International Relations Test #1

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Levels of Analysis

Back 1

How to organize explanations in world politics in terms of the size and complexity of the actors, behavior and outcomes involved.

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Structure of the System

Back 2

The arrangement of state and non-state actors in the international system, consisting of the principle of authority and the distribution of power.

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Agency

Back 3

Ideas changing things

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States and the Nation State

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A legal entity consisting of a government that manages the affairs of a population in a given territory. A nation state is the same, but also considers itself a nation. Important because it is argued that they are the primary actors of the international system.

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Theory

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An intellectual tool that provides a way of organizing the complexity of the world and helps to show how phenomena are interrelated. The theories are the main ways people think about IR. Ex. Neo-liberalist and Neo-Realist theories.

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Interdependence

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A relationship in which changes or events in one part of the system produce some reaction or have some significant consequence for other parts of the system. Significant because more interdependence means less chance of war. Example is Europe today. EU means less war.

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Polarity

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Refers to a number of major power centers (states or groups of states) known as poles, in the international system.

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Different Types of Polarity

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• Unipolarity: 1 state possesses predominant share of capabilities and influence.
• Bipolarity: 2 poles. The most stable system according to neo-realists.
• Unbalanced Multipolarity: Poles have unequal power. Least stable system.
• Balanced Multipolarity: Poles have roughly equal power. Less stable than bipolarity due to more conflict dyads and potential for miscalculation.

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Hegemony

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When one state, by virtue of its military and economic predominance, is able to determine and maintain essential rules by which relations among states are governed. Smaller powers have to obey.
• Realists say that no power would be large enough to be a world hegemon, but there can be regional hegemons.
• Liberals argue that international law can do the work of hegemons.

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Stability

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Describes an international system with infrequent military conflict and/or minimal volatility in international economic relations.

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Major power

Back 11

just like it sounds

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Intergovernmental

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relations BETWEEN states, describes organizations like the EU

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Supranational

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Above the national governments of member states.

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Anarchy

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An arrangement that lacks a higher authority, and a central feature of the modern international system. Realists believe that the natural state of the world is anarchic.

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Collective Security

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An arrangement by which all members of the international community agree to oppose together a threat to the security of any one of them. NATO is an example.

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Balance of Power

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An arrangement, whether bipolar or multipolar, in which capabilities are fairly evenly distributed among the major actors.

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Constructivism

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Identity drives behavior. Based on interactions. Look at domestic issues, but also look at system.

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Rationalism

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a. Existence of international society of states
b. Belief in limited degree of progress in IR
c. States not only about power: also about compromise
d. Order not static; can be improved

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Multilateralism

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An approach to foreign policy that treats international collaboration as a binding norm, and not simply as appropriate when it promotes the state’s self-interests.

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Principle of Subsidiary

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Often considered a corollary of the principle of the common good, subsidiarity requires those in positions of authority to recognize that individuals have a right to participate in decisions that directly affect them, in accord with their dignity and with their responsibility to the common good. Decisions should be made at the most appropriate level in a society or organization, that is, one should not withdraw those decisions or choices that rightly belong to individuals or smaller groups and assign them to a higher authority

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Functionalism

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The idea that international organizations should aim to solve problems arising in specific functional areas, after which those solutions may be applied in other areas. Once you achieve integration in one aspect, it will spill over into other aspects.

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Monocausality

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The idea that there is one single thing that causes something else to happen. Ex. War. It is agreed upon that there is not monocausality when it comes to war.

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Militarism

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Significance= Could be cause for major wars, according to neo-liberals.

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28) Nationalism

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The set of psychological, cultural, and social forces that drive the formation of a nation and sustain national identity. Significance= Could be cause for major wars, according to neo-liberals.

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Civil War

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When an identifiable rebel organization challenges the government militarily and the resulting violence results in more than 1,000 combat-related deaths, with at least 5% on each side over the course of the conflict.
Kalyvas’ Definition: Armed combat within the boundaries of a recognized sovereign unit between parties subject to a common authority.

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What are the determinants of a nation-state’s power and influence?

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Geopolitical position, military resources, economic resources, intangibles, system of government

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What are the new categories of actors on the world stage?

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Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs like the UN); International non-governmental organizations (INGOS, like Greenpeace); Multinational Corporations (MNCs like Ford) Citizens and Individuals, Nationalism and irredentism, religion and terrorism

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How are civil wars different from international wars?

