Robert Ayson
Biographic Data
| ID | 3519953 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Robert Ayson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Robert |
| FAMILY NAME | Ayson |
| SIGNATURE | AYSON R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Victoria University of Wellington |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2587-1593 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 27 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 33 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 27 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2000 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
New Zealand’s alliance obligations in a China-Australia war
Amidst concerns that Australia may end up in a military confrontation with China, this article evaluates New Zealand’s formal and informal alliance obligations in such an event. In keeping with Wellington’s current declaratory policy, New Zealand’s obligations would be most pressing if the attack occurred on or near Australia, although these would be less clear if China favoured coercion over violence. New Zealand is also likely to have strong al…
New Zealand and the great irresponsibles
New Zealand's willingness to call out irresponsible great power behaviour is a major test for Jacinda Ardern’s promise that her government will stand up for its values internationally. In fact, New Zealand has been weaker on Russia’s irresponsibility in the Ardern era than it was under the National Party-led governments of John Key and Bill English. The situation is reversed, however, for New Zealand's response to irresponsible international beha…
Strategic Theory as an Intellectual System
Strategy constitutes an ‘intellectual system’, where actions and expectations are interrelated. Ideas and actions have meaning and effect in a wider context in which other related parts need to be taken into consideration. Following Freedman, the importance of the social settings must be emphasized to illuminate how deterrence works and what it means. Strategy is about human choices, in given situations, rather than about fate and predestination.…
The coercive power of shared values
While values often evoke noble aims, groups of countries sometimes use statements about the values they share to coerce others. Allies coordinate around their shared values talk to apply reputational pressure on adversaries. Examples include attempts by the United States and its liberal democratic allies in Asia to coerce China and by EU and NATO members to coerce Russia. Shared values talk can also be used to discipline wayward allies who are su…
Asia's Diplomacy of Violence
Military coercion has already changed the Asia-Pacific region
Contemporary military strategy and the global war on terror
Contemporary military strategy and the global war on terror: US and UK armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq 2001–2012, edited by Alistair Finlan." Political Science, 69(1), pp. 87–88
Missile Strategy in a Post-Nuclear Age
While the arrival of nuclear weapons coincided roughly with the development of short, medium, intermediate, and eventually intercontinental missiles, the contribution of missile technology to the deterrence equation is often lost. If nuclear weapons were eliminated, even new generation missiles with conventional payloads could struggle to render effective deterrence. But some of the physical and psychological effects commonly ascribed to nuclear …
Formalizing Informal Cooperation?
Can a Sino-Japanese War Be Controlled
In a crisis, a limited exchange of fire could escalate into a wider conflict. We have no precedent to suggest how dangerous it might become
Arms control in Asia
Even if the international mood in favour of steep US and Russian nuclear cuts was to last, it is unlikely to spread to Asia, where nuclear arsenals remain comparatively modest and where regional allies rely on Washington for extended deterrence. This does not render nuclear arms control irrelevant in Asia, where there is a modest but significant tradition based on informal and unilateral restraint rather than formal agreement. But as more of Asia…
Hedley Bull and the Accommodation of Power
Offering a comprehensive account of the work of Hedley Bull, Ayson analyses the breadth of Bull's work as a Foreign Office official for Harold Wilson's government, the complexity of his views, includi
The complex stability of political equilibria
Stability in international and domestic politics may not depend on the existence of a unique equilibrium around which patterns of political behaviour can be coordinated. Instead, a complex stability may operate, based on a pattern of multiple simultaneous equilibria. This article explains how types of government, their foreign policy stances, the distribution of power between states, and international institutions can be regarded as four types of…
Choosing Ahead of Time? Australia, New Zealand and the US-China Contest in Asia
Contemporary Southeast Asia (CSEA) is one of the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute"s flagship publications. Now in its fourth decade of publication, CSEA has succeeded in building up an international reputation as one of Southeast Asia"s premier academic journals. The aim of the peer reviewed journal is to provide subscribers with up to date and in-depth analysis of critical trends and developments in Southeast Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific region.…
An Introduction to International Relations
Invaluable to students and those approaching the subject for the first time, An Introduction to International Relations, Second Edition provides a comprehensive and stimulating introduction to international relations, its traditions and its changing nature in an era of globalisation. Thoroughly revised and updated, it features chapters written by a range of experts from around the world. It presents a global perspective on the theories, history, …
An Australasian school of strategic studies? Hedley Bull and changing international and regional systems
