Intro to International Relations Final Exam

Karl von Clausewitz's description of war

"the continuation of politics by other means"

Thucydides

- first historian, father of realism - former Athenian general, exiled for suffering defeat - wrote "History of the Peloponnesian War" - "the strong does what they can and the weak suffer"

According to realism, what are the roles of states?

- states are the most important actors in the international system, are unitary and rational, operate in an anarchic international system, self-interest governs state behaviour

Niccolo Machiavelli

- statesman of Medici family in Florence, founder of modern political science - Wrote "the Prince", which was rooted in "power politics" and the inherent evil of man, successful politics are amoral and cynical

2 assumptions about interactions

1) Actors behave with the intention of producing a desired result 2) Actors will adopt strategies based on what they believe to be the interests and likely actions of others

3 categories of interests

1) Power/Security 2) Economic/Material Welfare 3) Ideological Goals

International Relations

A subfield of political science that focuses exclusively on international outcomes and implications of political interactions

Merchantilism

A system by which imperial governments used military power to enrich themselves/their supporters, then used those riches to enhance their military power

What do assumptions describe?

Actors, Preferences, Actions, Results of Actions

Actors

Agents that take part in interactions and pursue interests. the basic unit for the analysis of international politics

Coordination Games

Both actors better off when they choose the same action, but each prefers a particular action

Bargaining Model Assumptions

Certain probability of victory, each side has a cost (but different parties can disagree about these assumptions), enforceable contracts (not always true)

game theory

Evaluates alternate strategies when outcome depends not only on each individual's strategy but also that of others. Ex: when states interact with each other

Formal vs Abstract Institutions

Formal -> Has a physical building, address, phone number (ex: WTO, UN) Abstract -> Is not physical, does not have any physical location and is more of a common set of accepted ideas (ex: Human Rights Regime)

What have most contemporary conflicts been?

Intrastate civil wars

Bretton Woods System

Named for a conference held at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in 1944, this system provided the foundation for postwar economic globalization, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund; based on the promotion of free trade, stable currencies, and high levels of capital investment.

Democratic Peace Theory

The idea that democracies tend not to fight wars against one another, but democracies may fight nondemocracies

incomplete information

a situation in which actors in a strategic interaction lack information about other actors' interests and/or capabilities

Nash Equilibrium

a situation in which economic actors interacting with one another each choose their best strategy given the strategies that all the other actors have chosen

Marxism

politics is not about states and power, but rather a class struggle

Theory alternate definition

- A logically consistent set of statements that explains a phenomenon of interest - A set of assumptions which give testable predictions

Story of Melos

- Athens wanted to surrender and pay tribute or die - Melos replies that they pose no threat and already have an ally (and make an appeal to justice) - Athens rejects this because they have power and believe that Sparta doesn't care - Melians resist, Athens sieges/slaughters/took over, Sparta did not help

Institutions

- Complex social organizations such as governments, economies, and education systems - They constrain actor's behaviour by setting rules of the game for these organizations -Formal or Abstract

19th Century Europe

- Congress of Vienna reestablished state sovereignty, created small states Concert of Europe forms with big 5 powers (Austria, Prussia, Russia, UK, France), but then dissolves

What are Asia's current IR circumstances?

- Growing instability due to militarization, robust identities, and emerging economies

Republican Peace

- No 2 republics are likely to fight with each other a) citizens don't want war, rulers constrained because they derive legitimacy from the citizens

What are Eastern Europe's current IR circumstances?

- Political instability because Russia is making ties with nearby states - The annexation of Crimea changes principles of international order (Russia should be sanctioned) - Putin's political and economic power makes Russia more of an opponent to US and Western policy

Thomas Hobbes

- Realist philosopher who lived during the English civil war (King vs Parliament, 100k killed) - Wrote "Leviathan", which stated that all humans are inherently evil, strong government imposes order, no government leads to the state of nature (anarchy) - In the state of nature, war is constant and the life of man is poor, nasty, brutish, and short

In "The Unraveling", what does the author suggest the US to do?

- The US should do no further harm in the Middle East - The US should support civil society, help refugees, and prevent terrorism - The US should implement existing policy in Asia with care - The US should improve its domestic policy in order for its foreign policy to integrate at a global level

Why do actors fight in wars?

