1. From Domestic Crisis to International Change: The Case of Libyan Revisionism.
- Author
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Stepak, Amir
- Subjects
- *
HISTORICAL revisionism , *MILITARISM , *SOCIAL interaction , *SOCIAL context - Abstract
Under what conditions do states pursue revisionist militarization and expansion, and why do they do so at some junctures but not others? Understanding the spatial and temporal processes that undergird revisionism can offer interesting insights into the history and future of revisionism in international affairs. Revisionist states have come to play a growing role in IR theories and in policy debates regarding the prospects of a revisionist China and the threats from Iran and North Korea. Yet, to date, the processes that lead states to challenge global and regional power structures by military force--or to decline to do so--are not well-understood. This paper explores this issue in the context of Libya and its relationship with its neighbors, Israel, and the West during the 1960s and 70s. It maintains that structural-, domestic-, and individual-level theories provide poor explanations of revisionist emergence. Instead, it offers a two-level explanation of revisionism rooted in the interaction between two key variables: domestic crises and the nature of the international social environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2011