International Relations Fall 2018
Niccolo Machiavelli
(1469-1527) Wrote The Prince which contained a secular method of ruling a country. "End justifies the means." "realist"
John Locke (1632-1704)
(Liberal) - wrote "Two Treatises on Government" as justification of Glorious Revolution and end of absolutism in England; argued that man is born good and has natural rights to life, liberty, and property; to protect these rights, people enter Social Contract to create government with limited powers; believed the people have the right to revolt if government did not protect these rights - influenced the United States Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution & criticism of absolute monarchy in France - wrote in response to Hobbes
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
(Liberal) A French man who believed that Human beings are naturally good & free & can rely on their instincts. Government should exist to protect common good, and be a democracy
Jean Bodin
(Liberal) French Philosopher (1530-96) - Argued that sovereignty is the "absolute and perpetual power vested in the commonwealth" and that "it is the distinguishing mark of the sovereign that he cannot in any way be subject to the commands of another, for it is he who makes law for the subject..."
Immanuel Kant
(Liberal) German, (1724-1804) - Associated with the idealist or utopian school of thought. - In "Idea for a Universal History" and "Perpetual Peace", advocated a world federation of republics bound by rule of law.
Joseph Stalin
(Radical) Russian leader who succeeded Lenin as head of the ""Communist"" Party and created a totalitarian state by purging all opposition (1879-1953)
Winston Churchill
(Wilson Idealist Liberal) Britain's prime minister during WWII and during the Cold War (1940-1945; 1951-1955) -Believe in international security and corporations and alliances
Franklin D. Roosevelt
(Wilson Idealist Liberal) President of the US during Great Depression and World War II -Believe in international security and corporations and alliances
Offensive Realists
- Argue that periodically demonstrating a willingness to engage in war, though perhaps costly in the short-run, may pay huge dividends in reputation enhancement later - Argue that the credible threat of conquest can often act as a motivation to alter a target state's interests, leading states that might have opposed the threatening state to ally with it in a process called bandwagoning
Defensive Realists
- Argue that states in the international system shold pursue policies of restraint, whether through military, diplomatic, or economic channels--thus, avoiding dangerous levels of mistrust among states and, more importantly, without fear of unintended or uncontrolled escalation to counter productive wars.
Hans Morgenthau
- Classical Realist - argued that international politics is governed by objective, universal laws based on national interests defined in terms of power Six Principles: 1. politics is governed by human nature 2. interest is governed by power 3. interest is unaffected by time and place and is the essence of politics 4. universal moral principles cannot be applied to the actions of states 5. political realism refuses to identify the moral aspirations of a nation w/ the moral laws of the universe 6. autonomy of the political sphere
Enlightenment
- Enlightenment thinkers saw individuals as rational, capable of understanding the laws governing them and capable of working to improve their condition in society. - The origins of liberal theory are found in 18th century enlightenment optimism.
How Hans Morgenthau explained international politics
- International politics is best characterized as a struggle for power, best explained at three levels of analysis: 1. the flawed individual in the state of nature struggles for self-preservation 2. the autonomous and unitary state is constantly involved in power struggles, balancing power and reacting to preserve what is in the national interest 3. because the international system is anarchic--no higher power exists to defeat the competition--the struggle is perpetual
Neorealism
- 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 - argue that cooperation is difficult under conditions of anarchy due to concerns over relative gains; and that states in an anarchic system must be on constant guard against cheating.
Kenneth Waltz
- defensive realist; wrote "Theory of International Politics" - Argues that the amount of peace and war in an anarchic international system depends critically on the distribution of power - Argues that the distribution of power in the international system can be described as having one of three possible forms: 1. Unipolar (where one state in the system has sufficient power to defeat all the others combined against it; we've never seen a true unipolar situation) 2. Bipolar (where most of the system's power is divided between two states or coalitions of states) 3. Multipolar (in which power is divided among three or more states or coalitions) - jointly agreed with offensive realist Mearsheimer that the 2003 Iraq war was not necessary as US military could deter any threat Saddam posed; and that it engendered long-term animosity toward the US around the world.
