International Studies Quarterly最新文献

Social Capital, Platform Power, and the Private Authority of Big Tech Firms: Theorizing The Micro-Foundations of Platform Power Among Social Networking Sites 社会资本、平台权力与大型科技公司的私人权威：社交网站平台权力的微观基础理论化

IF 2.6 1区社会学

International Studies Quarterly Pub Date : 2026-10-20 DOI: 10.1093/isq/sqag081

{"title":"Social Capital, Platform Power, and the Private Authority of Big Tech Firms: Theorizing The Micro-Foundations of Platform Power Among Social Networking Sites","authors":"","doi":"10.1093/isq/sqag081","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqag081","url":null,"abstract":"<span class=\"paragraphSection\">In the era of digital globalization, Big Tech firms have emerged as pivotal non-state actors in International Relations (IR). A growing body of research theorizes the political influence of these firms through the concept of platform power, which emphasizes the unique combination of economic scale and intimate relationships with their users. Despite the analytical power of the concept, past work on the platform power of Big Tech firms obscures important differences among these firms. To improve our understanding of the foundations of Big Tech’s platform power, I focus specifically on Social Networking Sites (SNSs). SNSs are platforms that provide web-based services to enable individuals to create profiles, connect with others, and share information, opinions, and media. I argue that the micro-foundation of SNSs’ platform power is their exceptional capacity to foster social capital accumulation among their users. In turn, this cultivates loyal consumer bases and ultimately enables SNSs to wield significant private authority in global politics. I demonstrate the implications of this argument for how SNSs gain, maintain, and potentially lose private authority. This conceptual framework enhances our comprehension of Big Tech’s authority and helps further investigation into the normative implications, identity dynamics, and security concerns within this evolving landscape.</span>","PeriodicalId":48313,"journal":{"name":"International Studies Quarterly","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149226665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Friending or Blocking? U.S. Public Attitudes toward Restricting Foreign Social Media Apps 加好友还是屏蔽？美国公众对限制外国社交媒体应用的态度

IF 2.6 1区社会学

International Studies Quarterly Pub Date : 2026-09-11 DOI: 10.1093/isq/sqag073

Ka Zeng,Damian Raess,Paul Musgrave

{"title":"Friending or Blocking? U.S. Public Attitudes toward Restricting Foreign Social Media Apps","authors":"Ka Zeng,Damian Raess,Paul Musgrave","doi":"10.1093/isq/sqag073","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqag073","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract What influences U.S. public support for bans of foreign social media applications? In particular, how do concerns about national security, economic opportunities and threats (such as industrial espionage), reciprocal market access, and the policies and traits of an app influence individual support for banning? We address these questions through a conjoint experiment conducted in November 2024 (N = 1,494). Respondents weighed security threats (such as risks to military interests) and economic interests (including job creation and reciprocal market access) heavily. Concerns about social media platforms themselves, such as strong data privacy protection and content moderation, also mattered, but to a lesser extent. A recontact survey conducted in spring 2025, after President Trump’s decision to reverse the January 2025 TikTok ban, shows stability over time. Overall, our findings reveal a surprisingly strong and stable consensus about what factors promote support for bans—with TikTok-like features arousing opposition among the American public. Nuanced differences do emerge: Republicans and Democrats differ over content moderation policies, while TikTok users and nonusers diverge regarding security threats and owners’ ties to governments. Our findings underscore the importance of the geopolitical and economic implications of foreign apps as well as how consumer experiences influence threat perceptions.","PeriodicalId":48313,"journal":{"name":"International Studies Quarterly","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149124306","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Donor Influence at the African Development Bank 捐助者对非洲开发银行的影响

IF 2.6 1区社会学

International Studies Quarterly Pub Date : 2026-09-11 DOI: 10.1093/isq/sqag066

Tetsekela Anyiam-Osigwe,James Raymond Vreeland

引用次数: 0

Fragmented Agents and Ambiguous Mandates: A Process Theory of Norm Conflict Within International Organizations 分散的代理人与模糊的授权：国际组织内规范冲突的过程理论

