Innovations: A Journal of Politics

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https://prism.ucalgary.ca/handle/1880/112819
Innovations: A Journal of Politics was an interdisciplinary journal committed to publishing the best student work in the study of politics, especially articles that make an original contribution to the field. We encourage submissions from students regardless of their institutional affiliation or perspective. The journal serves three primary groups. For political scientists, it is a showcase for the ideas of the emerging scholars to whom the future of the discipline belongs. For graduate and undergraduate students of politics, it offers a unique opportunity to publish the best of their work. Finally, for students at the University of Calgary in particular, the journal also offers an opportunity to develop experience in the publishing process.

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Browsing Innovations: A Journal of Politics by Department "Political Science"

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    Are the Risks Real? Contemporary Opposition to the ICC
    (2002) Reid, Holly; Chapnick, Adam; Brown, Sherri
    In spite of the overwhelming global support for the international criminal court (ICC) upon its inception in July 1998, a significant number of states, led by the US, have hesitated in ratifying the Rome Statute. After reviewing the benefits and drawbacks of a fully­functioning ICC, this paper addresses the implications of the ICC in the context of global power politics. We conclude that, while accession to the ICC indeed affects state sovereignty, on the whole, the risks articulated by opponents in the US and elsewhere are more perceived than real. Accepting the ICC will have little to no impact on Great Power security or influence in the international arena.
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    Boy Scouts No Longer: A Sociological Institutionalist Analysis of the Canadian Forces
    (2008) Fitzsimmons, Daniel; Fitzsimmons, Scott; McDougall, Alex
    This paper seeks to explain the process of institutional transformation within the armed forces of a democracy. It offers an ideational explanation for this process, which is grounded in sociological institutionalism. Specifically, it argues that one of the most important and powerful factors that can drive institutional transformation within national armed forces are radical shifts in how senior political decision-makers perceive the appropriate 'institutional role' of their military forces. To illustrate this process, this paper examines the recent and radical transformation of the Canadian Forces, from an institution structured to specialize in peacekeeping operations to an institution structured to specialize in counter-insurgency war fighting.
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    Cinema and Television as a Gauge for Race Politics
    (2002) Kendrick, James A.; Brown, Sherri
    The salience of race in American society is a topic of current debate among some scholars of political science. Some research suggests that race is more influential than class in determining the political behavior of African Americans. Other research argues that bridging the racial divide require?? a movement from confrontation and blaming to a more positive view uf the successes of race relations. In other words, the construct of race is not as important in the U.S. as it was during Reconstruction. This study examines the influence of exposure to black cinema and black television on an individual's sense of linked fate. In summary, exposure to black cinema is related to levels of racial group consciousness for some African Americans. Broader implications from this study call for the inclusion of additional concepts (i.e., cultural concepts like cinema) along with survey data and feeling thermometers to examine issues related to race.
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    Composite Diplomacy: Canadian Innovation Amidst Global Uncertainty
    (2004) Barrett, Robert S.; Fitzsimmons, Scott; Singh, Anita
    This condensed paper is the culmination of a one-year research effort – an investigation addressing two issue areas: the first being the West’s apparent and disturbing inability to address and ameliorate emerging forms of global intrastate war, and second, Canada’s dire need to resurrect its foreign policy in order to actively participate on the world stage. In answering both of these problems, the paper proposes that Canada adopt, as a policy focus, a newly formed diplomatic strategy termed Composite Diplomacy.
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    Culture Clash: The Influence of Behavioural Norms on Military Performance in Asymmetric Conflicts
    (2008) Fitzsimmons, Scott; Fitzsimmons, Scott; McDougall, Alex
    This paper establishes the ways in which the military cultures of mercenary groups and their opponents influence their military performance in asymmetric conflicts. It develops and tests a constructivist military culture theory of military performance against the empirical record of two modern mercenary groups, one of which achieved victory over its opponent and one of which was defeated. The core logic of the theory is that a grossly outnumbered force must be highly flexible and adaptable if it is to perform the range of military tasks required to defeat materially superior opponents. Norms encouraging the pursuit of a wider range of tactical behaviour should increase military effectiveness, which, in turn, should increase a group’s prospects for military success. If the theory is correct, a military force’s performance should be conditioned by the degree to which the members of the force have been indoctrinated into norms that encourage them to be militarily effective. Specifically, the theory reasons that military forces that strongly emphasize norms encouraging creative thinking, decentralized authority, personal initiative, technical proficiency, and group loyalty, should exhibit greater militarily effectiveness than forces that deemphasize these norms. Moreover, it reasons that military forces exhibiting greater military effectiveness should experience greater battlefield military performance than less effective groups, all else equal. Taking this into account, the theory predicts that the materially weaker party in an asymmetric conflict, which the mercenaries were in both cases, should only be able to defeat its materially stronger opponent if the weaker party emphasizes behavioural norms that encourage it to perform a wide range of tactical behaviour – that is, be very militarily effective – and the stronger party does not emphasize these norms because this should allow the weaker party to exploit the weaknesses and counter the strengths of the stronger party and, through this, defeat it. On the other hand, the theory predicts that, in asymmetric conflicts where neither party emphasizes behavioural norms encouraging them to perform a wide range of tactical behaviour, neither party should be capable of exploiting the weaknesses and countering the strengths of the other and, as a result, the balance of material capabilities should allow the materially stronger party to prevail.