To the extent that there is a distinctively Australasian school of strategic studies it is to be found in the work of Hedley Bull, a scholar who is more widely noted for his work as an international relations theorist. Bull's lesser known but influential contributions to strategic studies dealt with the management of nuclear weapons in international strategic relationships and the management of great power relations in the Asia-Pacific region. Hi…
After a Terrorist Nuclear Attack
It is just possible that a terrorist nuclear attack could catalyze an inter-state nuclear war. The likelihood of a terrorist group gaining access to nuclear weapons is lower than some fear, and terrorists might not use a nuclear weapon as soon as they had acquired one. But if a terrorist group was to explode a nuclear device in a country that was itself armed with nuclear weapons, and especially if that country was in a conflict-prone relationshi…
Carrying China's Torch
Additional informationNotes on contributorsRobert Ayson Robert Ayson and Brendan Taylor are scholars with the Australian National University's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. Brendan Taylor Robert Ayson and Brendan Taylor are scholars with the Australian National University's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre
The ‘arc of instability’ and Australia's strategic policy
The proposition that Australia faces an ‘arc of instability’ to its north has been an important feature of the Australian strategic debate in the early twenty-first century. Prompted by worries in the late 1990s over Indonesia's future and East Timor's uncertain path to independence, the ‘arc’ metaphor also encapsulated growing Australian concerns about the political cohesiveness of Melanesian polities, including Papua New Guinea and Solomon Isla…
Regional Stability in the Asia-Pacific
This article evaluates regional stability as a concept for Asia-Pacific security analysis. Stability can be viewed as a system's tendency towards equilibrium, including its ability to find a new equilibrium in changing conditions. This approach is reflected in five types of Asia-Pacific stability - the avoidance of major war, the stability of the distribution of power, the stability of institutions and norms, political stability within countries,…
Selective non-proliferation or universal regimes?1
Attacking North Korea
An air of complacency surrounds the continuing nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula. Many analysts assert that the chances of a second Korean War erupting are small, barring a serious act of miscalculation or misadventure on the part of Pyongyang. This paper confirms that there is indeed a range of important reasons why the United States would not wish to initiate hostilities on the peninsula in the short to medium term. However it also finds t…
An Introduction to International Relations
Introduction to International Relations: Australian Perspectives provides comprehensive coverage of its subject while capturing distinctively Australian perspectives and concerns. Designed for undergraduate students this textbook brings together leading Australian scholars to present lively introductory analyses of the theories, actors, issues, institutions and processes that animate international relations today. Introduction to International Re…
Bargaining with nuclear weapons
This article identifies a consistent approach to stability across a wide range of conflict situations at the heart of Thomas Schelling's strategic theory. It finds that there are two main aspects of this 'general' concept of stability. The first is the ability to strike a bargain at a mutually acceptable resting place as seen in the Korean War stalemate. The second is the ability to maintain a strategic bargain over the long term as in the stabil…
New Zealand and Asia‐Pacific Security
Throughout the 1990s, New Zealand maintained a commitment to Asia-Pacific security as one of the three pillars of a broadly based defence policy. However, Wellington tended to define its regional security goals in very general terms, making few obvious steps towards the formal publication of a regional security strategy. This article provides an explanation for this somewhat indirect approach to regional security. It also explores New Zealand's f…
New Zealand and Asia‐Pacific Security
The ‘arc of instability’ and Australia's strategic policy
The proposition that Australia faces an ‘arc of instability’ to its north has been an important feature of the Australian strategic debate in the early twenty-first century. Prompted by worries in the late 1990s over Indonesia's future and East Timor's uncertain path to independence, the ‘arc’ metaphor also encapsulated growing Australian concerns about the political cohesiveness of Melanesian polities, including Papua New Guinea and Solomon Isla…
Choosing Ahead of Time? Australia, New Zealand and the US-China Contest in Asia
Contemporary Southeast Asia (CSEA) is one of the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute"s flagship publications. Now in its fourth decade of publication, CSEA has succeeded in building up an international reputation as one of Southeast Asia"s premier academic journals. The aim of the peer reviewed journal is to provide subscribers with up to date and in-depth analysis of critical trends and developments in Southeast Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific region.…
After a Terrorist Nuclear Attack
It is just possible that a terrorist nuclear attack could catalyze an inter-state nuclear war. The likelihood of a terrorist group gaining access to nuclear weapons is lower than some fear, and terrorists might not use a nuclear weapon as soon as they had acquired one. But if a terrorist group was to explode a nuclear device in a country that was itself armed with nuclear weapons, and especially if that country was in a conflict-prone relationshi…
Regional Stability in the Asia-Pacific
This article evaluates regional stability as a concept for Asia-Pacific security analysis. Stability can be viewed as a system's tendency towards equilibrium, including its ability to find a new equilibrium in changing conditions. This approach is reflected in five types of Asia-Pacific stability - the avoidance of major war, the stability of the distribution of power, the stability of institutions and norms, political stability within countries,…
