Global Affairs

 

Modern international politics is shaped by dense networks of economic exchange, environmental risk, and security interdependence. Treating states as autonomous actors pursuing narrow self-interest obscures the real sources of both conflict and cooperation. I analyze how recognizing interdependence changes our understanding of sovereignty, security, and responsibility.

 

Radical Interdependence emphasizes that all things, beings, and phenomena are deeply connected, lacking independent existence (emptiness or sunyata), and rely on conditions for their arising, offering an alternative to Western models by fostering compassion, shared responsibility, and ethical statecraft beyond self-interest. 

Reviews

“A Buddhist Approach to International Relations: Radical Interdependence, is a seminal work that explores the question of how Buddhist ideas can genuinely become the basis for an alternative discourse in IR. … Long’s book, which is a worthwhile and novel contribution to the theoretical literature on international relations.” (Punsara Amarasinghe, Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, October 4, 2023)

“Long’s work is a seminal contribution considering Buddhism as the source of alternative discourse in International Relations. … Long’s book is a great contribution to the theoretical literature in international relations.” (Punsara Amarasinghe, Religious Studies Review, Vol. 49 (1), March, 2023)