The International System According to Liberals
- interdependent process: globalization Two conceptions: 1. interdependent/multilateralism: the conduct of international activity by three or more states in accord with shated general principles, often, but not always, through international institutions. 2. specific international order: *Kant, Wilson; a liberal international order governs arrangements among states by means of shared rules and principles. Unlike realist polarity, this order is an acknowledged order, not just patterened behavior or some interconnectedness. 3. neoliberal institutionalists: see IS as anarchic, and acknowledge that each state acts in self-interest; states choose to cooperate because they realize they will have future interactions.
John Mearsheimer
- offensive realist - jointly agreed with defensive realist Waltz that the 2003 Iraq war was not necessary as US military could deter any threat Saddam posed; and that it engendered long-term animosity toward the US around the world.
Bandwagoning
- strategy in which weaker states join forces with stronger states
Hypotheses
- tentative statements about causal relationships put forward to explore and test their logical and usually their empirical consequences
National Interest
- the interests of the state, most basically the protection of territory and sovereignty > in realist thinking, the state is a unitary one defined in terms of the pursuit of power > in liberal thinking, there are many national interests > in radical thinking, it is the interest of a ruling elite
International society
- the states and substate actors in the international system and the institutions and norms that regulate their interaction; implies that these actors communicate, sharing common interests and a common identity; identified with English/British school of political theory
Factors that prevented a superpower during the Cold War
-Bipolarity + Sought to negotiate rather than fight, fight proxy wars, rather than major wars out of Europe - possession of nuclear weapons - basically why the cold war ended the way it ended
Key developments in the first two decades of the new millennium
-China's peaceful rise -Terrorists attacks occur in Saudi Arabia, Spain, Great Britain, Nigeria, and France - 2011, Tunisia becomes first Arab country in a long series to topple long established dictators. -2014, China expands military budget to become 2nd biggest after U.S. Tension escalates as China flexes power over dredging in South China Sea. -Al Qaeda attacks U.S.A (9/11), U.S and coalition responds in Afghanistan and Iraq militarily -Unlabeled Militarily Protests in Crimea rise in 2014 to rejoin Russia. Europe and Russia border countries didn't like this. -ISIS (Islamic State) declares itself world wide Caliphate and becomes a strong terrorist group. (Pg. 61)
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
1. English political philosopher who wrote "Leviathan" 2. Viewed human beings as naturally self-centered and prone to violence 3. Feared the dangers of anarchy more than the dangers of tyranny 4. Argued that monarchs have absolute and unlimited political authority 5. Lived during the Thirty Years' War and the English Civil Wars "realist"
Three factors that explain Peace in the Post-1815 Period
1. Europe's political elites were united in their fear of revolution among the masses/revolt from below. 2. Two of the major conflicts of interest confronting the core European states took place within, rather than between, culturally close territories: the unification of Germany and Italy. 3. The complex and crucial phenomenon of imperialism-colonialism.
Four disadvantages of the International System as a Level of Analysis
1. Problem of Boundaries +no distinction exists between endogenous and exogenous sources of change. 2. Lack of Historical Information 3. System is too Eurocentric 4. Attention paid to one International system (Pgs. 124-126)
Core Values in the Aftermath of the American Revolution (1776) & the French Revolution (1789)
1. The monarch derives LEGITIMACY from the consent of the governed. Absolutist rule is subject to limits imposed by man, as argued by John Locke. 2. NATIONALISM, wherein a people comes to identify with a common past, language, customs and territory.
Three advantages of the International System as a Level of Analysis
1. important aspects of the whole are more difficult to understand by reference to their parts; trying to understand systems entirely by reference to their parts will prove misleading 2. enables scholars to organize the seemingly disjointed parts into a whole; it allows them to hypothesize about and then to test how the system's various parts, actors and rules are related and to show how change in one part of a system causes change in other parts 3. facilitates theorizing about change
Four of the essential assumptions of realism as found in Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War
1. the state is the principal actor in war and in politics in general. 2. the state is assumed to be a unitary actor with no subnational actors trying to overturn the government's decision or subvert the state's interests. 3. decision makers acting in the name of the state are assumed to be rational actors who weigh the strengths and weaknesses of various options against the goal to be achieved (but that potential impediments exist). 4. The state needs to protect itself from enemies both foreign and domestic.
