bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Local separation of potential field anomalies using equivalent sources: application for the 3-D structure of mantle uplift beneath Von Kármán crater, the Moon
Authors: Zhang Yi , Xu Yixian , Mooney Walter D , Chen Chao
Published: August 2021

The separation of regional-residual anomalies plays an important role in the processing of potential field anomalies for obtaining better understandings of the nature of the underground sources. Many methods have been developed to achieve the separation of anomalies that are of distinct wavelengths. On the other hand, fewer studies have addressed the separation of local anomalies from the observed potential field anomalies. In this paper, we introduce a new process for separating localized anomalies from the observations under the Cartesian and spherical coordinates. The separation is achieved using the equivalent source technique and an iterative inversion process which is to refine and finalize the separated local anomalies. Additionally, we introduce an inversion method for determining the equivalent sources that are of varying dimensions, as well as a quantitative measurement to assess the accuracy of the separation process. Verified with synthetic examples, the proposed method could extract arbitrary shaped local anomalies from the rest with low error levels. Subsequently, we apply the method to the construction of a 3-D model of the mantle uplift beneath the Von Kármán crater (VKC) on the Moon. The VKC is the landing site of the Chinese lunar exploration mission Chang'e 4, which lies in the northwestern portion of the South-Pole Aitken (SPA) basin on the far side of the Moon. Multiple generations of mare basalts are identified within the VKC, which indicates a complex geological history of the basin. Insights into the evolutionary history of this region can be obtained by investigating the deep crustal structure of the VKC using topographic and gravity data. Processed with the proposed method, the 3-D structure we obtain provides evidence for separated mantle uplifting events triggered by the two impact events that created the VKC and the Von Kármán M crater, respectively.
SPECFEM2D-DG, an open-source software modelling mechanical waves in coupled solid–fluid systems: the linearized Navier–Stokes approach
Authors: Martire Léo , Martin R , Brissaud Q , Garcia R F
Published: August 2021

We introduce SPECFEM2D-DG, an open-source, time-domain, hybrid Galerkin software modelling the propagation of seismic and acoustic waves in coupled solid–fluid systems. For the solid part, the visco-elastic system from the routinely used SPECFEM2D software is used to simulate linear seismic waves subject to attenuation. For the fluid part, SPECFEM2D-DG includes two extensions to the acoustic part of SPECFEM2D, both relying on the Navier–Stokes equations to model high-frequency acoustics, infrasound and gravity waves in complex atmospheres. The first fluid extension, SPECFEM2D-DG-FNS, was introduced in 2017 by Brissaud, Martin, Garcia, and Komatitsch; it features a nonlinear Full Navier–Stokes (FNS) approach discretized with a discontinuous Galerkin numerical scheme. In this contribution, we focus only on introducing a second fluid extension, SPECFEM2D-DG-LNS, based on the same numerical method but rather relying on the Linear Navier–Stokes (LNS) equations. The three main modules of SPECFEM2D-DG all use the spectral element method (SEM). For both fluid extensions (FNS and LNS), two-way mechanical coupling conditions preserve the Riemann problem solution at the fluid–solid interface. Absorbing outer boundary conditions (ABCs) derived from the perfectly matched layers’ approach is proposed for the LNS extension. The SEM approach supports complex topographies and unstructured meshes. The LNS equations allow the use of range-dependent atmospheric models, known to be crucial for the propagation of infrasound at regional scales. The LNS extension is verified using the method of manufactured solutions, and convergence is numerically characterized. The mechanical coupling conditions at the fluid–solid interface (between the LNS and elastodynamics systems of equations) are verified against theoretical reflection-transmission coefficients. The ABCs in the LNS extension are tested and prove to yield satisfactory energy dissipation. In an example case study, we model infrasonic waves caused by quakes occurring under various topographies; we characterize the acoustic scattering conditions as well as the apparent acoustic radiation pattern. Finally, we discuss the example case and conclude by describing the capabilities of this software. SPECFEM2D-DG is open-source and is freely available online on GitHub.
2. Euthanasia and Freedom
Authors: Abel William , Kahn Elizabeth , Parr Tom , Walton Andrew
Published: August 2021