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• They involve non-state actors.
• Recruits and finances are not given
• Outside of the structure of rules.
• More prevalent, last longer, often are more brutal and inhuman.
• Possess a lower rate of negotiated settlement.

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3) How do the realist and liberal paradigms view the international system?

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world is a dangerous anarchy filled with power struggles versus power struggle can be overcome through IGOs and spread of democracy

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What are the causes of wars according to Neo-realists? Neo-Liberals?

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Neo-Realists:
o Rejects state-level theory in favor of system level
o Anarchy reigns & states differ only in capacity
o States seek to maintain hierarchical position
-Ex. Gains relative to gains of other state more important than actual gains.
Neo-Liberals
o Accepts three key ideas of neo-realism
• Existence & importance of anarchy
• State as important actor
• States are self-interested
o BUT anarchy not sole explanation for interstate cooperation
o In conditions of high interdependence, states share interests

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Are major wars obsolete?

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1) They are very destructive, which makes them prohibitive
2) The gains from war are now minimal.
3) The status of war is now criminal. The EU and the UN see it as criminal, for example. Saddam Hussein, war crimes.
4) Much depends on China and Russia whether these wars are possible because they are the two most likely to fight because they are not democratic, and China has a growing economy.

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What is the European Union’s institutional structure?

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It is unique, and created by itself, not from the outside. It consists of:
• European Council: the Executive: All the powers of the governments. All big decisions made here.
• Commission: Policy Initiative & Implementation. Super-civil service. Implements policy. Made up of 25 commissioners. Head of commission is extremely powerful.
• European Parliament: “Democratic Oversight”. Very few powers. 732 members, in rough proportion to population.
• Court of Justice: enforcing the law. Similar to the Supreme Court.

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Are states still the primary actors of the international system? Or how do non-state actors also influence international politics?

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Al Qaeda (non-state actors) = fundamental challenge.
• Treaty of Westphalia (1648) formalizes modern state system
o Ruler = legal entity enjoying sovereignty (internal & external)
o Sovereign combines secular and spiritual power
o State alone enjoys monopoly of use of armed force
• States still dominant but running out of time?

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What drives international politics: interests, identities, or both?

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Both: different identities create diverging interest: think about geopolitical differences between land locked states and islands for example.

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How would you describe the current international system? Unipolar, bipolar, balanced multipolar, unbalanced multipolar, or none of these?

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It is bipolar due to the overwhelming military power that the U.S. has, but the EU has ever-increasing economic power.
perhaps it is becoming balanced multi-polar with the rise of Asia

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Do some kinds of international systems guarantee more stability than others?

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i. Unipolar systems: Unstable because other countries are not going to want one country to be overpowering, so they will fight the hegemony.
ii. Bipolar systems (most stable) (1945-1990) No wars between major powers. Only one unidentified war and it only lasted a month. Only 10,000 deaths under bipolar system.
iii. Balanced multipolar: Poles have roughly equal power. Less stable than bipolar because there is more conflict dyads and potential for miscalculation. Only 18% of years had wars. Over 1 million deaths.
iv. Unbalanced multipolar (least stable) 80% of period had wars. 27 million deaths. Poles have unequal power.

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What are some distinctive features of underdevelopment? Does the failure of underdevelopment mean war?

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1) Poverty. Least significant.
2) Disequilibrium between resources and demography. Main problem. 2/3 of the global south is undernourished. But, 2/3 live on the land, so they are being taken advantage of.
3) Dualism (co-existing but disconnected economies). Rural sector is stagnant. No connection to industrial area.
4) Unskilled and under-utilized labor force in the countryside.
5) Fiscal inadequacies. The rich avoid paying taxes and the poor do.
6) Rampant national debt

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Compare and contrast the countries belonging to the “Global South.”

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China: Large population, many natural resources, opening up to the world
India: Diverse industrial basis (finances and IT), but still very poor.
BOTH INDIA AND CHINA ARE GROWING QUICKLY.
OPEC 11: Primarily in the Middle East Africa and South America. High income from oil, but variation among them.
NIE’s/NIC’s: Newly Industrialized Economies/Countries. Asian Tigers. Very high tech.
BEM- Big Emerging Markets. Large countries that used to be poor. South Africa, Turkey.
Sub-Saharan Africa: Many countries, poor, underdeveloped.

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7) What is the source of the European Union? Economics, Politics, or both?

