Papers by Nicolas Lewkowicz
German History, 2009
This account of poor relief, charity, and social welfare in Germany from the Reformation through ... more This account of poor relief, charity, and social welfare in Germany from the Reformation through World War I integrates historical narrative and the theoretical analysis of such issues as social discipline, governmentality, gender, religion, and state formation. It analyzes the changing cultural frameworks through which the poor came to be considered as needy; the institutions, strategies, and practices devised to assist, integrate, and discipline these populations; and the political alchemy through which the middle classes attempted to reconcile the needs of the individual with those of the community. While the Bismarckian social insurance programs have long been regarded as the origin of the German welfare state, this book shows how preventive social welfare programs-the second pillar of the welfare state-evolved out of traditional poor relief, and it emphasizes the role of Progressive reformers and local, voluntary initiative in this process and the impact of competing reform discourses on both the social domain and the public sphere.
Journal of Cold War Studies, 2012
Vladislav Zubok's new book is an impressive account of Soviet cultural politics from the death of... more Vladislav Zubok's new book is an impressive account of Soviet cultural politics from the death of Iosif Stalin in 1953 to the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991. Zubok, who was born in Moscow in the mid-1950s, grew up witnessing most of the events he describes here. His book helps the reader sense how small the psychic space was between the Soviet rulers and the intellectuals they sought to control. At the same time, his reverence for the Russian intelligentsia and the tradition these intellectuals embodied leads him both to romanticize them and to judge them too harshly. The "Zhivago's Children" of his title were born in the 1930s and 1940s. After World War II, they entered universities, where they encountered war veterans born in the 1920s and formed what Zubok calls an "extended historical generation" (p. 21). They were fervent believers in the Bolshevik Revolution, proud of their country's victory in World War II, and ªlled with hope for the future. They shared in Boris Pasternak's struggle for intellectual and artistic emancipation, a struggle embodied by the hero of his novel, Doctor Zhivago, and they viewed themselves as descendants of the cultural and moral tradition Pasternak represented. Stalin's death and Nikita Khrushchev's "secret speech" in 1956 shattered the faith of this generation (a generation known as the shestidesyatniki) by revealing some of Stalin's crimes and his betrayal of the supposed ideals of the Bolshevik Revolution. All over Moscow, all over the country, students, intellectuals, and others engaged in painful discussions of the revelations and demanded greater freedom to examine how these crimes had come about. Like the poet Evgenii Evtushenko, and like Khrushchev himself, most of the Zhivago generation dealt with their vexation by remaining loyal to the revolution and hoping to restore Soviet Communism to what they saw as its early ideals. Faced with a torrent of public questioning, the regime at ªrst seemed in doubt about what to do. Then, in October 1956, protests in Budapest by students and intellectuals helped to spark an uprising. The Soviet government fell back on its old reºexes and sent in troops to put down the Hungarian revolution. In Moscow, too, intellectuals quickly felt the effects. Confronted by evidence that intellectual ferment could "spark a conºagration," Khrushchev and the Committee on State Security (KGB) cracked down (p. 80). Students were expelled from universities and arrested,
Civilizing the Enemy: German Reconstruction and the Invention of the West
German History, 2009
Cultural and Social History, 2010
German Politics, 2012
Palgrave Macmillan's new book series Global Conflict and Security since 1945 seeks fresh historic... more Palgrave Macmillan's new book series Global Conflict and Security since 1945 seeks fresh historical perspectives to promote the empirical understanding of global conflict and security issues arising from international law, leadership, politics, multilateral operations, weapons systems and technology, intelligence, civilmilitary relations and societies. The series welcomes original and innovative approaches to the subject by new and established scholars. Possible topics include terrorism, nationalism, civil wars, the Cold War, military and humanitarian interventions, nation-building, pre-emptive attacks, the role of the United Nations and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and the national security and defence policies of major states. Events in the world since September 11th 2001 remind us that differences of ideology, religion, and values and beliefs held by a group of societies or people affect the security of ordinary peoples and different societies, often without warning. The series is designed to deepen our understanding of the recent past and seeks to make a significant contribution to the debates on conflict and security in the major world capitals.