This chapter examines whether the state should permit an individual to end their own life. Physician-assisted suicide is only one way in which a doctor can hasten an individual’s death. In fact there are three ways in which a doctor may act. First, they can be passive by allowing an individual to die. Second, they can assist an individual by enabling them to bring about their own death. Third, they can be active in hastening an individual’s death by administering life-ending medication. The chapter argues that a doctor should be permitted to assist an individual to end their own life, as well as to intervene to hasten their death. It supports this view by appealing to the value of freedom, specifically the freedom to choose how to live and die. The chapter then considers the worry that it is wrong for the state to allow a doctor to assist an individual to end their life, since this is an affront to the sanctity of life. It outlines some implications of this argument for the design of public policy.
6. Schools and Equality of Opportunity
Authors: Abel William , Kahn Elizabeth , Parr Tom , Walton Andrew
Published: August 2021

This chapter addresses the value of equality of opportunity and assesses its implication for the design of the school system, arguing for the radical conclusion that the state should prohibit elite private schools. It begins by outlining how elite private schools create inequalities in prospects between children, and develops an account of why this is morally problematic. A challenge to the chapter’s argument comes from those who reject equality of opportunity in favour of educational adequacy. The chapter then considers the possibility that it is wrong for the state to prohibit elite private schools because this interferes too much in family life. It offers a framework for assessing which choices should be protected on these grounds, and argues that the choice to send one’s child to an elite private school does not fall in this set.
8. Parental Leave and Gender Equality
Authors: Abel William , Kahn Elizabeth , Parr Tom , Walton Andrew
Published: August 2021

This chapter defends the radical view that the state should legally require all parents to take a substantial period of parental leave following the birth or adoption of a child. Though extreme, this strikes the right balance between advancing gender equality and respecting other considerations relating to the family. The chapter begins by identifying the various ways in which the current distribution of paid employment and household work is gendered, showing how women and men tend to play different roles in these domains. It then explains how different kinds of parental leave schemes can challenge the gendered division of labour, criticizing those that are likely to reproduce the current pattern of paid employment and household work. The chapter argues for schemes that encourage a more equal division of labour between women and men. It also discusses the implications of the chapter’s conclusions for the design of parental leave schemes and for the broader landscape in which these policies are nested.
11. Prison Sentences and Punishment
Authors: Abel William , Kahn Elizabeth , Parr Tom , Walton Andrew
Published: August 2021

This chapter assesses whether the state should shorten the length of prison sentences, exploring the justification for state punishment. It argues in favour of shorter prison sentences, drawing on the idea that an individual who commits a crime has a remedial duty to those they have wronged, and that one way to discharge this duty is by spending time in prison in order to deter future crime. This justification for punishment supports shorter prison sentences because the beneficial effect of longer prison sentences on crime rates is too low to justify the burdens they impose. The chapter then considers a retributivist objection, which claims that the state should favour longer prison sentences because an individual who commits a crime deserves to suffer. Concerns about retribution are unable to justify the high costs of the prison system and, more fundamentally, they provide an unattractive justification for all forms of punishment. The chapter also discusses the appeal and relevance of a communicative account of punishment, according to which the state should punish an individual who commits a crime in order to condemn their actions.
15. Development Aid and Global Justice
Authors: Abel William , Kahn Elizabeth , Parr Tom , Walton Andrew
Published: August 2021

This chapter examines whether affluent states should commit significant funds to alleviate poverty abroad. It argues not only that they should, but also that their duties to those who live in poverty go far beyond this. This argument in favour of development aid is based on the idea that an individual has a duty to prevent something very bad from happening when they can do so at little cost to themselves. The chapter then highlights that the global order plays a significant role in the persistence of global poverty, and this further supports the case for development aid. It also considers the claim that states should prioritize meeting the claims of their own members ahead of the claims of those who live abroad. The chapter shows that, even if this is true, it does not undermine the case for committing significant funds to alleviate global poverty.
The Politics of International Law
Authors: Scicluna Nicole
Published: August 2021

This book is an introduction to international law for politics and international relations students. It provides a deep understanding of the possibilities and limits of international law as a tool for structuring relations in the world. The case study-driven approach helps students understand the complexities of international law, and illustrates the inextricable interaction between law and politics in the world today. In addition, it encourages students to question assumptions, such as whether international law is fit for purpose, and what that purpose is or ought to be. The book also discusses the potential of rising powers to shift the international system.
1. Introduction
Authors: Scicluna Nicole
Published: August 2021

This introductory chapter provides an overview and a brief history of international law. Why should students of international relations be interested in international law? International politics and international law are so closely intertwined that one cannot be understood without understanding the other. The United Nations describes international law as ‘the legal responsibilities of States in their conduct with each other, and their treatment of individuals within State boundaries’. Just as domestic law frames a political community and regulates relations among its members, international law helps to frame international society, to signal its core values, and to regulate relations among states and other actors. The chapter then considers two philosophical traditions that have shaped the study and practice of international law over the past four centuries: natural law and legal positivism.
3. Locating law in the international system
Authors: Scicluna Nicole
Published: August 2021