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    Domestic Experience and its Effects on Democracy Promotion
    (2008) Jardine, Eric; Fitzsimmons, Scott; McDougall, Alex
    This article argues that a country’s democracy promotion efforts will be underwritten by its domestic experience with democratic governance. It compares the statements of public officials from the United States, Great Britain and Canada, as well as the implicit assumptions which the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), and Canada’s Rights and Democracy (R&D) maintain are necessary for the longevity and health of democratic governments. It demonstrates that the NED emphasizes the presence of a virulent pro-democratic civil society, the WFD emphasizes the growth of party links and a strong party system, and R&D emphasizes the governance of diversity. The paper argues further that all of these points of emphasis coincide with each respective country’s domestic experience with democratic governance.
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    Editor’s Note: Publish and Flourish: The Benefits of Student Publishing in Political Science
    (2006) Fitzsimmons, Scott; Fitzsimmons, Scott; Singh, Anita
    Student publishing is a sorely overlooked aspect of university life. Few students realize the publishing avenues available to them and fewer still pursue these opportunities. This is unfortunate because student publishing, through scholarly political science journals like Innovations, offers significant value to young scholars, the broader academic community, and the discourse shaping contemporary society.
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    Evaluating the Masters of Strategy: A Comparative Analysis of Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, Mahan, and Corbett
    (2007) Fitzsimmons, Scott; Fitzsimmons, Scott; McDougall, Alex
    This paper provides a brief overview of major inter-theoretical relationships between the works of Carl von Calusewitz, Sun Tzu, Alfred Mahan, and Julian Corbett. Specifically, it undertakes a comparative analysis of these authors’ writings on the nature of war; the use of theory in the study of warfare; the primacy of politics; limited and absolute war; the principle of decisive battle; the principle of concentration; the role of the people in war; friction, uncertainty, and the means to overcome these problems; and the offence and defence in war.
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    Feminist IR and the Case of the ‘Black Widows’: Reproducing Gendered Divisions
    (2004) West, Jessica; Fitzsimmons, Scott; Singh, Anita
    Feminism has been a marginal approach to International Relations (IR) since its inception following the Cold War, however in an effort to reinvigorate its analytical power, Charlotte Hooper demonstrated how the practice of IR actively reproduces as well as reflects gender identities in the form of hegemonic masculinity. The purpose of the following study is to challenge and extend Hooper’s argument by investigating whether or not the practice of international relations also produces a hegemonic femininity. By examining the popular portrayal of Chechen women terrorists commonly referred to as the ‘Black Widows,’ I argue that our interpretations of international events do indeed produce a hegemonic femininity that places women in the familial world of emotion and victimhood. In effect, a feminine niche is created for women who partake in traditionally masculine activities. This analysis speaks to two additional controversies in feminist literature: the effect of adding women to andocentric categories and whether or not women’s violence should be represented in feminist theories. The difficulties that feminist encounter with each of these issues is demonstrative of the need to eschew rather than clamour for a position within the strictures of mainstream IR. Instead, feminists should embrace their position on the margins of IR and the opportunity that it provides to destabilizing the hierarchies, exclusions and violence upon which it is based.
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    From Cuba to Bolivia: Guevara’s Foco Theory in Practice
    (2006) Johnson, Joshua; Fitzsimmons, Scott; Singh, Anita
    In order to account for Ernesto Guevara’s dramatic swing of fate from Cuba to Bolivia, it is necessary to explore his revolutionary theory developed in response to his experiences in the 1959 Cuban revolution. His foco theory, which places a high degree of primacy on the guerrilla band in creating the conditions for revolution, is starkly contrasted by an historical analysis of the Cuban revolution, where economic, social, and nationalistic forces combined to the benefit of Guevara and Castro. Exploring the political climate of Bolivia at the time of Guevara’s attempted insurrection, it becomes apparent that none of these forces were present for the exploitation of the guerrillas, which ultimately doomed the revolution and Guevara himself. Both the Cuban and Bolivian cases show the significance of socio-political factors in determining the success of an insurrection, and put the validity of Guevara’s foco theory into question.