Disputes over territory
Examples of dispute over the State and Nation: -People's Republic of China -Kurdistan and Iraq Pgs. 136-137
Michael Doyle
Michael W. Doyle is an American international relations scholar best known as a theorist of the liberal "democratic peace" and author of "Liberalism and World Politics," - democratic states are less likely to go to war with each-other - "democratic peace theory"
Robert Keohane and Nye
Neoliberal institutionalist; argues that institutional cooperation can deepen to the point where it may be said to have inertia - published in 1977 discussing institutional corporations, complex interdependence - countries become more dependent on each other
Mikhail Gorbachev
Soviet statesman whose foreign policy brought an end to the Cold War and whose domestic policy introduced major reforms Glasnost (political openness) Perestroika (economic reform)
Liberals and International System Change
Three Sources of Change: 1. Exogenous technological development 2. Changes in the relative importance of different issue areas. 3. When new actors, including MNC, NGO, or other participants in global civil society, augment or replace state actors
Robert Gilpin
Wrote "War and Change in World Politics" realist
Thucydides
ancient Greek historian remembered for his history of the Peloponnesian War (460-395 BC) - explained that states act out of self interest when it comes to gaining power in fear of being over-powered.
Anarchic
the absence of an authority hierarchy (i.e. a single state powerful enough to conquer all other states)
"Shadow of The Future"
the value a player attaches to future benefits as compared to present benefits State's want to cooperate for mutual benefit in the future The degree to which states value future payoffs or expect future interaction to continue on 2nd great debate (neo-neo) neorealists: states will cheat bc of self interest; neoliberals: since states want to cooperate in the future, they will not cheat
Domino Effect Theory
• (Cold War) The idea that if one country falls to communism others will fall as well.
Adam Smith
• *classical liberal* • The most important social theorist in Europe during the time of the Treaties of Westphalia. • Wrote "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes f the Wealth of Nations", and argued that the notion of a market should apply to all social orders--that (white, male) individuals (laborers, owners, investors, consumers) should be permitted to pursue their own interests, unfettered by all but the most modest state regulations. • Concept of the *Invisible Hand*: Government should affect economy and needs to leave it to the will of supply and demand.
The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis
• A 13-day (October 16-28, 1962) confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning American ballistic missile deployment in Italy and Turkey with consequent Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. The confrontation is often considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war.
Dual realities during the 1990s
• Capitalism v "Communism" (?) - 2 different ideologies -socialism/communism vs. capitalism - different economic and ideological models
European Experience of Contemporary IR
• Contemporary IR is Eurocentric • Constructivists argue that the whole concept of an international system is a European idea that, over time, became accepted as a natural face (at least among Europeans and North Americans). They hold that we can explain nothing by international material structures alone.
Allies (WWII)
• France, Britain, US, USSR
Axis Powers (WWII)
• Germany, Italy, Japan
Glasnost and Perestroika
• Glasnost is a policy that was introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev which means political openness in 1985. He supported the Soviet citizens to talk about ways to improved their living environment. • In 1985, he imported the idea of Perestroika, which means economic restructuring. This was tried in 1986.
The Treaties of Westphalia
• Treaties ending the Thirty Years War in Europe in 1648; in international relations represents the beginning of state sovereignty within a territorial space Key Developments after Westphalia: ♢ concept and practice of sovereignty develops ♢ capitalist economic system emerges (stable expectations facilitate long-term investment) ♢ centralized control of institutions to facilitate the creation and maintenance of military; military power grows Three Ways it Impacted IR: 1. legitimized territoriality and the right of states to be free from interference by other states 2. countries sought their own permanent national militaries 3. established a core group of states that dominated the world until the beginning of the 19th century: Austria, Russia, Prussia, England, France and the United Provinces/the Netherlands
Superpowers of the Cold War
• US and USSR
Hegemon
• a dominant state that has a preponderance of power; often establishes and enforces the rules and norms in the international system
Containment
• a foreign policy designed to prevent the expansion of an adversary by blocking its opportunities to expand, by supporting weaker states through foreign aid programs, and by the use of coercive force only to oppose a active attempt by an adversary to physically expand; the major US policy toward the USSR during the Cold War era
Fascism
• a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.
A nation
• a group of people who share a set of characteristics (e.g. history, heritage, language, customs, lifestyles) • may live in different states or have no state
System
• a group of units or parts united by some form of regular interaction, in which a change in one unit causes a change in others; those interactions occur in regularized ways
Marshall Plan (1947)
• a plan for aiding the European nations in economic recovery after World War II, proposed by U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall in 1947 and implemented in 1948 under the Economic Cooperation Administration.
