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Draft papers by Zeno Leoni
The Covid-19 global crisis has thrown into sharp relief the importance of developing a carefully ... more The Covid-19 global crisis has thrown into sharp relief the importance of developing a carefully considered UK strategy towards China, which balances the UK's dependency on close economic ties with the potential risks for security that closer relations entails. The lack
This table aims at demonstrating that Obama and Trump agreed on the most important issues in curr... more This table aims at demonstrating that Obama and Trump agreed on the most important issues in current US foreign policy. Furthermore, it demonstrates that as outsiders of politics, they experienced similar resistance in their interaction with economic and bureaucratic powers. However, Trump has jeopardized more than Obama the relations between presidency and businesses, establishment and bureaucrats. Their philosophical worldview instead, could not be more different.
In each box, the table contains, in italic, a brief description by the author. Instead, in quotation marks, it contains important quotes mainly from the presidents but in some occasion from official documents and news pundits.
The table attempts to be as precise as possible but it does not account for some nuances. These nuances, which equal to the idiosyncratic style approach to some issues, are important because on grand strategy they represent the main differences between Obama and Trump in grand strategy.
This article makes a contribution to the third wave of discussions on capitalist imperialism whic... more This article makes a contribution to the third wave of discussions on capitalist imperialism which arose at the beginning of this century. Its aim is to show that Marxism possesses the theoretical tools to become a comprehensive theory of International Relations (IR). While remaining rooted in structural and material forces, the theoretical speculation (change) presented here demonstrates that Marxism can move beyond economic determinism and incorporate elements of IR's political spatiality, such as geopolitical concerns and identity. The article first provides an update on the evolution of the world order since the 2008 global financial crisis, describing the return of geopolitics and national identity. Then I move on to develop a Marxist theory of IR along three analytical levels. The first level identifies the uneven global geography of capitalism as the main pressure constraining state managers to adopt expansionist solutions in order to survive the challenges posed by unrestrained flows of capital. The second level of analysis reasserts the importance of the private economic pressures felt by states, but goes beyond the economic determinism of the classical Marxist theory of imperialism in highlighting the role of political elites in translating these pressures according to their own geopolitical views. The third level of analysis departs from the canonical Marxist understanding of social space. Drawing on Lefebvre's and others' insights on human beings relations with nature, it attempts to build a bridge between the spatiality of Marxism and that of mainstream theories of IR such as realism, classical geopolitics and constructivism.
Commentaries by Zeno Leoni
5G is the upcoming new network of wireless technology, a more powerful and e cient broadband comp... more 5G is the upcoming new network of wireless technology, a more powerful and e cient broadband compared to 4G. At the moment, the most re ned of this kind of technology is owned by Chinese companies -Huawei. This is the cause of several security concerns.
Drafts by Zeno Leoni
Papers by Zeno Leoni
American Grand Strategy from Obama to Trump, 2021
The lack of a rigorous Marxian theory of the state and the international has caused much discussi... more The lack of a rigorous Marxian theory of the state and the international has caused much discussion about what a Marxist theory of imperialism and International Relations would look like. The aim of this chapter is threefold. Firstly, it makes the reader familiar with theories of and debates on imperialism in the early twentieth century and the early twenty-first century. Secondly, it reviews theories of imperialism seeking to highlight strengths and weaknesses. Thirdly, it provides the theoretical framework for the empirical chapters of the book. Ultimately, this chapter maintains that because capitalism develops unevenly at the spatial, institutional, and ideological level, a Marxist theory of the international can incorporate political concepts from mainstream theories of IR. It is suggested that such theory should develop an ‘operational code’ of political elites’ ideologies that accounts for their views of the geopolitical world order, capitalism and the ruling class, and power.
American Grand Strategy from Obama to Trump
The previous chapter provided a comprehensive picture of Obama's grand strategy. Looking at Obama... more The previous chapter provided a comprehensive picture of Obama's grand strategy. Looking at Obama's foreign policy in Europe and the Middle East, on the one hand, while, on the other hand, dissecting his strategy towards China and the broader Asia-Pacific region, it was argued that Obama did have a consistent grand strategy: it was based on offshore balancing, which rejected military interventionism, and displayed a renewed geostrategic focus toward Asia-and above all China. It was the product of a reaction to a post-American geopolitical world order, the historical US open-door stance, and the president's operational code. As a new chapter begins, it is important to keep this picture in mind because Trump's grand strategy has been in strong continuity with Obama's grand strategy. Yet, even if there is a clear strategic continuity between the two, their ideological differences explain much of Trump's tactical change compared to his predecessor. From an American viewpoint, Obama's and Trump's long-term policy objectives with regard to the Middle East, Europe, NATO, Russia, and China were similar. However, Trump had a different approach to US policy in these areas. While also maintaining a posture of offshore balancing, Trump continued Obama's agenda in the Middle East and Europe, although in an idiosyncratic manner. Furthermore, the Trump Administration was even more explicit than Obama in making Asia and China a priority. Yet, Trump operationalized his grand
Working Papers by Zeno Leoni
T20, G20 Policy Brief, 2021
The Covid-19 global crisis has thrown into sharp relief the importance of developing a carefully ... more The Covid-19 global crisis has thrown into sharp relief the importance of developing a carefully considered UK strategy towards China, which balances the UK's dependency on close economic ties with the potential risks for security that closer relations entails. The lack
This table aims at demonstrating that Obama and Trump agreed on the most important issues in curr... more This table aims at demonstrating that Obama and Trump agreed on the most important issues in current US foreign policy. Furthermore, it demonstrates that as outsiders of politics, they experienced similar resistance in their interaction with economic and bureaucratic powers. However, Trump has jeopardized more than Obama the relations between presidency and businesses, establishment and bureaucrats. Their philosophical worldview instead, could not be more different.
