Changes in World Politics

Dramatic Changes in World Politics

• Recent decades have seen dramatic changes, including the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
• Democratization efforts have increased in developing countries and former dictatorships.
• Globalization of the world economy and advancements in global communications are also major shifts.
• Increased peacekeeping efforts and humanitarian interventions are being carried out through the UN.
• Ethnic warfare in Yugoslavia, anarchy in Somalia, and genocide in Rwanda represent major setbacks to peace.
• Instability in former Soviet Republics, regimes fostering terrorism, and the emergence of regional powers with weapons of mass destruction pose major threats.
• Asian economic crisis, poverty, disease, and environmental degradation continue to be significant problems.
• These events mark the most profound changes in international relations since the emergence of the East-West conflict after World War II.

Practical Order in World Affairs

• Cooperation exists through international rules, economic relations, and international organizations.
• Formal anarchy and practical order coexist, influencing world politics and state behavior.

Understanding International Relations

• Understanding that states need to rely on themselves for security is key, as well as the impact of providing their own security, as each defines it.
• Other things being equal, each state ultimately may become less secure.

Conflict in the International System

• Post-World War II international relations are unique when compared to previous eras.
• The analysis of the origins and development of the Cold War and the impact on international relations at the end of the century is key.
• Topics such as North-South relations, ethnicity as a major conflict source, and debates over dependency, development, and the debt crisis are important.
• Nuclear weapons and world politics, including nuclear deterrence and arms control are important considerations.
• Also of interest are the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (chemical and biological weapons).

Domestic vs. International Politics

• International relations differ from domestic politics because states exist in a state of "perpetual anarchy".
• States arm themselves and seek alliances due to insecurity, potentially leading to security dilemmas.

The Problem of Order

• International institutions and rules exist and shape the international environment.
• Efforts to restrain conflict and seek cooperation have a long history, especially after major wars.
• The search for international order can be observed even in more limited clashes and beyond military threats.
• Cooperation is observed in the economic arena, leading to international economic order and cooperation with arrangements like the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The Problem of Constraint

• Globalization and information technology impact international relations.
• Modernization brings transformations such as a globalized international system and increased international transactions.
• Interdependence and entanglement in series of ordered relationships limits countries' control.
• These limits are more pronounced for less developed, smaller, and economically and politically open states.

Imperatives for International Involvement

• Developed industrialized democracies support international economic cooperation.
• Coping with national problems and needs often requires international involvement.

Historical Perspectives on International Relations

• Post-World War I thinking focused on normative and legal efforts to outlaw war and build institutions for peace.
• The realist school emerged after WWII and focused on power in international relations with national interest defined in terms of power.
• Behavioral or scientific approaches emerged, applying social science concepts and seeking observable regularities.

Key Concepts in Understanding International Relations

• Realism: emphasizes national interest defined in terms of power and often results in pragmatic approaches to foreign policy known as "realpolitik".
• Idealism: emphasizes ethical considerations and cooperative solutions in international relations.
• Power plays an inevitable role in relations between nations.
• State actions can have unintended consequences.
• Cooperation and order are also compelling imperatives.

International Cooperation

• Maintaining economic cooperation requires institutional support
• It requires continuation of existing institutions and related rules.
• It requires a means of promoting national interests.
• It requires established institutions taking on a momentum of their own

Power in International Relations

• Power is fundamental to discussions of international relations and international environments.
• Global politics requires an understanding of and an accommodation to constant quests for resources by numerous competing countries.

Measuring Power

• Power is a complex concept and can be difficult to define.
• Military power rests on production, technology, human capital, and material resources.
• Power may be undermined by the expenditure of economic resources to acquire them.

Approaching International Relations

• Realist, idealist, liberalist and constructivist approaches have their strengths and limitations.
• There are also real considerations in international economics.
• It is possible to impose a considerable degree of order on international relations.
• Comprehending the international order will continue developing effective strategies for peace.

Impact on Politics

• In the modern era there is a merging of international and domestic affairs relating to politics.
• International relations has a potential impact on governments with varied political systems.

Global Interdependence

• Nations often depend on each other for stability and resources.
• Foreign and trade relations affects people.

International Involvement

• Maintaining international environment requires careful and direct intervention in foreign economic policy.

International Trade

• Exports create jobs
• Dependency on imports indicates trade deficits.

International Relations

• Varying world power, influence and dominance can change and effect relations between nations

National Interests:

• There are different arguments for how national interests impacts international relations

Objectives for Researchers

• Researchers study world politics to describe, predict and establish policy.

Research Methodologies

• Researchers employ logic, observation, and quantitative analysis to build comprehensive theories.

Levels of analysis

• The various aspects of international relations are: system-based, state-based, and individual-based.