Introducing 7 cases

1. Leiden University. The university to discover.
Reading and Writing for International Studies
7 cases
PowerPoint for week 5

2. Leiden University. The university to discover.
7 cases
• UN Security Council reforms
• Russia / Ukraine / NATO
• Chinese Sea / Rise of China
• Euro crisis / Greece / Germany
• Mali and the Sahel region
• War on Terror / ISIS
• Iran Nuclear Deal

3. Leiden University. The university to discover.
UN Security Council reforms
Debates about reforming the UN Security Council go far back,
and for decades have been salient for diplomats in New York
both as a formal agenda item, and as “an informal and enduring
cocktail party pastime”, in the words of Weiss. Scholars in the
field of International Relations – but especially in the field of
International Law – have been proposing several strategies for
reform, claiming that the current Security Council is not a good
reflection of the political reality, and will ultimately cause
legitimization problems. However, apart from an expansion of
the Council to 15 permanent members in 1965, no radical
changes have been made since then. Can, and will, the Security
Council ever reform more drastically?

4. Leiden University. The university to discover.
Russia / Ukraine / NATO
Political instability in Ukraine, the crash of MH17 and
Russia’s annexation of Crimea: unexpected insecurity
in the backyard of Europe caused a shockwave in the
scholarly world of International Relations. Should we
have seen this coming? How to deal with this new
Russian threat? And, one of the questions most
frequently posed, what will be NATO’s response?

5. Leiden University. The university to discover.
Chinese Sea / Rise of China
The ongoing conflict in the South Chinese Sea is often viewed
amongst scholars as one of the areas that will dominate
geopolitical contestations in the 21st century. Located in the heart
of South-East Asia and in the backyard of rising power China,
the conflict is an embodiment of greater topics relevant within
International Studies and related to the area. These include the
(economic-) rise of China, the growing importance of
regionalism (ASEAN), the influence of big transnational
cooperation’s (TNC’s) on political policies and the geopolitical
relevance of natural recourses such as oil and gas.

6. Leiden University. The university to discover.
Euro crisis / Greece / Germany (1)
The first half of 2015 has been a turbulent time for the European
Union. A debt crisis in Greece proved to be a tough challenge for
EU member states, the monetary unification of the EU, and for
Greece itself. After the radical left party Syrizia won the elections,
negotiations with the European ‘trojka’ were impeded and for a
while it was not clear if a ‘Grexit’ could be averted. However, in
June this year a new bailout agreement was signed and approved
by the parliaments of all EU member states, which consisted of
new loans for Greece in exchange for strict budget cuts and
reforms….

7. Leiden University. The university to discover.
Euro crisis / Greece / Germany (2)
…..Because of its complex and multi-faceted nature, the choice
has been made to focus on one aspect in further detail: the role of
Germany. Four recent shorter articles have been chosen, since
this allows for a better reflection of different standpoints.

8. Leiden University. The university to discover.
Mali and the Sahel region
In January 2013, France took the lead in a military
intervention in the Mali conflict. Forces of the African
Union joined shortly after, and a few months later
MINUSMA, the UN peacekeeping operation, started
activities in the country. The Mali conflict is often
pointed out by scholars as a concrete example of bigger
issues within International Studies, and the Sahel
region in particular: the rise of failed states, weak
governments and an increase of ‘stateless’ Islamist
violence.

9. Leiden University. The university to discover.
War on Terror / ISIS
Since 9/11, the world – with the US in the lead – has been
fighting a self-proclaimed ‘war on terror’. Whereas Osama Bin
Laden used to be the ‘face of the enemy’, in the past years
different terrorist/jihadist groups have emerged in several parts
of the world. Especially in the Middle East, the Islamic State in
Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has recently gained territory. Since
developments surrounding these terrorist groups are changing
rapidly, a better understanding of the bigger war on terror and
the background of groups such as ISIS is valuable. These themes
have greatly influenced the field of International Studies in the
past decade.

10. Leiden University. The university to discover.
Iran Nuclear Deal (1)
On the 14th of July this year, a nuclear deal was signed between
Iran and the so-called P5+1: the five permanent members of the
Security Council (Russia, China, US, France and the UK) plus
Germany. Scholars and journalists celebrated the ‘triumph of
diplomacy’; Obama claimed that the path for Iran to build a
nuclear bomb was being cut off, and in Tehran people were
celebrating in the streets. However, Obama also underlined that
the deal was not based on trust, and a specific ‘snap-back’
mechanism ensures that lifted sanctions can be re-installed
within 30 days if Iran does not abide by the rules…..

11. Leiden University. The university to discover.
Iran Nuclear Deal (2)
….In the years prior to the deal, scholars have
been speculating about its outcome, defending a
wide variety of perspectives. Since the nuclear
deal is signed only recently, long-term
consequences cannot be discussed yet. It is
therefore more interesting to focus on the
viewpoints of different IR-scholars prior to the
deal, and relate them to the current situation
and associated issues.