PSYCHOLOGY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY

Key Words error and bias, tradeoff reasoning, prospect theory, accountability pressures, internalization s Abstract Organized around several major theoretical traditions in international relations, this essay suggests which literature in psychology should be of greatest interest to different kinds of international relations scholars. New work in cognitive social psychology and behavioral decision theory simultaneously expands on and qualifies earlier error-and-bias portraits of the foreign policy maker, thereby enriching our understanding of internal divisions within the realist camp. Work on bounded rationality in competitive markets and mixed-motive games, as well as the literature on the power of human emotions to shape judgments of what represents an equitable allocation of scarce resources or a just resolution of conflicts of interest, can inform neo-institutionalist and constructivist theories. Developments in cross-cultural social psychology shed light on constructivist arguments about the creation and maintenance of international social order that typically rest on assumptions about decision making that are qualitatively different from realist and institutionalist approaches to world politics

Activating mutations of the GNAQ gene: a frequent event in primary melanocytic neoplasms of the central nervous system

Primary melanocytic neoplasms of the central nervous system (CNS) are uncommon neoplasms derived from melanocytes that normally can be found in the leptomeninges. They cover a spectrum of malignancy grades ranging from low-grade melanocytomas to lesions of intermediate malignancy and overtly malignant melanomas. Characteristic genetic alterations in this group of neoplasms have not yet been identified. Using direct sequencing, we investigated 19 primary melanocytic lesions of the CNS (12 melanocytomas, 3 intermediate-grade melanocytomas, and 4 melanomas) for hotspot oncogenic mutations commonly found in melanocytic tumors of the skin (BRAF, NRAS, and HRAS genes) and uvea (GNAQ gene). Somatic mutations in the GNAQ gene at codon 209, resulting in constitutive activation of GNAQ, were detected in 7/19 (37%) tumors, including 6/12 melanocytomas, 0/3 intermediate-grade melanocytomas, and 1/4 melanomas. These GNAQ-mutated tumors were predominantly located around the spinal cord (6/7). One melanoma carried a BRAF point mutation that is frequently found in cutaneous melanomas (c.1799 T>A, p.V600E), raising the question whether this is a metastatic rather than a primary tumor. No HRAS or NRAS mutations were detected. We conclude that somatic mutations in the GNAQ gene at codon 209 are a frequent event in primary melanocytic neoplasms of the CNS. This finding provides new insight in the pathogenesis of these lesions and suggests that GNAQ-dependent mitogen-activated kinase signaling is a promising therapeutic target in these tumors. The prognostic and predictive value of GNAQ mutations in primary melanocytic lesions of the CNS needs to be determined in future studies

Europe and the political: from axiological monism to pluralistic dialogism

“The political” represents a moment in which actors recognise autonomy and equality as constitutive values in the agonistic search for appropriate open-ended political outcomes. The tutelary, pedagogical and disciplinary practices of the depoliticised European Union (EU) undermine the foundations of equality in diplomatic and political engagement between continental actors. The relationship becomes axiological, where issues are deemed to have been resolved through some sort of anterior pre-political arrangement. This is a type of ahistorical political monism that ultimately claims to speak for all of Europe. The return of “the political” allows a more generous and pluralistic politics to emerge based on genuine dialogical foundations in which self and other engage as equals and are mutually transformed by that engagement

From Reset to Restart: The US-Russia Cyclical Relationship in the Post-Cold War Era

After a quarter of a century of oscillating relations between Washington and Moscow, Trump’s 2017 National Security Strategy named Russia as one of the main challengers to the US-led order. Power transition theory is used to explain the alternating cooperative and competitive phases during each of the first three post-Cold War US presidencies: first, initial attempts at cooperation are driven by US willingness to integrate its former rival into the liberal order; then, regression into competition follows as Washington’s influence rises in territories that Moscow considers sensitive for its national security