The Liberal View of the State
• a process, involving contending interests • a reflection of both governmental and societal interests • the repository of multiple and changing national interests • the possessor of fungible sources of power • interdependent, both internally and internationally
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 • Robert Keohane, Robert Axelrod • a utopian ideology of "free [unregulated] markets" and minimal state interference; • a set of policies slashing state social services and supporting global corporate interests; • a process of procorporate globalization and financialization; • a global socio-cultural project of building consent for the upward redistributions of wealth and power that have occurred since the 1970s.
The Concert of Europe
• a system in which Austria, Russia, Prussia, and Great Britain met periodically to discuss any problems affecting the peace in Europe; resulted from the post-Napoleon era Quadruple Alliance
A state (four fundamental conditions)
• a territory • a population • a government • & diplomatically recognized
The Prisoner's Dilemma
• a theoretical game in which rational players (states or individuals) choose options that lead to outcomes (payoffs) such that all players are worse off than under a different set of choices.
Realism
• a theory of IR that emphasizes states' interests in accumulating power to ensure security in an anarchic world; based on the notion that individuals are power seeking & that states act in pursuit of their own national interest defined in terms of power • key actors: states (most powerful matter most) • view of the individual: insecure, selfish, power-seeking • " " the state: insecure, selfish, unitary, power-seeking as evidence of rationality • " " the international system: anarchic (implies perpetual threat of war); more stable as distribution of power approaches unipolarity • major theorists: Thucyddes, Saint Augustine, Hobbes, Morgenthau, Waltz, Gilpin, Mearsheimer
Constructivism
• an alternative IR theory that hypothesizes how ideas, norms, and institutions shape state identity and interests • key actors: people, elites, cultures • major theorists: Foucault, Derrida, Kratochwil, Wendt
The Constructivist View of the State
• an artifact whose significance is socially constructed through discourse • the repository of national interests that change over time • shaped by international norms that change preferences • influenced by changing national interests that shape & reshape identities • socialized by IGOs and NGOs
The International System According to Realists
• anarchic (implies perpetual threat of war); more stable as distribution of power reaches unipolarity • polarity: describes the distribution of capabilities among states in the international system by counting the number of "poles" (states or groups of states) where material power is concentrated • Unipolar (where one state in the system has sufficient power to defeat all the others combined against it; we've never seen a true unipolar situation) • Bipolar (where most of the system's power is divided between two states or coalitions of states) • Multipolar (in which power is divided among three or more states or coalitions) • bipolarity (Kenneth Waltz +, Meirsheimer -), tight v loose • unipolarity • hegemonic stability
Balance of Power
• any system in which actors (e.g. states) enjoy relatively equal power, such that no single state or coalition of states is able to dominate other actors in the system • the balance-of-power system weakened due to imperial Germany's too-rapid growth and the increasing rigidity of alliances, resulting in WWI.
Nation-states
• coincidence between state and nation
How constructivists see power
• constructivists see power in discursive terms: the power of ideas (i.e. ideas of legitimacy), culture and language. • power exists in every exchange among people, elites and cultures. • the goal of constructivists is to find the sources of that power.
The Treaty of Versailles
• formally ended WWI, & made the subsequent generation of Germans pay for the entire economic cost of the war through reparations ($32 billion) • bitterness over these harsh penalties provided the climate for the emergence of conservatives such as the Nazis, led by Hitler • enforced by the League of Nations
Theory
• generalized statements about political, social, or economic activities that seek to describe & explain those activities; used often as a basis of prediction
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
• military and political alliance between Western European states and the US established in 1948 for the purpose of defending Europe from aggression by the USSR and its allies; post-Cold War expansion to Eastern Europe • the search for security in the new world of the Cold War led to the creation of military alliances; the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was a defensive military alliance of Western Europe, plus USA and Canada
Realists and International System Change
• possibility of perpetual peace logically precluded; emphasis shifted to managing the frequency and intensity of war - changes that other states make affect how states act (example: nuclear proliferation) (e.g. the number of major actors, the relative power relationship among the actors, exogenous changes)
Constructivism and International System Change
• possible by means of discourse (e.g. social norms, a historical creation)
Normative
• relating to ethical rules; in foreign policy and international affairs, standards suggesting what a policy should be
Truman Doctrine (1947)
• stated that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to resist internal left-wing (and therefore it was assumed "communist") movements and prevent them from falling into the Soviet sphere. • early example of application of "containment" doctrine - that the US would take action to stop spread of communism. Some see this as beginning of Cold War.