New Zealand and the great irresponsibles
New Zealand's willingness to call out irresponsible great power behaviour is a major test for Jacinda Ardern’s promise that her government will stand up for its values internationally. In fact, New Zealand has been weaker on Russia’s irresponsibility in the Ardern era than it was under the National Party-led governments of John Key and Bill English. The situation is reversed, however, for New Zealand's response to irresponsible international beha…
New Zealand’s alliance obligations in a China-Australia war
Amidst concerns that Australia may end up in a military confrontation with China, this article evaluates New Zealand’s formal and informal alliance obligations in such an event. In keeping with Wellington’s current declaratory policy, New Zealand’s obligations would be most pressing if the attack occurred on or near Australia, although these would be less clear if China favoured coercion over violence. New Zealand is also likely to have strong al…
The coercive power of shared values
While values often evoke noble aims, groups of countries sometimes use statements about the values they share to coerce others. Allies coordinate around their shared values talk to apply reputational pressure on adversaries. Examples include attempts by the United States and its liberal democratic allies in Asia to coerce China and by EU and NATO members to coerce Russia. Shared values talk can also be used to discipline wayward allies who are su…
Asia's Diplomacy of Violence
Military coercion has already changed the Asia-Pacific region
Missile Strategy in a Post-Nuclear Age
While the arrival of nuclear weapons coincided roughly with the development of short, medium, intermediate, and eventually intercontinental missiles, the contribution of missile technology to the deterrence equation is often lost. If nuclear weapons were eliminated, even new generation missiles with conventional payloads could struggle to render effective deterrence. But some of the physical and psychological effects commonly ascribed to nuclear …
Selective non-proliferation or universal regimes?1
Attacking North Korea
An air of complacency surrounds the continuing nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula. Many analysts assert that the chances of a second Korean War erupting are small, barring a serious act of miscalculation or misadventure on the part of Pyongyang. This paper confirms that there is indeed a range of important reasons why the United States would not wish to initiate hostilities on the peninsula in the short to medium term. However it also finds t…
Bargaining with nuclear weapons
This article identifies a consistent approach to stability across a wide range of conflict situations at the heart of Thomas Schelling's strategic theory. It finds that there are two main aspects of this 'general' concept of stability. The first is the ability to strike a bargain at a mutually acceptable resting place as seen in the Korean War stalemate. The second is the ability to maintain a strategic bargain over the long term as in the stabil…
New Zealand and Asia‐Pacific Security
Throughout the 1990s, New Zealand maintained a commitment to Asia-Pacific security as one of the three pillars of a broadly based defence policy. However, Wellington tended to define its regional security goals in very general terms, making few obvious steps towards the formal publication of a regional security strategy. This article provides an explanation for this somewhat indirect approach to regional security. It also explores New Zealand's f…
New Zealand and Asia‐Pacific Security
Towards a Nuclear Weapons Free World? New Zealand and the Quest for Global Nuclear Disarmament
Towards a Nuclear Weapons Free World
NEW ZEALAND'S VOCAL SUPPORT for global nuclear disarmament predates the end of the cold war by several years. During the 1980s, for example, anti-nuclear sentiment played a prominent role both in New Zealand's domestic politics and in shaping the country's foreign and defence policies. More recently, New Zealand has been an enthusiastic member of the New Agenda Coalition, a small group of member states of the United Nations dedicated to raising t…
An Introduction to International Relations
Introduction to International Relations: Australian Perspectives provides comprehensive coverage of its subject while capturing distinctively Australian perspectives and concerns. Designed for undergraduate students this textbook brings together leading Australian scholars to present lively introductory analyses of the theories, actors, issues, institutions and processes that animate international relations today. Introduction to International Re…
Attacking North Korea
An air of complacency surrounds the continuing nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula. Many analysts assert that the chances of a second Korean War erupting are small, barring a serious act of miscalculation or misadventure on the part of Pyongyang. This paper confirms that there is indeed a range of important reasons why the United States would not wish to initiate hostilities on the peninsula in the short to medium term. However it also finds t…
Regional Stability in the Asia-Pacific
This article evaluates regional stability as a concept for Asia-Pacific security analysis. Stability can be viewed as a system's tendency towards equilibrium, including its ability to find a new equilibrium in changing conditions. This approach is reflected in five types of Asia-Pacific stability - the avoidance of major war, the stability of the distribution of power, the stability of institutions and norms, political stability within countries,…
Selective non-proliferation or universal regimes?1
The ‘arc of instability’ and Australia's strategic policy
The proposition that Australia faces an ‘arc of instability’ to its north has been an important feature of the Australian strategic debate in the early twenty-first century. Prompted by worries in the late 1990s over Indonesia's future and East Timor's uncertain path to independence, the ‘arc’ metaphor also encapsulated growing Australian concerns about the political cohesiveness of Melanesian polities, including Papua New Guinea and Solomon Isla…