This chapter examines the sources of international law. International legal rules are not as easily located as their domestic law counterparts. Whereas at the domestic level, only a relatively small number of bodies are endowed with law-making powers, at the international level, all states have law-making capacity. Moreover, state acts are not the only source of international legal rules. The result is a mosaic of law-making processes, forums, and regimes. The chapter focuses on the two most significant sources of international law: treaties and customary international law. It then turns to the relationship between international law-making and the principle of state sovereignty. Finally, the chapter considers the body of non-binding norms, which increasingly permeates and regulates all facets of international life. This so-called soft law takes many forms; it is often highly influential in its own right and may harden into binding law over time.
8. Human rights in the postwar period
Authors: Scicluna Nicole
Published: August 2021

This chapter focuses on human rights, a perfect topic through which to study the interaction between law and politics in international relations. The topic of human rights offers a microcosm of the clashes and contradictions between realism and idealism, legal principles and political expediencies, state and non-state actors, and collective and individual rights, which characterize international order. The chapter defines human rights and outlines their international legal framework. The chapter then traces the postwar evolution of international human rights law (IHRL). It explains how, by the late twentieth century, the concept of human rights had captured the global imagination. It also explores the international political context in which the rise of human rights took place, including decolonization and the explosion in rights-based civil society activism in the 1970s. Finally, the chapter analyses the efficacy of IHRL in a world of sovereign states, before assessing the cultural relativist critique of human rights, which challenges their claim to universality, often from the perspective of postcolonial societies.
11. International humanitarian law
Authors: Scicluna Nicole
Published: August 2021

This chapter investigates whether and how the laws that govern armed conflict achieve their objective of minimizing the suffering of combatants and non-combatants alike. International humanitarian law (IHL) reflects the tensions of an international legal order that oscillates between the apologist tendency to reflect state practice and state self-interest and the utopian desire to reflect higher values of justice and human dignity. The chapter begins with a brief overview of the evolution of this body of law, the codification of which dates from the second half of the nineteenth century. It then turns to the question of terminology, analysing the political origins and legal implications of the relatively recent term ‘international humanitarian law’. The chapter focuses on two key questions. Firstly, who or what is a legitimate target during an armed conflict? Secondly, what are legitimate means of conducting armed conflict? The chapter also considers the status of nuclear weapons under international law, a topic that captures well both the possibilities and limits of IHL.
2. Theorizing EU Policy-Making
Authors: Pollack Mark A.
Published: August 2021

This chapter surveys seven decades of theorizing about European Union policy-making and policy processes. It begins with a discussion of theories of European integration, including neo-functionalism, intergovernmentalism, liberal intergovernmentalism, institutionalism, constructivism, and postfunctionalism. It then considers the increasing number of studies that approach the EU through the lenses of comparative politics and comparative public policy, focusing on the federal or quasi-federal aspects of the EU and its legislative, executive, and judicial politics. It finally explores the vertical and horizontal separation of powers in the EU and concludes by looking at the ‘governance approach’ to the EU, with emphasis on multi-level governance and EU policy networks, Europeanization, and the question of the EU’s democratic deficit.
5. The Single Market
Authors: Young Alasdair R.
Published: August 2021

This chapter examines the renewal of the single European market (SEM) as a major turning point in European policy-making. It presents the argument that many of the analyses that proliferated in response to the Single European Act (SEA) and the SEM overstated their novelty and understated some of the surrounding factors that helped to induce their ‘success’. The chapter first provides a historical background on how the single market was established before discussing the politics of policy-making in the SEM. It explains how new ideas about market regulation permeated the European Union policy process and facilitated legislative activism and important changes in the policy-implementing processes, culminating in the ‘1992 programme’ to make the single market a reality. Although the task of ‘completing’ the single market remains unfinished, the chapter shows that it has moved to the heart of European integration and altered the pattern of state–market relations in Europe. As a consequence, the single market has played a central role in the Brexit process. The Brexit process has also revealed how far the single market has developed.
6. Competition Policy
Authors: Thatcher Mark
Published: August 2021

