the dominant power since the end of World War II, the position of Russia is somewhat delicate as it was never a global hegemon but instead the primary challenger to the US-led international order.
Both, however, played a pivotal role in the creation of the regimes under scrutiny here, given the assumption of nuclear parity. They should act valiantly in a) defending and enforcing the regimes and b) opposing norm change; something that the United States – as the permanent number one – is expected to do even more than Russia.
China and India are rising great powers. Both were great empires in the past, but were subjected to repression and humiliation during the era of imperialism. They were comparatively weak when the current world order was established in the aftermath of World War II and remained on the periphery of world politics during the Cold War. From the 1980s (China) and 1990s (India) onwards, both started a spectacular rise. They can thus be expected to put forward alternative norms to those existing and to justify their proposals by arguing that the present order is profoundly unjust. They might also be more hostile towards those regimes that had been established before their rise began (NPT and BWC) than towards those that have been established later (e.g., CWC, SALW PoA).
This applies to the full range of weapons categories: small arms and light weapons (e.g., guns and grenade launchers), conventional weapon systems (e.g., drones and missiles), and possibly even weapons of mass destruction.
We regard the United States and Russia as established great powers. While the United States has been the dominant power since the end of World War II, the position of Russia is somewhat delicate as it was never a global hegemon but instead the primary challenger to the US-led international order.
Both, however, played a pivotal role in the creation of the regimes under scrutiny here, given the assumption of nuclear parity. They should act valiantly in a) defending and enforcing the regimes and b) opposing norm change; something that the United States – as the permanent number one – is expected to do even more than Russia.
China and India are rising great powers. Both were great empires in the past, but were subjected to repression and humiliation during the era of imperialism. They were comparatively weak when the current world order was established in the aftermath of World War II and remained on the periphery of world politics during the Cold War. From the 1980s (China) and 1990s (India) onwards, both started a spectacular rise. They can thus be expected to put forward alternative norms to those existing and to justify their proposals by arguing that the present order is profoundly unjust. They might also be more hostile towards those regimes that had been established before their rise began (NPT and BWC) than towards those that have been established later (e.g., CWC, SALW PoA).
This applies to the full range of weapons categories: small arms and light weapons (e.g., guns and grenade launchers), conventional weapon systems (e.g., drones and missiles), and possibly even weapons of mass destruction.
The report describes facts about the various non-proliferation 'clubs', and also analyses and formulates conclusions about the various international initiatives in non-proliferation. The subject is vast and the report therefore cannot naturally go in depth but provides useful information for those working in the area, but also for those generally interested. The report contains several ideas that can be studied further.
This report sets out to name the causes and subsequent dangers of this development, urging for future deployment decisions to be more thoroughly and carefully considered. If the democratic responsibility for military deployments is not taken seriously, the gap grows between the armed forces and civilian society.
We argue that the failure of a taboo to develop in BSG can be attributed to three key factors: (1) Horrendous effects of nuclear weapons, crucial for the emergence of the taboo in our world, are, if present at all, significantly mitigated in the series. (2) In our international system, a tight web of discourses, regimes and institutions facilitated the emergence of strong norms against the use of nuclear weapons. The BSG universe does not know such institutions, not to speak of arms control or even comparable international interaction. (3) Both actors, Cylons and Colonials, socially construct each other as a ‘radical other’, which renders possible – and even calls for – the goal of destroying the enemy with no means precluded.
Using BSG as a science-fictional quasi-factual, we outline dangers to ’our’ taboo which, in contrast to BSG, are very real, especially since the Bush years: (1) technological progress and growing political inclination to develop ‘clean’ mini nukes, (2) continuous portrayal of opponents as ‘unjust enemies’ or rogues, and (3) arms control regimes under considerable strain.
"
Yet, to quote the late Kenneth Waltz, “missile defense is a joke” and the arguments against it are powerful indeed. In fact, the US Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system as deployed since 2004 not only comes at enormous costs and has severe technological problems but could very well decrease US security in the long-term. The persisting consensus on its necessity in the defense establishment and on Capitol Hill is thus puzzling.
As will be argued, material and geopolitical factors as well as domestic politics accounts are ill-suited for shedding light on the puzzling change of the Democrats’ position. Instead Jeffrey Legro’s approach of ideational change after exogenous shocks is introduced, which apparently has greater explanatory power but needs to be refined in order to capture the staying power of BMD ideas.
After a brief sketch of the small body of work on justice in international relations, we propose the introduction of justice as a factor influencing states’ compliance behavior. We emphasize the importance of utilizing the subjective notions of justice held by the actors themselves, instead of objective, external ideas about justice. We further posit that states interpret regime rules in light of their justice perceptions, which shapes their compliance behavior.
In order to illustrate the proposed connection between an actor’s justice perceptions and its compliance behavior, we present the case of Germany’s deviations from its commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). As we demonstrate, Germany had substantial justice grievances regarding the regime, which shaped its interpretation of the treaty’s text, and subsequently its widely criticized behavior. We conclude with proposals on the direction of future research on justice in international relations.