POL 271 Chapter 1 and Chapter 3

What is a theoretical approach?

- A general mental model of how something works - The main driver of political actors (notes)

What type of states does liberalism believe in?

- A preference for democracy over aristocracy and for free trade over national economic self-sufficiency. - Humanities needs and wants could be met most efficiently when each individual pursued his or her own freedom and autonomy in a democratic state, unfettered by excessive governmental restrictions. (page 78)

Bandwagoning

- A process in which states that might have opposed a threatening state choose to ally with it instead. - The more power you have, the more power you get. - States may thus pursue expansionist politics, building up their relative power positions and intimidating rivals into cooperation. (page 75)

What are rational actors?

- A rational actor is an actor that has clear preferences and always acts in accordance with those preferences - Another way of thinking about this: a rational actor never makes mistakes - No clear preferences = not rational actor - Important: "rational" refers to actions, not preferences (as long as they pick the one they like best, they are a rational actor) (notes)

Neoliberal Institutionalism

- A reinterpretation of liberalism that posits that even in an anarchic international system, states will cooperate because of their continuous interactions with each other and because it is in their self-interest to do so; institutions provide the framework for cooperative interactions. (page 79)

Neorealism (or structural realism)

- A reinterpretation of realism that posits that the structure of the international system is the most important level to study; states behave the way they do because of the structure of the international system; includes the belief that general laws can be found to explain events. - They simplify explanations of behavior in anticipation of being able to explain and predict trends. (page 75)

Identity

- A sense of self, based on certain qualities and beliefs that serve to define a person or group. - These group identities can be associated with the state (such as living in the state of France) and particular state characteristics (such as living in a democracy). They can also be associated with ethnicity, language, and religion. (page 70)

Theory

- A set of propositions that combine to explain phenomena by specifying specific relationships among several concepts. - It is a story of "why" a relationship exists between those concepts. - Are never absolute. (page 66)

International Institutions

- A set of rules meant to govern state or international behavior. - Rules, in this context, are conceived of as statements that forbid, require, or permit particular kinds of actions. - Can be formal organizations such as the UN or the EU that embodies particular sets of rules, but it can also be a treaty such as the Law of the Sea Treaty or the Vienna Convention.(page 69)

Give an example of discourse towards an aggressive state

- A state that is viewed and treated as aggressive by other states might begin to act more aggressively, making that interpretation of reality real. (page 84)

Security Dilemma

- A state working to ensure security from attack is driven to acquire more and more power. This, however, renders other states more insecure, which drives them to acquire more power. This makes the first state less secure, and it thus works to gain more power. And the spiral continues. (page 73)

What must a state have to be considered one?

- An entity must have a defined territory, a stable population, and an effective government, and must be recognized by other states as having the capacity to enter into relations with them. (page 69)

Norms

- Are collective expectations for the proper behavior of actors with a given identity. - Such as shaking hands when you meet someone in the US or bowing to show appreciation and respect in many Asian societies. - In the international system, norms can provide expectations about the proper behavior of states, such as respecting human rights and being transparent on international security issues. (page 70)

Theoretical perspectives

- Are sets of theories united by common themes. - There are common actors, concepts, and issues on which they focus their explanations on for various international events. (page 68)

What are the characteristics of the state in constructivism?

- Artifacts whose significance is socially constructed through discourse; distribution of identities matter. (page 88)

International Relations

- As a subfield of political science, is the study of the interactions among the various actors that participate in international politics. - It examines the behavior of these actors as they participate individually and together in international political processes. - It is an interdisciplinary field of inquiry using concepts and substance from political science, history, economics, and sociology. (page 4)

Why do we see so much cooperation, even under the anarchic conditions of the international system?

- Complex interdependence (page 80)

How do constructivists view objects and concepts?

- Constructivism offers the major theoretical proposition that neither objects nor concepts have any necessary, fixed, or objective meaning. Instead, their meaning are constructed through social interaction. (page 84)

How are constructivists different to realism and liberalism when viewing state interests?

- Constructivists argue that it is not only states' behaviors that are shaped by beliefs about themselves and others, but also states' very interests. - For constructivists, states' interests are the result of their social constructed identities. Moreover, those identities and interests are not fixed. They can change as experience, discourse, and practices change. - This stands in contrast to realism and liberal approaches to the study of international relations, which view state interests as based on purely material factors. (page 85)

How do constructivists differ to realism and liberalism about power?