In each box, the table contains, in italic, a brief description by the author. Instead, in quotation marks, it contains important quotes mainly from the presidents but in some occasion from official documents and news pundits.
The table attempts to be as precise as possible but it does not account for some nuances. These nuances, which equal to the idiosyncratic style approach to some issues, are important because on grand strategy they represent the main differences between Obama and Trump in grand strategy.
This article makes a contribution to the third wave of discussions on capitalist imperialism whic... more This article makes a contribution to the third wave of discussions on capitalist imperialism which arose at the beginning of this century. Its aim is to show that Marxism possesses the theoretical tools to become a comprehensive theory of International Relations (IR). While remaining rooted in structural and material forces, the theoretical speculation (change) presented here demonstrates that Marxism can move beyond economic determinism and incorporate elements of IR's political spatiality, such as geopolitical concerns and identity. The article first provides an update on the evolution of the world order since the 2008 global financial crisis, describing the return of geopolitics and national identity. Then I move on to develop a Marxist theory of IR along three analytical levels. The first level identifies the uneven global geography of capitalism as the main pressure constraining state managers to adopt expansionist solutions in order to survive the challenges posed by unrestrained flows of capital. The second level of analysis reasserts the importance of the private economic pressures felt by states, but goes beyond the economic determinism of the classical Marxist theory of imperialism in highlighting the role of political elites in translating these pressures according to their own geopolitical views. The third level of analysis departs from the canonical Marxist understanding of social space. Drawing on Lefebvre's and others' insights on human beings relations with nature, it attempts to build a bridge between the spatiality of Marxism and that of mainstream theories of IR such as realism, classical geopolitics and constructivism.
5G is the upcoming new network of wireless technology, a more powerful and e cient broadband comp... more 5G is the upcoming new network of wireless technology, a more powerful and e cient broadband compared to 4G. At the moment, the most re ned of this kind of technology is owned by Chinese companies -Huawei. This is the cause of several security concerns.
American Grand Strategy from Obama to Trump, 2021
The lack of a rigorous Marxian theory of the state and the international has caused much discussi... more The lack of a rigorous Marxian theory of the state and the international has caused much discussion about what a Marxist theory of imperialism and International Relations would look like. The aim of this chapter is threefold. Firstly, it makes the reader familiar with theories of and debates on imperialism in the early twentieth century and the early twenty-first century. Secondly, it reviews theories of imperialism seeking to highlight strengths and weaknesses. Thirdly, it provides the theoretical framework for the empirical chapters of the book. Ultimately, this chapter maintains that because capitalism develops unevenly at the spatial, institutional, and ideological level, a Marxist theory of the international can incorporate political concepts from mainstream theories of IR. It is suggested that such theory should develop an ‘operational code’ of political elites’ ideologies that accounts for their views of the geopolitical world order, capitalism and the ruling class, and power.
American Grand Strategy from Obama to Trump
The previous chapter provided a comprehensive picture of Obama's grand strategy. Looking at Obama... more The previous chapter provided a comprehensive picture of Obama's grand strategy. Looking at Obama's foreign policy in Europe and the Middle East, on the one hand, while, on the other hand, dissecting his strategy towards China and the broader Asia-Pacific region, it was argued that Obama did have a consistent grand strategy: it was based on offshore balancing, which rejected military interventionism, and displayed a renewed geostrategic focus toward Asia-and above all China. It was the product of a reaction to a post-American geopolitical world order, the historical US open-door stance, and the president's operational code. As a new chapter begins, it is important to keep this picture in mind because Trump's grand strategy has been in strong continuity with Obama's grand strategy. Yet, even if there is a clear strategic continuity between the two, their ideological differences explain much of Trump's tactical change compared to his predecessor. From an American viewpoint, Obama's and Trump's long-term policy objectives with regard to the Middle East, Europe, NATO, Russia, and China were similar. However, Trump had a different approach to US policy in these areas. While also maintaining a posture of offshore balancing, Trump continued Obama's agenda in the Middle East and Europe, although in an idiosyncratic manner. Furthermore, the Trump Administration was even more explicit than Obama in making Asia and China a priority. Yet, Trump operationalized his grand
T20, G20 Policy Brief, 2021