The power of emotion: examining the selfimmolation of Mohamad Bouazizi, the Arab revolution and international politics

This paper argues that Mohamad Bouazizi’s self-immolation was a Pragmatic Act aimed at escaping Biopower formulated by the authoritarian Tunisian regime for the purpose of securitizing Structural Violence. It is a sensational form of suicide that awakens emotions and inspires resistance. Human emotions, not technological innovation, had the power to change regimes. Twitter and Facebook are methods of communication that helped transmit this rage, but did not cause these revolutions. Passions, lit by Bouazizi’s flame, diffused naturally by human interface and may have occurred without such technological advances. This paper is divided into three main parts. The first is to theorize the act of self-immolation. The second theorizes about the power human emotion has on the international arena. Lastly, it highlights the discursive power of scholarship. Fundamentally, this paper seeks to illuminate these thoughts on Bouazizi’s self-immolation, as well pursue self-reflexivity that exemplifies the subjectivity of intellectuality. It presents a novel argument as it describes what dominant theories of International Relations omit: how ordinary people influence the international politics. The Arab Revolutions were caused not solely by the emergence of social networks or news media, but by emotional diffusion. Raw human anger forms the uniting force that assembles and organizes oppressed populations. By using these concepts and describing this and other cases of self-immolation, one discovers a pattern: self-immolation is an extraordinary method of suicide that persons without agency use to securitize structural violence by means of human emotion. As such, emotions are an integral, but understudied part of International Relations

Arraigados Paradigmas en las Ciencias Sociales: El papel de la emoción y el ego en la Economía

Do paradigms in social science shift as swiftly as do many in natural science? This article surveys the evolution of economics as an example of how paradigms shift and interact in social science. Through com- parative historical analysis of economic theories, psychoanalysis, and theoretical reflection, it submits that academic progress in social scien- ce has normative underpinnings that interfere with paradigm shifts. We coin the term “Sticky Paradigms” to explain the combination of emotional normative framework and reason. This paper will first con- duct a review of different schools of thoughts in economics to examine if its intellectual history fits the standard of paradigm shifts. Second, we analyze how emotion and reason can work together to produce intellectualism. Third, we elaborate our conceptualization of “Sticky Paradigms”. We conclude with a discussion on the Hegelian dialectic, treating paradigms as competing myths rather than a pragmatic theo- retical competition.Existen más cambios constantes y marcados en fragmentos cortos de tiempo en las Ciencias Sociales que en las Ciencias Naturales? En este artículo se examina la evolución de la economía, ejemplificando cómo los paradigmas cambian e interactúan en las Ciencias Sociales. A tra- vés del análisis histórico comparativo de las teorías económicas, el psi- coanálisis y la reflexión teórica, se sostiene que el progreso académico en las Ciencias Sociales tiene fundamentos normativos que interfieren con los cambios de paradigma. Con ello, se atribuye el término “Sticky Paradigms” para explicar la combinación del marco normativo emo- cional y la razón. Es como este documento pretende realizar en primer lugar una revisión de las diferentes escuelas de pensamiento en econo- mía, con el fin de examinar si su historia intelectual se ajusta a la norma de los cambios de paradigma. En segundo lugar, se analiza cómo la emoción y la razón pueden trabajar conjuntamente para producir el intelectualismo. En tercer lugar, se elabora una conceptualización de “Sticky Paradigms”. Y por último, se concluye con una discusión sobre la dialéctica hegeliana, y el tratamiento de los paradigmas como mitos que concurren en un concurso teórico pragmático

The power of emotion: examining the selfimmolation of Mohamad Bouazizi, the Arab revolution and international politics

This paper argues that Mohamad Bouazizi’s self-immolation was a Pragmatic Act aimed at escaping Biopower formulated by the authoritarian Tunisian regime for the purpose of securitizing Structural Violence. It is a sensational form of suicide that awakens emotions and inspires resistance. Human emotions, not technological innovation, had the power to change regimes. Twitter and Facebook are methods of communication that helped transmit this rage, but did not cause these revolutions. Passions, lit by Bouazizi’s flame, diffused naturally by human interface and may have occurred without such technological advances. This paper is divided into three main parts. The first is to theorize the act of self-immolation. The second theorizes about the power human emotion has on the international arena. Lastly, it highlights the discursive power of scholarship. Fundamentally, this paper seeks to illuminate these thoughts on Bouazizi’s self-immolation, as well pursue self-reflexivity that exemplifies the subjectivity of intellectuality. It presents a novel argument as it describes what dominant theories of International Relations omit: how ordinary people influence the international politics. The Arab Revolutions were caused not solely by the emergence of social networks or news media, but by emotional diffusion. Raw human anger forms the uniting force that assembles and organizes oppressed populations. By using these concepts and describing this and other cases of self-immolation, one discovers a pattern: self-immolation is an extraordinary method of suicide that persons without agency use to securitize structural violence by means of human emotion. As such, emotions are an integral, but understudied part of International Relations

Weak States and Major Powers in the 21st Century

This dissertation’s central focus explains why weak states exist as separate political units within the international system. The work argues that, if a state is weak and vulnerable, then it can practice an unexpected degree of relative autonomy unfettered by great powers. Given systemic vulnerability stemming from underdevelopment, weak states pursue economic development in order to survive; security is a secondary concern. This unthreatening behavior allows weak states to conduct business with great powers at opposite ends of the balance of power. If a weak state is to gain economically from great powers, it must then trade some of its foreign policy autonomy. This may lead great powers to compete over weak state support, especially within forums of global governance. These arguments will build upon established theory and data for the purpose of explaining weak state behavior and subsequent changes in great power grand strategy

Arraigados Paradigmas en las Ciencias Sociales: El papel de la emoción y el ego en la Economía

Existen más cambios constantes y marcados en fragmentos cortos de tiempo en las Ciencias Sociales que en las Ciencias Naturales? En este artículo se examina la evolución de la economía, ejemplificando cómo los paradigmas cambian e interactúan en las Ciencias Sociales. A través del análisis histórico comparativo de las teorías económicas, el psicoanálisis y la reflexión teórica, se sostiene que el progreso académico en las Ciencias Sociales tiene fundamentos normativos que interfieren con los cambios de paradigma. Con ello, se atribuye el término “Sticky Paradigms” para explicar la combinación del marco normativo emocional y la razón. Es como este documento pretende realizar en primer lugar una revisión de las diferentes escuelas de pensamiento en economía, con el fin de examinar si su historia intelectual se ajusta a la norma de los cambios de paradigma. En segundo lugar, se analiza cómo la emoción y la razón pueden trabajar conjuntamente para producir el intelectualismo. En tercer lugar, se elabora una conceptualización de “Sticky Paradigms”. Y por último, se concluye con una discusión sobre la dialéctica hegeliana, y el tratamiento de los paradigmas como mitos que concurren en un concurso teórico pragmático

The impact of emerging economies on global energy and the environment challenges head

This volume focuses on the impacts of the BRICS nations on world energy markets. In the analyses presented here, a variety of factors, such as national patterns of production and consumption, international energy trade, and the extent to which alternative and competing policies maintain or bring about change in the international order, are examined