- Constructivists do align with realists and liberals in that they view power as important. - However, whereas realists and liberals primarily see power in material terms (military, economic, or political), constructivists also see power in discursive terms- they focus on the power of ideas, culture, and language. (page 85)

How do constructivists see sovereignty?

- Constructivists see sovereignty not as an absolute but rather as a contested concept. - They point out that states have never had exclusive control over territory. State sovereignty has always been challenged, and is continuously being challenged by globalization, new institutional forms, and the development of new transitional problems that states must face. - Constructivists argue that the idea of sovereignty still exists as a concept that governs state behavior only because when states interact, they do so in a way that treats themselves and other states as sovereign entities. State sovereignty is therefore a socially constructed facet of reality. (page 84)

Democratic Peace Theory

- Democracies has domestic peace theories (vote, argue out in Congress) - Democracies do not go to war with other democracies - More likely to talk out their differences (notes)

What are the limitations to behaviorism?

- Different data may lead to substantially different conclusions. (page 14)

Within each perspective, different theories focus on different factors in international politics. What are examples of material entities?

- Entities with a physical presence. - Such as states, international institutions, multinational corporations, and individuals. (page 68)

How does history impact international relations?

- Explains detailed knowledge of specific events, and can be used to test generalizations. - Also explains the relationships among various events. - However, some historical analogies may be biased or only reflect one's preconceived theoretical orientations. - Examines individuals or multiple cases. (page 7)

Constructivism

- Explains international politics through a focus on norms and identities- both of individual and states. (page 83)

How do liberals and neoliberal institutionalists differ in their explanation for why cooperation occurs?

- For classical liberals, cooperation emerges from humanity's establishing and reforming institutions that permit cooperative interactions and prohibit coercive actions. - For neoliberal institutionalists, cooperation emerges because when actors have continuous interactions with each other, it is in their self-interest to cooperate. (page 81)

What are some examples of how culture plays a role in globalization?

- Globalization has prompted homogenization- people enjoying the same music and television shows- and differentiation- the desire to retain local languages and local autonomy. (page 4)

What makes a theory good?

- Good theories are generalizable. - They can explain events across space (e.g., this explanation for war works just as well in Europe as it does in Africa) and time (e.g., it works just as well today as it did in the tenth century). - Theories that can explain patterns across space and time are powerful theories. (page 67)

What are the roles of institutions in constructivism?

- Help to define and shape identities through socialization - Can be used to create and promote norms (e.g., through international law) (notes)

How do these three theories help us in international relations?

- Helps us see international relations in different view points. - Competition between theories helps reveal their strengths and weaknesses and spurs subsequent refinements, while revealing flaws in conventional wisdom. (page 6)

What is the difference between hierarchy and anarchy?

- Hierarchy- there are rules, backed up by the legitimate use of force or punishment. - Anarchy- there is no "higher power" to turn to; actors have to work things out amongst themselves. Theres is no power states can refer to, so the states refer to themselves. (notes)

How do political scientists assess the accuracy, relevancy, and potency of their theories?

- History, philosophy, and the scientific method. (page 6)

Discourse

- How we choose to talk about ourselves and others. (page 84)

How are domestic and international politics different?

- In domestic politics, the government sits above its citizens. It can create laws that the citizens must follow and can enforce those laws by punishing those who do not. - In the anarchic international system, no such authority exists. Given this condition of anarchy, realists argue that states can rely only on themselves to protect against attacks or other forms of coercion from other states in the system. (page 71)

What is power?

- In general, power refers to military power - However, this in turn refers to other factors: size, population, natural resources, economic wealth, technological development (notes)

How do liberalists see international institutions?

- In the liberal theoretical framework, international institutions are tools created and used to improve cooperation between them and to save international problems. (notes)

Within each perspective, different theories focus on different factors in international politics. What are examples of conceptual factors?

- Includes the idea of an international system, as well as ideas about norms and identities. (page 69)

What ideas about individuals does liberalism believe?

- Individuals are rational human beings, able to understand the universally applicable laws governing both nature and human society. - Understanding such laws means that people have the capacity to improve their condition by creating a just society. (page 78)

In this struggle for power, one focus of many realists is the idea of managing power through "balancing." What two forms can this take?

- Internal and external balancing. - A relative balance can deter both sides from engaging in an attack, thus helping to prevent war. (page 73)

What do neoliberal institutionalists believe plays a key role in fostering cooperative interactions?

