Tracing constructivist work on culture, identity and norms within the historical, geographical and professional contexts of world politics, this book makes the case for new constructivist approaches to international relations scholarship.

With seven of its justices appointed by Republican presidents, today's Supreme Court has significantly altered America's legal landscape since 1986 by tilting constitutional jurisprudence to the right. That was the goal of Presidents Reagan and Bush in filling court vacancies and has been felt in cases related to federalism, economic rights, and affirmative action. However, liberal issues such as abortion have moved only marginally to the right, while rulings by the Court on school prayer and gay rights have moved constitutional doctrine slightly to the left. In this collection of original articles, prominent constitutional scholars are joined by new voices from the cutting edge of academia to subject the Rehnquist Court to closer scrutiny and to show that its brand of conservatism is less extreme than many have supposed. Reflecting views across the political spectrum, the contributors help readers understand the Court dynamic, its constrained conservatism, and the forces that shape constitutional law in general. As these authors show, the overall pattern of decision-making in the Rehnquist era cannot be attributed to any single, unified approach to constitutional analysis. Instead, today's Court can only be understood as the product of a complex interaction among individual justices, each with an idiosyncratic view of the proper interpretation of the Constitution and the role of the Court in the American political system. These provocative essays are designed to provide readers with insight into this interaction by focusing on each member of the bench. From the staunch conservatism of Clarence Thomas, to the "accommodationism" of Sandra Day O'Connor, to the "liberal constitutionalism" of David Souter, the essays analyze the unique approach of each justice to interpreting the Constitution. They also show that the current justices are the product of a nomination and confirmation process that has undergone a major transformation in recent decades one which favors experienced, often unknown jurists over high-profile public servants. By concentrating attention on its members, "Rehnquist Justice" allows us to better understand the Supreme Court as a whole. And by assessing today's judiciary in light of a public philosophy that looks askance at government, it shows us that the Supreme Court has truly become a mirror of its times."

In this engaging book, David M. McCourt makes the case for New Constructivist approaches to international relations scholarship. The book traces constructivist work on culture, identity, and norms within the historical, geographical, and professional contexts of world politics, and reflects on recent innovations in fields including practice theory, relationalism, and network analysis. Copiously illustrated with real-world examples from the rise of China and US foreign policy, it illuminates the processes by which international politics are built. This is both an accessible tour of Constructivism to date and a persuasive declaration for its continuing application and value.

Master's Thesis from the year 2003 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: German Foreign Policy, grade: 8 (of 10), University of Amsterdam (FMG), 15 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: If we look back at more than a decade of united Germany's foreign policy, there seems to be a shift away from the former military culture of restraint . Throughout the 1990s, German troops have been increasingly deployed in military operations out of area and for the first time since the Second World War participated in combat missions in the Kosovo War in 1999. Consequently, the "FRG has read the signs of the new time and feels ready to take on the role of a European power". Has the reunited country actually gained power? Has the removal of the last boundaries of German sovereignty triggered a quest for more political autonomy that manifests itself in an increased military activity? Does this comparatively more permissive use of force indicate a fundamental shift away from former traditional principles of the Bonn Republic? Or does the Berlin Republic head toward a militarized German foreign policy in the context of Euro-Atlantic hegemony? It is Germany's security policy as a cornerstone of foreign policy that I am going to examine between 1990 and 2003 to be able to make some inferences of foreign policy changes. Secondly, by looking of some factors that might have had an impact on these eventual changes one might additionally gain some further implications. The aim of this thesis is therefore twofold: I intend to contribute with this work to the debate whether since reunification change or continuity prevails in German foreign policy, while I additionally attempt a causal analyses of new elements in it. The scope of that debate will be in so far enhanced as it tries to generate causal inferences as well.

Comprises 80 articles representing the most influential theoretical writings by international relations scholars. Introduced by an essay from Stephen Chan and Cerwyn Moore, the four thematically organised volumes cover the major traditions of IR theory. Together these four volumes provide broad coverage of the subject and historical depth.

Some 120 participants attended the inaugural Congress of the Asian Political and International Studies Association (APISA) in Singapore on 28-30 November 2003. Asians from universities and institutes in many countries accounted for about 70 per cent of the participants. The First Congress had been two years in the making. In November 2001, 30 academics from research institutes, think tanks, and universities introduced the idea of launching an Asian-based academic organisation dedicated to the advancement of political and international studies. It was the general consensus of the meeting that Asian scholars had been marginalised from the decision-making processes of the Western-based associations of a similar nature. Asian schools of thought had been stifled as a consequence of the American hegemony in the social sciences, and that the state of Asian studies in general was underdeveloped. In the light of these concerns, the APISA was established. Drawn from academia and think tanks from across Asia and the Pacific, the political and security specialists, sociologists, historians, and economists exchanged ideas and charted new intellectual terrain on the theme: 'Asia in the New Millennium: Development, Democracy, and Security'. The keynote speaker at the Congress was Dr Surin Pituswan, former Foreign Minister of Thailand and Member of the Commission for Human Security, who focused on the need to pursue prominence in Asian scholarship. Panels at the APISA Congress transcended disciplinary contours, national and regional boundaries, and historical confines. The panels' themes ranged from globalisation, identity and community in Asia to electronic government and theory and modernity. Offering more regional lenses were panels that discussed understanding and explaining Asia-Pacific security and the welfare state in Southeast Asia, China and her neighbours. Among the many panels that engaged other disciplines were the discussions on state vs.market the historical contributions in the panel on defining Southeast Asia as a region and sociological inclinations in the panel on culture, politics, and cooperation. READERSHIP: Policy makers, researchers, tertiary students and all those interested in politics and international relations.