James Addoms

I am an author and graduate student of International Relations and Public Administration in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

I'm interested in notions of sovereignty in International Relations. I'm particularly interested in an international system based on evolving conceptions of the self and religious influences on the individual and the state. Sovereignty as understood by international convention vs. the individual and the individual's state is also important in my attempts to analyze the “international community” from a first principles stance. I am also interested in the soft power of the executive generally, the reserve powers of (not necessarily hereditary) monarchy – or other overarching cultural-political institutions in the Westminster system specifically, with emphasis on the bi-lateral and competing models of the British Commonwealth / European Union and the United Nations and other regional/ethnic/religious agglomerations.

I'm also very intrigued by the potential dangers of 'epochism' or the arbitrary denigration of entire historical epochs. I have worked this theme into a novel, currently in production: epochnovel.com. 'Epoch' is an historical drama and technology thriller about the central place of mathematics across traditionally constructed historical ‘epochs’ and the ageless conflict between abstract mathematics and politics.

I am also a passionate advocate of removing rhetorical devices from public discourse. I have found time and time again that arguments with friends, family and colleagues proceeding from a misunderstanding of terms and generalized value statements almost always benefit from removing misleading language in favor of defining clear parameters and winnowing positions down to value statements. It is my goal to incorporate this passion for rhetorical clarity into a project that gets to the root of our ideological selves and lets us understand how personal ideologies play