The Realist View of the State
• statist/state-centric view • sovereign, autonomous actor • constrained only by the anarchy of the international system • guided by a national interest that is defined in terms of power and material • unitary and capable of independence • ex: natural resources- pursuing/prioritizing oil resources in Iraq as vital for national security
Summits
• talks and meetings among the highest-level government officials from different countries; designed to promote good relations and provide a forum to discuss issues and conclude formal negotiations
Colonialism
• the 15th-20th century practice of founding, maintaining, and expanding colonies abroad. Colonialism, now universally delegitimized, was marked by two main motivations: (1) showing indigenous peoples how best to live (a "civilizing mission); and (2) exploiting indigenous people and their territory for labor and material resources in order to increase the power of the colonial authority *neo-colonialism!
Détente
• the easing tense relations; the relaxing and reappraisal of threat assessments by political rivals, for example, the US and USSR during the later years of the Cold War
Capitalism
• the economic system in which the ownership of the means of production is in private hands; the system operates according to market forces whereby capital and labor move freely ♥ according to radicals, an exploitative relationship between the owners of production and the workers
Cold War
• the era in IR between the end of WWII and 1990, distinguished by ideological, economic, political and military rivalry between the USSR and the USA. • "Cold" because the USSR and NATO did not engage in major battles directly, but fought in the form of proxy war by forming alliances.
League of Nations
• the international organization formed at the conclusion of WWI (1920) for the purpose of preventing another war by promoting international cooperation and peace. • It was first proposed in 1918 by President Woodrow Wilson, although the United States never joined the League. Essentially powerless, it was officially dissolved in 1946. • Did not have the political weight, the legal instruments, or the legitimacy to carry out their goals. • Unable to respond to Japanese, Italian or German aggression. Nor could it prevent or reverse widespread economic depression.
Warsaw Pact
• the military alliance formed by the states of the Soviet bloc in 1955 in response to the rearmament of West Germany and its inclusion in NATO; permitted the stationing of Soviet troops in Eastern Europe
Wilson's Fourteen Points
• the plan for post-World War I outlined by President Wilson in 1918. This plan called for self-determination (countries in Africa and Asia govern themselves), freedom of the seas, free trade, end to secret agreements, reduction of arms and a league of nations. • "the blueprint for a peaceful international order enshrined in Wilson's Fourteen Points failed."
Imperialism
• the policy and practice of extending the domination of one state over another through territorial conquest or economic domination; in radicalism, the final stage of expansion of the capitalism system
International Relations
• the study of the various actors that participate in international politics
Liberalism
• the theoretical perspective based on the assumption of the innate goodness of the individual & the value of political institutions in promoting social progress • key actors: states, NGOs, international orgs • view of the individual: basically good; social; capable of cooperating • " " the state: states are selfish; have relationships (enduring friends and rivals); can be good (democratic-liberal) or bad (authoritarian-autarkic). • " " the international system: anarchy abridged by interdependence among actors; an international order • beliefs about change: self-interest managed by structure (institutions) leads to possibility of perpetual peace • major theorists: Montesquieu, Kant, Wilson, Keohane, Doyle
Cynthia Enloe
♥ Discourse has been dominated by a narrowly male perspective: This domination affects not only the issues IR theorists and policy makers consider important, but also the very standards by which a policy is thought to be effective or ineffective. (Ex: by privileging death in conflict over rape, we discount the true costs and consequences of a violent conflict.) ♥ Paying little attention to the voices of women affects the kinds of questions we ask and the way we evaluate the answers. ♥ She argues that, contrary to Tickner's assertion that women have been absent from international politics, they have in fact been key participants. The problem, according to Enloe, is that their participation goes almost entirely unnoticed and unrewarded. She calls attention to the ways that domestic roles for women condition our understanding of their potential as leaders and agenda-setters in international politics.
