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    Introducing heterarchy : a relational-contextual framework within the study of International Relations : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Politics at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2017) Beach, Brenton
    This thesis posits that for too long International Relations (IR) has been overly rigid and insular, discouraging cross-disciplinary cooperation within the social sciences and becoming increasingly irrelevant to policy-makers. IR academia tend to stick rigidly to their theoretical paradigms in interpreting the real world, straight-jacketing their thinking into theories that limit analysis. However, humans think relationally and contextually so why not apply this form of thinking to IR? Heterarchy, the theoretical framework presented here, seeks to overcome this silo effect, to expand IR’s relevance, and encompass previously barred academic areas to the sub-discipline. This thesis presents a new relational-contextual framework within which empirical variables can be situated to provide a different understanding of actors’ actions and speech acts within the IR field.1 Heterarchy sits in part within both foundationalist and anti-foundationalist ontologies, challenging both positivist and post-positive schools by relating the world through relationalcontextual rationales. Heterarchy suggests that IR (referring to the practice of international affairs) can best be understood from a sub-systemic viewpoint where the behavior of actors can only be observed by knowing the differing contexts between ‘self’ and ‘other’, and where relations continuously form and shape each actor; hence its relational-contextual nature. These relational-contexts are initiated through certain identifiable catalysts which stimulate similarly identifiable variables to expose actor relationships to the observer. While this does have constructivist and relativist underpinnings, heterarchy differentiates itself from both in terms of its approach and methodology. Having laid out this conceptual framework, the thesis then investigates how heterarchy might work empirically by exploring the Japanese-South Korean relationship which defies conventional understandings.
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    Outside influences and ruling Iran : the emergence of the rift with the West : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts (Defence and Strategic Studies) at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2009) Campbell, Alana
    Since the establishment of a united, Shi’a Persian empire in 1501 through to the overthrow of the last Shah in the Islamic Revolution, Iran and the Iranian leadership has been subject to significant international influences. These influences took the form of outside powers working to gain a position of strategic advantage within Iran to satisfy their own strategic interests. The impact these outside influences had on the last Shah, and on powerful domestic groups within Iran, led to discontent and contributed to the eventual overthrow of the Shah in the Islamic Revolution. The revolution itself had an impact on domestic groups, the domestic political structure, and on Iran’s position within the international community. The pattern of outside influences on rulers and the ruled saw radical change in Iran’s domestic political structure, and an international stance resulting in a rift with the west.
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    Climate calculus : does realist theory explain the Howard Government's decision not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol? : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Policy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2008) Dempster, Benjamin Paul
    Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions has the potential to cause widespread damage to the environment. As scientific and political consensus converged on the necessity to take action, a large number of countries negotiated the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1997, with the goal of limiting these emissions. Australia under the Howard Government initially played an important part in these negotiations, but refused to ratify the Protocol. The government cited the lack of binding targets on developing countries and the potential for harm to the Australian economy as the reasons it rejected the agreement. International relations theory studies large-scale political forces and analyses their interplay in the global political system. Realism is a model of international relations that views countries as self-interested, security-driven bodies that exist in a state of international anarchy. This study examines whether realist theory offers a satisfactory explanation for the Howard Government’s decision not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. The study focuses on six realist ideas and examines the evidence for each. Based on thematic analysis of textual data taken from official political archives and newspapers from 1998–2004, it suggests that realist theory does provide an adequate explanation of the Howard Government’s rejection of the Kyoto Protocol.