Estudos Internacionais: revista de relações internacionais da PUC Minas, 2018
The Amarna diplomacy (ca. 1365–1330 BCE) has been of interest for specialists ever since the disc... more The Amarna diplomacy (ca. 1365–1330 BCE) has been of interest for specialists ever since the discovery of the Amarna letter collection in the late 19th century. While it can be considered as one of the great archaeolo-gical discoveries of all time, it has largely remained out of academic purview in the field of International Relations (IR). IR scholarship continues to turn to the Greco-Roman experience in its attempt to delineate the chronological framework of the discipline. Far from being an anecdote in international history, this article aims to analyze what the letters convey for a student of world politics. What comes out of these missives through textual analysis of the primary sources is not only the various demands, wishes and security concerns of the actors involved but also classical IR themes such as power balancing, security dilemma and international anarchy. While there are question marks and lacunas, this paper asserts that the ancient Near Eastern world constituted an...
Kahden-ja monenvälinen diplomatia on jo-kapäiväinen ilmiö kansainvälisissä suhteis-sa. Näistä jäl... more Kahden-ja monenvälinen diplomatia on jo-kapäiväinen ilmiö kansainvälisissä suhteis-sa. Näistä jälkimmäinen sai Suomessa erityis-tä huomiota osakseen elokuussa 2005, kun Eu-roopan turvallisuus-ja yhteistyökonferenssin (Etyk) päätösasiakirjan allekirjoituksesta oli ku- ...
TIETEESSÄ TAPAHTUU 6/2007 33 Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) tunnetaan valistusaja elijana ennen ... more TIETEESSÄ TAPAHTUU 6/2007 33 Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) tunnetaan valistusaja elijana ennen muuta sellaisista teoksista, kuten Eriarvoisuuden yhteiskunnallisista ja sosiaalisista perusteista, Emile eli kasvatuksesta ja Yhteiskuntasopimuksesta. Tässä artikkelissa tarkasteltava teksti Abbé de SaintPierren ikuiseen rauhaan tähtäävästä suunnitelmasta (Extrait du projet de paix perpétuelle de M. l’abbé de Saint-Pierre [1761]) kuuluu Rousseaun vähemmän tunne uihin kirjoituksiin.
Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections, 2020
For international relations (IR) scholars, the story behind the figure of Udjahorresnet might seem... more For international relations (IR) scholars, the story behind the figure of Udjahorresnet might seem as an obscure phase in international history. Yet the pre-Roman period is educative for testing constitutive IR concepts such as the balance of power theory, international system, or soft power, which are still widely assumed to have become relevant only in the post-Roman context rather than in the ancient civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean preceding the Greco-Roman experience. This article proposes that insights from IR theory can offer ancient historians and Egyptologists theoretical tools by linking empirical facts to patterns rather than just unique events via conceptual analysis. Udjahorresnet as diplomatic figure is an important primary source to understand the transition of power from native Egyptian hands to the Achaemenid rule, and thus it provides a case study where micro and macro levels of analyses find fertile ground in a cross-disciplinary framework.
While anarchy has become common currency in IR theory to depict the structural‗ state of nature &... more While anarchy has become common currency in IR theory to depict the structural‗ state of nature 'of interstate relations where there's no supreme authority above states to guarantee their security needs, the question of how far back in time can there be said to have existed ...
Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections, 2020
For international relations (IR) scholars, the story behind the figure of Udjahorresnet might seem... more For international relations (IR) scholars, the story behind the figure of Udjahorresnet might seem as an obscure phase in international history. Yet the pre-Roman period is educative for testing constitutive IR concepts such as the balance of power theory, international system, or soft power, which are still widely assumed to have become relevant only in the post-Roman context rather than in the ancient civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean preceding the Greco-Roman experience. This article proposes that insights from IR theory can offer ancient historians and Egyptologists theoretical tools by linking empirical facts to patterns rather than just unique events via conceptual analysis. Udjahorresnet as diplomatic figure is an important primary source to understand the transition of power from native Egyptian hands to the Achaemenid rule, and thus it provides a case study where micro and macro levels of analyses find fertile ground in a cross-disciplinary framework.