Carrying China's Torch
Additional informationNotes on contributorsRobert Ayson Robert Ayson and Brendan Taylor are scholars with the Australian National University's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. Brendan Taylor Robert Ayson and Brendan Taylor are scholars with the Australian National University's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre
After a Terrorist Nuclear Attack
It is just possible that a terrorist nuclear attack could catalyze an inter-state nuclear war. The likelihood of a terrorist group gaining access to nuclear weapons is lower than some fear, and terrorists might not use a nuclear weapon as soon as they had acquired one. But if a terrorist group was to explode a nuclear device in a country that was itself armed with nuclear weapons, and especially if that country was in a conflict-prone relationshi…
An Introduction to International Relations
Invaluable to students and those approaching the subject for the first time, An Introduction to International Relations, Second Edition provides a comprehensive and stimulating introduction to international relations, its traditions and its changing nature in an era of globalisation. Thoroughly revised and updated, it features chapters written by a range of experts from around the world. It presents a global perspective on the theories, history, …
An Australasian school of strategic studies? Hedley Bull and changing international and regional systems
To the extent that there is a distinctively Australasian school of strategic studies it is to be found in the work of Hedley Bull, a scholar who is more widely noted for his work as an international relations theorist. Bull's lesser known but influential contributions to strategic studies dealt with the management of nuclear weapons in international strategic relationships and the management of great power relations in the Asia-Pacific region. Hi…
Hedley Bull and the Accommodation of Power
Offering a comprehensive account of the work of Hedley Bull, Ayson analyses the breadth of Bull's work as a Foreign Office official for Harold Wilson's government, the complexity of his views, includi
The complex stability of political equilibria
Stability in international and domestic politics may not depend on the existence of a unique equilibrium around which patterns of political behaviour can be coordinated. Instead, a complex stability may operate, based on a pattern of multiple simultaneous equilibria. This article explains how types of government, their foreign policy stances, the distribution of power between states, and international institutions can be regarded as four types of…
Choosing Ahead of Time? Australia, New Zealand and the US-China Contest in Asia
Contemporary Southeast Asia (CSEA) is one of the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute"s flagship publications. Now in its fourth decade of publication, CSEA has succeeded in building up an international reputation as one of Southeast Asia"s premier academic journals. The aim of the peer reviewed journal is to provide subscribers with up to date and in-depth analysis of critical trends and developments in Southeast Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific region.…
Arms control in Asia
Even if the international mood in favour of steep US and Russian nuclear cuts was to last, it is unlikely to spread to Asia, where nuclear arsenals remain comparatively modest and where regional allies rely on Washington for extended deterrence. This does not render nuclear arms control irrelevant in Asia, where there is a modest but significant tradition based on informal and unilateral restraint rather than formal agreement. But as more of Asia…
Formalizing Informal Cooperation?
Can a Sino-Japanese War Be Controlled
In a crisis, a limited exchange of fire could escalate into a wider conflict. We have no precedent to suggest how dangerous it might become
Missile Strategy in a Post-Nuclear Age
While the arrival of nuclear weapons coincided roughly with the development of short, medium, intermediate, and eventually intercontinental missiles, the contribution of missile technology to the deterrence equation is often lost. If nuclear weapons were eliminated, even new generation missiles with conventional payloads could struggle to render effective deterrence. But some of the physical and psychological effects commonly ascribed to nuclear …
Asia's Diplomacy of Violence
Military coercion has already changed the Asia-Pacific region
Contemporary military strategy and the global war on terror
Contemporary military strategy and the global war on terror: US and UK armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq 2001–2012, edited by Alistair Finlan." Political Science, 69(1), pp. 87–88
Strategic Theory as an Intellectual System
Strategy constitutes an ‘intellectual system’, where actions and expectations are interrelated. Ideas and actions have meaning and effect in a wider context in which other related parts need to be taken into consideration. Following Freedman, the importance of the social settings must be emphasized to illuminate how deterrence works and what it means. Strategy is about human choices, in given situations, rather than about fate and predestination.…
The coercive power of shared values
While values often evoke noble aims, groups of countries sometimes use statements about the values they share to coerce others. Allies coordinate around their shared values talk to apply reputational pressure on adversaries. Examples include attempts by the United States and its liberal democratic allies in Asia to coerce China and by EU and NATO members to coerce Russia. Shared values talk can also be used to discipline wayward allies who are su…
Political science (24 works) · Law (20 works) · Law (19 works) · International Relations and Foreign Policy (13 works) · Economics (12 works) · Political economy (10 works) · Sociology (10 works) · China (8 works) · Computer Science (8 works) · Politics (8 works)