J. Ann Tickner
♥ She argues that human nature is not fixed and unalterable; it is multidimensional and contextual. Power cannot be equated exculsively with physical control and domination. Tickner thinks that all IR theory must be reoriented toward a more inclusive notion of power, in which power is the ability to act in concert or to engage in a symbiotic relationship; power can be a concept of connection rather than one only of autonomy. ♥ She has also pointed to the masculinization of many aims of foreign policy.
Radicalism
♥ a social theory, formulated by Karl Marx and modified by other theorists, that posits that class conflict between owners & workers will cause the eventual demise of capitalism; offers a critique of capitalism ♥ key actors: social classes, transnational elites, MNCs ♥ view of individual: actions determined by economic class interests ♥ " " the state: an agent of the structure of international capitalism and the executing agent of the bourgeoisie ♥ " " the international system: highly stratified; dominated by international capitalist system ♥ belief about change: radical change inevitable ♥ major theorists: Marx, Hobson, Lenin, Prebisch
Socialism
♥ an economic and social system that relies on intensive government intervention or public ownership of the means of production in order to distribute wealth among the population more equitably ♥ in radical theory, the stage between capitalism and communism
The International System According to Radicals
♥ highly stratified; dominated by international capitalist system - global north and global south fighting for resources (e.g. stratification, New International Economic Order)
Radicals and International System Change
♥ radical change is inevitable once conditions for the working class become dire enough
Anarchy
♥ the absence of governmental authority
Feminist Critiques of IR Theory
♥ the proposition that the world would be a better place--more just, more peaceful, more prosperous--if women had more space to define, describe, and lead in domestic and international affairs • Realist and liberal feminists argue for greater participation of women in national and international decision making and in economic life. • Liberal feminists call for developing organizational policies that affect women. ♥ Radical feminists define the problem as overarching patriarchy. The patriarchal system permeates national and international systems; for example, making war seem desirable or rational. Until this system is changed, war will always be more likely, and women will always be in a subservient position--the victims of a neoliberal capitalist model of economic governance, exposing poor women to the ravages of global capitalism.
The Nature of State Power
𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 • a state which has power 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 • the ability not only to influence others but also to control outcomes to produce results that would not have occurred naturally. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 • Geographic size and position, natural resources, and population. 𝘛𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 • Industrial development, level of infrastructure, & characteristics of military 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 • National image, public support, leadership > soft power: the ability to attract others because of the legitimacy of the state's values or it's policies * Complex Interdependence: Joseph Nye v Keohane (2nd Great Debate) Complex Interdependence is a theory which stresses the complex ways in which as a result of growing ties, the. transnational actors become mutually dependent, vulnerable to each other's actions and sensitive to each other's. needs. > smart power: the combination of the hard power of coercion and payment with the soft power of persuasion and attraction, the appropriate combination depending on context.
Challenges to the State
𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 • the process of increasing integration of the world in terms of economics, politics, communications, social relations, and culture; increasingly undermines traditional state sovereignty 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘥𝘦𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 • groups of people from different states who share religious, ideological, or policy beliefs and who work together to change the status quo 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 • the participation in organized political activity of self-conscious communities sharing an ethnic affiliation; some movements seek autonomy within an organized state; others desire separation and the formation of a new state; still others want to join with a different state 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦 • movement of illegal drugs, counterfeit goods, smuggled weapons, laundered money, trade in body parts, piracy, and human trafficking. 𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 • state which has ineffective or nonexistent government, widespread lawlessness; inable to carroy out essential duties
Methods to Understand IR
𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 • many of today's issues are incomprehensible w/o history • qualitative 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺 • provides normative guides • qualitative • focuses on logic & thought processes • doesn't help us make or implement policy 𝘉𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 • argues that individuals & groups act in patterned ways • quantitative methodology; test & predict • behavioral psych., evolutionary psych. 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘵-𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮 ♥ studies marginalized voices ♥ looking for meaning beneath the surface ♥ challenges conventional understandings ♥ discourse analysis; process tracing; archival work 𝘍𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮 ♥ (See: Feminist Critiques of IR Theory)
Analyzing the 2003 Iraq War
𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 • utilizes state-level and international-level analysis. • Iraq "posed a security threat" to the US with its supposed stockpiles of WMDs; the US therefore saw a need to eliminate those WMDs and **establish a stable oil supply**. • not all realists agree that the policy the US pursued was the correct one (see Mearsheimer and Waltz). 𝘓𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 • utilizes all three levels of analysis. > individual level: Saddam was an abusive leader who ""supported terrorist activities in the West". > state level: the Iraqi regime was authoritarian, and "replacement by a democracy would decrease the threat of the Iraqi state; enhance stability in the Middle East; and be a beacon for other nascent democracies nearby." > international level: "Iraq was not conforming to its obligations under various UN Security Council resolutions. Thus, the international community had an obligation to support sanctions ... and allow an alternative government to take root." 𝘙𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 ♥ focuses mainly on the international system structure and the economic interests of states.. > that system structure is embedded in the historical colonial system and its contemporary legacies--spawning an imperialist system in which the economic needs of capitalist states/MNCs are paramount (i.e. prioritizing securing oil resources over the basic needs of the Iraqi people.) > radicals, esp. dependency theorists, wouldn't be surprised that the core states of the capitalist system responded with force when Iraq threatened their interests in oil. 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘵 • focus on several factors: > emphasize the social construction of threat (e.g. how US construed Saddam and the purported WMD as imminent threats to the US, even though UN inspectors said their weapons program had been dismantled. > the importance of legitimacy (i.e. the US expended considerable effort in trying to obtain UN security council approval for their invasion, but failed. Then, the Bush administration argued that the legitimacy of UN support was eclipsed by ""doing the right thing quickly"".