The Amarna diplomacy (ca. 1365-1330 BCE) has been of interest for specialists ever since the disc... more The Amarna diplomacy (ca. 1365-1330 BCE) has been of interest for specialists ever since the discovery of the Amarna letter collection in the late 19 th century. While it can be considered as one of the great archaeological discoveries of all time, it has largely remained out of academic purview in the field of International Relations (IR). IR scholarship continues to turn to the Greco-Roman experience in its attempt to delineate the chronological framework of the discipline. Far from being an anecdote in international history, this article aims to analyze what the letters convey for a student of world politics. What comes out of these missives through textual analysis of the primary sources is not only the various demands, wishes and security concerns of the actors involved but also classical IR themes such as power balancing, security dilemma and international anarchy. While there are question marks and lacunas, this paper asserts that the ancient Near Eastern world constituted an international arena where we see the makings of a genuine system of states more than a millennium before the writings of Thucydides. The Amarna letters, although incomplete, are a gateway to gain deeper synergy between IR theory and international history.
Kahden-ja monenvälinen diplomatia on jo-kapäiväinen ilmiö kansainvälisissä suhteis-sa. Näistä jäl... more Kahden-ja monenvälinen diplomatia on jo-kapäiväinen ilmiö kansainvälisissä suhteis-sa. Näistä jälkimmäinen sai Suomessa erityis-tä huomiota osakseen elokuussa 2005, kun Eu-roopan turvallisuus-ja yhteistyökonferenssin (Etyk) päätösasiakirjan allekirjoituksesta oli ku- ...
Jean-Jacques Rousseaun kirjoitus on versio Char-les Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierren (16581743), j... more Jean-Jacques Rousseaun kirjoitus on versio Char-les Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierren (16581743), joka tunnetaan paremmin nimellä abbé de Saint-Pierre, Espanjan perimyssodan aikana (170114) laatimasta laajasta teoksesta, jossa tämä filosofi pohti keinoja, joiden ...
Leaning on cross-disciplinary literature, this paper takes as its premise a deeper world historic... more Leaning on cross-disciplinary literature, this paper takes as its premise a deeper world historical approach outside of the European experience. A central claim of the essay is to show that in the Near East dating back to the third and second millennium we encounter a region-wide international arena where it is possible to find an interdependent and multicultural pre-modern state environment – indeed, the first great international era in world history. Set against a careful comparative analysis between western and eastern Mediterranean worlds, this paper suggests, then, that the Near Eastern case better meets the criteria for a pre-modern international society in its cosmopolitanism and in chronological terms than has been thus far recognized in the English School tradition as well as in the field of IR.
Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association (ISA) New Orleans, LA, February 18–21, 2015
In the study of political science and international relations, concepts constitute the basic tool... more In the study of political science and international relations, concepts constitute the basic tools for research. It is through conceptual lenses that scholars build reality out of complex phenomena. Political freedom, sovereignty, nationalism, statehood, diplomacy, and balance of power are one of the more prominent concepts within the two disciplines. However, the relationship between these theoretical concepts and the historical and empirical reality on which they are based raises issues. This is not always fully recognized in the IR scholarship. This paper argues that phenomena such as international system, international society, power balancing, and state formation and sovereignty remain somewhat underdeveloped insofar as they continue to be examined as products of the experience of early modern Europe. Moreover, there is a tendency to consider them as something that came about after "a mythic, initial moment" instead of being on-going processes, and not one-time events. The article suggests that by approaching international history from a longer chronological perspective, IR theory can find synergy with disciplines like anthropology and historical sociology and better contributein an interdisciplinary effortto the furtherance of international relations research.
