Conflict in International Politics – A Literature Review

 

 

 

“Conflict in International Politics: A Literature Review” written by Ryan Timothy Jacobs (September 7th, 2015) is an analysis of the various schools of thought; in regards to how conflict is a normal aspect of international relations.  The value of the political philosophy that examines “why we fight” is essential to any individual that had an interest in international relations, from the beginning of human history, up until present day sovereign states and other international actors.  This article, that I began writing in my graduate program at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, introduces the Dependency Paradigm (Realists & Neorealists), Learned Cooperation (Institutionalism & International Mechanisms), Constructivism (such as Social Norms, Values & Beliefs and Social Networking), Post-Cold War Era (Ethnicity & Nationalism), Asymmetric Warfare (analyzing “Seven Deadly Tactics”), the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Social & Political Dynamics), and provides Conflict Management and Resolution Recommendations; regarding the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, as well as Middle Eastern Rebel Organizations.  The brief, twenty-three page article, introduces these various aspects of International Conflict as an introduction to those interested in exactly how in-depth conflict has impacted the world in which we live on a day-to-day basis.  It also approaches conflict and conflict management from various perspectives, in order to illustrate a more objective examination of international conflict.  The historical accession within the article details the seemingly evolutionary way that conflict has been managed and/or resolved, but also aims to detail that the vast majority of scholarly research has yet to be fully recognized by the international community, in order to further humanities ability to manage and resolve these issues that commonly arise out of a difference of political, religious, cultural, and economic reasoning that often is difficult to reach compromise between sovereign states.

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE .DOC VERSION OF THE ARTICLE:  Conflict in International Politics – Literature Review – CMR 525

 

 

In the field of political science, large-scale conflict, and its resolution is analyzed through several different lenses.  The theory of war however, tends to be rooted in classical and neorealist theories and focuses on security and power.  Both domestic and international conflict can also be analyzed through the dependency paradigm.  At the same time, theories of conflict resolution that exclude force with the exception of deterrence theory, are rooted in stitutionalism, and focuses on learned cooperation )game theory), sanctions, international law, and other international mechanisms for resolving stemming conflict.  Constructivism, on the other hand, tends to focus on more abstract elements such as “collective memories” and identify politics….

 

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“Michel Foucault: The Birth Of the Prison”

“Michel Foucault: The Birth Of the Prison” written by Ryan Timothy Jacobs

April 26th, 2013

Click here to view the full PDF: Michel Foucault

 

Discipline and Punish

This book, published in 1975, is a genealogical study of the development of the “gentler” modern way of imprisoning criminals rather than torturing or killing them. While recognizing the element of genuinely enlightened reform, Foucault particularly emphasizes how such reform also becomes a vehicle of more effective control: “to punish less, perhaps; but certainly to punish better”. He further argues that the new mode of punishment becomes the model for control of an entire society, with factories, hospitals, and schools modeled on the modern prison. We should not, however, think that the deployment of this model was due to the explicit decisions of some central controlling agency. In typically genealogical fashion, Foucault’s analysis shows how techniques and institutions, developed for different and often quite innocuous purposes, converged to create the modern system of disciplinary power.

Michel Foucault (French: [miʃɛl fuko]; born Paul-Michel Foucault) (15 October 1926 – 25 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, social theorist, philologist and literary critic. His theories addressed the relationship between power and knowledge, and how they are used as a form of social control through societal institutions. Though often cited as a post-structuralist and postmodernist, Foucault rejected these labels, preferring to present his thought as a critical history of modernity. His thought has been highly influential for both academic and activist groups….

“The Future of Missile Defense: On the Ground, In the Air, Sea and Space”

The Future of Missile Defense: On the Ground, In the Air, Sea and Space written by Ryan Timothy Jacobs

January 11th, 2015

 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL PDF: The-Future-of-Missile-Defense

 

Israel conflict: What is Iron Dome?

About 500 rockets have been fired into Israel over past two days, and 184 have been intercepted by Iron Dome, an Israeli army spokeswoman told Businessweek, making it a fairly accurate defense system.

“It’s unbelievable, we are very pleased with how Iron Dome has been operating,” a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces told The Telegraph. “Even if the situation is very difficult for residents of southern Israel, we can only imagine what it would have been like without these defenses.”

So what is Iron Dome?

During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war, thousands of rockets were fired into Israel from Gaza, killing 44 civilians and dislocating thousands more. Even after the conflict, cities like Ashkelon, a Mediterranean town of about 120,000 people, endured dozens of missile strikes a year, The Washington Post reported in 2009.

“We have no defenses, no shelters, no public buildings being protected,” Alan Marcus, the Ashkelon’s director of strategic planning, told Howard Schneider.

In order to help create a protective canopy over Isreali towns near the Gaza Strip, the Iron Dome missile defense system was developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, a Haifa arms company, with partial funding from the United States. It uses small radar-guided missiles to blow up rockets with ranges of between 3 and 45 miles in mid-air.

The name Iron Dome came about when one of the project’s managers discarded runners-up “Anti-Qassam” and “Golden Dome,” thinking they were “too ostentatious,” according to the Israel Defense Forces site.

The first Iron Dome battery was installed in March 2011 near the southern city of Beersheva, 40 kilometers from the Gaza Strip, to combat rocket fire from the Palestinian territory, according to Defense News. Earlier this month, Israel announced plans to expand Iron Dome to a fifth battery, citing “a variety of unprecedented threats.”

Iron Dome is smart enough to ignore missiles that it detects are heading for open land, according to The Telegraph. During previous barrages, the Israelis claimed Iron Dome brought down 85 percent of the rockets it targeted….

READ MORE @ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/11/16/israel-conflict-what-is-the-iron-dome/