Renegade Regimes: Confronting Deviant Behavior in World Politics

Miroslav Nincic

Published by Columbia University Press 2005

Renegade Regimes

Confronting Deviant Behavior in World Politics

Miroslav Nincic

https://doi.org/10.7312/ninc13702

Overview
Contents

About this book

Rogue states pursue weapons of mass destruction, support terrorism, violate human rights, engage in acts of territorial aggression, and pose a threat to the international community. In this timely book, Miroslav Nincic unravels the complex issues and policy choices regarding states that challenge international society's espoused interests and values. Nincic offers a systematic account of the genesis, trajectory, and motivations of renegade regimes. He assesses the effectiveness of sanctions and military responses and discusses how the pursuit of policies that defy international norms is often motivated by a regime's desire for greater domestic control. He provocatively argues that comprehensive economic sanctions can ultimately help a renegade regime strengthen its grip on power. Nincic also argues that force or the threat of force against a rogue state can trigger a protective reflex among its citizens, inspiring them to rally around the government's goals and values. As conventional approaches to international relations become obsolete, Renegade Regimes provides new and necessary frameworks and perspectives.

Rogue states pursue weapons of mass destruction, support terrorism, violate human rights, engage in acts of territorial aggression, and pose a threat to the international community. Recent debates and policy shifts regarding Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Iran, and Afghanistan reflect the uneven attempts to contend with regimes that pursue deviant behavior. In this timely new work, Miroslav Nincic illuminates the complex issues and policy choices surrounding clashes between international society and states that challenge the majority's espoused interests and values. As conventional approaches to international relations lose their relevance in a changing world, Nincic's work provides new and necessary frameworks and perspectives.

Nincic explores recent events and develops theoretical models of contemporary asymmetrical power relations among states to offer a systematic account of the genesis, trajectory, and motivations of renegade regimes. He discusses how the pursuit of policies that defy international norms is often motivated by a regime's desire for greater domestic control. From this starting point, Nincic considers states' deviant behavior through two stages: the first is the initial decision to defy key aspects of the international normative order, and the second is the manner in which subsequent behavior is shaped by the international community's responses.

In addressing attempts to control pariah states, Nincic assesses the effectiveness of sanctions and military responses. He provocatively argues that comprehensive economic sanctions can lead to a restructuring of the renegade regime's ideology and economy that ultimately strengthens its grip on power. In his chapter on military intervention, Nincic argues that force or the threat of force against a rogue state frequently triggers a protective reflex among its citizens, inspiring them to rally around the government's goals and values. Military threats, Nincic concludes, produce several kinds of consequences and their impact needs to be better understood.

Author / Editor information

Miroslav Nincic is professor of political science at the University of California, Davis. He is the author or coauthor of eight books, including Beyond the Ivory Tower: International Relations Theory and the Issue of Policy Relevance.

Reviews

[A] timely and important work.

Isaac Kamola:
"Nincic has produced an outstanding volume that takes deviance in world politics seriously." -Millennium Book Review.

This book is an outstanding contribution to the development of 21st-century theories that account for the behavior of renegade states.

This illuminating book explores the origins and politics of these new problem states and the policy choices available.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Tables and Figures Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	ix
1. From Power Politics to International Deviance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. The Logic of Renegade Regimes A Theoretical Framework Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	18
3. Recognizing Renegades Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	46
4. Primary Renegades and the Genesis of Deviance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	73
5. Secondary Renegades and Nonmilitary Responses Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	107
6. The Value of Military Coercion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	133
7. Closing Thoughts Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	167
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	183
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	209

Language: English
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 232
Illustrations
- Line drawings: 5
- Other: 5 line drawings, 23 tables

eBook

Published: October 26, 2005
ISBN: 9780231510295