For this summary essay assignment, the two articles being compared are Jack Snyder’s One World, Rival Theories and Martha Finnemore’s Legitimacy, Hypocrisy, and the Social Structure of Unipolarity: Why Being a Unipole Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be. In Snyder’s article, the three basic international political theories, realism, liberalism, and constructivism, are explained in rough detail. Finnemore’s article, on the other hand, details unipolarity and why unipoles do not technically have an easier time even though they hold more power than other states. In addition to this, Finnemore goes further into detail on how a unipole’s power is inherently limited.
In One World, Rival Theories, Snyder makes it clear that, when used in combination …show more content…
Realism as a theory doesn’t fit well with Finnemore’s definition and explanation of unipoles. When it comes to a unipole, too much emphasis is placed on social values and norms to match with the basic tenets of realism. Unipoles are effected by everything from social aspects to other smaller states. Realism, on the other hand assumes that, due to the balance of power theory, states will always try to match or overpower others. With the existence of a unipole, the balance of power is off-center because that one state or pole has so much more power and influence than the …show more content…
Snyder’s article describes in some detail all three main theories, which can be applied to the system in relation to the idea of a unipole. Some of liberalism’s branches like neo-liberalism do a better job explaining and predicting events than realism and constructivism do. For example, liberalism keeps some of the ideas from realism while bringing in factors like international institutions and global commerce that can be seen today through intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations and the World Trade
In One World, Rival Theories, Snyder makes it clear that, when used in combination …show more content…
Realism as a theory doesn’t fit well with Finnemore’s definition and explanation of unipoles. When it comes to a unipole, too much emphasis is placed on social values and norms to match with the basic tenets of realism. Unipoles are effected by everything from social aspects to other smaller states. Realism, on the other hand assumes that, due to the balance of power theory, states will always try to match or overpower others. With the existence of a unipole, the balance of power is off-center because that one state or pole has so much more power and influence than the …show more content…
Snyder’s article describes in some detail all three main theories, which can be applied to the system in relation to the idea of a unipole. Some of liberalism’s branches like neo-liberalism do a better job explaining and predicting events than realism and constructivism do. For example, liberalism keeps some of the ideas from realism while bringing in factors like international institutions and global commerce that can be seen today through intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations and the World Trade