Rivista di Studi Politici Internazionali, 2019
Rivista di Studi Politici Internazionali, 2020
Academia Letters, 2022
During the initial period of the Cold War, the interaction between the United States and the Sovi... more During the initial period of the Cold War, the interaction between the United States and the Soviet Union led to the demarcation of geostrategic spaces that would enable them to fulfil their most vital interests. The geopolitical dimension explains why the divergence of interests between the superpowers did not result in overt military conflict. The United States and the Soviet Union were not motivated by the same interests. This state of affairs facilitated the formation of a bipolar international order based on the principle of coexistence. The geopolitical dimension also explains the overriding importance of political expediency in the foreign policy instruments set in motion by the superpowers. The geopolitical dimension of the Cold War is therefore capable of transcending the narrow interpretative approach based on the dichotomy between the "orthodox" and "revisionist" positions, which assign the blame to either the Soviet Union or the United States for the origins of the Cold War. The "orthodox" position was rooted in the idea that the United States was compelled to deal with Soviet expansionism, which entailed a complete abandonment of an isolationist stance (Bailey, 1945; Bailey, 1950). Conversely, "revisionist" scholars argue that there is a tendency to overlook the traditionally imperialistic attitude of the United States when it comes to assessing the factors that led to the onset of the Cold War (Williams, 2009/1959). The geopolitical perspective suggests that the strategic plans put in place by the foreign policy apparatus of both superpowers did not operate according to the idea of dominating those geostrategic spaces that did not serve to satisfy their peremptory political needs. This is the reason why neither the United States nor the Soviet Union exceeded the hegemonic limits imposed by the spheres of influence demarcated by the bipolar order configured after 1945.
Estudios Humanísticos. Historia, 2007
El artículo presenta la tradición escolástica española de la obra de Francisco de Vitoria como pr... more El artículo presenta la tradición escolástica española de la obra de Francisco de Vitoria como precursora de la Escuela Inglesa de Relaciones Internacionales, situando la discusión de los conceptos de "guerra justa", la legitimidad de la conquista de las Indias y la subyugación de sus habitantes en el contexto histórico del sistema político internacional naciente
Rivista Di Studi Politici Internazionali, 2010
As I write this essay, spring 2010, the British Conservative Party has secured the election of Da... more As I write this essay, spring 2010, the British Conservative Party has secured the election of David Cameron as Prime Minister, albeit in a coalition with the centre-left Liberal Democratic Party. The Conservatives, since the election of David Cameron as party leader in 2005, made a huge effort to 'decontaminate' the Tory brand and make it palatable to an increasingly diverse and pluralistic British electorate. Cameron's victory nonetheless represents much more than a successful exercise in public relations. It is indeed the latest corollary to a pervasive phenomenon which has slowly crept into the mainstream political consciousness: the silent but solid entrenchment of a softer looking conservatism, operating outside the circle of tribal politics and encapsulating the hopes and, in particular, the fears of the electorate. The demise of the Cold War, which evolved gradually since the early 1970s, brought with it a significant intellectual, moral and socioeconomic transformation of the international order. This transformation entailed the end of the political and economic symbiosis between the liberal capitalist democracies and communism, originating in the Great Depression and consolidated after the end of World War Two. The riddance of this symbiosis gave rise to a gradual entrenchment of conservative democracy, understood as the unwitting rejection of the remnants of the social democratic consensus by large segments of the population which, paradoxically, still benefit from it. Establishment of the symbiosis The two postwar decades saw a 'golden age' in economic terms which encouraged the average individual to focus, like never before in human history, on the acquisition of material items and the maximisation of financial prosperity. In Britain, as in much of Western Europe, World War Two had created a 'conscription of wealth', a societal levelling and the onset of a collectivist consensus. These developments were accelerated by the wartime interaction between liberal democracy and the socialist credo and the impending threat of a nuclear exchange between the two ideological blocs in the postwar era. In Western Europe, the welfare State created citizens out of subjects, economically enfranchised through access to housing, education and healthcare as well as jobs 383
Rivista Di Studi Politici Internazionali, 2012
Rivista Di Studi Politici Internazionali, Nov 7, 2008