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    Gender Mainstreaming in Canadian Human Security Policy: The Limitations of Bureaucratic and Security Discourses
    (2008) Ali, Shelina; Fitzsimmons, Scott; McDougall, Alex
    The purpose of this study is to assess how feminist literature on bureaucratic discourse and human security can contribute to a greater understanding of the challenges of gender mainstreaming within policy on human security and conflict management. My particular focus on gender is linked to the reality that gender power relations are consistently present within all societies internationally, most often resulting in the subordination of femininity and by consequence, women. Feminist critiques of the bureaucracy make a strong argument for why there is such difficulty in establishing a gendered security policy, by addressing the gender biased nature of bureaucratic structure, knowledge, and discourse. Through the analysis I hope to shed light on the barriers and access points available within the Canadian bureaucracy in terms of gender mainstreaming in human security policy. Past studies have focused on what gendered aspect of conflict and security policy have ignored, but not why they have ignored these aspects. This paper will attempt to further uncover the why, and what feminist theory can contribute towards understanding the difficulty of gender mainstreaming in Canadian human security policy.
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    Globalization and Global Governance: Prospects for International Cooperation Post 9/11
    (2007) Mawhinney, Emily B.; Fitzsimmons, Scott; McDougall, Alex
    When the twin towers of the World Trade Center fell September 11, 2001, a domino effect was triggered that has transformed the nature of the security dilemma, redefined intervention, and has begun to unravel the thread of the United Nations. In the post 9/11 world, it would appear that multilateralism and sovereignty have lost their appeal, according to some, and general effectiveness, according to many. How did this happen? While US unilateral action in Iraq could be considered to be the final turning point in the transformation of how security threats are perceived and responded too, is this really the end of multilateral intervention? In order to understand the nature and implications of the transformation of the international security dilemma, intervention, and multilateralism post 9/11, it is necessary to examine the behaviour that led to the US intervention in Iraq. What explains the US decision to take unilateral action against Iraq? Were decision-makers constrained by psychological factors, misperception, organizational routines? Can the American actions be classified as 'intervention' according to the pre-9/11 definition? How is intervention defined post-9/11? What are the implications of the differences in those definitions? Is this really the 'end of history' for multilateralism, humanitarianism? What are the implications for the security dilemma, future interventions, multilateral institutions? The United States' pre-emptive action against Iraq was constrained and falsely justified by organizational routines and misperception in the Bush administration, and ultimately seriously undermined the legitimacy of intervention, as well as the capabilities of multilateral institutions.
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    Globalization and Structures of Power: A Weberian Inquiry
    (2000) Churchill, Christian J.; Ang, Adrian; Jobin, Kari; Hülsemeyer, Axel
    This paper examines globalization through the framework of Max Weber’s essay 'Structures of Power.' The paper argues that globalization is characterized by political and economic entities using debt, the nation-state, and organizational networks as the means to maximize profit and power. It suggests that an examination of globalization through this framework provides a clear idea of what globalization is and how to solve its structural problems. Among a plurality of co-existing polities, some, the Great Powers, usually ascribe to themselves and usurp an interest in political and economic processes over a wide orbit. Today such orbits encompass the whole surface of the planet. - Max Weber, 'Structures of Power'
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    Globalization and the Political Loyalties of Individuals: Europe in Transition
    (2000) Vähä-Sipilä, Mikko; Ang, Adrian; Jobin, Kari; Hülsemeyer, Axel
    This paper deals with certain aspects of how political loyalties in a globalizing Europe are being exposed to pressures for change. The viewpoint is that of a ‘displaced’ individual political actor, and the aim is to locate those sociopolitical signals that are relevant to the formation process of political loyalties. The central argument is that as the legalistic conception of national citizenship is losing some of its significance, the individual experience of instant political influence becomes important.
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    Globalization at the Level of the Nation-State: The Case of Canada’ Third Sector
    (2000) Jiwani, Izzat; Ang, Adrian; Jobin, Kari; Hülsemeyer, Axel
    This paper examines how globalization-inspired policy and institutional changes bring about a redefinition of citizenship and a reconstitution of modalities of political and collective action. By examining the case of Canada's third sector, it is argued that the combined forces of globalization and neoliberal ideology are resulting in the mercerization and co-optation of the third sector into a quasi-autonomous government body to deliver public services. In the process, social citizenship rights of Canadians are being redefined. As well, the state’s concern for freeing itself of interest group politics in order to push its market-oriented policies is resulting in restricted avenues of democratic participation for Canadian citizens. In an era of market hegemony, it is imperative to strengthen the third sector’s role as intermediary between the market, state and citizens to ensure that globalization works for people and not for profit alone. An alternative to the existing welfare and labour market approaches is needed which would embody the principles of social responsibility, democracy, and transparency, and yet be innovative enough to meet the challenges of the new global order.
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    Innovations: A Journal of Politics Call for Papers
    (2007) Fitzsimmons, Scott; McDougall, Alex
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    Innovations: A Journal of Politics Call for Papers
    (2008) Fitzsimmons, Scott; McDougall, Alex
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    Innovations: A Journal of Politics Call for Papers
    (2004) Fitzsimmons, Scott; Singh, Anita
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