This chapter examines the European Union’s competition policy. It shows that the EU’s legal powers in general competition policy—over restrictive practices, abuse of a dominant position, mergers, state aid, and state monopolies—are very extensive and highly supranational with few direct controls for national governments. The chapter then studies two views of the application of these powers—that they have been used in a more ‘neo-liberal’ manner in recent decades or that they continue to provide scope for industrial policies of supporting European champion firms. It underlines that the Commission has been an active and central player in policy-making, together with the European Court. But all actors operate in a wider context of large powerful firms as well as experts and practitioners in competition policy. The chapter concludes by analysing how the economic crisis after 2008 has reignited debates about altering the criteria for policy to give more place to aims other than protecting competition, to offer more space to national policy-makers, and to provide greater scrutiny and accountability for the Commission, as well as greater action to deal with the new ‘digital tech giants’, but that these encounter significant obstacles.
9. The Budget
Authors: Laffan Brigid , Lindner Johannes
Published: August 2021

This chapter examines the European Union’s budgetary procedures with an eye towards elucidating the characteristics of budgetary politics and policy-making. Where EU money comes from, how it is spent, and the processes by which it is distributed are the subjects of intense political bargaining. Budgets matter politically, because money represents the commitment of resources to the provision of public goods and involves political choices across sectors and regions. The chapter first provides a thumbnail sketch of the EU budget before looking at the major players involved in the budgetary process. It then considers budgetary politics over time, focusing on two phases, one dominated by budgetary battles and the other by ordered budgetary decision-making, and shedding light on the EU’s large-scale budgetary response to the Covid-19 pandemic which marks an important step within the evolution of the EU budget. Finally, the chapter also provides an assessment of how the EU manages a larger budget.
13. Environmental Policy
Authors: Lenschow Andrea
Published: August 2021

This chapter focuses on the European Union’s environmental policy, the development of which was characterized by institutional deepening and the substantial expansion of environmental issues covered by EU decisions and regulations. Environmental policy presents a host of challenges for policy-makers, including the choice of appropriate instruments, improvement of implementation performance, and better policy coordination at all levels of policy-making. The chapter points to the continuing adaptations that have been made in these areas. It first considers the historical evolution of environmental policy in the EU before discussing the main actors in EU environmental policy-making, namely: the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, the Court of Justice of the European Union, and environmental interest groups. The chapter also looks at the EU as an international actor.
14. Energy Policy
Authors: Buchan David
Published: August 2021

This chapter examines three strands of the European Union’s energy policy: the internal energy market, energy security, and climate change. Energy policy has rapidly gained in importance for the EU, as it faces the challenges of creating an internal energy market, increasing energy security, and playing an active role in combating climate change. Reform of the energy market has been a constant activity since the late 1980s and has been based on liberalizing cross-border competition, but this could be increasingly undermined by member-state intervention and subsidy to promote renewable energy and to ensure adequate back-up power. Efforts to curb energy use and to develop a low-carbon economy are at the heart of Europe’s new programmes and targets to combat climate change. The chapter shows that each of the three strands of the EU’s energy policy involve different policy-making communities and illustrate a range of different policy modes.
16. Trade Policy
Authors: Young Alasdair R.
Published: August 2021

This chapter introduces the importance of EU trade policy both to the European integration project and to the EU’s role in the world. It explains how different aspects of trade policy are made. The chapter also charts how the emphasis of EU trade policy has shifted from prioritizing multilateral negotiations to pursuing bilateral agreements. It considers how the EU has responded to the apparent politicization of trade policy within Europe and to the United States’ more protectionist and unilateral trade policy. It also considers Brexit EU trade policy and how trade policy complicated Brexit. It argues that there has been considerable continuity in EU trade policy despite these challenges.
17. Foreign, Security, and Defence Policy
Authors: Giegerich Bastian
Published: August 2021

This chapter examines the gradual development of foreign and security policy cooperation among European Union member states. It begins with a discussion of the hesitant moves from European political cooperation (EPC) to a common foreign and security policy (CFSP), along with the emergence of a common security and defence policy (CSDP) as part of CFSP. It then considers CFSP in the context of eastern enlargement and the significance of the Treaty of Lisbon for EU foreign and security policy. It also looks at the intervention in Iraq and the adoption of a European Security Strategy, as well as CSDP missions and operations. Finally, it analyses the underlying theme of national sovereignty combined with EU-level capacity through a range of examples.
19. Enlargement
Authors: Sedelmeier Ulrich
Published: August 2021