- They fight over something they value, or have conflicting interests (usually territory, sometimes policy or ideology) - They fight because some issues cannot be compromised on, no acceptable peaceful solution; actors may have incomplete information on the strength/resolve of the other country; or actors cannot trust the other side to maintain an agreement

Institution

- a set of rules that structure interactions in specific ways - promote cooperation through enforcement - Self-enforcing - Make it easier to make descisions collectively - Resolve disputes

Examples of variation

1) Civil wars vary on how intense they are (why are some civil conflicts more deadly than others?) 2) Approval of a Kenyan presidential candidate by region after being under investigation by the ICC 3) Timing of WTO disputes (why do some countries sue the US immediately, while others wait?)

Hobbes's 3 causes of conflict

1) Competition (greed) 2) Insecurity 3) Glory

levels of analysis

1) International (systemic) level -> Relations on a global level 2) Domestic (state/national) level -> interactions between sub-national actors, how states are similar to (or different from) each other 3) Transnational level -> actors that operate across borders (terrorists, multinational corporations) 4) Individual level -> Interactions between individuals

Factors that facilitate cooperation

1) Number and relative sizes of actors (smaller and fewer are better) 2) Iteration (repeated interactions), Linkage (linking of cooperation from one issue to another), Strategies of Reciprocal Punishment 3) Information

4 core elements of soveriegnity

1) The sovereign possesses ultimate authority over the people and territory 2) Other states and religious bodies are excluded from exercising political authority over sovereign territory 3) Sovereignty is indivisible 4) All sovereign units are formally equal/have the same legal status

Why are international accords harder to come by in present times?

1) There are many more states currently 2) There are divergent national interests 3) There is less of an "international community"

Why has world order been unraveling abroad?

1) World power has diffused to a greater number and range of actors 2) Respect for the American economic/political model has decreased 3) US intervention in the Middle East has raised concern

2 dynamics that lead to war

1) preventative motive (one state cannot let another state become more powerful) 2) security dilemma (when a state's efforts to defend itself make other states more insecure)

Theory main definition

A logically consistent set of statements based on assumptions about the real world, and explains a phenomenon of interest and produces testable predictions (relies on reasoning and logical coherence). They analyse variation.

Idealism

A philosophy that relies heavily on morality and justice, believes that people are inherently good and flawed political institutions are the cause of undesirable beaviour

Deterrence

An effort to preserve the status quo through the threat of force

Realism's Explanation of War

Anarchic international system permits war, as there is no central authority with sufficient force to break up a fight. However, realists assume that actors are rational, and some wars are not rational

Otto von Bismarck

Chancellor of Prussia, created a unified German state, realist, wrote "Real Politik" -> all treaties stop being binding when conflict occurs.

Negative effects of war

Disrupt trade, damaged economy, damaged government

John Locke

English philosopher who advocated the idea of a "social contract" in which government powers are derived from the consent of the governed and in which the government serves the people; it is an exchange of legitimacy for justice and order (human nature can be improved through agreements and cooperation)

game theory

Evaluates alternate strategies when outcome depends not only on each individual's strategy but also that of others.] Real world examples: Mario Party, Baseball, Football, American Football

public goods

Goods, such as clean air and clean water, that everyone must share.

2 main incentives to fight in a war

Greed: They can gain something by fighting Grievance: Dissatisfied by status quo

According to realism, what is human nature?

Humans are bad/selfish by nature and conflict is a part of life

Bargaining Model Theorem

If war is costly for both sides, and the territory/resource is divisible, then there is a range of bargains both sides prefer over war

The three I's of International Relations

Interests, Interactions, and Institutions (and how these lead to political outcomes)

Why is today's political world more unstable than during the cold war?

It is more unstable because there are more actors in the present day and there is a lack of overlapping interests. The world is less unified.

Locke's Natural Rights

Life, Liberty, and Property

Prisoner's Dilemma Implications

People can share a common interest but can't achieve it, people may not be able to achieve mutually-beneficial cooperation

Paradigms, Schools of Thought, Theoretical Perspectives

Philosophies have been supplemented with underlying assumptions of the world, ways of thinking, and methodologies of constructing

According to realism, what is the central goal/constraint of actors?

Power

Thucydides Lesson

Power and interests reign supreme, moral inclination and justice are weak against power, he warns of wishful thinking

Immanuel Kant

Prussian philosopher influenced by Locke, who introduced republican peace, believed that war had significant negative consequences on the economy (war disrupts trade)

Hypothesis

Relates 2+ concepts to each other

Assumptions

Represents the world's simplifications, what we believe to be true about different actors, their preferences, and actions

Why can war only be settled through bargaining?

