Absolute gains: all states seek to gain more power and influence in the system to secure their national interests. This is absolute gain. Offensive neo-­‐realists are also concerned with increasing power related to other states. One must have enough power to secure interests and more power than any other state in the system-­‐ friend or foe. Alexander Wendt: Alexander Wendt (born 1958 in Mainz, West Germany) is one of the core social constructivist scholars in the field of international relations. He has research and teaching interests in international relations theory, global governance, political theory, and the philosophy of social science. His current research focuses on the inevitability of a world state, and on the idea of a quantum social science. He introduced international relations scholars to the agent-­‐structure problem and its relationship to international politics (1987). Attempt is important because he offers a research program as he promises to bring neo-­‐liberals and reflectivists together. International anarchy is not fixed, and does not automatically involve the self-­‐interested state behavior that rationalists see as built into the system. Anarchy could take on several different forms because the selfish identities and interests assumed by rationalists are in fact the products of interaction and are not prior to it (p. 165). Anarchy: a system operating in the absence of any central government. Does not imply chaos, but in Realist theory the absence of political authority. By anarchy what is most often meant is that international politics takes place in an arena that has no overarching central authority above the individual collection of sovereign states. Thus, rather than necessarily denoting complete chaos and lawlessness, the concept of anarchy is used by realists to emphasize the point that the international realm is distinguished by the lack of a central authority. For Realists, the structure of international politics is one of anarchy whereas domestic politics is viewed as hierachic. This is the Hobbesian anarchy. The Lockean anarchy is more seen as a rivalry, where competitors do not conquer each other. The Kantian anarchy even envisages a punctual cooperation between the protagonists. Balance of power: in realist theory, refers to an equilibrium between states; historical Realists regard it as the product of diplomacy (contrived balance) whereas structural Realists regard the system as having a tendency towards a natural equilibrium (fortuitous balance). It is a doctrine and an arrangement whereby the power of one state (or group of States) is checked by the countervailing power of other states. In realist theory, refers to an equilibrium between states; historical Realists regard it as the product of diplomacy (contrived balance) whereas structural Realists regard the system as having a tendency towards a natural equilibrium (fortuitous balance). It is the idea that national security is enhanced when military capabilities are distributed so that no one state is strong enough to dominate all others. If one state gains inordinate power, the theory predicts that it will take advantage of its strength and attack weaker neighbors thereby providing an incentive for those threatened to unite in a defensive coalition. Ex: Nato vs Warsaw Pact Battle of Sexes: a scenario in game theory illustrating the need for a coordination strategy. The scenario of this game envisages a couple who has just fallen in love and decided to go on holiday together. The problem is that one wants to go hiking in the mountains and the other wants to visit city. But both much prefer to be with their partner. In a matrix, there are two stable equilibriums. In this figure, cell numerals refer to ordinally ranked preferences: 4= best, 1= worst. The first number in each cell refers to A’s preference and the second number refers to B’s preference. “4,3” and “3,4” denotes an equilibrium outcome and a Pareto optimal strategy. cf) The Pareto Frontier Wishing to reach a compromise, the couple might decide to split their week’s holiday, spending time in the city and in the mountains. Since the two extreme positions represent a Pareto optimum, so too must all the possible combinations and these can be mapped to form a Pareto frontier. It illustrates the issue of coordination between two parties. Realists believe that states that are willing to form a regime confront the problem of coordination, not collaboration. Battle of Sexes shows the problem of coordination between a man and a woman. For example, if a man wants to spend the weekend hiking, and a woman wants to spend the weekend going to museum. They both want to do it with each other, but if they can’t come to consensus, they will have to spend the weekend separately. Therefore, the number of possible outcomes is four as shown in the table below. In the Battle of Sexes, the problem is not the possibility of defection, but that of failure in coordination. Coordination is a form of cooperation requiring parties to pursue a common strategy in order to avoid the mutually undesirable outcome arising from the pursuit of divergent strategies. In explaining the regime, realists insist that states wishing to form a regime confront the problem of coordination, not collaboration. States might unintentionally miss the mutually desired goal, failing to coordinate strategies. Brezhnev Doctrine: declaration by Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev in November 1968 that members of the Warsaw Pact would enjoy only ‘limited sovereignty’ in their political development. It was associated with the idea of ‘limited sovereignty’ for Soviet bloc nations, which was used to justify the crushing of the reform movement in Czechoslovakia in 1968. Clash of civilizations: controversial idea first used by Samuel Huntington in 1993 to describe the main cultural fault-­‐line of international conflict in a world without communism; the notion has become more popular still since 9/11. Collective Security: refers to an arrangement where 'each state in the system accepts that the security of one is the concern of all, and agrees to join in a collective response to aggression' (Roberts and Kingsbury 1993: 30). It is also the foundational principle of the League of Nations: namely, that member states would take a threat or attack on one member as an assault on them all (and on international norms more generally). The League would accordingly respond in unison to such violations of international law. Appreciating that such concerted action would ensue, putative violators-­‐the League's framers hoped-­‐would be duly deterred from launching aggressive strikes in the first place. As the 1920s and 1930s showed, however, theory and practice diverged wildly, with League members failing to take concerted action against Japanese imperialism in Asia, and German and Italian expansionism in Europe and Africa. Communitarianism: the ultimate source of meaning and value in human life resides in the community, whether ethnic, national, or perhaps even ‘virtual’. In terms of human rights, communitarians will look to, at best, a basic minimum of universal standards with emphasis on the community setting its own standards for most purposes. Constructivism: an approach to international politics that concerns itself with the centrality of ideas and human consciousness and stresses a holistic and idealist view of structures. As constructivists have examined world politics they have been broadly interested in how the structure constructs the