This chapter examines the main phases of the European Union’s enlargement policy process—association, pre-accession, and accession—and the key decisions involved in each of these stages. It discusses how these decisions are made, and how policy practice has evolved over time. The chapter then explores enlargement as a tool of foreign policy and external governance. It discusses the development of the EU’s accession conditionality as an instrument to influence domestic change in candidate countries and why conditionality appears to have become less effective after the 2007 enlargement round, including the impact of the EU’s ‘enlargement fatigue’ and manifestations of ‘democratic backsliding’ among new member states.
4. Political Participation
Authors: Bernhagen Patrick , Vetter Angelika
Published: August 2021

This chapter provides an overview of political participation, ranging from conventional forms such as voting at elections to less conventional forms such as attending a demonstration or boycotting a brand for political reasons. The authors look at how voter turnout and protest participation have developed in recent decades and review the main theoretical explanations for differences and trends in participation between social groups and across European democracies. The chapter also considers new opportunities for participation at the local level and asks whether these have the potential to ameliorate or exacerbate existing problems of unequal participation.
6. Beyond Electoral Representation
Authors: Farrell David M. , Field Luke
Published: August 2021

This chapter examines some of the main alternatives to representative methods of democratic decision-making practised in contemporary Europe. The chapter first focuses on referendums, providing an overview of their use across Europe’s democracies and examining how much scope is given to citizens to control when they are held and what they are about. The chapter then reviews the wider panoply of democratic innovations that, in combination, see democracies move beyond being merely ‘vote-centred’ representative processes. This includes the relatively recent emergence of deliberative forms of democracy, in which citizens are brought into the heart of debates on key policy issues through their involvement in ‘deliberative mini-publics’ such as citizens’ assemblies.
16. Defence
Authors: Tomić Nikola , Tonra Ben
Published: August 2021

This chapter takes a comparative state-centric approach to illustrate the core issues of defence in Europe. The chapter reviews the influence of history, size, and geography on defence in Europe. It assesses the external threats facing European countries, including territorial threats from neighbouring countries such as Russia, energy security, and cyber security, and the ways in which these threats are perceived in Europe and in European states. It then shows how states respond to these threats, examining differences between European countries in terms of their strategic culture, defence capabilities, and military alliances. Efforts to build defence cooperation between countries are examined, including NATO and the emergence of common defence policies at the EU level.
7. Marxism
Authors: Rupert Mark
Published: August 2021

This chapter examines Marxist theory’s understanding of capitalism as an historically particular way of organizing social life and how Marxism can shed light on complex social relationships through which human beings produce and reproduce their social relations, the natural world, and themselves. It argues that the kind of social organization envisioned by Marxists has political, cultural, and economic dimensions that must be viewed as a dynamic ensemble of social relations not necessarily contained within the territorial boundaries of nation-states. The chapter first provides an overview of historical materialism and the meaning of dialectical theory, with particular emphasis on Karl Marx’s critique of capitalism and the Marxist tradition’s theorizing of imperialism, before discussing Western Marxism and Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony. It then considers Marxist concepts of global power and hegemony and concludes with a case study that highlights the social relations underlying US global militarism.
12. Postcolonialism
Authors: Biswas Shampa
Published: August 2021

This chapter examines postcolonial approaches to International Relations (IR) and their foregrounding of the history and politics of colonialism in the making of the modern world. It first considers the concerns, issues, and preoccupations highlighted by postcolonial theory, along with some of the central debates that have shaped its intellectual terrain, and the normative and political commitments that distinguish it from other related fields such as Marxism and poststructuralism. It then discusses the relevance of postcolonialism to the study of international relations and proposes three different ways of engaging with the insights of postcolonial theory within IR that open up new questions, alternative methodologies, and a range of possibilities for narrating a postcolonial IR. Finally, it analyses international concerns about Iran’s nuclear weapons programme from a postcolonial perspective.
15. International Relations Theory and Globalization
Authors: Hay Colin
Published: August 2021

This chapter examines the existing debate on the extent and nature of globalization and its implications for contemporary International Relations theory. It first considers the stakes involved in the globalization debate for a range of core theoretical perspectives in IR. It shows how the literature on globalization has developed over time, revealing how the nature of the debate has changed, and illustrates this both theoretically and empirically with a case study of the impact of globalization on the development of the welfare state before and since the global financial crisis. The chapter also considers the empirical case against the globalization thesis, what a competition state is, and how it might confer a competitive advantage upon a national economy in an era of globalization. The chapter suggests that the current level of interdependence within the international system, although considerable, is not easily reconciled with the stronger variants of the globalization thesis.
16. Global International Relations
Authors: Acharya Amitav
Published: August 2021

