Module1 - Coercion or Reason?

Satellite image of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP) in Iran. (2009)

 Over the past two weeks, the class (American University's SISG-760 -- International Studies: History, Theory, Practice) has --among other things-- been reading about and analyzing different international organizations and how they harness the power of coercion and reason (rational bargaining) to usher progress in the international community. 

Group 4 (this group) studied the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nation's high court. In short, our group found that the ICJ is somewhat the U.N.'s arm of reason, or it's arm of rational bargaining. States only go to the ICJ when they both agree to have their dispute heard by the court. And, as the United States demonstrated, the court's decision really isn't enforceable unless the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) becomes involved and issues a resolution requiring states to follow some course of action. (The short video our group made explaining --and highlighting some of the more notable cases of-- the ICJ can be seen below.)

The question of "coercion or reason" is a really fascinating topic. As somewhat of a subscriber to realist theory and that almost every action a state takes is done in an effort to maximize its power, I submit the question of "when is state really bargaining?" Do states come the bargaining table perhaps with ulterior motives? We have to look no further than today's news of the American prisoners being released from custody in the Islamic Republic of Iran to find an action with questionable motives. Has Iran freed these prisoners as an expression of good will to the U.S. or is it another strategic move from a shrewd player of diplomacy? (I have thought for some time about this approach to IR theory: realism by way or liberalism, or that states try to maximize power through cooperation.) Perhaps only time will reveal the true answer to why Iran has recently become so cooperative with the West (was is reasoning or were the coercive effects of the international sanctions finally too strong?) but certainly the ideas of coercion and reasoning are relevant and essential to understanding the many dynamics constantly at play in international relations. 

What do you think? Why has Iran become so cooperative? Have they turned over a new leaf, or are they waiting patiently to maximize power? Leave your questions/comments below! 

-SC 

                                   
                                               

Uranium enrichment centrifuge cascade