The concept of anarchy was introduced to the modern scholarship of International Relations by G. ... more The concept of anarchy was introduced to the modern scholarship of International Relations by G. Lowes Dickinson. While anarchy has become common currency in IR theory to depict the structural 'state of nature' of interstate relations, the question of how far back in time can there be said to have existed an 'anarchical system' divides the research community. Classical and modern thinkers have dealt this matter ever since Thucydides. Yet this paper argues that at least over 1000 years before Thucydides' Peloponnesian War, we find in the Late Bronze Age Near East elements of anarchy similar and in many ways more cosmopolitan than the Greek example. Diplomacy, alliances, balance of power, concern for honor, trade, and even a pre-modern conception of diplomatic immunity were all part of the systemic interaction of the Near Eastern polities. How did this close cooperation emerge and why did it come to an end after having functioned several hundred years. Central argument of the paper is that insufficient thought has so far been given to international history of the ancient world outside of the European experience. The paper aims to show the need for a greater appreciation among political scientists to use historical material in the theory building.
Estudos Internacionais: revista de relações internacionais da PUC Minas, 2018
The Amarna diplomacy (ca. 1365–1330 BCE) has been of interest for specialists ever since the disc... more The Amarna diplomacy (ca. 1365–1330 BCE) has been of interest for specialists ever since the discovery of the Amarna letter collection in the late 19th century. While it can be considered as one of the great archaeolo-gical discoveries of all time, it has largely remained out of academic purview in the field of International Relations (IR). IR scholarship continues to turn to the Greco-Roman experience in its attempt to delineate the chronological framework of the discipline. Far from being an anecdote in international history, this article aims to analyze what the letters convey for a student of world politics. What comes out of these missives through textual analysis of the primary sources is not only the various demands, wishes and security concerns of the actors involved but also classical IR themes such as power balancing, security dilemma and international anarchy. While there are question marks and lacunas, this paper asserts that the ancient Near Eastern world constituted an...
Kahden-ja monenvälinen diplomatia on jo-kapäiväinen ilmiö kansainvälisissä suhteis-sa. Näistä jäl... more Kahden-ja monenvälinen diplomatia on jo-kapäiväinen ilmiö kansainvälisissä suhteis-sa. Näistä jälkimmäinen sai Suomessa erityis-tä huomiota osakseen elokuussa 2005, kun Eu-roopan turvallisuus-ja yhteistyökonferenssin (Etyk) päätösasiakirjan allekirjoituksesta oli ku- ...
TIETEESSÄ TAPAHTUU 6/2007 33 Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) tunnetaan valistusaja elijana ennen ... more TIETEESSÄ TAPAHTUU 6/2007 33 Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) tunnetaan valistusaja elijana ennen muuta sellaisista teoksista, kuten Eriarvoisuuden yhteiskunnallisista ja sosiaalisista perusteista, Emile eli kasvatuksesta ja Yhteiskuntasopimuksesta. Tässä artikkelissa tarkasteltava teksti Abbé de SaintPierren ikuiseen rauhaan tähtäävästä suunnitelmasta (Extrait du projet de paix perpétuelle de M. l’abbé de Saint-Pierre [1761]) kuuluu Rousseaun vähemmän tunne uihin kirjoituksiin.
Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections, 2020
For international relations (IR) scholars, the story behind the figure of Udjahorresnet might seem... more For international relations (IR) scholars, the story behind the figure of Udjahorresnet might seem as an obscure phase in international history. Yet the pre-Roman period is educative for testing constitutive IR concepts such as the balance of power theory, international system, or soft power, which are still widely assumed to have become relevant only in the post-Roman context rather than in the ancient civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean preceding the Greco-Roman experience. This article proposes that insights from IR theory can offer ancient historians and Egyptologists theoretical tools by linking empirical facts to patterns rather than just unique events via conceptual analysis. Udjahorresnet as diplomatic figure is an important primary source to understand the transition of power from native Egyptian hands to the Achaemenid rule, and thus it provides a case study where micro and macro levels of analyses find fertile ground in a cross-disciplinary framework.
While anarchy has become common currency in IR theory to depict the structural‗ state of nature &... more While anarchy has become common currency in IR theory to depict the structural‗ state of nature 'of interstate relations where there's no supreme authority above states to guarantee their security needs, the question of how far back in time can there be said to have existed ...
Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections, 2020
For international relations (IR) scholars, the story behind the figure of Udjahorresnet might seem... more For international relations (IR) scholars, the story behind the figure of Udjahorresnet might seem as an obscure phase in international history. Yet the pre-Roman period is educative for testing constitutive IR concepts such as the balance of power theory, international system, or soft power, which are still widely assumed to have become relevant only in the post-Roman context rather than in the ancient civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean preceding the Greco-Roman experience. This article proposes that insights from IR theory can offer ancient historians and Egyptologists theoretical tools by linking empirical facts to patterns rather than just unique events via conceptual analysis. Udjahorresnet as diplomatic figure is an important primary source to understand the transition of power from native Egyptian hands to the Achaemenid rule, and thus it provides a case study where micro and macro levels of analyses find fertile ground in a cross-disciplinary framework.
The Amarna diplomacy (ca. 1365-1330 BCE) has been of interest for specialists ever since the disc... more The Amarna diplomacy (ca. 1365-1330 BCE) has been of interest for specialists ever since the discovery of the Amarna letter collection in the late 19 th century. While it can be considered as one of the great archaeological discoveries of all time, it has largely remained out of academic purview in the field of International Relations (IR). IR scholarship continues to turn to the Greco-Roman experience in its attempt to delineate the chronological framework of the discipline. Far from being an anecdote in international history, this article aims to analyze what the letters convey for a student of world politics. What comes out of these missives through textual analysis of the primary sources is not only the various demands, wishes and security concerns of the actors involved but also classical IR themes such as power balancing, security dilemma and international anarchy. While there are question marks and lacunas, this paper asserts that the ancient Near Eastern world constituted an international arena where we see the makings of a genuine system of states more than a millennium before the writings of Thucydides. The Amarna letters, although incomplete, are a gateway to gain deeper synergy between IR theory and international history.
Kahden-ja monenvälinen diplomatia on jo-kapäiväinen ilmiö kansainvälisissä suhteis-sa. Näistä jäl... more Kahden-ja monenvälinen diplomatia on jo-kapäiväinen ilmiö kansainvälisissä suhteis-sa. Näistä jälkimmäinen sai Suomessa erityis-tä huomiota osakseen elokuussa 2005, kun Eu-roopan turvallisuus-ja yhteistyökonferenssin (Etyk) päätösasiakirjan allekirjoituksesta oli ku- ...
Jean-Jacques Rousseaun kirjoitus on versio Char-les Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierren (16581743), j... more Jean-Jacques Rousseaun kirjoitus on versio Char-les Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierren (16581743), joka tunnetaan paremmin nimellä abbé de Saint-Pierre, Espanjan perimyssodan aikana (170114) laatimasta laajasta teoksesta, jossa tämä filosofi pohti keinoja, joiden ...
Leaning on cross-disciplinary literature, this paper takes as its premise a deeper world historic... more Leaning on cross-disciplinary literature, this paper takes as its premise a deeper world historical approach outside of the European experience. A central claim of the essay is to show that in the Near East dating back to the third and second millennium we encounter a region-wide international arena where it is possible to find an interdependent and multicultural pre-modern state environment – indeed, the first great international era in world history. Set against a careful comparative analysis between western and eastern Mediterranean worlds, this paper suggests, then, that the Near Eastern case better meets the criteria for a pre-modern international society in its cosmopolitanism and in chronological terms than has been thus far recognized in the English School tradition as well as in the field of IR.
Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association (ISA) New Orleans, LA, February 18–21, 2015
In the study of political science and international relations, concepts constitute the basic tool... more In the study of political science and international relations, concepts constitute the basic tools for research. It is through conceptual lenses that scholars build reality out of complex phenomena. Political freedom, sovereignty, nationalism, statehood, diplomacy, and balance of power are one of the more prominent concepts within the two disciplines. However, the relationship between these theoretical concepts and the historical and empirical reality on which they are based raises issues. This is not always fully recognized in the IR scholarship. This paper argues that phenomena such as international system, international society, power balancing, and state formation and sovereignty remain somewhat underdeveloped insofar as they continue to be examined as products of the experience of early modern Europe. Moreover, there is a tendency to consider them as something that came about after "a mythic, initial moment" instead of being on-going processes, and not one-time events. The article suggests that by approaching international history from a longer chronological perspective, IR theory can find synergy with disciplines like anthropology and historical sociology and better contributein an interdisciplinary effortto the furtherance of international relations research.
The concept of anarchy was introduced to the modern scholarship of International Relations by G. ... more The concept of anarchy was introduced to the modern scholarship of International Relations by G. Lowes Dickinson. While anarchy has become common currency in IR theory to depict the structural 'state of nature' of interstate relations, the question of how far back in time can there be said to have existed an 'anarchical system' divides the research community. Classical and modern thinkers have dealt this matter ever since Thucydides. Yet this paper argues that at least over 1000 years before Thucydides' Peloponnesian War, we find in the Late Bronze Age Near East elements of anarchy similar and in many ways more cosmopolitan than the Greek example. Diplomacy, alliances, balance of power, concern for honor, trade, and even a pre-modern conception of diplomatic immunity were all part of the systemic interaction of the Near Eastern polities. How did this close cooperation emerge and why did it come to an end after having functioned several hundred years. Central argument of the paper is that insufficient thought has so far been given to international history of the ancient world outside of the European experience. The paper aims to show the need for a greater appreciation among political scientists to use historical material in the theory building.
The aim of the paper is to better historicize the topic of peace, which has a central place in th... more The aim of the paper is to better historicize the topic of peace, which has a central place in the institutional tradition of IR. Special focus will be shed on the different strategies various polities have chosen to arrive at peace. In the European political thought, the way to establish a long-term peace was based on the idea of collective security. In reality, international order rather than peace was sought through power balancing. However, it is asserted that the doctrine of balance of power was not exclusively impervious to the idea of peace. By contrast, in the ancient Mediterranean world, the traditional image is to see the 'peacebuilding' efforts come out as a result of imposed hegemonism (e.g. Pax Persica, Pax Romana). Yet the search for peace also manifested itself with the concept of 'brotherhood'. This paper suggests it was not merely an idealistic rhetorical expression to achieve a short-term peace but instead, in certain cases, it constituted an institution-like element in the pre-modern international societies. By juxtaposing the European political thought with the ancient Mediterranean experience, the goal is to contribute to peace studies by further analyzing the English School theorizing on international societies through the prism of time.
Uploads
Papers by Alex Aissaoui
concepts such as the balance of power theory, international system, or soft power, which are still widely assumed to have become relevant only in the post-Roman context rather than in the ancient civilizations of
the Eastern Mediterranean preceding the Greco-Roman experience. This article proposes that insights from IR theory can offer ancient historians and Egyptologists theoretical tools by linking empirical facts to patterns
rather than just unique events via conceptual analysis. Udjahorresnet as diplomatic figure is an important primary source to understand the transition of power from native Egyptian hands to the Achaemenid rule,
and thus it provides a case study where micro and macro levels of analyses find fertile ground in a cross-disciplinary framework.
Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association (ISA)
New Orleans, LA,
February 18–21, 2015
concepts such as the balance of power theory, international system, or soft power, which are still widely assumed to have become relevant only in the post-Roman context rather than in the ancient civilizations of
the Eastern Mediterranean preceding the Greco-Roman experience. This article proposes that insights from IR theory can offer ancient historians and Egyptologists theoretical tools by linking empirical facts to patterns
rather than just unique events via conceptual analysis. Udjahorresnet as diplomatic figure is an important primary source to understand the transition of power from native Egyptian hands to the Achaemenid rule,
and thus it provides a case study where micro and macro levels of analyses find fertile ground in a cross-disciplinary framework.
Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association (ISA)
New Orleans, LA,
February 18–21, 2015