Pertti Joenniemi - Böcker

Vicarious identification, or "living through another" is a familiar social-psychological concept. Shaped by insecurity and a lack of self-fulfilment, it refers to the processes by which actors gain a sense of self-identity, purpose, and self-esteem through appropriating the achievements and experiences of others. As this book argues, it is also an under-appreciated and increasingly relevant strategy of international relations. According to this theory, states identify and establish special relationships with other nations (often in an aspirational way) in order to strengthen their sense of self, security, and status on the global stage. This identification is also central to the politics of citizenship and can be manipulated by states to justify their global ambitions. For example, why might the United States look at Israel as a model for its own foreign policies? What shaped the politics of Brexit and why is the United Kingdom so attached to its transatlantic "special relationship" with the United States? And, why did Denmark so enthusiastically ally with the United States during the global War on Terror? Vicarious identity, as the authors argue, is at the core of these international dynamics.Vicarious Identity in International Relations examines the ways in which vicarious identity is relevant to global politics: across individuals; between citizens and states; and across states, regional communities, or civilizations. It looks at a range of cases (the United States, the United Kingdom, and Denmark), which illustrate that vicarious political identity is dynamic and emerges in different contexts, but particularly when nations face crisis, both internally and externally. In addition, the book outlines a qualitative methodology for analyzing vicarious identity at the collective level.

The first authoritative account concerning the lack of conflict in the Nordic region, this text evaluates why the area is more peaceful than the rest of Europe and whether there is a lesson to be learned from the area. Looking at cases where parts of the Nordic area have started to break away from the others and how this was achieved without violence, it also explores the settlement of demarcation disputes. By using this region as an example for the rest of Europe, this book tests the hypothesis of the Nordic Peace using a number of approaches including historical, political science, peace research, sociology and law. This highly insightful piece of research is relevant for courses in international relations and European studies.

Conscription is seen as forming a site and an issue-area around which different identities are struggled over and core political relations established in a security-related context. The unravelling of conscription thus unavoidably pertains to a set of essential ideational issues and has significance far beyond the military sphere. The contributors to this book explore the more profound issues such as the meaning of conscription in the context of the increasingly feeble relationship between the state and the nation. The analysis relates the question of changes or lack of change in recruitment to broader social, political and cultural issues, thereby breaking new ground. Attention not only focuses on what the military manpower systems do, but also on what they represent. As such, conscription has meaning far beyond the sphere of military affairs.

First published in 1998, this book reflects a concern for Kaliningrad. Too little is known about the region, developments in recent years have not been sufficiently covered and it is rarely integrated, in terms of analysis, with the way post-Cold War Europe is viewed more generally.