Constructivism in international relations

The international arena is full of rapid change, challenges, and uncertainty. Scholar use theoretical tools to further understand global politics. The most prominent theory driven tools used today are Realism and Liberalism. These two theories vary in definition and people ascribe to them as ways of viewing the world, predicting the future of events and furthering their understanding of state behavior. Two great books that exemplify such theories are “The Tragedy of Great Powers” by John J.…

1). Comparing two countries in foreign policy taking into account their internal and external factors has proven to be a perilous task and many scholars agree. However, students in International Affairs must take this step I order to broader their knowledge in comparative foreign policy. In fact, the international configuration is vastly animated by bilateral structures and mutual interactions among nation-states. In this dynamic configuration, states are exponentially fostering within the…

Explained by Realist Thought For centuries, interactions between states have revolved around power, be it geopolitical, economic, militaristic, or otherwise. This concept is central to a theory of international relations known as realism. Contrary to liberalism, the other dominant theory of international relations, the tenants of realism support the idea that a state’s interests revolve around national security, which is achieved by strengthening a state’s source of power while preferably…

by Joseph E. Stiglitz, there are a lot of arguments about how the international community can do better when it comes to providing developing nations with aid. He discusses big organizations like the IMF and the World Bank, and how their efforts might even make the situation worse in some cases. The last chapters in the book, Stiglitz also discusses steps he sees are needed and that he argues should be applied by the international community. Stiglitz argues that the IMF is wrong in what should…

Christopher Hill defined foreign policy of a state as a set of strategies of activities chosen by a state with the view of safeguarding its national interests while at the same time achieving its goals within the international arena. It is also seen that foreign policy varies from individual states, governments and transnational actors. Domestic and foreign policies are recognized as increasingly inseparable and they are interconnected as a part of the overall political processes in a country.…

INTRODUCTION In this world, every country has its own interests and objectives to exist in the international politics. Every country wants to fulfill its foreign policy objectives. The objectives and interests of any country provide a framework to their foreign relationships. Countries make various policies to achieve their national interests and strengthen their relationship with other countries. These policies are called foreign policy. Every country represents its national interests in its…

United States and China are not heading toward a rivalry similar to the United States-Soviet conflict during the 20th century. This can be explained using the three levels of analysis in international relations: system, unit and individual respectively. Firstly, the system level of analysis, the international system is defined by anarchy—the absence of a central authority (Waltz). United States and the Soviet Union were sovereign and thus were autonomous to each other. The Cold War in the…

The purpose of this paper is to examine Robert Gilpin’s, The Politics of Transnational Economic Relations as well as Robert Cox’s, Gramsci and International Relations Theory: an essay in method. Gilpin’s theory that transnational actors and processes are dependent upon specific patterns of inter-sate relations (Gilpin, 1971, p.404) will be compared and contrasted with Robert Cox’s understanding of Gramsci’s hegemony and how it may be adopted to understand problems of world order. Gramsci’s…

An Essay Based on “We Are Not the World” “We Are Not the World”, written by Greg Ip, is an informative article depicting the ongoing struggle between the differing ideas and worldly impact of the nationalists and the globalists. Throughout this article, Ip touches on the topics of the rise of nationalists, what these nationalists do and do not have in common, globalism’s background and purpose, China joining the World Trade Organization, the impact of the euro, the financial connection of the…

I think Wikipedia actually has a decent article on progressive nationalism. It summarizes it as thus: "Left-wing nationalism describes a form of nationalism officially based upon equality, popular sovereignty, and national self-determination. It has its origins in the Jacobinism of the French Revolution. Left-wing nationalism typically espouses anti-imperialism. It stands in contrast to right-wing nationalism, and has often rejected racist nationalism and fascism." That seems like a pretty…