The German question and the transformation of international society * NICOLAS LEWKOWICZ THE 'ENGL... more The German question and the transformation of international society * NICOLAS LEWKOWICZ THE 'ENGLISH SCHOOL'S' CONCEPT OF 'INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY' AND THE GERMAN QUESTION The treatment of the German question during the 1943-8 period was the most relevant factor in the transformation of international society. This paper analyses this transformation from the perspective of the 'English school' of international relations. The 'English school' of international relations maintains that there is a 'society of States' at the international level, despite the condition of 'anarchy'. This international society can be detected, it is argued, in the ideas that animate the key institutions that regulate international relations: war, the great powers, diplomacy, the balance of power, and international law, especially in the mutual recognition of sovereignty by states. Much of the 'English school' scholarship concerns itself with the examination of traditional international theory, casting it, as Martin Wight did in the 1950s, into three divisions, realist or hobbesian, rationalist or grotian and revolutionist or kantian. The 'English school' endorses an overall pluralist view of international society. Bull maintains that a society of states comes into being «when a group of States, conscious of certain common interests and common values, form a society […] to be bound by a common set of rules in their relations with one another, and share in the working of common institutions». 1. In line with this view, James posits that international society is «a body of rules which define 'proper behaviour' for its members and a channel of diplomatic communication between them». 2. Bellamy adds to the debate by stating that the 'English school' addresses the question of what represents 'international soci
Books by Nicolas Lewkowicz
The United States, the Soviet Union and the geopolitical implications of the origins of the Cold War, Anthem Press, New York, 2018
The United States, the Soviet Union and the geopolitical implications of the origins of the Cold War, Anthem Press, New York, 2018, 2018
‘The United States, the Soviet Union and the Geopolitical Implications of the Origins of the Cold... more ‘The United States, the Soviet Union and the Geopolitical Implications of the Origins of the Cold War, 1945–1949’ postulates that the geopolitical interests and needs of the superpowers led to the configuration of the post-war international order. Taking a long-term approach to the evolution of the system of states, it describes how the United States and the Soviet Union deployed their hard and soft power resources to create the basis for the institutionalization of the international order in the aftermath of World War Two. The main idea advanced by this book is that the origins of the Cold War should not be seen from the perspective of a magnified spectrum of conflict but should be regarded as a process by which the superpowers attempted to forge a normative framework capable of sustaining their geopolitical needs and interests in the post-war scenario. This book examines how the use of ideology and the instrument of political intervention in the spheres of influence managed by the superpowers was conducive to the establishment of a stable international order. ‘The United States, the Soviet Union and the Geopolitical Implications of the Origins of the Cold War, 1945–1949’ postulates that the element of conflict present in the early period of the Cold War served to demarcate the scope of manoeuvring available to each of the superpowers. This state of affairs denotes the existence of diverging geopolitical interests, acknowledged through the presence of well-demarcated spheres of influence. The book examines the notion that the United States and the Soviet Union were primarily interested in establishing the conditions for accomplishing their vital geostrategic interests, which required the implementation of social norms imposed in the respective spheres of influence, a factor that provided certainty to the spectrum of interstate relations after the period of turmoil that culminated in the outbreak of World War Two. Drawing on the example of the friction that affected Soviet-American relations at the end of World War Two, this book examines the circumstances that give rise to the construction of sound international orders and the functional values that sustain their existence. ‘The United States, the Soviet Union and the Geopolitical Implications of the Origins of the Cold War, 1945–1949’ starts by examining the manner in which great power management has served as an instrument of the process of re-institutionalization, with special emphasis on the geopolitical elements that underpinned the intervention of the superpowers in their spheres of influence and how this state of affairs impacted on the stability of the system of states that emerged after World War Two ended. The book also examines the implications of the process of de-institutionalization that took place in the system of states since the emergence of a unified Germany and how it led to the disruption of interstate relations in the European political order. The settlement of the German Question provided the wartime allies with an opportunity to deal with the problems that stemmed from the process of de-institutionalization of the international order that the United States facilitated through the enforcement of its vital geopolitical interests in Western Europe. Emphasizing the central role of ideology in the deployment of American geopolitical power in the aftermath of World War Two the book examines the way in which the Soviet Union contributed to institutionalizing the international order by establishing the parameters of intervention that would regulate interstate relations. There will also be an emphasis on the role of ideology in the formulation of the Soviet foreign policy in the post-war era. The book also examines the special geopolitical culture of Russia and the concept of Eurasianism as the reasons behind the establishment of the spheres of influence system that operated during the Cold War.
