War and Revolution: Friedrich Engels as a Military and Political Thinker

This article explores the link between political and military strategy and tactics in the work of Friedrich Engels. Though widely praised for his understanding of military affairs, Engels’ interlocutors have tended to be dismissive of his political works. By exploring his politics through the lens of his military writings this article challenges the view that Engels was a mechanical materialist and political fatalist thinker. It argues that his military writings cannot be understood apart from his political works, and that, whatever the historical limitations of the specific conclusions to which he came, his method in these writings illuminate his profound grasp of the relationship between strategy and tactics at both the military and political levels.     

Legal Challenges to Presidential Policies on the Use of Military Force

A review of legal challenges to the use of military force, from the Vietnam War era to the Gulf War, demonstrates a judicial unwillingness to constrain presidential policymaking. In most of these cases, the judiciary has ruled the legal challenge nonjusticiable. In the first post-Cold War challenge , Dellums v. Bush, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued the equivalent of a declaratory judgment. Arguably, this is the only practical judicial response to the presidential use of force, but it does little more than redirect the policy conflict from the courts to Congress. The rule of law remains a weak reed in efforts to constrain presidential policymaking on the use of military force.     

Just War and Terrorism: A New Policy Perspective

The idea of terrorism as policy in any policy discussion is abhorrent in most academic circles. The fact is, however, if one removes the emotion attached to the use of terrorism and approaches it as a tool it can be placed in several models used by policymakers today. For many centuries the concept of “just war” has been discussed by philosophers, policymakers, and warriors. When standards have been established that those engaged in conflict can use to determine whether or not an action is considered “just.” How did Christianity in particular move from emphasizing love (agapē, caritas) to the acceptance of waging war? This problem was dealt with when the law of war was included in discussion of natural law theory.     

美国独立战争精神在中国抗战时期的传播

美国独立战争作为争取民族独立解放、追求民主自由的象征,在近代中国的传播是在鸦片战争之后。抗日战争时期,中国人民又一次从华盛顿及其领导的美国独立战争寻求民族独立与解放、民主与自由的思想资源。尽管不同的阶段、不同的党派、不同的群体,有自己不同的观照视角与价值指向,但如何争取民族独立与解放,求得民主与自由,是这一时期美国独立战争精神在中国传播的主旋律。     

Presidential Power vs. Congressional Time: Legislative History in the First Congress of the Civil War

This study tests whether major policy shifts require several years of congressional deliberation before passage even during periods of crisis and disorganization in the minority political party. By examining the passage of major legislation during the Civil War, this study found that legislative history is a relevant and limiting factor in the passage of presidential and congressional agendas even during periods of crisis and disorganization in the minority party.     

George W. Bush's War on Terrorism and Sin

Abstract

In George W. Bush's inaugural address, informed by ‘compassionate conservatism’, there was a tension between two familiar goals in US political discourse: conserving the status quo and changing the world for the better by cleansing it of sin. In Bush's discursive construction of the war on terrorism, ‘compassionate conservatism’ and the construction of sin were folded into a unified discourse, with the emphasis on preventing dangerous change rather than creating positive change. A static state of safety, constantly protected by ‘compassionate conservatism’ and war, is now offered by American conservatives as the most viable and most patriotic way to stave off the forces of sin.     

权力与自由:美墨战争期间美国外交大辩论研究

美墨战争发生在19世纪美国大陆扩张进入高潮时期,是美国以武力进行领土扩张的开始,在美国国会内部引发了一场有关美国国家目标的外交大辩论。辩论从得：克萨斯兼并开始,涉及宣战、拨款、领土兼并以及奴隶制的扩展等诸多问题,但其核心主题在于扩张性的外交政策与美国的自由事业是否相容,美国的国家目标是追求领土的扩大,还是自由的延续,从而体现了当时美国人对权力与自由两者之间关系的思考。     

宗教与美国革命

长期以来,国内史学界在研究和探讨美国革命时,大多从政治、宪法、经济、贸易、黑奴和民族等视角阐述美国革命的渊源和意义,鲜有宗教因素方面的考量。北美殖民地与英国宗主国在两大宗教问题上存在着冲突,宗教在推动殖民地走上美国革命之路方面发挥了重要作用。法印战争结束后,随着英国在宗教和政治上加大对北美殖民地的干预和控制,宗教自由和政治自由成为一枚硬币的两面,两者不可须臾缺一。正是在这个意义上,殖民地争取宗教自由的斗争促进和推动了美国革命的爆发和发展。     

Wrestling with the Revolution: The Iron Sheik and the American Cultural Response to the 1979 Iranian Revolution

This paper maps how American popular culture came to terms with the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran through a study of Hussein Khosrow Vaziri. Vaziri, better known by his moniker, “The Iron Sheik,” was active in professional wrestling in the 1980s and remains to this day one of the most well-known Iranians in American cultural memory. Through an analysis of his character and how he has been represented in the popular media, I argue that he was chiefly utilized as a figure through whom Americans could cope with the devastating blow that the Revolution caused to American power. I argue that this reaction continues to this day, albeit focusing not on Iran but on the current political tensions involving the attacks of September 11, 2001.     

Understanding Saudi Arabia's Influence on Pakistan: The Case of the Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism

The launch of the Saudi‐led so‐called Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT) in 2015 tested the strong strategic alliance between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. In light of concerns about the positioning of the coalition of 41 states against Iranian interests in the Middle East, Pakistan's initial response to the Saudi demand to join the war in Yemen was a polite refusal by means of a unanimous decision of the parliament. However, under tremendous pressure from Riyadh and other Gulf States, Islamabad later capitulated and backtracked from its initial decision. This paper analyses the unique nature of the relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia through a dissection of the various dimensions of the Kingdom's cultural and political influence on Pakistan. It also illuminates Saudi hegemonic strategies and the manner in which Islamabad adjusts and is influenced as well as coerced to revise its foreign policy choices. This paper argues that Saudi's diplomatic strategies, political pressure and pledges of generous financial assistance ensured Pakistan's participation in IMAFT.