This chapter analyses and assesses the movement towards a more Global IR. The chapter first revisits the origins of IR. While the foundational narrative stresses the origin of IR as a normative project of avoiding war in Europe, obscuring the discipline’s colonial and racist aspects, this chapter highlights broader concerns and contributions from the periphery, such as anti-colonialism, racism, underdevelopment, and world order. The second part captures IR’s neglect and lack of fit with non-Western experiences during the postwar phase of Americanization with the help of a case study—of the liberal order—and the seminal work of Mohammed Ayoob dealing with Third World Security. Part three examines efforts in various parts of the world to develop arguments and positions that question the universality of the discipline and aspire to inject greater diversity into IR. It is argued here that such regional contributions to IR need not undermine the globalization of IR theory but can complement and enrich it in the path to a Global IR.
10. Identity, equality, and power
Authors: Blick Andrew
Published: August 2021

This chapter turns to issues relating to political power and society. The goal of a contemporary democracy is to allow people to be both equal and different. The UK is a diverse society and people in the UK differ in many ways by their gender, sexuality, abilities, ethnicity, religious beliefs, age, and many other aspects. The importance of various ‘identities’ has recently been recognised in UK politics and they now co-exist alongside more traditional ways of classifying people which tend to lie along socio-economic lines. The chapter then looks at the effectiveness of scrutiny measures to protect people from unequal treatment in the political or legal sphere on the basis of their identity.
1. Introduction
Authors: De Vries Catherine E. , Hobolt Sara B. , Proksch Sven-Oliver , Slapin Jonathan B.
Published: August 2021

The Introduction argues that to understand European politics there are two premises that need to be accepted. Firstly, the interplay between European and national-level politics must be taken seriously. The two cannot be studied independently. Secondly, a theoretical model of politics is necessary to help us to make assumptions about politics explicit and to ensure that the arguments used are logically consistent. Models help us to zoom in on a particular aspect of politics and apply our analysis to real-life examples. It also helps us to spot the similarities and differences across political systems and governments so we can make comparisons. The Introduction answers the question: why focus on Europe? One of the most obvious reasons is that Europe is the home to the largest number and variety of democratic governments anywhere in the world.
8. Political Parties
Authors: De Vries Catherine E. , Hobolt Sara B. , Proksch Sven-Oliver , Slapin Jonathan B.
Published: August 2021

This chapter looks at the nature and evolution of political parties in a number of European democracies. It analyses the important functions of political parties. It charts how they have developed over time. Starting with the social cleavage approach, the chapter addresses the origins of European party families and party systems. It then turns to the transformation of European party families and systems. It considers this both nationally and within the European Union (EU). It provides evidence of the ‘unfreezing’ of European party systems and thinks about whether a dealignment of traditional cleavage patterns can currently be witnessed. It asks: is there also a realignment along a new ‘cultural’ dimension of politics? Finally, the chapter addresses the evolution of party types from cadre over catch-all to modern entrepreneurial challenger parties.
Global Politics
Authors: Lawson Stephanie
Published: August 2021

Global Politics is an introduction to international relations. It introduces the key theories and concepts underpinning the discipline, providing a foundation for the study of politics on both a personal and global scale, including issues relating to gender, sexuality, and ethnicity, as well as the economy, environment, and concepts of justice. The text presents theories in their historical context, demonstrating how they can evolve over time. Case studies, both contemporary and historical, and biographies of key figures, help bring these issues to life. Additional features, such as key debates and summary questions, provide opportunities to analyse issues from a range of perspectives.
4. Critical Approaches to Global Politics
Authors: Lawson Stephanie
Published: August 2021

This chapter investigates critical approaches to global politics. While liberal and realist theorists probe each other’s ideas for faults and weaknesses, neither have challenged capitalism and its implications for social, economic, and political order. Marxism, on the other hand, which developed around the mid-nineteenth century, has provided very different perspectives and presents a significant challenge for mainstream approaches to global order in both theory and practice. Post-Marxist Critical Theory, along with historical sociology and world-systems theory, emerged in the twentieth century, giving rise to schools of thought which continue the critique of capitalism and the social and political forces underpinning it. Meanwhile, ideas arising from social theory, such as the extent to which perceptions of reality are socially conditioned and indeed ‘constructed’, achieved greater prominence following the end of the Cold War, an event which prompted many scholars to start asking new questions about global politics and the assumptions on which traditional theories rested. Constructivism, postmodernism, and poststructuralism remain concerned with issues of power and justice but provide different lenses through which these issues may be viewed in the sphere of global politics.
5. New Waves of Theorizing in Global Politics
Authors: Lawson Stephanie
Published: August 2021