The German Question and the International Order, 1943–48
Palgrave MacMillan, 2010
An analysis of the German Question's influence on the origins of the Cold War, arguing that the l... more An analysis of the German Question's influence on the origins of the Cold War, arguing that the legal and diplomatic intercourse between the Allies regarding the treatment of the German Question brought forward the elements of intervention and coexistence which formed the basis for a relatively peaceful postwar international order.
Auge y ocaso de la era liberal: Una pequeña historia del siglo XXI
Auge y ocaso de la era liberal: una pequeña historia del siglo XXI retrata la evolución del siste... more Auge y ocaso de la era liberal: una pequeña historia del siglo XXI retrata la evolución del sistema político internacional desde el fin de la Guerra Fría hasta la llegada al poder de Donald Trump. El libro es una crónica de los sucesos geopolíticos que marcaron la "era liberal", la cual llega a su fin a mediados de la década pasada debido al resquebrajamiento del contrato social prevalente en los países occidentales, además del avance de China como potencia revisionista y la influencia negativa de la tecnología en el sistema democrático imperante en Europa y América del Norte.
Esta obra sugiere que el incipiente autoritarismo devenido del ocaso de la era liberal debería ser contrarrestado mediante un nuevo alineamiento entre las necesidades materiales y espirituales del individuo y una visión proactiva de la historia, tendiente a crear un espacio ontológico entre la tecnología y el concepto de humanidad.
Esta obra sugiere que el incipiente autoritarismo devenido del ocaso de la era liberal debería ser contrarrestado mediante un nuevo alineamiento entre las necesidades materiales y espirituales del individuo y una visión proactiva de la historia, tendiente a crear un espacio ontológico entre la tecnología y el concepto de humanidad.
Scholars Press, 2018
This book argues that American Exceptionalism and Eurasianism engendered the ideological principl... more This book argues that American Exceptionalism and Eurasianism engendered the ideological principles that propelled the geostrategic interests of the United States and the Soviet Union in the post-World War Two period. The correlation between ideology and the pursuit of certain geostrategic aims led to the creation of the interventionist mechanisms that established a sound management of the international order in the post-World War Two era.
Scholars Press, 2018
This book analyses the role of the German Question in the origins of the Cold War. The work evalu... more This book analyses the role of the German Question in the origins of the Cold War. The work evaluates the transformation which occurred in Germany and the post-war international order due to the inter-Allied work on denazification. The author analyses the Rationalist aspects of superpower interaction, with particular emphasis on the legal and diplomatic framework which sustained not only the treatment of the German Question but also the general context of inter-Allied relations. The author also tackles the conflictual aspects of the treatment of the German Question by examining superpower interaction in relation to the enforcement of their structural interests. The main argument of the book is that due to the interaction between the elements of intervention and coexistence, the German Question constituted the most significant issue in the configuration of the post-war international order.