Political Science International Relations
International politics in the twentieth century—principal characteristics
1. Rise/Fall of global ideologies; Fascism takes a rise, liberalism rises in Western (there's a clash between the two) 2. Rise in the # of states 3. Switch from industrial rev to technologic age 4. Bipolarity 5. nuclear weapons 6. Rise of global economy 7. Democratization
Major characteristics of international relations during 19th century
1. Balance of power- states form alliances to prevent anyone from becoming dominant 2. Nationalism- notion community with common characteristics should control itself (drove countries to unifications) 3. Industrial Rev.- emergent of industrial states promoted quick urbanization and mobilization 4. Imperialism- started looking for goods in other countries 5. The rise of key non-european actors (china and Japan)
Measures of national power
1. Demographic: Total and urban population 2. Economics: Iron-steel production and energy consumption 3. Military: military expenditures and military personnel Measured as: Relative population= state X's population/World's total population, etc. with other parameters 4. measures of national power: national capacity= GNP x potential capacity 5. Potential capacity = military personnel/total population
Stages of the decision making process
1. Diagnosis 2. Search 3. Revision (collecting info and revising probabilities) 4. Evaluation (define goals) 5. Choice (use rule to find which is best) 6. implementation
Public opinion and foreign policy
1. General Public (80-90%) -little info about foreign affairs -little interest in foreign affairs -little influence on foreign policy 2. Alternative Public (9-19%) -considerable info about foreign affairs -considerable interest in foreign affairs -considerable interest in foreign affairs -limited influence on foreign policy 3. Policy and Opinion Makers (1%) -high levels of info about foreign affairs -extensive and professional interest in foreign affairs -significant influence on foreign policy
The history of states
1. Greek city-state systems were the basic model of modern states 2. philosophical foundations of gov. public administration, and citizenship 3. international diplomacy among states 4. greek city-state system and basic regime structures 5. Roman empire didn't care about other religious differences and just cared about taxes and loyalty which led to the demise of the empire; reemergence of states during the middle ages
Challenges to power politics
1. Incorrect measurement of power (pull resources) 2. there is a gap between capabilities and resolve (ex. we lost vietnam war because it was an unnecessary war to us, whereas vietnam was actually fighting for their lives 3. Fungibility -not all resources can be used; a state may have nuclear weapons, but they can't use them because of balance of power 4. Strategic Behavior (everyone knows where everyone stands)
The executive, the legislature and the judiciary
1. Legislative -budget appropriation for foreign policy objectives -oversight of executive operations -ratification of international treaties -appointment of key officials -oversight on gov. institutions through committees 2. Judiciary -interprets the consistency of gov. action with con tries -regulates conflict between branches of gov 3. Executive -selection to solve problems
The military-industrial complex and foreign policy
(Eisenhower) 1. partners in alliances: industrial interests, military bureaucracy, politicians, foreign interests 2. key objectives; money, power, and influence 3. aspects of cooperation: defense spending, threat perception, political support
A decision-making conception of international relations
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International Relations between the two World Wars—applied idealism and its demise
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Key issues in the international politics in the past, present, and future
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Levels of analysis in decision making research
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Models of decision making—rational choice, organizational decision making, cognitive theories
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Other approaches
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The logic of political survival and foreign policy
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The functions of systems
1. Account for long term processes such as stability or change in politics 2. Focuses on structure 3. emphasis on major powers but also look at the relations between major and minor powers and minor and minor powers
Structural versus micro-approaches to the study of international relations
1. Top down theory # of great powers and distribution of capabilities dictates the rules of the game which dictate the relationship between (major to major, major to minor, and minor to minor) which dictates international outcome thus resulting in systemic balance or imbalance
Paradoxes of power
1. a strong state loses against a weaker state despite a clear difference in military personnel (control over resources does not correlate with control over outcome) 2. a strong state loses against a weaker state because of higher capabilities (control over resources causes loss of control over outcomes
The bureaucracy and bureaucratic politics
1. includes bodies, institutions, and organizations that have a role with the input for foreign policy (4th branch of government) -implement military, foreign, and economic ministries -intelligence agencies, research departments in various gov ministries 2. tell decision makers what can/cannot work 3. Policy coordination among bodies in charge in carrying out state policies 4. Policy implementation, policy evaluation, and provision of feedback to decision makers regarding the outcomes of various policies
Types of structural approaches—realism, neorealism, Marxism and World Systems approaches
1. realism believes states are anarchic (more in depth) 2. neorealism is modernized realism
The advent of the third Millennium—fundamental changes in international politics
1. significant gaps betweens states 2. rise of ethnic and intra-nations conflict 3. increased violations of sovereignty 4. miniaturization and information revolutions 5. globalization and interdependence
Principal characteristics of states
1. taxation as a principle mode of control 2.professional armies composed of mercenaries (people serve for money and benefits) 3. increasingly effective public administration (civil service) 4. Absolutist regimes relying on aristocracy and military (not democracy yet)
What is systems theory?