actors' identities and interests, how their interactions are organized and constrained by that structure, and how their very interaction serves to either reproduce or transform that structure. Co-­‐ordination: a form of cooperation requiring parties to pursue a common strategy in order to avoid the mutually undesirable outcome arising from the pursuit of divergent strategies. It is a form of cooperation requiring parties to pursue a common strategy in order to avoid the mutually undesirable outcome arising from the pursuit of divergent outcome. The term is used in explaining the problems in forming a regime. The realists argue that there is a dilemma of coordination among states in forming a regime, whereas liberals believe that there is a problem of collaboration in forming a regime. The problem of coordination is well described in the analogy of a couple who needs to decide what to do in the weekends. A man wants to go hiking, and a woman wants to go museum. They both want to do what they prefer with each other. Such a coordination problem is well illustrated in the following table. Cosmopolitanism: denoting identification with a community, culture, or idea that transcends borders or particular societies, and implies freedom from local or national conventions/limitations. In the early 21st Century, the dominant cosmopolitanism was that of globalizing capitalism, which promoted a community and culture that was informed by market economics, a concept of universal human rights, and a relatively liberal social culture. The cosmopolitanism of globalizing capitalism fostered a degree of multiculturalism, although it sought to reconcile particular cultures to a common ground of universal political and economic principles. Critical theory: Many overlaps with Gramscian thoughts, but different intellectual concerns, and different Focus. Gramscianism is more concerned with International Political Economy while critical theory is more concerned with International Society, International Ethics, and Security. Critical Theory developed out of the Frankfurt School including Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, Herbert Marcuse and Jürgen Habermas. Key Concerns of critical theorists: 1. Focuses more on culture, bureaucracy, authoritarianism, the structure of family, rationality, theories of knowledge rather than the economic base of the society. 2. The working class has been absorbed by the system and no longer represents a threat to it. 3. Re-­‐defines emancipation (see the definition of ‘emancipation’ below) Cuban Missile Crisis(1962): The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States of America, the Soviet Union, and Cuba during the Cold War. In Russia, it is termed the "Caribbean Crisis," while in Cuba it is called the "October Crisis." The crisis ranks with the Berlin Blockade as one of the major confrontations of the Cold War, and is often regarded as the moment in which the Cold War came closest to escalating into a nuclear war. (explanation in detail: In September 1962, after some unsuccessful operations by the U.S. to overthrow the Cuban regime (Bay of Pigs, Operation Mongoose), the Cuban and Soviet governments began to surreptitiously build bases in Cuba for a number of medium-­‐range and intermediate-­‐range ballistic nuclear missiles (MRBMs and IRBMs) with the ability to strike most of the continental United States. This action followed the 1958 deployment of Thor IRBMs in the UK (Project Emily) and Jupiter IRBMs to Italy and Turkey in 1961 – more than 100 U.S.-­‐built missiles having the capability to strike Moscow with nuclear warheads. On October 14, 1962, a United States Air Force U-­‐2 plane on a photoreconnaissance mission captured photographic proof of Soviet missile bases under construction in Cuba.) Deconstruction: IR poststructuralists bring philosophical ideas and concepts to the study of world politics. Four concepts that have been particularly influential are discourse, genealogy, intertextuality, and deconstruction. To see language as connected signs(or as a set of codes in which words make sense only in relation to other words) underscores the structural side of post-­‐structuralism. Deconstruction holds that language is constituted by dichotomies that are not ‘neutral’ -­‐ one side within a dichotomy is superior to the other and that we should destabilize the hierarchy between inferior and superior terms. E.g. Developed-­‐underdeveloped, modern-­‐premodern, civilized-­‐barbaric Deconstruction shows how such dichotomies make something look like an objective description although it is in fact a structured set of values. Poststructrualists think that a central goal is to problematize dichotomies, show how they work, and thereby open up alternative ways to understand WP. Post-­‐structuralism is different from structuralism in that it sees sign structures as unstable because connections between words are never given once and for all. The way we describe events, places, peoples, and states are neither neutral nor given by the things themselves. E.g. In 2002, President Bush used the term ‘axis of evil’ to differentiate the USA and the countries that were part of this axis. Democratic Peace Thesis: a central plank of liberal internationalist thought, the democratic peace thesis makes two claims: first, liberal polities exhibit restraint in their relations with other liberal polities (the so-­‐called separate peace) but are imprudent in relations with authoritarian states. The validity of the democratic peace thesis has been fiercely debated in the IR literature. Dual Moral Standard: in Realist theory, the idea that there are two principles or standards of right and wrong: one for the individual citizen and a different one for the state. That is why the state is a moral force, because it creates and protects an ethical political community within its borders, via any means possible internationally. Edward. H. Carr (28 June 1892 – 3 November 1982): he was a realist and later left-­‐wing Marxist British historian, journalist and international relations theorist, and an opponent of empiricism within historiography. Carr contributed to the foundation of what is now known as classical realism in International relations theory. Through study of history (work of Thucydides and Machiavelli) and reflection and deep epistemological disagreement with Idealism, the dominant International relations theory between the World Wars, he came up with realism. In his book The Twenty Years' Crisis, Carr defined three dichotomies of realism and utopianism (Idealism), derived from Machiavellian realism. He argued that political science is the science not only of what is, but of what ought to be. For example, “All men are equal.” Is that statement a fact or an aspiration? Carr recognized the role of utopian (primitive) stage, but argued that purpose precedes and conditions thought in initial stage. Mature thoughts combine purpose with analysis and observations. Political science must be based on recognition of the interdependence of theory and practice, which can be attained only through a combination of utopia and reality. Therefore, Carr’s ideas serve as one of the foundations for the realism. Emancipation: Emancipation is a broad term used to describe various efforts to obtain political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranchised group, or more generally in discussion of such matters. Among others, Karl Marx discussed political emancipation in his 1844 essay "On the Jewish Question", although often in addition to (or in contrast with) the term human emancipation. Marx's views of political emancipation in this work were summarized by one writer as entailing "equal status of individual citizens in relation to the state, equality before the law, regardless of religion, property, or other “private” characteristics of individual people." Critical theorists re-­‐define emancipation. They defined emancipation in terms of a reconciliation of nature, and argued that emancipation potential lies in the realm of communication and that the route to emancipation lies through radical democracy. They also argued that emancipation is a process in which the borders of the sovereign state lose their ethical and moral significance. Franz Fanon: Franz Fanon was one of the thinkers who were influential in Third World politics. He advocated the violent overthrow of colonialism and dominance-­‐subordination relations in new states. Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks(1952) and The Wretched of the Earth(1963) initiated an ongoing discussion in post-­‐colonial studies about mechanisms of colonial control. Unlike other IR thinkers, Fanon focused on the power of colonial discourses to colonize the minds of all involved rather than focusing on objective power relations(military, economic, and cultural power). According to Fanon, the force of languages(words, racial epithets, and daily insults thrown at people) was the vehicle of status differentiation(European colonizers: justified exercisers of dominating power / Colonial societies: accepters of subordinate statuses). Fanon also discussed the importance of building a national consciousness that does not mimic European ways. In The Wretched of the Earth, he elaborates that the only tool that can drive out the insulting messages and free the colonized to achieve self-­‐defined identity and national consciousness is violence. The struggle for national consciousness, however, is complex culturally and politically(since local elites play the class and power cards they acquired from Europe even after independence) and extends long past the immediate post-­‐colonial moment of a country. Glasnost: policy of greater openness pursued by Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev from 1985, involving greater toleration of internal dissent and criticism. Globalization: a historical process involving a fundamental shift or transformation in the spatial scale of human social organization that links distant communities and expands the reach of power relations across regions and continents. It is also something of a catch-­‐all phrase often used to describe a single world-­‐economy after the collapse of communism, though sometimes employed to define the growing integration of the international capitalist system in the post-­‐war period. Gramscianism: Hegemony: a system regulated by a dominant leader, or political (and/or economic) domination of a region, usually by a superpower. In realist theory, the influence a Great Power is able to establish on other states in the system; extent of influence ranges from leadership to dominance. It is also power and control exercised by a leading state over other states. or Gramsci shifted the focus of Marxist analysis more towards superstructural phenomena. In particular, he explored the processes by which consent for a particular social and political system was produced and reproduced and through the operation of hegemony. Hegemony allows the ideas and ideologies of the ruling stratum to become widely dispersed, and widely accepted, throughout society. Gramsci was concerned with the question, why did revolution never occur in Europe? 137 – system not based on fear and coercion, but on consent. Ruling class' hegemony manufactures consent via institutions of civil society (media, education, church, voluntary organizations). Superstructure is key to change, while structure is just reflection.; former shows susceptibility to change. Thinkers such as Robert W. Cox have attempted to 'internationalize' Gramsci's thought by transposing several of his key concepts, most notably hegemony, to the global context. −
Historic bloc: Gramsci used the term historic bloc to describe the mutually reinforcing and reciprocal relationships between the socioeconomic relations (base) and political and cultural practices (superstructure) that together underpin a given order. (Chapter 8. Marxism) −
“mutually reinforcing and reciprocal relationships between socio-­‐economic relations (base) and political and cultural practices (superstructure) that together underpin a given order.” (138) interaction is what matters. Robert W. Cox, applied Gramsci to IR theory. A “theory is for someone, and for some purpose.” (140) Knowledge is not timeless or objective. What purpose does it serve? Realism is the ruling elites' ideology in the developed world. Holism: the view that structures cannot be decomposed to the individual units and their interactions because structures are more than the sum of their parts and are irreducibly social. The effects of structures, moreover, go beyond merely constraining the actors but also construct them. Constructivism holds that the international structure shapes the identities and interests of the actors. Idealism: holds that ideas have important causal effect on events in international politics, and that ideas can change. Referred to by realists as utopianism since it underestimates the logic of power politics and the constraints this imposes upon political action. Idealism as a substantive theory of international relations is generally associated with the claim that it is possible to create a world of peace. But idealism as a social theory refers to the claim that the most fundamental feature of society is social consciousness. Ideas shape how we see ourselves and our interests, the knowledge that we use to categorize and understand the world, the beliefs we have of others, and the possible and impossible solutions to challenges and threats. The emphasis on ideas does not mean a neglect of material forces such as technology and geography. Instead it is to suggest that the meanings and consequences of these material forces are not given by nature but rather driven by human interpretations and understandings. Idealists seek to apply liberal thinking in domestic politics to international relations, in other words, institutionalize the rule of law. This reasoning is known as the domestic analogy. According to idealists in the early twentieth century, there were two principal requirements for a new world order. First: state leaders, intellectuals, and public opinion had to believe that progress was possible. Second: an international organization had to be created to facilitate peaceful change, disarmament, arbitration, and (where necessary) enforcement. The League of Nations was founded in 1920 but its collective security system failed to prevent the descent into world war in the 1930s. Although state important, other actors (transnational, supranational); world is a complex system of bargaining; not a power struggle; states have to negotiate with other actors; state is a set of bureaucracies each with own interests; no such thing as national interest; democracy necessary; war is not natural condition of politics… Immanuel Kant: He wrote on philosophy during and at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment. In “Perpetual Peace”, Kant listed several conditions that he thought necessary for ending wars and creating a lasting peace. They included a world of constitutional republics. He