- International institutions, such as organizations and treaties. - International organizations provide a guaranteed framework for interactions, thus creating a situation in which continuous interaction is expected and reciprocity is fostered. - International treaties also create expectations of repeated interactions over time. (page 81)

Constructivism

- It argues that they key structures in the state system are not material but instead social and dependent on ideas. - The interests of states are not fixed but rather malleable and ever-changing. (page 5)

What are the characteristics of individuals in constructivism?

- Key actors in creation of meaning; bound by education, socialization, and culture; their identities matter. (page 88)

What does liberalism believe about the ideas of injustice and war?

- Liberals believe that injustice, war, and aggression are not inevitable but can be moderated or even eliminated through institutional reform or collective action. - War is a product of society, not an attribute inherent in individuals. (page 78)

Collective Security

- Means that aggression by one state will be countered by automatic and collective reaction by other states. (notes)

How are neoliberal institutions different from realist beliefs?

- Neoliberal institutions arose based on the observation that states in the international system actually cooperate most of the time. - The is contrary to the realist predictions that cooperation is very difficult for states to achieve because of their concern for relative gains and the existence of the security dilemma. (page 80)

What are the differences between norms and identities?

- Note that unlike a change in identity, a norm does not change the underlying preferences of an actor - Instead, a norm works by making a particular action or behavior "good" or "bad" (notes)

Taboos

- One of the most powerful types of norms are taboos, which place some actions "off limits" by making them wrong and make actors who take those actions "bad" or "rogue" actors - Actors (including states) do not violate these taboos for two reasons: 1. Do not want others to see them as bad (which can have real consequences) 2. Do not want to seem themselves as bad (norm is internalized) (notes)

Who are the key actors in constructivism?

- People, elites, and cultures. (page 88)

What is the limitation of philosophy?

- Philosophical methods may not be useful for helping us answer specific questions; they may tell us what should be done, providing the normative guide, but philosophy generally does not help us make or implement policy. (page 11)

What are the beliefs about change in constructivism?

- Possible through socialization, diffusion of ideas, or internationalization of norms. (page 88)

Behavioralism

- Proposes that individuals, both alone and in groups, act in patterned ways. - Using the scientific method to describe and explain human behavior, these scholars hope to predict future behavior. (page 12)

What different assumptions do each theory make?

- Realism: always on the brink of war - Liberalism: mutual desire for prosperity, cooperation - Constructivism: the world is constantly changing (notes)

How much information do each theory require?

- Realism: least amount of information, only knowing who has more power relative to others - Liberalism: need more information to understand concerns/situations - Constructivism: needs to know the identities of the actors (notes)

What factors do realists focus most of their attention on?

- Realists focus most of their attention on the state and the international system. (page 71)

Internal Balancing

- Refers to a state's building up its own military resources and capabilities in order to be able to stand against more powerful states. (page 73)

External Balancing

- Refers to allying with other states to offset the power of more powerful states. (page 73)

What are absolute gains?

- Refers to how much one state gains for itself. - Not believed by realists. (page 72)

Anarchy

- Refers to the fact that in the international system there exists no hierarchically superior, coercive authority that can create laws, resolve disputes, or enforce law and order. - Absence of government. (page 71)

What type of gains do realists believe states are concerned with?

- Relative gains: how much more one state gains over another. - When one state gains relative to another state, it can feel more secure because it can better fend off an attack from the other, or can more successfully launch its own attack against the other. - At the same time, a relative loss makes a state more susceptible to attack, and thus more insecure. (page 72)

How are the assumptions of neoliberal institutionalism the same and different as those of realism?

- Same: states are key unitary actors in international politics that rationally pursue their own self-interest in an anarchic international system. - Different: Neoliberal institutionalists argue that states can cooperate. This is because states are engaged in continuous interactions that are not solely focused on relative gains. They care about absolute gains as well. (page 80-81)

Liberalism

- Says that human nature is basically good. - States generally cooperate and follow international norms and procedures that they have agreed to support. (page 5)

Realism

- Says that states exist in an anarchic international system; that is, there is no overarching hierarchical authority. - Each states bases its policies on an interpretation of its national interests defined in terms of power. - The structure of the international system is determined by the distribution of power among states. (page 5)

What are states considered to be?

