Nicholas Ross SMITH
@nrsmith.bsky.social
International Relationist
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=lYqvvHgAAAAJ&hl=en
Philosophy
36%
Political science
28%
Pinned
Nicholas Ross SMITH
@nrsmith.bsky.social
· Aug 19
The Indo-Pacific as a macrosecuritized constellation: revising regional security Complex Theory for the age of the Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is increasingly talked about as being a region. However, the sheer geographical size of the Indo-Pacific, which on a maximalist definition stretches from the east coast of Africa t...
www.tandfonline.com
1/6 Paul Bacon and I have a new paper out in The Pacific Review.
We tackled a puzzle: how do you analyze something like the "Indo-Pacific" using Regional Security Complex Theory when it's way too big to be a normal region? 🧩
www.tandfonline.com/eprint/NYX5Q...
We tackled a puzzle: how do you analyze something like the "Indo-Pacific" using Regional Security Complex Theory when it's way too big to be a normal region? 🧩
www.tandfonline.com/eprint/NYX5Q...
Reposted by Nicholas Smith
🚨New online! Kelly and Doidge: "Aotearoa New Zealand, AUKUS, and the Anglosphere: navigating security identity amidst geostrategic change. Part of an upcoming special edn. on the "Anglosphere".
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... ⬇️
#AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky #InternationalRelations #AUKUS
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... ⬇️
#AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky #InternationalRelations #AUKUS
Reposted by Nicholas Smith
Chenchen Zhang 🤦🏻♀️
@chenchenzhang.net
· Aug 29
I'm thinking how Zhang Yimou's 2002 film Hero, visually stunning as it is, prefigured the later rise of tianxia-ism and civilizationism under Xi. His Beijing Olympics opening ceremony is another landmark production in Chinese civilizational discourse
Reposted by Nicholas Smith
Dependently Independent: Theorizing New Zealand's “Independent” Foreign Policy via a Neoclassical Realist Lens
Abstract. New Zealand's recent efforts to align more closely with the United States and Australia, including exploring the possibility of participating in
academic.oup.com
🚨New Article🚨
“Dependently Independent: Theorizing New Zealand's “Independent” Foreign Policy via a Neoclassical Realist Lens” by Nicholas Ross Smith
Read OPEN ACCESS here:
academic.oup.com/isagsq/artic...
“Dependently Independent: Theorizing New Zealand's “Independent” Foreign Policy via a Neoclassical Realist Lens” by Nicholas Ross Smith
Read OPEN ACCESS here:
academic.oup.com/isagsq/artic...
Nicholas Ross SMITH
@nrsmith.bsky.social
· Aug 20
The takeaway: NZ's foreign policy independence isn't exceptional - it's circumstantial. As regional geopolitics become more constrained, expect NZ to align more closely with traditional allies, regardless of which party is in power. (8/8)
Nicholas Ross SMITH
@nrsmith.bsky.social
· Aug 20
This challenges the idea that NZ is inherently an "independent power." Instead, NZ has been fortunate to reside in a geopolitically calm region for decades - a "blessing of distance" that's now shrinking as great power competition intensifies. (7/8)
Nicholas Ross SMITH
@nrsmith.bsky.social
· Aug 20
The theoretical insight: When regional geopolitics are "permissive," NZ can afford to be independent. When they become "restrictive" (like today's Indo-Pacific competition), systemic pressures override domestic preferences for independence. (6/8)
Nicholas Ross SMITH
@nrsmith.bsky.social
· Aug 20
Case 2: Today's AUKUS consideration.
The Sixth National Government is exploring joining AUKUS Pillar II - a major shift toward alignment with US/Australia. Why? Because the regional security environment has become much more restrictive. (5/8)
The Sixth National Government is exploring joining AUKUS Pillar II - a major shift toward alignment with US/Australia. Why? Because the regional security environment has become much more restrictive. (5/8)
Nicholas Ross SMITH
@nrsmith.bsky.social
· Aug 20
Case 1: The 1980s nuclear ban.
Yes, NZ stood up to the US - but this happened during a period of relative geopolitical calm in the Asia-Pacific. Cold War tensions had eased, China was opening up, and there were few external threats to NZ. (4/8)
Yes, NZ stood up to the US - but this happened during a period of relative geopolitical calm in the Asia-Pacific. Cold War tensions had eased, China was opening up, and there were few external threats to NZ. (4/8)
Nicholas Ross SMITH
@nrsmith.bsky.social
· Aug 20
Using a type II neoclassical realist framework, I argue that NZ's regional geopolitical setting is the PRIMARY driver of its foreign policy - not its "independent" role identity.
The independence is real, but it's dependent on having geopolitical room to maneuver. (3/8)
The independence is real, but it's dependent on having geopolitical room to maneuver. (3/8)
Nicholas Ross SMITH
@nrsmith.bsky.social
· Aug 20
The common narrative: NZ has maintained an independent foreign policy since the 1980s, standing up to superpowers when needed (like banning nuclear ships despite US pressure).
But this misses the bigger picture about what drives NZ's foreign policy choices. (2/8)
But this misses the bigger picture about what drives NZ's foreign policy choices. (2/8)
Nicholas Ross SMITH
@nrsmith.bsky.social
· Aug 20
Dependently Independent: Theorizing New Zealand's “Independent” Foreign Policy via a Neoclassical Realist Lens
Abstract. New Zealand's recent efforts to align more closely with the United States and Australia, including exploring the possibility of participating in
academic.oup.com
🧵
I have a new paper out in @gsqjournal.bsky.social: "Dependently Independent: Theorizing New Zealand's 'Independent' Foreign Policy via a Neoclassical Realist Lens"
academic.oup.com/isagsq/artic...
TL;DR: NZ's "independent" foreign policy depends heavily on regional geopolitics. (1/8)
I have a new paper out in @gsqjournal.bsky.social: "Dependently Independent: Theorizing New Zealand's 'Independent' Foreign Policy via a Neoclassical Realist Lens"
academic.oup.com/isagsq/artic...
TL;DR: NZ's "independent" foreign policy depends heavily on regional geopolitics. (1/8)
Nicholas Ross SMITH
@nrsmith.bsky.social
· Aug 19
6/6 Main contribution: showing how RSCT can handle mega-concepts like Indo-Pacific without losing its regional focus. Macrosecuritization bridges the gap between local and global security dynamics! 🌉
Nicholas Ross SMITH
@nrsmith.bsky.social
· Aug 19
5/6 The framework helps explain why some states (New Zealand) got pulled in, others (China) actively resist, and still others (ASEAN, Pacific Islands) try alternative framings. Different responses to the same macrosecuritization 🔄
Nicholas Ross SMITH
@nrsmith.bsky.social
· Aug 19
4/6 This produces what we call a "macrosecuritized constellation" - not erasing existing regional dynamics, but overlaying them with higher-order security competition. Think Cold War but more complex 🌟
Nicholas Ross SMITH
@nrsmith.bsky.social
· Aug 19
3/6 We argue the Indo-Pacific represents macrosecuritization in action: a coordinated effort by major powers to securitize China as an existential threat to international order, creating pressure on other states to choose sides 📡
Nicholas Ross SMITH
@nrsmith.bsky.social
· Aug 19
2/6 Our solution: dust off Buzan & Wæver's concept of "macrosecuritization" - securitization that happens above the regional level, targeting foreign policy elites in other countries rather than just domestic publics 🎭