opposed "democracy," which at his time meant direct democracy, believing that majority rule posed a threat to individual liberty. He thought that democracy is necessarily a despotism, because it establishes an executive power in which 'all' decide for or even against one who does not agree; that is, 'all,' who are not quite all, decide, and this is a contradiction of the general will with itself and with freedom. If citizens could vote on war (democracy, but not direct), there would not be any → International anarchy can be overcome by a federation of states and universal hospitality → perpetual peace. He is a founding figure of liberalism. He claimed that human beings can create a liberal democratic society which will lead to perpetual peace. His argument is based on his firm belief in the power of human reason. Imperialism: the practice of foreign conquest and rule in the context of global relations of hierarchy and subordination. It can lead to the establishment of an empire. Interdependence: A condition where states (or peoples) are affected by decisions taken by others; for example, a decision to raise interest rates in the USA automatically exerts upward pressure on interest rates in other states. Interdependence can be symmetric, i.e. both sets of actors are affected equally, or it can be asymmetric, where the impact varies between actors. A condition where the actions of one state impact upon other states (can be strategic interdependence or economic). Realists equate interdependence with vulnerability. Institutional isomorphism: One of today’s most pressing and impressive issues concerning global change is the ‘end of history’ and the apparent homogenization of world politics-­‐that is, the tendency of states to organize their domestic and international loves in similar ways and the growing acceptance of certain international norms for defining the good life and how to get there. A central theme in any discussion of global change is diffusion-­‐the spreading of particular models, practices, norms, strategies, or beliefs within a population. Institutional isomorphism observes that actors and organizations that share the same environment will, over time, begin to resemble each other in their attributes and characteristics. In other words, if there once was a diversity of models within the population, over time that diversity yields to conformity and convergence around a single model. E.g. There used to be various ways to organize state structures, economic activity, FTAs and so on. Now the world is organized around the nation-­‐state, states favor democratic forms of governance and market economies, and most int’l organizations have a multilateral form. Possible reasons for convergence: 1. States now realize that some institutions are just superior to others 2. States want acceptance, legitimacy, and status E.g. States might have turned democratic to be viewed as part of the ‘modern world’ International Security: It consists of the measures taken by nations and international organizations, such as the United Nations, to ensure mutual survival and safety. These measures include military action and diplomatic agreements such as treaties and conventions. The Traditional Security paradigm refers to a realist construct of security in which the referent object of security is the state. It relied on the anarchistic balance of power, a military build-­‐up between the US and the Soviet Union, and on the absolute sovereignty of the nation-­‐state. As Cold War tensions receded, it became clear that the security of citizens was threatened by hardships arising from internal state activities as well as external aggressors. International Society: an association of member states which are not under any higher political unity, who not only interact across international borders but also share common purposes, organizations, and standards of conducts. First instance is Ancient Greece city-­‐
states, more or less independent sharing common culture (however no concept of equal sovereignty). Then, Republica Christiana (Medieval Europe), based on joint structure of religious authority and political authority. Renaissance in Italy, with Stato (modern independent states) based on city states and rivalry between cities. European International Society: determined after Peace of Westphalia, where separate political entities are formally recognized, creating new international society based on state sovereignty unlike Republica Christiana, with juridical equality and political independence recognized, each state is legitimate, balance of power, organized multilateral system through diplomats. Globalization of IS: International law, diplomacy and balance of power applied around the world. Core values and Norms: Intl peace and security, state sovereignty, self-­‐determination, non-­‐intervention, non-­‐discrimination. (but problems arising) Jus ad bellum: The laws of war governing when it is legally permitted to use force or wage war. Chapter 7 of the United Nations Chapter, for example, restricts the legitimate use of force to 2 areas: international peace-­‐enforcement actions authorized by the Security Council, and individual or collective self-­‐defence in response to an armed attack. Jus in Bello: The laws of war governing the conduct of war once launched. These laws cover, among other things, the proportionate use of force, the targeting of civilians, the treatment of political prisoners. The principal legal instruments in this area are the Geneva Conventions of 1949, and the Additional Protocols to the Conventions of 1977. League of Nations: The League of Nations was an international organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920. The League was the first permanent international security organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. The League's goals included disarmament, preventing war through collective security, settling disputes between countries through negotiation, diplomacy and improving global welfare. The diplomatic philosophy behind the League represented a fundamental shift in thought from the preceding hundred years. The League lacked its own an armed force and so depended on the Great Powers to enforce its resolutions, keep to economic sanctions which the League ordered, or provide an army, when needed, for the League to use. However, they were often reluctant to do so. After a number of notable successes and some early failures in the 1920s, the League ultimately proved incapable of preventing aggression by the Axis Powers in the 1930s. The onset of the Second World War suggested that the League had failed in its primary purpose — to avoid any future world war. The United Nations replaced it after the end of the war and inherited a number of agencies and organizations founded by the League. Life cycle of norms: (Ch 9. Social constructivism pg 161-­‐2)Norms, or expectations of what constitutes proper behavior, can diffuse across the population to the point that they are taken for granted. Norms, therefore, do not simply erupt but rather evolve through a political process. A central issue, therefore, is the internationalization and institutionalization of norms, or what is now called the life cycle of norms. E.g. The rights of prisoners during times of war were not always recognized. These rights originated with the emergence of int’l humanitarian law and slowly spread and became increasingly accepted over the next several decades. The life cycle of norms is a concept that distinguishes the different stages of norm evolution-­‐