1. units that interact with each other based on a set of rules in order to preserve its structure 2.units are states 3. Structure is determined by -# major powers -capability distribution among them 4. rules determine interactive behavior
The content of national power
1.Physical Power -the sun total of the states resources that the state can potentially use for their own goals -potential pool for international interactions -tangible and measurable quantities -demographic, military, economic 2. Psychological Power -how other states perceive a state -major component is reputation -reputation is based on historical experiences; past behavior will probably dictate future outcomes; domestic cohesion; leader popularity
Models of the international system
Balance of power used in IR to prevent one hegemonic super power; five great powers and all relatively equal; bipolar systems(tight and loose); multipolar systems; Unit-veto systems
Power transition as a systemic theory
Bipolar tight system; two states, relatively equal in power, creates stability Loose bipolar system; two states with sideline states that don't pick a side (when a new state joins; competition between powers to try to influence state to join their coalition Cold war-loose bipolar system because india, etc. formed non alignment movement Unit-veto system; states have weapons and second strike capability, states are capable of other states but cannot guarantee own survival; each state possesses veto over any outcome; minimal contact of states; possible pressure for the formation of superpowers
The debate about international relations after the end of the Cold War—neorealism, liberalism, and constructivism
Constructivists believe behavior is driven by interests reality is socially constructed liberalists began to think realists were narrow-minded
International Relations during the Cold War era—applied political realism
Deterrence Rise of international economy Polarity Collapse of Cold War
General characteristics of international politics in the Westphalian system
First noted that Europe was a system of MULTIPLE states Sovereignty was the result of this system
Factors affecting decision making processes
Group psychology- refers to the tendency for groups to reach decisions w/o accurately assessing their consequences b/c individual members tend to go along with ideas they think the others support Misperceptions and selective perceptions- decision makers take in only some kinds of information; biased info Affective biases Cognitive biases; distortions of rational calculations based on the limitations of the human brain in making choices
The role of power in politics and in international relations
affect others more than others affect them; the central concept for realists in international relations
The Napoleonic Wars and their effect on international relations
People fought over who controlled hegemonic Europe which resulted in wars against the rising hegemony (block hegemony; example of balance of power) wars ended and major players sat down to discuss new world order; formation of peoples armies
The History of the study of IR
Starting point at the Treaty of Westphalia Late focus on the study of IR till the 19th century Woodrow Wilson's 14 points The fail of the League of Nations
Political Idealism
Strong belief that inherent good can be found in people. They seek to harness altruism and use it towards the international system
Levels of Analysis
The U.S. Invasion of Iraq could be seen on an individual level as Bush with a personal vendetta to go out and knock out the leader. It could be seen as a domestic level if lobbyists were trying to convince Bush to invade. It could be seen as a an interstate level due to US predominance of power. It could be a global level if there was global fear of terrorism.
The rise of political realism
The origins- the collapse of the post WWI order: States are the principal actors Clear difference between domestic and international politics International system is anarchic Self-interest based on power Deterrence theory- aimed at dissuading someone from doing something before they do it (forceful persuasion)
The relationship between theory and reality in the study of international relations
Theory contributes to the growth of international relations
Power politics
ability of government to extract human and material resources from the population to accomplish national goals; process of converting potential capability into actual capability
States and non-state actors
aka transnational actors as they operate across borders and influence the national government -intergovernmental organizations (IGO's) (organizations who's members are national governments (OPEC, WTO, NATO) -Nongovernmental organizations (NGO's); private org with political purpose, economic purpose, and humanitarian purpose -Multinational Corporations (MNC's); do business internationally and have resources int other states
Structural realism—How structure affects international processes
dictates the behavior and relationship between states; the rules set up between effect how the state interacts with other states; could potentially lead to an imbalance of power
Cycles in national life patterns—rise, growth, change, decay, and collapse of states
growth of states occurred in 1945 after WWII and triggered by imperial culture, spikes of democracy after wars, mid-1980's spikes till the present (democracy); middle east is not moving towards democracy
Definition of states
integrated set of political institutions with internal and external sovereignty
The rise of alternative approaches—complex interdependence and neoliberalism
interdependence highlighted on a decrease of military action from an increase of economic dependence between states; neoliberalism blends liberal ideas with emphasis on economic growth
The future of the nation-state
might diminish due to globalization (english is being widely spoken; people are losing their indv identity) and devolution (giving local governments more power than the actual state)
Groupings of states: power-grouping, development-grouping, regime-grouping, regional groupings
power grouping states are known as the great powers (five states; China, US, Britain, Russia, and Japan) developmental grouping- middle powers t
Approaches in the study of foreign policy
rational model- decision makers set goals, evaluate their relative importance, calculate the costs and benefits of each possible course of action, then choose the one with the highest benefits and lowest costs organizational model- rely on standardized operating procedures; low decision makers try to make the most standardized and least controversial decisions Governmental Bargaining Model- foreign policy decisions depend/result from bargaining processes from different agencies; tug of war between conflicting agencies
Models of state formation
reemergence of states facilitated by: 1. trade (promotes need for a financial system) 2. urbanization (larger sense of community) 3. ideological and religious competition (forms division of territory thus producing a sense of state instead of an empire of eclectic range) 4. technological developments -invention of the print (to distribute material more efficiently) and invention of gun powder (to make war more efficient) Nation-State Formation: 1. group establishes gov; emergences voluntarily; formed by common interests State-Nation Formation: 1. group forms because of an external event; different interests and backgrounds; only commonality people have is that they are dominated by the power 2. gov is formed before national identity
Decision making—definitions
selection to solve problems
Alternative approaches to the definition of states
states in international law: 1. considered legal entities 2.domestic law dominates international law with some exceptions 3. states could be put to international trial but the decisions are non-binding 4.State responsibilities -united nations charter -treatise on which they are signed -mission and rules of the international organization 5. General rules that have been broken -internal sovereignty (other countries, like the US have interfered with the government of another state) -the principle of exclusive responsibility of individuals acting on behalf of the state by state law
Definitions of power
the ability to get another actor to do what it would not otherwise have done; definitions treat power as influence; the more influence you have the more power you have
What is foreign policy?
the sum total of the processes and actions that regulate the relations between a given state and its international involvement -a process of decision making
Empirical evidence on systems and conflict
there is no empirical evidence to prove that any of the systems is more efficient than the others
Formal and informal actors in the making of foreign policy
top-decision makers v. lower decision makers (see organizational model)