- Sovereign entities in the international system, meaning that they are not subject to the commands of others; they have independent control over themselves and their decisions. (page 69)

Hypothesis

- Specific falsifiable statements that question the proposed relationship among two or more concepts. (page 67)

How do constructivists use discourse as an important part of the social construction of identities?

- State behavior depends not on the objective reality of a situation but on our subjective interpretation of that reality. - How we choose to talk about ourselves and others influences our interpretation of our respective identities, as well as others' interpretations of those identities. (page 84)

What are some examples of how politics plays a role in globalization?

- States are confronted with issues like disease, migration, and environmental degradation that governments cannot manage on their own. (page 4)

How are states perceived to most realists?

- States are unitary actors that rationally pursue their own national interests (the protection of territory and sovereignty) when they act within an anarchic international system. (page 71)

What does it mean when realists assume that states are assumed to be rational actors?

- States make decisions by weighing the costs and benefits of various options against the goal to be achieved. (page 71)

What are some examples of how economics plays a role in globalization?

- States' financial markets are tied together; the internationalization of production makes it more difficult for states to regulate their own economic policies and causes them to be more affected by international forces. (page 4)

Who are the key actors in liberalism?

- States, nongovernmental groups, and international organizations. (page 79)

What is a theory?

- Tells you why something happens the way it does. (notes)

Explain the difference between a dependent and explanatory variable.

- The concept whose variation is being explained is referred to as the "dependent variable," and the concepts that are thought to do the explaining are referred to as "explanatory variables." (page 66)

Globalization

- The growing integration of the world in terms of politics, economics, and culture.

Socialization

- The process through which one adopts the identities of peer groups. - Ideas are spread both within a national setting and cross-nationally. - This is how democracy is diffused, how ideas about human rights protection have been internalized, and how states such as the new members of the European Union become socialized into the community's norms and practices. (page 88)

What is the overall consequence of the security dilemma?

- The security dilemma results in a permanent condition of tension and power conflict among states, even if none actually seek conquest and war. In other words, security is a zero-sum game. A gain in security for one state is a loss for the other. (page 73)

How is cooperation difficult to achieve among states in realism theory?

- The state that gains more relative to the other has a security advantage, and the one that gains less becomes more insecure and susceptible to attack. - Despite being able to gain something in absolute terms, the state would lose in relative terms has an incentive not to cooperate with the other. It needs to protect itself from the insecurity that would result from the relative gain for the other (and thus loss for itself) that would result. (page 72-73)

How does philosophy contribute to international relations?

- The tradition laid down by the philosophers has contributed to the development of international relations by calling attention to fundamental relationships: those between the individual and society, between individuals in society, and between societies. - They allow us to speculate on the normative (or moral) elements in political life. - Develops rationales from core texts and analytical thinking. (Page 10)

Multinational Corporations (MNCs)

- These corporations span state borders, connecting states together in important ways. - They not only invest in other countries by building up operations within them but also acquire interest in foreign companies, or engage in mergers or joint ventures within them. - Multinational corporation also trade with one another both within and across state borders, creating important economic connections between states. (page 69)

What does it mean when theories treat the state as a unitary actor?

- They personify the state, treating it as an actor that has its own defined interests and chooses its own actions in the international system. - It speaks and acts with one voice. (page 69)

What do realists believe are states most important interest and focus?

- To increase their power- the material resources necessary to physically harm or coerce other states. - States' main focus is their security and struggle for power. (page 71)

What are the core principals that all realist theories share?

- What unites the various realist theories is their emphasis on the unitary state in an anarchic international system, the importance of power and the ability to use force as an effective tool of foreign policy, and the existence of threat of war that can be managed but never done away with. (page 77)

What is the difference between traditional realists and neorealists?

- While traditional realists attack importance to the characteristics of states and human nature, neorealists give precedence in their analysis to the structure of the international system as an explanatory factor. (page 75)

What are three components of complex interdependence?

1. States are connected through multiple channels, not just through direct formal interactions. Informal interactions between governments often take place, and actors like multinational corporations span state borders, connecting states in important ways. 2. There is not a hierarchy of issues. States are concerned not only about security but also about other issues on which they share common interests. 3. The result is a decline in the use of military force. (page 80)

What are two ways realists believe states can increase their power?

1. Through war and conquest. 2. By balancing against powerful states by taking actions to offset their power and thus fend off a potential attack. (page 71)