from emergency to cascade to internalization. There are three stages. Marxism: an economic and socio-­‐political worldview that centers around a political ideology which seeks to improve society by implementing socialism with the final goal of communism. It said that social change occurs because of the struggle between different classes within society who are under contradiction one against the other, the Marxist analysis leads to the conclusion that capitalism, the currently dominant form of economic management. And also, Marxists believe that eventually a socialist society would develop into an entirely classless system. Means of production (Ch 8. Marxist theories of international relations pg 133, 143) In Marxist theory, these are the elements that combine in the production process. They include labor as well as the tools and the technology available during any given historical period. So what? Well, according to Marx, economic development is the motor of history, and the central dynamic that he identifies is the tension b/w means of production and relations of production(ROP link and organize the MOP and in the production process) that together form the economic base of a given society. Means of production develop(thru tech advancement) -­‐> previous relations of production become outmoded, and restricts the most effective utilization of the new productive capacity. ↓ Leads to a process of social change whereby ROP are transformed in order to better accommodate the new configuration of means. Thus, developments in the economic base act as a catalyst for broader transformation of society as a whole. Change in the economic base ultimately leads to change in the ‘legal and political superstructure’. The Melian Dialogue: Occurred during the Peloponnesian War, when Athens rebuffed a request from the island of Melos to remain neutral in the war. While the latter appealed to justice, morality and honour, the Athenians stated that “[...] the powerful take what they can and the weak grant what they must”. This dialogue illustrates an exacerbate Realist stance, where only power counts and there is no space for rules and morality. New Marxism (Ch 8. Marxist theories of international relations pg 142-­‐3) New Marxists use fundamental tenets of Marx’s writings to critique other theoretical approaches to international relations and globalization theory. Justin Rosenberg uses Marx’s ideas to criticize realist theories of international relations. He seeks to develop an alternative approach that understands historical change in WP as a reflection of transformations in the prevailing relations of production. (different modes of production -­‐> different international relations) According to Benno Teschke, the study of social property relations provides the means for analyzing the key elements of international relations, and the transitions b/w one int’l system and another. A social property approach examines the way in which class relations, forms of exploitation, and control of the means of production have changed in different historical epochs. The practice of IR was different since they reflect the character of social property relations dominant in each epoch. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): organization established by treaty in April 1949 comprising 12 (later 16) countries from Western Europe and North America. The most important aspect of the NATO alliance was the American commitment to the defence of Western Europe. Neo-­‐neo debate: ‘Open door’ policy: The Open Door Policy is a concept in foreign affairs, which usually refers to the policy in 1899 allowing multiple Imperial powers access to China, with none of them in control of that country. As a theory, the Open Door Policy originates with British commercial practice, as was reflected in treaties concluded with Qing Dynasty China after the First Opium War (1839–1842). As a specific policy with regard to China, it was first advanced by the United States in the Open Door Notes of September–November 1899, authored by William Woodville Rockhill. In 1898, the United States had become an East Asian power through the acquisition of the Philippine Islands, and when the partition of China by the European powers and Japan seemed imminent, the United States felt its commercial interests in China threatened. U.S. Secretary of State John Hay sent notes to the major powers (France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Japan, and Russia), asking them to declare formally that they would uphold Chinese territorial and administrative integrity and would not interfere with the free use of the treaty ports within their spheres of influence in China. The open door policy stated that all European nations, and the United States, could trade with China. Peloponnesian War: the war between the nation-­‐states Athens and Sparta. Thucydides' writing on this war is considered the beginning of classical realism. Thucydides explained the cause of the war as "the growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta." His writing shows how the anarchic system works. Sparta wanted to survive but felt that Athens, with its growing power (i.e. the distribution of power was becoming uneven), would eventually destroy it, so Sparta went to war with Athens. Athens felt it needed power to keep its empire. Thus, both the Athenians and Spartans were acting on basic human motivations: ambition, fear, and self-­‐interest. The Melian dialogue comes out of this war. realism>classical Perpetual Peace: Immanuel Kant wrote a paper called "Perpetual Peace" in which he talked about how there could be world peace. He had three articles, or points, in this paper. First, states had to have a republican constitution, second, these states had to form a federation of free states (i.e. instead of a peace treaty ending one war, this would be a growing group within which there would be no wars (they would have collective security, and eventually the group would include the whole world)), and there would be cosmopolitan right (i.e. universal human rights). liberalism pluralism: can refer to a theory linked with liberalism or to ethics. In ethics, pluralism refers to the view that the world is made up of different states or communities that have their own moral standards with a few of the moral standards shared by all states. (Realism says there is no shared morality, while cosmopolitanism says the whole world has the same moral standard.) Outside of ethics, pluralism is the view that non-­‐state actors (e.g. MNEs, INGOs, and international terrorist groups) are now an important part of IR. Pluralists see IR as a web of many different kinds of actors. They developed the idea of interdependence, which says that "changes in one part of the system have direct and indirect consequences for the rest of the system" because of the spread of capitalism and a global culture. Early pluralists altered their position to agree with the basic ideas of neo-­‐realism (anarchy, states are most important, and rationalist way to do social science) and became known as neo-­‐liberals. Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye are associated with pluralism and neo-­‐liberalism. prisoner's dilemma: a game theory situation involving two prisoners. They are told that if one of them confesses, (s)he will go free while the other one will be hanged. If both of them confess, they won't be hanged, but they will spend 10 years in prison. If neither confess, they will both go free. This prisoner's dilemma shows how the prisoners would need to cooperate in order to get the best result. See Box 18.3, p. 302. liberalism>liberal institutionalism. Cooperation is undermined by lack of trust. It is a scenario in game theory illustrating the need for a collaboration strategy. When two criminal suspects were caught by police, each is investigated in a separate room since the police does not know both are involved in the crime yet. Each has two options, either defect or collaborate. The choices are illustrated in the following table. States fail to pursue collaborative strategies because they expect the other members of the anarchic system to pursue competitive strategies radical democracy: the critical theorist Habermas's solution to attaining emancipation. Radical democracy is a system in which the greatest participation possible (i.e. not just inside a state but perhaps worldwide) can take place because barriers to participation are identified. See also Andrew Linklater (p. 141-­‐142). Marxism>critical theory raison d’état: French for "reason of state." It is the application of realism to actual politics (and not just the study of politics). Realism The practical application of the doctrine of Realism and virtually synonymous with it. According to the historian Friedrich Meineckle, the doctrine of raison d’État is the fundamental principle of international conduct, the state’s first law of motion. State must pursue power, no universal moral principles, need for survival requires states leaders to distance themselves from traditional morality. (Machiavelli: it was imperative that state leaders learned a different kind of morality which accorded not to traditional virtues but to political necessities). rapprochement: the U.S. policy of trying to improve relations with China in the early 1970s after Sino-­‐Russian relations had deteriorated. It is associated with U.S. President Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger. rational choice: how actors try to maximize their benefits. The idea of rational choice also tries to explain collective outcomes by seeing how actors in the same system try to maximize their benefits under specific restraints. Rawls' law of peoples: Most developed account pluralist ethics. Liberal states have no cosmopolitan duties to globalize their own conception of distributive justice. Instead, societies are to be understood as if they have only minimal impact upon each other. The conditions required for global distributive justice are not present. Therefore the best that can be hoped for is a “law of peoples”, which covers rules of self-­‐determination, just war, mutual recognition (sovereignty), non-­‐intervention, and mutual aid. −
1) People are free and independent, and their freedom and independence are to be respected by other peoples −
2) People are to observe treaties and undertakings −
3) Peoples are to observe a duty of non-­‐intervention −
4) Peoples have the right of self-­‐defense but no right to instigate war for reasons other than self-­‐defense −
5) People are to honor human rights −
6) People are to observe certain specified restrictions in the conduct of war −
7) Peoples have a duty to assist other people living under unfavorable conditions that prevent their having a just or decent political and social regime relative gains: what states are concerned about according to realism that constrains them from cooperating. Contrast with absolute gains. realism Robert Cox's 'world order': when Robert Cox rules the world. According to the glossary in the textbook, world order is the organization of the world by the unit of individual human beings rather than by states, and the degree of order is based on how well certain conditions, such as security, human rights, basic needs (food, shelter, clean water, etc.), and justice, exist or are distributed. For Robert Cox, however, world order appears to refer to the prevailing system at any given time, similar to Gramsci's "historic bloc." Cox views world order as a system imposed on the world by a dominant, hegemonic power according to its interests through both coercion and drawing consent. (This builds on Gramsci's and Machiavelli's view of power as a centaur, half beast (coercion) and half man (consent).) Cox views the central idea of the current world order as free trade, which has been imposed on the world by the hegemons the UK and the USA. It is widely accepted in the world that free trade benefits everyone, but whether this is true is questionable. What is certain is that free trade benefits the hegemon, which can produce the most competitive goods most efficiently, so the hegemon's economy has an advantage in all markets. The wide acceptance of free trade shows the consent part of the USA's power, and the requirement of Third World countries to adopt neo-­‐liberal trade policies as a condition of aid from organizations like the IMF (which some argue are strongly influenced by US interests) shows the coercion part. See Case Study on p. 139. Marxism>Gramscianism security dilemma: the situation in an anarchic system where one state's pursuit of security through self-­‐help leads to the insecurity of other states. This leads other states to try to improve their security (often through military development), which makes everyone feel less secure. Wheeler and Booth say security dilemmas happen "when the military preparations of one state create an unresolvable uncertainty in the mind of another as to whether those preparations are for 'defensive' purposes only (to enhance its security in an uncertain world) or whether they are for offensive purposes (to change the status quo to its advantage)." p.95. realism>structural self-­‐help: tIn Realist theory, in an anarchical environment, states cannot assume other state will come to their defense even if they are allies. In domestic politics, citizens do not have to defend themselves, the state does it for them. In the international system, there is no higher authority to prevent and counter the use of force. Cannot count on another state or international organization (such as UN). Each state must take care of itself. In international politics, the structure of the system does not permit friendship, trust, and honor; only a perennial condition of uncertainty generated by the absence of a global government. separate peace: the peace that exists among democratic states. liberalism shadow of the future: a way of saying that decision makers are aware of the future. This applies to a certain case of the prisoner's dilemma where the prisoner's dilemma game can be played many times over again. If the game can be played many times, then players (the prisoners) might begin to cooperate and be silent so that they can both go free and not go to prison. Thus, states might cooperate better in situations that can happen again and again. See p. 303. liberalism>liberal institutionalism Sinatra doctrine: Soviet foreign ministry's statement in October 1989 that Eastern European countries were "doing it their way" (refers to Frank Sinatra's "I did it my way" song). This was the end of the Brezhnev doctrine and Soviet hegemony in Eastern Europe. Statism: the realist idea of humankind being organized into communities headed by states. The state protects and maintains the values and beliefs of the community. Belief that a government should control either economic or social policy or both to some degree. The state is the legitimate representative of the collective will of the people and is, according to Max Weber "the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory”. Outside