Poli 243 Theories

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Core Assumptions of Classical Idealism

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1. Human behavior can be perfected
2. There exists a harmony of interests between people and between nations.
3. Therefore, war is never an appropriate way to solve disputes; instead, the underlying harmony of interests should be uncovered and emphasized
4. If the correct laws and institutions guide behavior, the good in humans can be evoked (illuminating the harmony of interests between people and between states)

Criticized for being prescriptive with normative goals without understanding how the issue works.

Idealists see linkages between states and the people within the state.

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Core Assumptions of Classical Realism

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1. Humans have a will to survive, which makes them selfish
2. The will to survive means a will to dominate the environment, including other humans.
3. Since this creates competition to dominate, the will to survive creates a search for power.

Doesn't develop normative goals and cannot present an emotional appeal to the public

World War II allowed the Realists to win the Realist/Idealist battle reined from 50s to 60s

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Core Assumptions of Structural Realism

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1. States are the most important actors in international relations
2. Sates are unitary, rational actors
3. The international system is anarchic
4. States, in order to protect their own interests in this environment, will seek to maximize their power

Security Dilemma always an issue. Very zero-sum.

Critics say that power doesn't fulfill every demand and need for the state and citizens.

Process flows from structure

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Core Assumptions of Neo-realism

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1. States are the most important actors in international relations
2. States are unitary, rational actors
3. The international system is anarchic
4. States will seek to maximize their utility

Modifies power to utility

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Core Assumptions of Classical Marxism

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1. Social classes are the most important actors in politics
2. Classes act in their own material interest
3. The expropriation of surplus value is exploitation (the employer is keeping the surplus value of the workers productivity - work 12 hours and after 6 their wages match price of good the owner keeps the rest - marx thinks should distribute this evenly)

Marxists may contradict Waltz and say that states may politically claim to perform the same functions but in an international economy there is a lot of specialization and differentiation, they are not all the same. Claim that this creates division of labor which creates classes who are organized hierarchically.

Created in 19th century by Marx and Engels. Working at time of Industrial Revolution. Designed as model of political

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Core Assumptions of Instrumental Marxism

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1. Social Classes are the most important actors in politics
2. Classes act in their own material interest
3. The expropriation of surplus value is exploitation
4. States act in the interest of their national capitalist class (for ex during imperial period in 19th century - it was capitalist vs capitalist in each state) Want to maximize the economic benefits of their own capitalists not maximizing national power

Popularized by Lenin - Leninist


Emerged to explain European Imperialism. Like realism in that it portrays states in conflict with each other. Saw eventually the state would make policies that didn't benefit capitalists - like increased taxation and the Vietnam War.

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Core Assumptions of Structural Marxism

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1. Social classes are the most important actors in politics
2. Classes act in their own material interest
3. The expropriation of surplus value is exploitation
4. States act to maintain capitalism, even if such actions are inconsistent with the interests of their national capitalist class in the short-run

Called structural because it emphasized states acted politically to maintain the overall political economic structure of capitalism.

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Core Assumptions of Modern World-System Analysis

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1. The world is a structural whole, and the appropriate unit of analysis
2. The various parts of the system are functionally related, via the international division of labor
3. States and markets are the products of underlying social dynamics (ie class)

Created by Immanuel Wallerstein main argument is emergence of capitalism required creation of international economy and the international economy greatly affected domestic ones.

Heirarchical system is the core states at the top (most economically developed most capital) which transfers into political power - use power to shape hte international political economy .

Marxists criticize this theory because questions whether social classes are still most important actors and whether economic change always brings about political change.

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Core Assumptions of Classical Liberalism

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1. Individuals (plus households or firms) are the most important actors
2. Individuals are rational actors
3. Individuals maximize their utility
4. Everything can be traded
5. Individuals indifference curves can be aggregated into social indifference curves

Mid 19th century very popular say everyone would benefit from participation in markets.

Emerged as challenger to absolutism and mercantilism. Wanted to free individual politically and economically from the state and competition would promise national wealth.

Most important classical liberals Adam Smith and David Ricardo.

