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International Relations: Interactions Among Countries
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Power-Systems: the way power is distributed
Concepts:
Realism: emphasizes national interest and security over ideology, moral
concerns and social reconstructions; pessimistic of peace;
Thucydides Peloponnesian War: Athens vs. Sparta = systems do not always
explain why we do things.
Pluralism: Everyone has a claim, multiple actors, IO, International
Laws/harmony, diplomacy
Global Economic Structuralism: dominance of the state can be seen
through economic structures (Marxist: bourgeoise & Proletarian; Non –
North and South
-Independent State System: consists of political entities that each claim
to be sovereign with the right to make both foreign policy and domestic
decisions (Example: Greek City-States).
- Hegemonic State System: one or more states dominate the entire
system, setting the rules of commerce, war, and foreign policy. Hegemony
types are as follows: Unipolarity, Dual Hegemony, and Multipolarity
-Imperial: an empire consisting of separate social units associated by
regular interaction, but one among them asserts political dominance. Unlike
a hegemony, the empire system manages every part of the sub units within
its borders.
War Theory
Types:
- Interstate Wars
- Civil Wars
- Armed interventions
Causes of War:
International Level
Realists: No central authority to stop interstate and civil wars
- Alliances causes war: WWI- Franz Ferdinand killed by Serbian anarchists
- Arms Races and lack of alliances (ironically, WWII).
Individual and Group Levels
- social-psychological makeup (gore vs. Bush)
- groupthink
State and Societal Level
- nature or state society is in will dictate war
- Democracy poses peace (Wilsonian Theory on Prussia)
- Socialism fosters peace (Lennin – Democracy = capitalism = war
competition- Schumpter had competing view)
- World Federalists Theory
Prussian General Carl Von Clausewitz (1780-1831)- use of force
theory
- wrote “On War” in 1832 “Wars were merely means to accomplish
objectives not ends in themselves. Wars serve political objectives and
nothing else.”
- Armies are political agents and under the authority of political actors
- we must destroy the enemies capability to war with us.
(C) military capabilities (W) Will to use these means (E) Battlefield
Effectiveness.
E= C x W
Deterrence: D= C x W
Principles of War: Mass, surprise, concentration of force, economy of force
Just War Theory
Pacifism: rejects all forms of war.
normative theory
- jus ad bellum (right to go to war) jus in bello (right to conduct war)
Plato’s disciple Cicero “Just wars should be fought Justly”
Law of War: Hugo Grotius (Dutchman) or Just War Theory
1) Just cause to go to war 2) decision must be made by the authority of the
state 3) armed conflict must be justified 4) some chance of success 5) last
resort
11/26/2012 5:08:00 AM
11/26/2012 5:08:00 AM