IF 2.6 1区社会学

International Studies Quarterly Pub Date : 2026-09-11 DOI: 10.1093/isq/sqag075

Tom Buitelaar

{"title":"Fragmented Agents and Ambiguous Mandates: A Process Theory of Norm Conflict Within International Organizations","authors":"Tom Buitelaar","doi":"10.1093/isq/sqag075","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqag075","url":null,"abstract":"Abstracts This article proposes a process theory explaining how crises can prompt principal intervention in international organizations (IOs) deadlocked over competing norms. Building on research in norm dynamics, sociological institutionalism, and principal–agent theory, it views IO bureaucracies as arenas where several groups compete over how to order competing norms into a hierarchy. When such conflicts cannot be resolved internally, an exogenous crisis may drive principals to revise the delegation contract, formalizing a new normative hierarchy. The theory is illustrated through an interpretivist process-tracing study of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) in 2009–2010. MONUC faced tension between supporting Congolese state forces and protecting civilians. Leadership prioritized state support, while advocates for a conditionality policy sought to link assistance to human rights compliance. Civilian harm during joint operations, amplified by external advocacy, media scrutiny, and legal warnings, elevated the internal battle’s urgency for the UN Security Council, prompting a mandate change institutionalizing conditionality. The analysis reveals how crisis framing escalates intra-organizational norm disputes to the principal level, and shows how ambiguity does not only create opportunity but can also lead to unresolvable battles for ideas. As such, the paper contributes to the norms and IO literatures.","PeriodicalId":48313,"journal":{"name":"International Studies Quarterly","volume":"464 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149123307","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Dollars Don’t Make Sense: How Russian Savers Responded to Sanctions 美元不合理：俄罗斯储户如何应对制裁

IF 2.6 1区社会学

International Studies Quarterly Pub Date : 2026-09-11 DOI: 10.1093/isq/sqag077

Daniel McDowell,David A Steinberg

{"title":"Dollars Don’t Make Sense: How Russian Savers Responded to Sanctions","authors":"Daniel McDowell,David A Steinberg","doi":"10.1093/isq/sqag077","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqag077","url":null,"abstract":"Abstracts Theory suggests that financial sanctions provoke targets to de-dollarize because they raise the risks of holding dollars. However, sanctions can also cause target state currencies to depreciate, which should increase demand for dollars within those countries. This study examines how sanctions influence individuals’ desire for saving in foreign exchange (FX) like US dollars or euros. To do so, we draw on data from eight nationally representative surveys of Russian citizens before and after the imposition of Western sanctions in February 2022. We find that Russians’ preference for holding FX dramatically decreased after sanctions were imposed and that the fall in FX demand was most pronounced among wealthy Russians. A follow-up survey experiment further indicates that the drop in FX demand among wealthy Russians was driven by concerns about Western sanctions themselves rather than a response to the Russian government’s repressive FX policies. These results, which are consistent with the growing literature linking sanctions to de-dollarization, provide unique micro-level evidence from a high-profile sanctions’ episode, revealing how sanctions alter economic preferences within targeted states, across different groups within society.","PeriodicalId":48313,"journal":{"name":"International Studies Quarterly","volume":"49 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149124305","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Symbolic Statecraft: Reactive and Projective Renaming in International Relations 象征性治国之道：国际关系中的被动与投射式重命名

IF 2.6 1区社会学

International Studies Quarterly Pub Date : 2026-09-11 DOI: 10.1093/isq/sqag076

Sefa Secen

{"title":"Symbolic Statecraft: Reactive and Projective Renaming in International Relations","authors":"Sefa Secen","doi":"10.1093/isq/sqag076","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqag076","url":null,"abstract":"Abstracts State renaming has received scant attention from International Relations scholars. This article advances a theoretically grounded typology explaining why and when states intervene in their own symbolic foundations through official name changes. I argue that renaming is not a residual outcome of political transformation but a performative mechanism through which states manage disruptions in self-identity narratives or pursue deliberate projects of identity redefinition. It operates along two logics. Reactive renaming emerges in moments of identity rupture—postcolonial transition, regime collapse, or ideological reorientation—when ontological insecurity renders symbolic intervention salient. Projective renaming is forward-looking, occurring without acute rupture, as states proactively assert status, redefine roles, or reposition themselves within international hierarchies. Through comparative analysis of Zimbabwe, Türkiye, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, North Macedonia, and Afghanistan—and three contrasting cases of unresolved or stalled renaming (India, Aotearoa/New Zealand, and Kazakhstan)—I show how renaming functions as an instrument of identity repair, status and role-seeking, and regime legitimation, and identify the scope conditions under which it becomes politically realizable. By theorizing symbolic acts as mechanisms of state-making rather than epiphenomenal gestures, the article advances our understanding of how states actively construct political subjectivity and hierarchy in international relations.","PeriodicalId":48313,"journal":{"name":"International Studies Quarterly","volume":"21 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149124304","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

From Domestic Contestation to Alpha Male Foreign Policy: Phantasies of Masculinity and the US Self 从国内争论到大男子外交政策：男子气概幻想与美国自我

