Trust-building in International Relations - Nicholas J. Wheeler

by Nicholas J. Wheeler The challenge of building trust between states that have a history of conflict and acrimony has attracted the attention of scholars in the field of International Relations for several decades. While several models have been offered, constant changes in the international environment reveal their gaps. In this paper, the author explores the challenges that states face in the process of building trusting relationships, given the complexity nuclearization proffers. It presents a critique of the existing models and some preliminary ideas for understanding the process of trust building using a concept he terms as "interpersonal communicative dynamics".