This chapter evaluates new modes of theorizing in global politics. These are based on long-standing concerns in social and political theory and all of them involve identity politics in one way or another—a form of politics in which an individual’s membership of a group, based on certain distinctive characteristics such as race, ethnicity, religion, gender, and sexuality, acquires significant political salience and is implicated in hierarchies of power. It follows that identity itself involves issues of both who an individual is, and who that individual is not. This involves not just self-identification or self-definition, but is also mediated by the perceptions of others. In some cases there are connections with social movements concerned with issues of justice and equality in both domestic and global spheres. In almost all cases the specific issues of concern, and their theorization, have come relatively late to the agenda of global politics and so may be said to constitute a ‘new wave’ of theorizing in the discipline. The chapter looks at feminism, gender theory, racism, cultural theory, colonialism, and postcolonial theory.
7. International Organizations in Global Politics
Authors: Lawson Stephanie
Published: August 2021

This chapter addresses the nature of international organizations and how they are generally theorized as participants in global politics and then reviews the rise of international organizations from a historical perspective, with particular reference to developments from the nineteenth century onwards. It also discusses the major intergovernmental institutions that emerged in the twentieth century and which have played such an important role in shaping global order. The chapter briefly looks at the League of Nations but most attention is given to its successor, the United Nations (UN), and its various appendages. It then examines the world of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Some of these NGOs possess significant status in the global sphere, others have little relevance, and still others pose dangers. Finally, the chapter considers social movements and their relationship to the contemporary world of international organizations along with the idea of global civil society. In reviewing these institutions, actors, and ideas, we should keep in mind that liberal international theory, especially in the form of liberal institutionalism, as well as proponents of international society, regard robust international organizations as essential building blocks of global order.
12. Conclusion Justice and the Future of Global Politics
Authors: Lawson Stephanie
Published: August 2021

This concluding chapter draws together some of the themes running throughout this book to address some key issues of justice and the future of global politics. In addition to outlining the concept of global justice, it deals with two contrasting normative approaches to issues in global politics, namely, cosmopolitanism and communitarianism, taking particular note of the debates that emerged in the post-Cold War period and which have been especially important for the analysis of human rights. The chapter looks at how these approaches map onto opposing strands of thought within the English school, namely, solidarism and pluralism. It then moves on to some specific issues in contemporary global politics involving the application of normative theory—citizenship, migration, and refugees. Finally, the chapter considers issues of intergenerational justice with respect to the normative links between past, present, and future and the responsibilities these entail.
Automated Text Analysis
Authors: Yannis Panagis
Published: August 2021

This chapter examines automated text analysis (ATA), which describes the different methodologies that can be applied in order to perform text analysis with the use of computer software. ATA is a computer-assisted method for analysing text, whenever the analysis would be prohibitively labour-intensive due to the volume of texts to be analysed. ATA methods have become more popular due to current interest in big data, taking into account the volume of textual content that is made easily accessible by the digitization of human activity. Key to ATA is the notion of corpus, which is a collection of texts. A necessary step before starting any analysis is to collect together the necessary documents and construct the corpora that will be used. Which texts need to be included in this step is dictated by the research question. After text collection, some processing steps need to be taken before the analysis starts, for example tokenization and part-of-speech tagging. Tokenization is the process of splitting a text into its constituent words, also called tokens, whereas part-of-speech tagging assigns each word a label that indicates the respective part-of-speech.
Bias
Authors: Küçüksu Aysel , Shelton Stephanie Anne
Published: August 2021

This chapter looks at bias, a term which refers to an uninvited, but inevitable aspect of conducting research. It is usually equated with subjectivity, the distortion and manipulation of data, or a lack of objectivity, which undermines the credibility of the research. Bias comes in many forms and the chapter discusses the two that are the most common in the literature: gender bias and confirmation bias. The long-standing positivist interpretation of bias considers that it is an inherently problematic ‘ethical issue’. Yet, contemporary research has called for a ‘reconceptualization’ of this perception of bias in order to encourage a more nuanced view. In the social sciences, bias is a manifestation of how cultural and political standing affects our approach to science. Bias should be acknowledged early on to ensure that both researchers and readers have the critical tools necessary to recognize it and evaluate its influences. This approach originated in anthropology and is known as ‘positionality’.
Endogeneity: When the Effect Influences the Cause
Authors: Avramovska Elena
Published: August 2021

