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Wayne McLean

This is the website of Wayne McLean, PhD candidate, Program of Politics & International Relations, University of Tasmania

PhD Dissertation

My dissertation is about middle power behaviour and the relationship between certain states systemic positions, regional concerns and how those external pressures are expressed within their domestic polity. This is achieved via a neoclassical realist framework. This provides a rigid platform for exploring behaviour in states that have been poorly explained in the literature. This deficit has resulted in an excess of constructivist literature that fetishizes ideation and cultural factors as key variables in shaping state behaviour. I state the opposite. The claim is that external pressures drive middle power behaviour. Furthermore, ideas and culture are simply tools exploited by elites within middle powers to achieve strategies that ensure state security. To demonstrate this, I explore the cases of Turkey, Mexico and Australia, all of whom share this pivotal position between power and ideas.

Areas of Study

Main themes include: International Relations Theory, Securitisation, International Terrorism, Regional Security Complex Theory, Neoclassical realism, Central Asia, Turkey, Australia, Azerbaijan and Mexico.

Research

Teaching

Download Students notes from HSA106 - Semester 2, 2012

I have taught a number of units including the New Global Politics, Introduction to International Politics, Great Power Politics, and Violence, Order and Justice.

Semester 1, 2013 Teaching:

I can be contacted by email at w_mclean@utas.edu.au,phone at the School of Social Science, International Relations Program on 6226 2329, as well as Facebook

My CV is available as a PDF here

Events / Travel