International Politics on the
World Stage, Twelfth Edition
John T. Rourke
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education
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Chapter 1: Thinking and
Caring about World Politics
“Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion be your
tutor; suit the action to the word, the word to the action.”
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education
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Previewing the Global Drama
Global Actors: Meet the cast
States
IGOs and NGOs
MNCs
Individuals
How this text is structured
Choosing between the competitive traditional
path of world politics or an alternative path of
greater cooperation
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The Importance of Studying World
Politics
Blurring of the line between the global
and the local with intermestic issues
such as:
Trade and capital flow
Defense spending
Terrorism and political violence
Disease
Global warming
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World Politics and Your Finances:
The Global Flow of Goods and Services
Dependence of foreign sources for vital
resources (i.e., crude oil prices)
Jobs and trade–job gains and losses
Foreign investment and international financial
markets
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Domestic versus Defense
Spending
Guns versus butter–some ambiguity in
relationship (See Table 1.1)
Defense sector in the domestic
economy–Homeland Security expenses
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World Politics and Your Living
Space: Sharing Air, Water and Land
As population increases, resources deplete
Pollution and environmental destruction
Global warming leads flooding, droughts, and
other weather-related disasters
Public health and disease control
Deforestation and soil erosion
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World Politics and Your Life:
Transnational Disease and Political
Violence
Increased human contact through advances
in transportation technology
West Nile virus outbreak
Worsening AIDS epidemic in Africa
War and international security
Grave threats of weapons of mass destruction
(WMD)
Rise in civilian casualties
Terrorism–unconventional forms of violence
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Can We Make a Difference?
Take direct action at all levels of society
Vote, vote, vote!
Get involved
Participate in issue-oriented groups
Protest and write Congressmen and
Congresswomen
Donate money
Support consumer boycotts
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The World Tomorrow:
Two Roads Diverge
Realism versus Liberalism
Two Competing Worldviews
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Realism and Liberalism:
Some Travel Notes on Two Roads
Laying out the basics
Realism: The traditional path that emphasizes the centrality
of the state on the world stage and the pursuit of national
self-interest above all else.
Liberalism: The alternative path that emphasizes a more
cooperative, globalist approach and the important role of
global institutions and regional organization as authoritative
actors on the world stage.
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Realism and the Nature of Politics
Influence of Thomas Hobbes and Hans
Morgenthau: Conflict is inevitable
Largely pessimistic: Humans are
aggressive and self-serving, and they
are unlikely to change
Neorealism: Focus on anarchic nature
of world system based on competing
sovereign states
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Liberalism and the Nature of Politics
Influence of Jean-Jacques Rousseau:
Humans join civil societies and
cooperate to achieve mutual benefits.
Neoliberalism: Emphasize international
organization to build effective
cooperation (also known as neoliberal
institutionalism)
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The Roles of Power and Principles:
Realism–an emphasis on power
Power-based perspective–survival of the most
powerful
Emphasizes pragmatic, self-help policy prescriptions
‘Might makes right’
Liberalism–an emphasis on principles
 Based on cooperative and ethical standards
 Seeks to create policy norms of justice and peace
 ‘Right makes right’
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Prospects for Competition and
Cooperation
Liberalism–globalist
Realism–realpolitik
approach
Place national interest
first in international
politics
Practice balance-ofpower politics
Achieve peace through
strength
Do not waste power on
peripheral issues
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education
approach
Power is not the essence
of international relations
Power politics is futile and
destructive
Peace is achieved through
cooperative relations
Willingness to surrender
some sovereignty to
international structures
promoting cooperation
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Assessing Reality: Realism and
Liberalism
Comparing the ability of realism or liberalism to
explain world history
Competition has dominated world history
Realpolitik is the order of the day
Both realism and liberalism influence current policy
‘What should be’ and ‘What will be’ remain far more
important questions than ‘What is’
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“All the world’s a stage, and all the men
and women merely players.”
–Shakespeare, As You Like It
If we are all a part of and affected by
the world drama, the question is…
“What role are YOU playing?”
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Postmodernism
• Political reality determined by how we consider,
define, and communicate concepts such as
technological/scientific progress
• Political values are merely mental constructs
• Postmodernists criticize liberals and realists for
“narrow thinking”
• Postmodernists advocate an alternative path to peace
that emphasizes the creation and promotion of
political identities other than nationalism
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Feminist Theory
• Argues that women have been excluded by men from
the international politics process and from the
conceptualization of world politics
• More comprehensive concepts of peace and security
represent examples of how women perceive
international politics issues differently than men
• Seeks to forge a distinct political identity and
heightened feminist consciousness for women living
in nations around the world
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Economic Theories
• Economic nationalism—closely connected to realism
with its emphasis on using economic strength to increase
national power and vice versa.
• Economic internationalism—closely related to liberalism
with its belief free economic interchange without political
interference can bring prosperity to all nations
• Economic structuralism—holds that economics plays a
fundamental, dominant role in determining world politics
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Constructivist Theory
• Affirms that the exchange of ideas among
individuals , groups, and social structures, including
states, produces global “structures” such as treaties,
laws, and international organizations.
• These structures, in turn, shape the ideas of these
individuals, groups, and social structures, including
states identified collectively as “agents.”
• Rejects the view of realists and liberals that the
agents and structures such as states and the
international system are stable and unchanging.
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Constructivist Theory (cont…)
• National political identities, like all political identities,
are more subject to change and adaptation by
citizens than generally assumed by liberals and
realists
• Nonmaterial goals such as ideology, morality, and
other culture outlooks and values motivate citizens,
groups, and states in international politics.
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education
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