James Davis
Title
Prof. Ph.D.
Last Name
Davis
First name
James
Email
james.davis@unisg.ch
ORCID
Phone
+41 71 224 2600
47 results
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Item type:Publication, Anarchy, Evolution, and Ethics in International RelationsChallenging the Realist claim that international anarchy produces an amoral sphere of political action, Brian C. Rathbun argues that anarchy has selected for individuals with a particular moral sense. Flipping Realist arguments around, he claims that individuals would have never survived the hardships of anarchy if they were completely amoral. Rather, morality is a precondition for survival in anarchy. But unlike Constructivists, who maintain that socially constructed norms over time have civilized international politics, Rathbun claims that a morality is part of our human nature, and thus, a material feature of the world. To substantiate his claims, Rathbun adeptly applies insights from multiple disciplines, marshalling empirical evidence generated through a variety of natural and social scientific methods.Type:journal articleJournal:Political Science Quarterly - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Better than a Bet: Good Reasons for Behavioral and Rational Choice Assumptions in IR TheoryBehavioral IR is enjoying newfound popularity. Nonetheless, attempts to integrate behavioral research into the larger project of IR theory have proven controversial. Many scholars treat behavioral findings as a trove of plausible ad hoc modifications to rational choice models, thereby lending credence to arguments that behavioral IR is merely residual, empirical, and hence not theoretical. Others limit their research to cataloging outcomes consistent with the basic tenets of behavioral models. Although this expands the empirical base, it is insufficient for theoretical progress. In this article, I explore various answers to the question of when rational choice or behavioral assumptions should guide efforts to build IR theory. I argue that no single answer trumps all others. Examining the various conditions under which actors reason highlights the importance of macrofoundations. Macrofoundations condition the effects of microprocesses and help identify relevant scope conditions for both rational choice and behavioral models of decision-making. Examining the various purposes of IR theory also provides answers to the question of when rational or behavioral assumptions are likely to be most useful. Although many behavioral scholars premise the relevance of their findings on claims of empirical realism, I argue that under certain conditions, deductive theorizing on the basis of as-if behavioral assumptions can lead to powerful theories that improve our understanding of IR and may help decision-makers promote desired ends.Type:journal articleJournal:European Journal of International RelationsScopus© Citations 2 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, The Past, Present, and Future of Behavioral IROriginally developed by applying models from cognitive psychology to the study of foreign policy decision-making, the field of behavioral IR is undergoing important transformations. Building on a broader range of models, methods and data from the fields of neuroscience, biology, and genetics, behavioral IR has moved beyond the staid debate between rational choice and psychology and instead investigates the plethora of mechanisms selected by evolution for solving adaptive problems. This opens new opportunities for collaboration between scholars informed by rational choice and behavioral insights. Examining the interactions between the individual’s genetic inheritance, social environment, and downstream behavior of individuals and groups, the emerging field of behavioral epigenetics offers novel insights into the methodological problem of aggregation that has confounded efforts to apply behavioral findings to IR. In the first instance empirical, behavioral IR raises numerous normative and philosophical questions best answered in dialogue with political and legal theorists.Type:journal articleJournal:International OrganizationVolume:75Issue:1Scopus© Citations 35 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, A Biased "Radical" or a False Choice?(2021-03-16)Type:journal articleJournal:Constructivist FoundationsVolume:16Issue:3 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Non-strategic nuclear weapons as a ‘Trojan horse' : explaining Germany's ambivalent attitudeGermany's ambivalent attitude toward nuclear weapons is the result of an intricate rivalry between competing principles and goals of foreign and security policy-making. A deeply engrained strategic culture of anti-nuclearism and anti-militarism competes with a belief in collective defense and alliance cohesion. Similarly, the long-held belief in multilateralism is time and again challenged by newly emerging claims for leadership within multilateral institutions. The strategically rather insignificant non-strategic nuclear weapons issue provides a nodal point around which these conflicting principles came to the fore.Type:journal articleJournal:European SecurityVolume:23Issue:1Scopus© Citations 6 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, A Critical View of Global GovernanceThis article suggests that various dimensions of the larger project of global governance are incoherent and illegitimate. Three dimensions of global governance - the provision of global public goods; processes of transnational regulation; and efforts to spread universal human rights - are examined and found to be deficient in terms of the ability of affected populations to participate in decisions over value trade-offs. Citizens' rights to participation in democratic processes often have been diminished as the locus of political decision making has shifted: on the one hand, to institutions beyond the territorial borders of the nation state; on the other, away from political institutions and towards "global civil society," which seems oddly intolerant of diversity. But if global governance is anti-pluralist and disenfranchising, it risks devolving into an imperial project. Hence, the paper concludes with a plea for a return to international politics as a control on the threat of empire.Type:journal articleJournal:Swiss Political Science ReviewVolume:18Issue:2Scopus© Citations 13 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Political Power and the Requirements of Accountabilty in the Age of WikiLeaksType:journal articleJournal:Zeitschrift für PolitikwissenschaftVolume:22Issue:4 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Less than Zero : Bursting the New Disarmament BubbleThe article discusses the nuclear disarmament movement Global Zero, focusing on its odds for success, which are said to be slim at best. It is argued that national interests will inevitably stymie any attempts at worldwide nuclear disarmament, but it is still necessary to critique such initiatives, as they could lead to catastrophic mistakes in nuclear strategy. The Global Zero project is said to include many respected political figures. However, the theory that a reduction in existing weapons will cause states such as North Korea or Iran to abandon their nuclear ambitions is characterized as dangerously naive..Type:journal articleJournal:Foreign AffairsVolume:90Issue:1 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Less Than Zero: Bursting the New Disarmament BubbleA response is presented to the article "Less Than Zero" by Josef Joffe and James Davis, which appeared in the January/February 2011 issue. In that article Joffe and Davis made an argument against the elimination of nuclear weapons. The authors of the current article say the dangers of terrorism and nuclear proliferation overshadow any benefits of maintaining nuclear arsenals. They dispute the contention of Joffe and Davis that nations become more vulnerable to attack as they reduce their nuclear arsenals, and assert that capacities to uncover covert nuclear-weapons programs are more robust than Joffe and Davis claim.Type:journal articleJournal:Foreign AffairsVolume:90Issue:1 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Sicherheitswirtschaft: Auch eine Public Management-HerausforderungType:journal articleJournal:Sicherheit und Frieden : S + FVolume:25Issue:4