Recent articles
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A Tale of Two Populists: Javier Milei's and Nayib Bukele's Approach toward International Organisations
(Volume 19, Issue 4)Abstract International organisations have formed the foundation of the global multilateral order since the end of World War II. In recent years, however, they have become the target of increasing criticism from populist politicians who are trying to demolish the foundations of the liberal international order. The aim of this academic essay is to contribute to the rapidly growing research on populist disengagement from the liberal international order by comparing the behaviour of Javier Milei...
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Populism, Sanctions and Sovereignty: The Case of Zimbabwe and the Commonwealth
(Volume 19, Issue 4)Abstract This study examines Zimbabwe’s 2003 withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Nations under Robert Mugabe as an empirical case of populist engagement with international institutions. Mugabe’s rhetoric and actions reveal how populist figures employ anti-imperialist and nationalist narratives to challenge global organizations and reinforce domestic authority. Building on theories of populist strategies toward international institutions, the study argues that Mugabe portrayed the Commonwealth...
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Populist (Dis)Engagement with International Parliamentary Institutions: Central Europeans in the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(Volume 19, Issue 4)Abstract How do populist politicians behave in international parliamentary institutions (IPIs)? Although there is a rapidly growing literature on the foreign policy of populist executive actors, the manifestation of populism as a thin-centred ideology in an international parliamentary setting is not yet understood. This paper aims to alleviate this knowledge gap by analysing how Central European populist parties engaged with the European Parliament (EP) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the...
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Weaponisation of Interdependence: Unpacking European Ontological Anxieties?
(Volume 19, Issue 4)Abstract Traditional scholarship on economic interdependence assumes that economic ties primarily function as stabilising mechanisms or strategic tools for leverage. However, they neglect how identity and ontological concerns can securitise interdependence. This study addresses this critical gap by integrating Ontological Security Theory to move beyond materialist explanations and offer a novel framework for understanding how economic ties are redefined in response to crises. Using an...
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Conceptual Quality in Security and Defence Practice: The Case of Hybrid Warfare
(Volume 19, Issue 4)Abstract It has become a norm to bemoan the unending stream of new concepts in defence policy, many of which sparked a lively debate on their actual novelty, utility and, more generally, added value. Those discussions often lack a shared language or benchmarks. The paper argues that the analytical utility of concepts for practical policy in areas of defence and security is fundamentally based on the same qualities that make concepts suitable for academic research, and that scholarly criteria...