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This Week at the ISN

Our Weekly Content Roundup

21 - 24 December 2015

JUMP TO Editorial Plan | Security Watch | Blog | Video

// Security Watch

This week, our two Security Watch (SW) series reprise articles that remain both relevant and interesting. Our first SW
series, for example, examines what Mark Galeotti thinks of hybrid warfare; the role of human domain mapping in 21st
century warfare; how authoritarian regimes sustain their legitimacy; and the ongoing war of ideas with the so-called
Islamic State. Then, in our second SW series, we look at how Eyal Weitzman uses heterogeneous materials to analyze
controversial events in global politics; how social constructivism became an important part of international relations (IR)
theory; why John Hobson deplores the Eurocentric bias in IR studies; and how shifts in global power are affecting
international cooperation, particularly in the cases of science and technology.

Hybrid War as a War on Governance

21 December 2015

While the concept of hybrid warfare is hardly new, Russias aggression against Ukraine has rekindled an interest in this
particular form of combat. In todays question and answer session, Mark Galeotti outlines the Russian approach to hybrid
warfare, what hybrid defenses should look like, etc. More

Eyal Weizman on Global Politics and Forensic Architecture

21 December 2015

Eyal Weizman analyzes incidents in global politics by sifting through a heterogeneous mix of sources and materials,
including digital imagery and blast patterns. Find out how and why he developed this uncommon approach in todays
Theory Talk. More

Human Domain Mapping in 21st Century Warfare

22 December 2015

The terrain of 21st century warfare is both geographical and human. According to Derek Raymond, that means todays
militaries must map out a foes social dynamics, including his resistance networks, competing factions, leadership clusters,
and other aspects of human topography. More

Nicholas Onuf on the Evolution of Social Constructivism, Turns in IR, and a Discipline of Our Making
22 December 2015

Social constructivism is an important part of international relations (IR) theory, but does it help the discipline stake out
reasonably well-defined subject matter and generate concepts that are unique to the field? Nicholas Onuf has his doubts.
He sees more disciplinary machinery than substance in IR studies.
More

How Do Non-Democratic Regimes Claim Legitimacy?

23 December 2015

Christian von Soest and Julia Grauvogel believe we need a stonger sense of how authoritarian regimes manipulate the
concept of legitimacy to secure their rule. One option is to use the Regime Legitimation Expert Survey (RLES) and then
apply it to the non-democratic regimes that existed in the post-Soviet space from 1991-2010. More

John Hobson on Eurocentrism, Historical Sociology and the Curious Case of Postcolonialism
23 December 2015

In this interview, John Hobson focuses on 1) the Western bias in international relations theory; 2) the arguable belief that
the West is THE source of globalization and innovation; and 3) the need to think harder about the interconnections
between the West and non-West. More

The Truth Campaign and the War of Ideas

24 December 2015

What can those who are rhetorically battling the so-called Islamic State learn from the Truth anti-smoking campaign of

Theory Talks: Dirk Messner on the Dynamics of Global Change and the Significance of International
Science and Technology Cooperation in the Post-Western World
24 December 2015

Dirk Messner has a lot on his mind. Today, he discusses how shifting global dynamics and emerging powers are
transforming 1) multinational governance; 2) international cooperation in science and technology; and 3) the way
institutions such as the World Bank are adapting to these changes. More

// Blog
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: Towards a New Heartland?
21 December 2015

Is the planned China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which was first announced during Xi Jinping's state visit to
Pakistan in April 2015, a potential game-changer in regional and global geopolitics? Omar Alam believes so, particularly
when it comes to securing China's energy needs. More

The Future of Political Demography and Its Impact on Policy

22 December 2015

Is political demography set to play an even greater role in policymaking? It's quite possible, says Schuyler Null. After all,
the demand for more prediction-heavy analyses is increasing, primarily because of phenomena such as urbanization and
the rise of different Arab Spring-type moments. More

In Switzerlands Shadow: Summing up Serbias 2015 OSCE Chairmanship

23 December 2015

In the fall of 2011, Switzerland and Serbia teamed up and successfully campaigned for a "double chairmanship" of the
OSCE for the years 2014 (Switzerland) and 2015 (Serbia). Well, did they end up getting more than they bargained for?
Today, Christian Nnlist reviews their turns at the OSCE's helm. More

The Emotional Amoral Egoism of States

24 December 2015

Does an enhanced awareness of the 'emotional amorality' of states add complexity to our understanding of international
relations? Nayef Al-Rodhan believes so. This is especially true for theories that take rational and predictable behavior as a
given. More

// Video

Assessing Iran's Support for Regional Militias

In this video, Fouad Hamdan describes his organization's latest report, "Financing Terror." The text quantifies the financial
and manpower support provided by Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Assad regime in Syria, Shi'a militias in Iraq, Houthi
rebels in Yemen, and Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza strip. More

IEA's World Energy Outlook 2015

In this video, Fatih Birol synopsizes the 2015 edition of IEA's "World Energy Outlook." He specifically looks at the
competitive positions of fast-growing renewable energy technologies, the development of new energy efficiency policies,
and numerous other related topics. More

// Multimedia Content
Here is a selection of this week's additions to the ISN Digital
Library:

Publications More
// Russia's Asian Rebalance More
// The Silence of the Guns: Can the Cease-Fire in Donbass Last? More
// Promoting Peace through the Sustainable Development Goals More

Videos More
// Tim Kaine on US Leadership and Involvement in the Middle East More
//Reducing the Risk of Nuclear War in the Nordic-Baltic RegionMore
/A
/ Fight Worth Fighting: Rallying the World Against Corruption More

Audio / Podcasts More

// The State of the European Union: Challenges for the Future
More
// Grant Newsham on Improving Amphibious Capabilities More
// Implications of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference More

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