Since international institutions cannot settle disputes

Bargaining

Situations where 2+ actors try to divide something they both want, to make one better off at the other's expense

According to "The Unraveling", what creates order in world politics? What creates disorder?

Sources of order include actors committed to existing international rules and arrangements and to a process for modifying them. Sources of disorder include actors who reject those rules and arrangements

Free Trade

Specialize and trade freely, national economies integrate, war is very costly

(Neo)Liberal Institutionalism

States cooperate most of the time, but they must have similar expectations and interests and adhere to the rules

Examples of actors

States, Organizations, Institutions, Individuals, Groups of States....

What world region is the main source of contemporary disorder?

The Middle East. It has been undermined by

Power

The ability of Actor A to get Actor B to do something that actor B would otherwise not do

Variation

The difference in patterns and outcomes that we observe in the international system (IR changes continuously, so we need to follow similar patterns that arise)

Peace of Westphalia

The settlement that ended the Thirty Years' War in 1648; often said to have created the modern state system because it included a general recognition of the principles of sovereignty and nonintervention.

In civil wars, what are the goals of rebels?

They either want to secede and either form a new state or join another state (secessionist), change policies, or take control of the government

The goal of studying international relations

To explain and understand the interactions among global actors, and how/why conflict or cooperation occurs

Machiavelli's Advice

Trust no one, make decisions strategically with no concern for morality, promises and moral rhetoric are just tools, embrace deception, be wary of alliances - The ends justify the means!

Wilsonian Idealism

Utilitarian (for the benefit of the majority), use of power for the greater good, promotes democracy, free trade, self-determination, created League of Nations to maintain global security (but no universal membership) Realist critiques: product of wishful thinking, ignored power/security/human nature

Best Response

What decision an actor would be best off making given their preferences

How do you assess prediction?

You need to see how the prediction holds up against real world data (examine dependent variable as a result of the independent variable) Process: 1) Identify Variation 2) Generate Theory 3) Derive Prediction 4) Assess data

crisis bargaining

a bargaining interaction in which at least one actor threatens to use force in the event that its demands are not met

Bargaining Model of War

a means to represent the potential gains and losses and ultimate outcome of war between two actors as a bargaining interaction - based on the idea that there is always a bargain that leaves actors better off than war - On a 1 dimensional scale, and given a probability "P" that one side will win, a bargaining range (where the division of the resource is better off than fighting) can be found given the net gains from both sides

Liberalism

a philosophy that combines realism and idealism, and states are the most important actors (they are rational and self interested)

coercion

a strategy of imposing or threatening to impose costs on other actors in order to induce a change in their behavior

Coordination

a type of cooperative interaction in which actors benefit from all making the same choices and subsequently have no incentive to not comply

collaboration

a type of cooperative interaction in which actors gain from working together but nonetheless have incentives to not comply with any agreement

interstate war

a war in which the main participants are states

Compulsory Power

ability of one actor to compel another to act in certain ways

Probabilistic Claim

an argument about the factors that increase or decrease the likelihood that some outcome will occur

Compellence

an effort to change the status quo through the threat of force

War

an event involving the organized use of military force by at least two parties that reaches a minimum threshold of severity

Cooperation

an interaction in which two or more actors adopt policies that make at least one actor better off relative to the status quo without making others worse off

Hans Morganthau

father of classic realism, humans are imperfect, self-interesting, and competing - actors in constant competition, actors want survival, not power - founded neorealism, and believes that the International system is anarchic, states create peace through deterrence

National Interests

interests attributed to the state itself, usually security and power

Constrictivism

norms, ideas, culture, identities shape political outcomes, and the international landscape is constantly changing

collective action problem

obstacles to cooperation that occur when actors have incentives to collaborate but each acts in anticipation that others will pay the costs of cooperation

Peace of Westphalia

the peace treaty that ended the Thirty Years' War in 1648, established modern state system

coercive diplomacy

the use of threats to influence the outcome of a bargaining interaction

Interactions

the ways in which the choices of two or more actors combine to produce political outcomes

Free ride

to fail to contribute to a public good while benefiting from the contributions of others

Goals of actors

to maximize the benefits (or utility) and minimize the costs of any potential course of action when interacting with other actors, which is also known as game theory

Chicken!

used in highly conflictual cases like the cuban missile crisis. Usually results in two different options with one or the other dominating. Which one dominates depends on who makes a credible commitment first

Interests

what actors want to achieve through political action; their preferences over the outcomes that might result from their political choices