Thomas J. Volgy

TV Entertainment Programming and Sociopolitical Attitudes.

ters appeared in a traditional male role-a network journalist in the anchor position at the time of this research. She was not cast in a contrived circumstance and her j o b was, and is, tied to a reality function. Maude exercises control over her mousy husband. Mary Tyler Moore influenced the affairs of co-workers and friends in the office and at home. She may also have been perceived as in control of her own life-an apparently well-adjusted professional woman. Except for Mary Tyler Moore, the television women regarded by the girls as “in control” were not the same ones thought by them to be much like themselves or like their idealized television women. A Mary Tyler Moore phenomenon was evident in the findings of this research and may help explain the program’s longtime popularity.12 Mary Tyler Moore was never ranked less than third on any dimension in the research. She was perceived by thegirls as the “typical American female.” someone “like me.” someone I want to “be like,” someone I would want as a “friend.” and someone I would like to have as a “mother.” She was a character for all needs and perceptions. Her multidimensional appeal may have contributed to her sustained acceptance by a n enormous national audience. Her program was companionship oriented.” The data gathered here confirmed the claim that Mary Tyler Moore was the most realistic and identifiable “heroine of all women on the tube.”I4 However, the early cancellation of a 1978 network television program which featured her as a variety show hostess (“Mary”), suggests that her influence and appeal may be limited. Trends in commercial television programming change as quickly as genres of shows fade in and out of favor with their audiences. Individual actors and actresses also attain varying degrees of popularity, depending in part upon the roles they assume. This study has documented some of the ways in which adolescent girls perceive many well-known women who have starred on television during the past few years. The degree to which girls’ behavior is ultimately affected by their recognition Q u A R .r F: R 1. Y

Major Powers and the Quest for Status in International Politics

PART I: Major Global Powers and Their Status Major Power Status Attribution: Conceptual and Methodological Issues T.J.Volgy , R.Corbetta , K.Grant , & R.Baird Global Leader, Global Power, Status Consistent Power: The United States W.R.Thompson From Underachiever to Overachiever, and Where to Now: Russia as a Major Power M.R.Freire From Regional Player to Overachieving Major Power: China Y.Deng The Ups and Downs of Major Power Status: France B.Badie PART II: Regional Powers, Status, and Aspirations for the Global Stage Regional Powers and Their Status: Further Conceptual and Methodological Issues T.J.Volgy , R.Corbetta , K.Grant , & R.Baird South American Regional Order: the Growth of Brazil as a Regional Power M.Herz Regional Power Development in a Space Thick with Competing Powers: India R.Bashrur Regional Power Development in High Conflict Geopolitical Space: Iran and its Competitors Developing Regional Power Capacity: South Africa PART III: Conclusions: The Struggle for World Order and the Future of International Politics T.J.Volgy, R.Corbetta, K.Grant , & R.Baird

Status Inconsistency and International War: Exploring the Effects of Systemic Change

This article refocuses on the relationship between status inconsistency and the frequency of wars in the international system. It argues that status inconsistency is related to the occurrence of war only under certain conditions in the system, but as those systemic conditions change, then status consistency will correlate with the frequency of wars. The international system between 1950 and 1987 is divided into two periods, reflecting substantial changes in system dynamics. The evidence shows that in the earlier period status inconsistency does correlate with war, while in the latter period the sign of the relationship is reversed.

Major Power Status in International Politics

International politics operates under conditions of anarchy and inequality. Anarchy is a fundamental assumption about the state of international affairs: the absence of centralized governmental structures responsible for world order and global governance.1 As a constant in international affairs, the assumption of anarchy clearly cannot explain variation in international political conditions. Nevertheless, it is a critical assumption: the manner in which international actors construct mechanisms to struggle against anarchy—or, “what states make of it” (Wendt 1992)—varies across space, time, state capabilities, and the innovative thinking of policy makers. Consequently, most approaches to international politics have outlined mechanisms and processes through which states seek to overcome problems associated with anarchy.