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• Post-War plans for “Euro-bloc” (1944-45) P
• Project for Western Union (1947) P
• Coal and Steel Community (1951) P (+E): 6 countries. Economic integration. Political because it included Germany, which was a prior enemy. This is because the German economy recovered quickly after the world war, and was moving quickly at this point. Start of the EU.
• European Defense Community (1950-54) (P): Debate on whether or not to have a European Army. Integrated defense, but it didn’t work.
• Treaty of Rome (1957) (E + P) European Economic Community (EEC). No tariffs between states.
• Constitutional Treaty agreed June 2004- Gave Europe a constitution, similar in text to the US Constitution, different in context.

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8) What does the EU do? Why does it do it?

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Why does it do it?
• Atonement for Europe’s divisive past?
• Belief that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
• Ceding sovereignty or gaining sovereignty?
• “Balancing” the USA?
• It has become European political practice (multilateralism)

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11) How far should the EU extend? Discuss with references to the theories of IR.

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Think about Turkey- fundamental differences in identity

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12) What are the causes of armed conflict between states? Discuss with reference to Waltz’s three levels of analysis. Which level of analysis presents the most plausible explanation of why international wars happen?

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Individual level (human nature, pretty useless); state level- nsture of the state, militarism, nationalism, political culture; system level- anarchy obliges states to seek max. power, compare different typed of multipolarity

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Liberalism

Back 43

• Spread of democratic institutions = peace
• Economics as important as politics
• Collective security to replace balance of power

• Strengths of Liberalism
o Belief in activist institutional organisation
• Universal, international, holistic perspective

• Weaknesses of Liberalism
o No prescription for armed force
• Self-righteous moralising normative feature

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Realism

Back 44

• The most influential school of IR theory
Humans beings selfish and power seeking
World basically anarchic and dangerous
States defend national interest
Aim= maximize relative gain via power- very different from liberalism
Self-helf and sovereignty- key notions
Conflict between status quo and change states
War is normal
Stability only via balance of power
Ethics & morality have no place in realism

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defensive realism

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bi-polarity is more stable than multi-polairty
o nuclear weapons help stabilize the system
o if defense easier than offense, wars are unlikely
o states have little interest in conquest
o wars formented by domestic militants

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offensive realism

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o All states forced by system to compete
o Hope for peace vain
o Europe will revert to war
o China will challenge US
o Assertive quest for hegemony
o Stability served best by bipolarity not multi-polarity

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neo-liberal institutionalists

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o Accept three key ideas of neo-realism
• Existence & importance of anarchy
• State as important actor
• States are self-interested
o BUT anarchy not sole explan. for interstate cooperation
o Complex interdependence: states shar interests

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Global North

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The term used for the commonly wealthier, more industrialized nations of the northern hemisphere. Their dominance over the south prevails because they provide manufactured goods while the south provides commodity goods.

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Global South

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The term used for the commonly undeveloped or developing countries of the southern hemisphere. However, the southern states do not necessarily fall under this stereotype; China is rapidly developing as the world’s dominant economic power, while the OPEC 11, the NIEs (Asia Tigers), and the BEMs (big emerging markets) are developing well. Most of Sub-Saharan Africa, however, has not been able to spur any economic growth.

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G-77

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A shaky coalition of developing countries that pushed for an intergrated program for commodity production and trade at meetings of the UN Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It wanted price and production agreements among producers, the creation of international buffer stocks of commodities financed by a common fund, multilateral long-term supply contracts, and other measures to reduce fluctuations in the price of commodity exports (main goal).

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Core and Periphery

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The core represents the industrialized countries and the periphery represents the developing countries.

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New International Economic Order

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Demands on restructuring world trade and industry that would help the South more. These demands called for changes in the international market conditions affecting trade in primary commodities, the promotion of industrial development in nonindustrialized countries, and increased developmental assistance and debt relief.

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Treaty of Westphalia

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1648 - formalizes modern state system of Nation-States
o No higher external authority than state ruler
o Ruler = legal entity enjoying sovereignty (including the power to tax and declare war)
o Outside the territory of the state = anarchy
o State alone enjoys monopoly of use of armed force

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Behaviorism

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-An approach to the study of IR that emphasizes the application of scientific methods.

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Collective Security

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-A system in which all the members of an international community agree to oppose together a threat to the security of any one of them. This is the doctrine off of which the UN was created, and it helps ensure the security of each of its members by offering back up to any one of them to whom a threat is posed under the idea that a threat to any of them is a threat to all of them.