of boundaries of state, anarchy exists, with no overarching central authority. It can take different forms, from Minarchism to totalitarians. Structural Realism: Intl politics is a struggle for power but not a result of human nature, rather to a lack of overarching authority above states and relative distribution of power in intl system. Structural Realists believe the relative distribution of power in the international system is the key independent variable in understanding important international outcomes such as war and peace, alliance politics, and the balance of power. Structural realists are interested in providing a rank order of states so as to be able to differentiate and count the number of great powers that exist at any particular point in time(structure of the international system), such as Cold War : 2 superpowers. Subaltern studies (Ch 11. Post-­‐colonialism pg 187-­‐90) Post-­‐colonial studies started with an interest in the lives and knowledge of people of subaltern statuses in India. Subalterns are social groups at the lowest levels of economic power and esteem who are often excluded from political participation, such as peasants and women. Subaltern studies focuses on the history and culture of subaltern groups-­‐people who were seen, if seen at all, the victims of history or quaint examples of local culture. Unlike other approaches in IR, it took a bottom-­‐
up approach rather than a state-­‐down approach. With little information on subaltern life, early post-­‐colonial writers turned to post-­‐colonial fiction for insight. This makes post-­‐colonial/subaltern studies very different from traditional IR studies since the use of fiction as a data source is eschewed in IR studies. However, it is important to bear in mind the question of whether the subaltern can speak or whether the Western researcher ends up putting that speech into dominant Western frameworks. World-­‐travelling methods encourage researchers and subalterns to find common meeting points that bring the Western researcher closer to the subaltern world, rather than vice versa. World-­‐travelling is a post-­‐colonial methodology associated with feminist scholars of Latin American background. The world-­‐traveller strives to achieve a space of mutual understanding using the tool of empathy, which is the ability to enter into the spirit of a different experience and find in it an echo of some part of oneself.(WTF-­‐_-­‐) The Western world-­‐traveller must ‘learn to become unintrusive, unimportant, patient to the point of tears, while at the same time open to learning any possible lessons’-­‐lessons that help her connect with others rather than maintain pristine distance from them. Then the subaltern can speak and gradually the words can help shape IR to be more inclusive of the world and well rounded in its sense of groups that have been historically neglected as participants in IR. I don’t think I will ever be a “world-­‐traveller” -­‐_-­‐ Pogge's solution: emphasizes the causal relationship between the wealth of the rich and the poverty of the poor. Pogge argues that the rules of the system and basic structure of international society actively damage or disadvantage certain sections of the economy, thus directly contradicting the Rawlsian principles of justice. The rich have a duty to help the poor because the international order, which they largely created, is a major cause of poverty. Indeed, Pogge argues that the rich countries are collectively responsible for aid in such bout 18 million deaths from poverty annually. Most importantly, Pogge argues that our negative duties not to harm others give rise to positive duties to aid them. Therefore we who gain most from the current order have an obligation to change the order and to change it in such a way that the most needy benefit. Structure of international trade and economic dependence should ensure that, despite an unequal distribution of material resources worldwide, no one should be unable to meet their basic requirements, nor should they suffer disproportionately from the lack of material resources. Finally, pluralist objections do not cancel out this obligation: “There is an injustice in the world economic scheme, which it would be wrong for more affluent participants to perpetuate. And that is so quite independently of whether we and the starving are united by a communal bond.” power: there are many different definitions of this based on the IR theory and the theorist. Good luck finding all of them. hard power: refers to material power such as military and economic power. Contrast this with soft power. Both terms were popularized by Joseph Nye. smart power: the smart use of both hard power and soft power. In some situations, it is better to use hard power, and in others, it is better to use soft power. soft power: less obvious forms of power such as cultural, ideological, or institutional influence (co-­‐optive power). For example, the United States has power through multilateral institutions (such as the UN and the IMF?). Contrast soft power with hard power. statism: the realist idea of humankind being organized into communities headed by states. The state protects and maintains the values and beliefs of the community. The state is the legitimate representative of the collective will of the people and is, according to Max Weber "the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory." See p. 87, 93-­‐4. Realism key: a.k.a. = also known as INGO = international non-­‐governmental organization (NGO) MNE = multinational enterprise (this is pretty much the same as multinational corporation (MNC) and transnational corporation (TNC)) Sino = Chinese (pronounce "sigh no" (which is how I feel about having all my mid-­‐terms in the same week)) Structural Power: [ pg 94 ] -
Key Points 1. Power is a relational concept: one does not exercise power in a vacuum, but in relation to another entity. 2. Power is a relative concept: calculations need to be made not only about one’s own power capabilities, but about the power that other state actors posses. ** accurately assessing power is complex, and is often reduced to counting the number of troops, tanks, aircraft, and naval ships a country possesses in the belief that this translates into the ability to get other actors to do something they would not otherwise do. Structural Realism: [pg 89-­‐93, 117-­‐119] Structural Realists believe the relative distribution of power in the international system is the key independent variable in understanding important international outcomes such as war and peace, alliance politics, and the balance of power. Structural realists are interested in providing a rank order of states so as to be able to differentiate and count the number of great powers that exist at any particular point in time( structure of the international system). (Waltz) Key Thinker Rousseau Waltz Mearsheimer -
Key Texts The state of war Big Idea It is not human nature but the anarchical system that fosters fear, jealousy, suspicion, and insecurity Theory of International Anarchy leads to a logic of Politics self-­‐help in which states seek to maximize their security. The most stable distribution of power in the system is bipolarity. Tragedy of Great Power The anarchical, self-­‐help Politics system compels states to maximize their relative power position. Believe international politics is essentially a struggle for power (like classical realism) 
Do not endorse the classical realist assumption that the struggle for power is a result of human nature. 