Mapping the New World Order

Preface. 1. In Search of the Post-Cold War World Order: Questions, Issues, and Perspectives (Thomas J. Volgy, Zlatko Sabic, Petra Roter, Elizabeth Fausett, and Stuart Rodgers). 2. Mapping the Architecture of the New World Order: Continuity and Change in the Constellation of Post-Cold War Formal Intergovernmental Organizations (Thomas J. Volgy, Keith A. Grant, Elizabeth Fausett, and Stuart Rodgers). 3. Accounting for the New World Order of FIGO Architecture and Its Effectiveness (Keith A. Grant, Thomas J. Volgy, Elizabeth Fausett, and Stuart Rodgers). 4. Intergovernmental Organizations and Interstate Conflict: Parsing Out IGO Effects for Conflict in Post-Communist Space (Elizabeth Fausett and Thomas J. Volgy). 5. The Correlates of Cooperative Institutions for International Rivers (Andrea K. Gerlak and Keith A. Grant). 6. Substituting for Democratization: A Comparative A nalysis of Involvement in Regional Intergovernmental Organizations (Stuart Rogers and Thomas J. Volgy). 7. State Support for Human Rights Treaties (Petra Roter, Anuska Ferligoj and Andrej Mrvar). 8. The Mediterranean As A Region in the Making (Ana Bojinovic). 9. Conclusions (Thomas J. Volgy, Zlatko Sabic, Petra Roter, Andrea Gerlak, Elizabeth Fausett, Keith A. Grant, and Stuart Rodgers). Index.

On Television Viewing and Citizens' Political Attitudes, Activity and Knowledge: Another Look at the Impact of Media on Politics

T HE NATURE of American society is such that most us lead relatively secluded lives. Housewives, machinists, doctors, and especially academicians personally experience very little of the mainstream of problems in society. Most of us have few direct experiences with political corruption, or trade deficits, or corporate tax laws. Yet, as citizens who occasionally vote, or participate in some other ways in the body politic, we usually develop a broad range of attitudes about social and political life; we also develop images however hazy of political figures who cross through the political system, without ever having personally met any of those individuals.

Identifying Regional Powers and Their Status

Much of the international relations literature has focused on the most powerful states, although the politics of regions and the role of regional powers have become increasingly salient in the postCold War environment. Many scholars now contend that regional powers are critical, if not central, to our understanding of world politics (Acharya 2007; Lemke 2002; Lake and Morgan 1997; Sbragia 2008). Regional powers are important to our understanding of global politics for at least two reasons. First, these states often shape and establish order within their respective regions. Regional powers vie with challengers within the region as well as states outside of the region to establish mechanisms for governance, as they seek to create order in accordance with their policy preferences. Among the regional powers we identify, this behavior is quite common. South Africa, for example, has made a concerted effort to shape its region by stressing the “recovery of Africa” and “the realization of the ‘African Renaissance’” as foreign policy priorities through the promotion of regional institutions and regional integration (Nathan 2005: 362).

Hegemonic and Bipolar Perspectives on the New World Order

Theory: Two contending structural approaches, hegemony and bipolarity, are used to examine the frequency of important systemic phenomena during the Cold War era. Hypotheses: Increased bipolarization and military imbalance between the superpowers lead to increases in systemic disturbances. Increased hegemonic control and increased support for hegemonic leadership lead to fewer systemic disturbances. Higher levels of bipolarity and hegemony are predicted to covary with increasing status inconsistency. Methods: Maximum likelihood estimation (using a generalized event count estimator) of data on interstate war, crises, and foreign policy activity; and regression analysis of status consistency. Results: Systemic dynamics during the Cold War fit the assertions of the hegemonic model. Increased hegemonic control is associated with fewer wars, crises and foreign policy activity. Predictions from the bipolar view are not supported.

Two faces of hegemonic strength: Structural versus relational capabilities

We examine two concepts associated with hegemonic strength: relational versus structural capabilities. We develop a measurement strategy for each, and test the salience of each for status inconsistency, frequency of wars and crises, and the incidence of terrorism in the international system. The tests correspond to our predictions regarding the relative salience of each concept for understanding the importance of hegemonic strength in the international system. We explore the implications of these findings for the emerging world order.

Correlates of Organizational Rewards in the United Nations: an Analysis of Environmental and Legislative Variables

The purpose of this research is to examine the conditions for successful United Nations elective officeholding through an interregional comparison of three types of variables. Previous studies have primarily emphasized two types of determinants. Some have suggested that behavior in the United Nations is controlled by the environment of international politics, while others have attempted to link a nation states level of socioeconomic development to elective officeholding success. This research suggests that the legislative variable may be the most useful predictor of elective officeholding. The legislative dimension is based upon the premise that the political processes in the Organization represent a quasi-legislative system. An examination of the three types of variables led to the conclusion that legislative behavior is the most consistent predictor of elective officeholding success across regions. This finding does not negate the salience of environmental interactions or nation state attributes, but it does suggest that nation state participation in the political processes of the Organization appears to be the best predictor of officeholding success.