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Core Assumptions of Commercial LIberalism

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1. Individuals are the most important actors
2. Individuals are rational actors
3. Individuals maximize their utility
4. Everything can be traded
5. Therefore, trade is the route to cooperation and peace

free trade not only beneficial to individuals and states in economic sense but also produces positive political spin-offs.

Trade will benefit all sides and undercut the sources of conflict between states.

Ideas infused the thinking of British policy-makers in 1800s. Congressmen Hull in Roosevelt's administration n the 1930s used commercial liberalism because observed the erection of barriers between economies would lead to war (say need raw materials, if can't get through trade will get through military conquest - Germany)

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Core Assumptions of Republican Liberalism

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1. Individuals are the most important actors
2. Individuals are rational actors
3. Individuals maximize their utility
4. national self-determination, where individuals can express their preferences, is the route to international peace and understanding

Is a rival of liberalism. Woodrow Wilson most famous proponent. Founded on economic issues. Roots from Kant who argued that republican states behaved differently towards each other. Basically democratic states rarely go to war

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Core Assumptions of Complex Interdependence

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1. States are not always the most important actors in international relations
2. States are not rational unitary actors, but are composed of many different groups, bureaucracies, individuals, and firms
3. States are under pressure to do much more than ensure survival of the country, so they have many different goals, and power may not be the most important.

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Core Assumptions of Rationalist Institutionalism

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1. Actors are self-interested, rational utility maximizers
2. International regimes can facilitate the making of agreements by actors
3. Actors are interested in the pursuit of goals which are not always zero-sum in nature

Inspired by research of IPE international regimes.

Keohane main proponent. Says useful regimes will be maintained by participants without need of hegemonic leader. Opposite of what realists argue (zero-sum search for power).

Explains the creation and persistence of international institutions b/c mechanisms for actors to ensure joint activity leads to outcomes they prefer such as dilemmas of common interest and dilemmas of common aversion.

Existing institutions and norms shape preferences including power are defined.

Keohane continues to assume that states are key actors and are self-interested and unitary and that the international system is anarchic. But power is not only goal of state action and interaction of states take on different forms. Regimes are valuable to govts.

Attempts to explain systemic outcomes, not specific foreign policy.

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Core Assumptions of Constructivism

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1. Interests and preferences are socially constructed, and hence are flexible rather than enduring
2. Ideas are important as forces shaping preferences, identity, etc.
3. Rationality is always contextual

Do not want to be generalizable. Problems with identifying cause and effect

Explains more than institutionalism where the regimes come from. Are reflective. Is a reaction to realism. Contradict structural realists in that say process can flow from structure and structure can flow from structure

Say features of realism like self-help are socially constructed, not essential features of an anarchic situation.

Interests mean nothing until actor has an identity

Seek to understand codetermination of structures and processes but has problems of identifying cause and effect. Provides picture of the future with possibilities - how it stems from idealism. Introduce new ideas they believe interests of actors can be redefined, and actor's behavior can change.

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Kenneth Waltz

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Man, the State and War.
People - argues that human nature not useful assumption for constructing theories Says key is structure.

Waltz's view of causality in IR:
change in structure leads to change in state interactions leads to a new outcome

Structure three characteristics: ordering principle (hierarchical or anarchic), differentiation of the parts (institutions), and distribution of capabilities. At intl level states act alike, but some are more capable than others. This is known as structural realism. Modify capabilities to be distribution of power.

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Mercantilism

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associated with aboslutism when kings and monarchs controlled all aspects of the state and economy. Emphasized the importance of a positive balance of payments and the involvement of the state in the market.

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Events that mixed politics and the economy

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Post WW2 finally started international economic politics.
When the fixed values of the currencies (by the Bretton Woods accords) no longer made sense market forces and govt policies clashed - the fixed exchange rates could not longer be maintained.
When OPEC embargoed the sale of oil it increased the price of oil and showed support for the Arab states in their political confrontation with Israel. Obviously economics and politics.

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Raul Prebisch

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showed international economy based on liberal markets leaves the economically developing countries further behind the industrialized nations

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IPE regimes

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set of prescriptions and proscriptions for state behavior. Sometimes rules are implicit not like dependency theory that relies on international division of labor.