Buddhism, quantum theory and international relations: On the strength of the subject, the discontinuous relationality, and the world of contingency

Journal of International Political Theory, Volume 20, Issue 1, Page 91-95, February 2024.
This article is part of a forum on Karin Fierke’s book Snapshots from Home: Mind, Action and Strategy in an Uncertain World. In it, the importance of viewing international relations from the intersection of Buddhism and quantum theory is discussed. The ontological implication of Buddhism and quantum theory is extremely important in an uncertain world, and when we accept the uncertainty, we gain a new vision of contemporary world affairs. This is precisely where the gates of ethics open to us.
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The Israeli parties’ positions in comparative perspective

Party Politics, Ahead of Print.
The multidimensionality of the Israeli political system is expected given Israel’s electoral system and cleavage structure. We introduce a new dataset and measurement of party positions in Israel and provide evidence that Israel’s party system is comparable to other multiparty systems in Europe (CHES-EU) and Latin America (CHES-LA). We argue and provide evidence that the most important dimension in the Israeli party system, similar to other multiparty systems, is the general Left-Right continuum, which combines both economic and cultural policy issues. Yet, unlike other established democracies, parties’ positions on the Left-Right continuum are closely related to their positions on policies related to the Arab-Israeli conflict. We also discuss Israeli-specific issues which structure the Israeli party competition. The contribution of this paper is two-fold. First, it allows scholars of party competition to include Israel as a comparative case in their research. Second, it is the first study that provides valid and reliable measurement of Israeli parties’ positions across multiple issues.

Will a desirable apparatus always return a desirable end? My hope for Snapshots from Home: Mind, Action, and Strategy in an Uncertain World (Bristol University Press, 2022)

Journal of International Political Theory, Volume 20, Issue 1, Page 112-116, February 2024.
Will a desirable apparatus always return a desirable end? This short engagement expresses my hope for Karin M. Fierke’s Snapshots from Home: Mind, Action, and Strategy in an Uncertain World (Bristol University Press, 2022).
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Snapshot of a quantized body: Learning from the Daoist body

Journal of International Political Theory, Volume 20, Issue 1, Page 101-105, February 2024.
In Snapshots from Home, Karin Fierke calls for radically repositioning the apparatus through which we interpret the world, inviting us to bridge the seemingly insurmountable chasm between quantum science and ancient Asian thought and practice to think about a more Global International Relations. Specifically, we are daringly tasked to consider how the ‘weird’ mathematics of quantum physics and science is paralleled by deeply relational ancient non-Western systems of knowledge. Fierke’s starting point is Bohr’s wholistic quantum physics but her main interest and focus is a deep reflection on its broad similarities with Buddhism, Hinduism and Daoism. Considering the parallels Fierke draws between the relational frames of quantum science and Daoism in the context of a raving pandemic, I feel challenged to bring the body into the conversation. How does Fierke’s apparatus prompt us to think and act ethically in relation to the emerging postgenomic body arising from recent advances in microbiology including quantum microbiology ? It is a permeable body that is deeply quantum entangled in and with the natural and social-cultural environment and/or context. What can we learn from the relational strategies and actions attached to the Daoist body to thinking about the contemporary quantized bodies and the governance of their health?
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The Role of Actionless Action in Generating Quantum Social Change: Forum on Snapshots from Home

Journal of International Political Theory, Volume 20, Issue 1, Page 106-111, February 2024.
This article considers an alternative paradigm for responding to the climate emergency. Drawing on Fierke’s ideas on quantum complementarity and wuwei, or actionless action, it considers what quantum social science and Eastern philosophies can offer to a fragmenting, polarized world where responses to climate change appear to be limited and ineffective. The wisdom of actionless action involves engaging differently with difference, emphasizing a spontaneous and ethical quality of agency that both disrupts the patterns that maintain the drivers of climate change and contributes to social and cultural norms, rules, regulations, and institutions that are equitable and sustainable. In contrast to doing nothing, actionless action may one of the keys to generating quantum social change.
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