IF 2.6 1区社会学

International Studies Quarterly Pub Date : 2026-09-11 DOI: 10.1093/isq/sqag072

Veronica Barfucci,Deborah Faudoa Rodríguez,C Nicolai L Gellwitzki

{"title":"From Domestic Contestation to Alpha Male Foreign Policy: Phantasies of Masculinity and the US Self","authors":"Veronica Barfucci,Deborah Faudoa Rodríguez,C Nicolai L Gellwitzki","doi":"10.1093/isq/sqag072","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqag072","url":null,"abstract":"Abstracts How does masculinity inform the 2024 US presidential election and subsequent US foreign policy? To address this question, we develop the concept of phantasy of masculinity, an affectively charged imaginary that links normalized gender discourses with the narrative reconstruction of Self and Other(s), and that becomes increasingly regressive along a spectrum of intensification towards hypermasculinity. Analyzing official speeches and the media discourse surrounding the 2024 US presidential election campaign and the first year of foreign policy in the second Trump administration, we show that phantasies of masculinity Othering domestic political rivals were central to narrative contestation for both Republicans and Democrats. We further argue that US foreign policy is regressing towards hypermasculinity, in an affectively driven yet ultimately futile attempt to restore ontological security under conditions of perceived crisis. The article makes two contributions to International Relations (IR) scholarship. First, it develops the concept of phantasy of masculinity as a framework for analyzing the psychological and affective dimensions of masculinity. Second, it offers an explanation for seemingly “irrational” US foreign policy under Trump. We conclude by calling for closer integration of feminist IR and Ontological Security Studies to better understand geopolitical implications of gendered insecurities in an uncertain era.","PeriodicalId":48313,"journal":{"name":"International Studies Quarterly","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148922990","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Populism and the Politics of Aid Classification: Evidence from the OECD Development Assistance Committee 民粹主义与援助政治分类：来自经合组织发展援助委员会的证据

IF 2.6 1区社会学

International Studies Quarterly Pub Date : 2026-09-11 DOI: 10.1093/isq/sqag064

Nicolas Bau,Simone Dietrich,Katharina Fleiner,Alice Iannantuoni

{"title":"Populism and the Politics of Aid Classification: Evidence from the OECD Development Assistance Committee","authors":"Nicolas Bau,Simone Dietrich,Katharina Fleiner,Alice Iannantuoni","doi":"10.1093/isq/sqag064","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqag064","url":null,"abstract":"Abstracts Populist leaders increasingly criticize global governance systems, portraying them as elitist and threatening national sovereignty. While research has explored how populism affects international organizations, less is known about how a rise in populism in donor countries affects engagement with standards in international development cooperation. This research note argues that populism affects how donors classify and present foreign aid projects. Focusing on the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC), we theorize a mechanism of classification avoidance, whereby bureaucrats anticipate political scrutiny from populists and reduce the use of policy markers that signal alignment with global priorities. Using project-level data on aid activities from 1998 to 2022, we show that increases in anti-elitism in donor legislatures are associated with declines in the share of aid classified as targeting DAC priority areas, alongside stable project screening practices and some but more limited sectoral reallocation. While we do not directly observe bureaucratic decision-making, the empirical patterns are broadly more consistent with anticipatory bureaucratic adaptation than with alternative accounts of policy change. Our paper highlights how domestic political dynamics shape engagement with international standards through bureaucratic practices.","PeriodicalId":48313,"journal":{"name":"International Studies Quarterly","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149124102","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Coding Conflict: Bias and Visibility in Cyber-Incident Data Construction 编码冲突：网络事件数据构建中的偏见与可见性

IF 2.6 1区社会学

International Studies Quarterly Pub Date : 2026-09-11 DOI: 10.1093/isq/sqag080

Nadiya Kostyuk,Kangkyu Lee,Jon Lindsay

{"title":"Coding Conflict:\u0000 Bias and Visibility in Cyber-Incident Data Construction","authors":"Nadiya Kostyuk,Kangkyu Lee,Jon Lindsay","doi":"10.1093/isq/sqag080","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqag080","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract International-relations research relies on large-N conflict datasets constructed from public sources, yet shaped by bias in reporting and codification. Such bias is likely pronounced in cyber-conflict data, given the often-covert, attribution-challenged nature of cyber incidents and to disproportionate reliance on Western-based institutions, media, and cybersecurity firms. This article tests that proposition by examining how cyber-incident characteristics—target, actor, and severity—influence both inclusion and narrative representation. Quantitative analysis of the two leading datasets, complemented by interviews with their creators, shows that high-severity incidents are more likely to appear in both datasets, but this effect weakens when incidents are attributed to Western governments’ cyber adversaries. Western-targeted incidents are less likely to be cross-recorded, yet those attributed to Western governments’ cyber adversaries show marginally higher inclusion. Agreement on CRINK attribution strongly predicts narrative convergence, whereas agreement on Western targeting only marginally affects narrative similarity. These findings not only empirically confirm a Western bias in cyber-conflict data, but also—more surprisingly—show converse effects of similar bias in conventional-conflict data. Rather than underrepresenting non-Western states, we find abundant representation, but mostly as adversaries. This suggests that current datasets restrict us to theories that reflect Western perspectives, limiting our understanding of global cyber dynamics.","PeriodicalId":48313,"journal":{"name":"International Studies Quarterly","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149151666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Friendship in World Politics: George Padmore, Nancy Cunard, and Dorothy Pizer at the End of Empire 世界政治中的友谊：乔治·帕德莫尔、南希·库纳德和多萝西·皮泽在帝国的终结

IF 2.6 1区社会学

International Studies Quarterly Pub Date : 2026-09-11 DOI: 10.1093/isq/sqag068

Isabelle Napier

引用次数: 0