Attribute security competition and inter-­‐state conflict to the lack of an overarching authority above states and the relative distribution of power in the international system. -
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Structural realism can be divided into two further camps 
Those who argue that states are security maximizers (defensive realism) 
Those who argue that states are power maximizers (offensive realism) International System (Waltz theory-­‐ 3 elements) 
Organizing principles  Anarchy-­‐ corresponds to the decentralized realm of international politics  Hierarchy – basis of domestic order 
Differentiation of units-­‐ units of the international system are functionally similar sovereign states  Unit-­‐level variation is irrelevant in explaining international outcomes 
Distribution of capabilities-­‐ **Waltz believes the distribution of capabilities across units is of fundamental importance to understanding crucial international outcomes. Survival [94-­‐95, 151] the first priority for state leaders, emphasized by historical realists such as Machiavelli, Meineche, and Weber (glossary) -
Survival is held to be a precondition for attaining all other goals, whether these involve conquest or merely independence. 
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Ultimate goal of states is security. Survival is at the core of defensive realism vs. offensive realism (see structural realism) Tacit Regimes [pg 298] *refers to classifying a regime -
A belief that there can be an expectation that informal rules will be observed (in between a highly formal agreement and absence of formal agreement). 
Classification of the formality of a regime can range from highly formalized agreement to absence of any formal agreement. The Melian Dialogu [pg 91] A specific episode of war between Athens and Sparta (Case Study on the realist law of power politics) -
Athenians: asserted the Logic of Power Politics-­‐ because of our vastly superior military force, submit peacefully or be exterminated (fait accompli) -
Melians: arguments for not submitting were grounded in justice, God, and their allies the Spartans. -
RESULT: Melians were forced to submit to the realist iron law that power politics prevails in human affairs. The post-­‐Westphalian order The Singer Solution [pg 207] ‘globalization means that we should value equality between societies, and at the global leve, as much as we value political equality within one society’ -
An impartial and Universalist (and utilitarian) conception of morality requires that those who can help, out to, regardless of any causal relationship with poverty. -
Calls for comprehensive mutual aid principle where ‘if it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance we ought, morally to do it.” -
People in well-­‐off countries out to give all the money left over after paying for necessities to alleviate Third World poverty. Third World [] a notion that was first used in the late 1950s to define both the underdeveloped world and the political and economic project that would help overcome underdevelopment: employed less in the post-­‐cold war ear (glossary). Thucydides [ pg 86-­‐87, 89-­‐90] Classical political theorist: historian of the Peloponnesian War, a conflict between two great powers in the ancient Greek World. His work has been admired by subsequent generations of realists for the insights he raised about many of the perennial issues of international politics. -
The classical realist lineage begins with Thucydides’ representation of power politics as a law of human behavior. The drive for power and the will to dominate are held to be fundamental aspects of human nature. Treaty of Westphalia [pg 23] Treaties of Wesphalia 1648: the treaties of Osnabruck and Munster, which together for the ‘Pease of Westphalia’, ended the Thirty Years War and were crucial in delimiting the political rights and authority of European monarchs. Among other things, the Treaties granted monarchs rights to maintain standing armies, build fortifications, and levy taxes. (glossary) Truman Doctrine [pg. 57] Statement made by US President Harry Truman in March 1947 that it ‘must be the policy of the United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures’. Intended to persuade Congress to support limited aid to Turkey and Greece, the doctrine came to underpin the policy of containment and American economic and political support for its allies. (glossary) Washington Consensus [pg 126,128] the belief of key opinion-­‐formers in Washington that global welfare would be maximized by the universal application of neoclassical economic policies (neo-­‐liberal institutionalism) which favour a minimalist state and an enhanced role for the market. (glossary) -
An orientation toward neoliberal policies Wind of Change World Government [pg 36] associated in particular with those Idealists who believe that peace can never be achieved in a world divided into separate sovereign states. Just as governments abolished the sate of nature in civil society, the establishment of a world government must end the state of war in international society. (glossary) -
The individual societies retained distinctions based on such features as language, culture, or religion, but their political and legal independence was no greater than that of the constituent parts of the USA. World System Theory [pg 152] (Immanual Wallerstein’s theory) there is a structure to the world system that is defined by capitalism, and that the structure determines what states are and what they do.