This chapter explores endogeneity, which is a problem of multidirectional causality. Rather than identifying clear cause and effect relationships, social science research is often challenged by factors that mutually cause each other. Indeed, causality patterns in social science research are inherently complex. Three prominent challenges contribute to undermining a simple cause and effect logic. One is multicausality, meaning that the outcomes one tries to explain or predict have multiple causes. The second is that the effects of an explanatory variable can depend on the values of one or more other potential factors in the context, commonly referred to as context-conditionality. However, the most challenging problem to empirical inference when trying to identify unidirectional, necessary, and sufficient causes is endogeneity. As long as there is a chance that endogeneity exists, unbiased empirical findings are impossible.
Factor Analysis
Authors: Liebe Ulf
Published: August 2021

This chapter examines factor analysis, which is used to test whether a set of observable or manifest variables can measure one or more unobservable or latent constructs that they have in common. Such constructs are called factors. Factor analysis is therefore a data reduction method. In its foundation period, factor analysis was often applied to the study of general intelligence and mental abilities. Nowadays factor analysis is a workhorse for quantitative research in the social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences. There are two types of factor analysis: exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Exploratory factor analysis is used for examining the underlying structures in a set of variables. Confirmatory factor analysis is used to test theoretical hypotheses; the researcher assumes that variables are interrelated in a specific way and uses factor analysis to find out whether the assumption is supported by the data — i.e. to what extent the data fits the predefined structure.
I. Interdisciplinarity
Authors: Carrillo Roberto , Núñez Lidia
Published: August 2021

This chapter describes interdisciplinary, a term which refers to a mode of conducting research that ‘integrates information, data, techniques, tools, perspectives, concepts, and/or theories from two or more disciplines or bodies of specialized knowledge to advance fundamental understanding or to solve problems whose solutions are beyond the scope of a single discipline or area of research practice’. Therefore, it is a way of conducting research that goes beyond the frontiers of traditional disciplines. The chapter provides an overview of the main features of how interdisciplinarity is applied in the social sciences. It defines the concept and traces its origins and evolution, as well as the interrelationship between interdisciplinary studies, society, and the development of public policies. The chapter then discusses the measurement and analysis of interdisciplinarity. Finally, it presents the main criticisms of interdisciplinarity and its use in the social sciences.
Literature Review
Authors: Ouimet Mathieu , Bédard Pierre-Olivier
Published: August 2021

This chapter highlights literature review. Reviewing the published literature is one of the key activities of social science research, as a way to position one’s academic contribution, but also to get a bird’s eye view of what the relevant literature says on a given topic or research question. Many guides have been created to assist academic researchers and students in conducting a literature review, but there is no consensus on the most appropriate method to do so. One of the reasons for this lack of consensus is the plurality of epistemological attitudes that coexist in the social sciences. Before initiating a literature review, the researcher should start by clarifying the need for and the purpose of the review. Once this has been clarified, the actual review protocol, tools, and databases to be used will need to be determined to strike a balance between the scope of the study and the depth of the review.
Methodological Individualism and Holism
Authors: Gibril Suzan
Published: August 2021

This chapter discusses methodological individualism and holism, which are often the focus of ontological debate. Methodological individualism (MI) is a paradigm in the social sciences that emerged from sociology and philosophy. The main purpose of MI is not to favour the individual over the collective, but to explain the occurrence of social phenomena by an action-driven rhetoric, which is motivated by intentional states. MI is primarily based on three postulates: the individualistic postulate; the comprehension postulate; and the rationality postulate. Holism, in contrast, is based on the idea that society cannot be reduced solely to its constituent parts — i.e. individuals. Individuals are the product of societies, histories, economic inequalities, social status, and so on. Therefore, they should be treated as objects that can only be perceived and understood from within.
Mixed Methods
Authors: Valeriani Manfredi , Plano Clark Vicki L.
Published: August 2021

This chapter examines mixed-methods research, which is an approach that involves the integration of quantitative and qualitative methods at one or more stages of a research study. The central idea behind mixed-methods research is that the intentional combination of numeric-based methods with narrative-based methods can best provide answers to some research questions. The ongoing attempts to construct a simple and common conceptualization of mixed-methods provide a good indicator of the status of mixed-methods itself. mixed-methods research has emerged as a formalized methodology well suited to addressing complex problems, and is currently applied throughout the social sciences and beyond. Nowadays, researchers interested in combining quantitative and qualitative methods can benefit from the growing knowledge about the epistemological foundations, essential considerations, and rigorous designs that have been advanced for mixed-methods research.