The Radical View of the State
𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 • agent of the bourgeoisie 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 ♥ the state is an instrument of capitalist system ♥ constrained by the structure of the international capitalist system
Models of Foreign Policy Decision Making
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙈𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙡 (𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩; 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙨) 1. Clarify the problem 2. Elucidates goals 3. Determines policy alternatives 4. Analyzes costs & benefits of alternatives 5. Selects action that produces the best outcome at the least cost 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙘/𝙊𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙈𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙡 (𝙡𝙞𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡; 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙖 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙨) • 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴: the foreign policy decision-making model that posits that national decisions are the products of subnational governmental organizations and units; the standard operating procedures and processes of the organizations largely determine the policy; major changes in policy are unlikely • 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴: the model of foreign policy decision making that posits that national decisions are the outcomes of bargaining among bureaucratic groups having competing interests; decisions reflect the relative strength of the individual bureaucratic players or of the organizations they represent • 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨: the tendency of states and their leaders to settle for the minimally acceptable solution, not the best possible outcome, in order to reach a consensus and formulate a policy 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙡𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙈𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙡 (𝙡𝙞𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡; 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙢𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨) • societal groups 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙡 • MNCs play a key role in influencing the making of foreign policy. • States have no real choices because decisions are dictated by the economic imperatives of the dominant class. 𝘼 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝘼𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 • Decisions based on norms that regulate policy sector
The Exercise of State Power
𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙘𝙮 • trying to influence the behavior of other actors by bargaining, negotiating, taking a specific action or refraining from such an action, or by appealing to the foreign public for support of a position. 𝘼 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 • For negotiations to be successful, each party needs to be credible. Each party needs to make believable statements and assume a likely position, and be able to back up it's position by taking action. Well intentioned and credible parties will have a higher probability in engaging in successful negotiations. 𝘽𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 • two-level game: most states carry out two levels of bargaining simultaneously: international bargaining between and among states, and then the bargaining between states, negotiators and its various constituencies--both to reach a negotiating position and to ratify the agreement. **Robert Putnam coined this term • culture-bound: approaches to bargaining vary across cultures (industrialized nations favor discussion of concrete details, while other/"developing" states favor deductive styles 𝙋𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙙𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙘𝙮 • targeting both foreign publics & elites, attempting to create a positive overall image 𝙀𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙛𝙩 • 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 - (aka positive incentives) ex: giving tax breaks, allowing sensitive trade with target state • 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 - ex: freezing target state's assets, arms embargo • 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 - ex: freezing assets of governments and/or individuals and imposing commodities sanctions. -targeting not just "what" but also "who" 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚 • 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦: threatening force to get another state to do something or undo an action • 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦: when states commit themselves to punishing a target state if they undertake undesired action • 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵-𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺: the ability to launch a nuclear attack capable of completely preventing a retaliatory attack • 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥-𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺: the ability of a state to respond and hurt an adversary after a first strike has been launched against that state by the adversary; ensures that both sides will suffer an unacceptable level of damage 𝘿𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙋𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙧𝙮 • democracies are statistically unlikely to fight each other, and therefore the spread of democracy would eliminate war (Doyle)
