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Questions and Answers
What is one of the three parameters outlined that influences political interaction on the international stage?
What is one of the three parameters outlined that influences political interaction on the international stage?
What term describes the evolving dominance of various authorities beyond traditional states in global affairs?
What term describes the evolving dominance of various authorities beyond traditional states in global affairs?
Which model emphasizes the complexity of inter-state relationships in the context of transnational issues?
Which model emphasizes the complexity of inter-state relationships in the context of transnational issues?
What aspect of international relations do critical theorists typically challenge?
What aspect of international relations do critical theorists typically challenge?
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Which of the following is a significant outcome of complex interdependence according to Keohane and Nye?
Which of the following is a significant outcome of complex interdependence according to Keohane and Nye?
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What is included in the dimension of economic security?
What is included in the dimension of economic security?
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Which of the following dimensions of human security addresses issues like air and water degradation?
Which of the following dimensions of human security addresses issues like air and water degradation?
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What does personal security encompass?
What does personal security encompass?
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In constructivism, what is emphasized as a defining principle of international relations?
In constructivism, what is emphasized as a defining principle of international relations?
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How does Alexander Wendt define the nature of anarchy in international relations?
How does Alexander Wendt define the nature of anarchy in international relations?
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What is one key difference between Neo-Marxists and classical Marxists?
What is one key difference between Neo-Marxists and classical Marxists?
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What does the concept of dependency refer to in the context of international relations?
What does the concept of dependency refer to in the context of international relations?
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How do post-positivists view objective knowledge?
How do post-positivists view objective knowledge?
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What is one of the criticisms directed at modernisation theory?
What is one of the criticisms directed at modernisation theory?
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What characterizes the concept of 'complex interdependence' in global politics?
What characterizes the concept of 'complex interdependence' in global politics?
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Which of the following concepts is associated with structural violence?
Which of the following concepts is associated with structural violence?
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What is the distinction between core and peripheral countries in Neo-Marxist theory?
What is the distinction between core and peripheral countries in Neo-Marxist theory?
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What role does structural imperialism play in international relations?
What role does structural imperialism play in international relations?
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What was a primary goal of the League of Nations established in 1920?
What was a primary goal of the League of Nations established in 1920?
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Which of the following concepts is NOT associated with Liberalism?
Which of the following concepts is NOT associated with Liberalism?
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What aspect does Republican Liberalism specifically emphasize?
What aspect does Republican Liberalism specifically emphasize?
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What was a significant consequence of the collapse of the League of Nations?
What was a significant consequence of the collapse of the League of Nations?
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What is a key assumption of Realist theory in international relations?
What is a key assumption of Realist theory in international relations?
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What is the primary concern of idealism in international relations?
What is the primary concern of idealism in international relations?
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Which of the following approaches emerged as a response to the traditional methods in international relations?
Which of the following approaches emerged as a response to the traditional methods in international relations?
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What concept is primarily associated with the idea of states having autonomy and equality in international relations?
What concept is primarily associated with the idea of states having autonomy and equality in international relations?
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Which theory contrasts with realism and emphasizes the potential for cooperation among states?
Which theory contrasts with realism and emphasizes the potential for cooperation among states?
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What term describes a system that includes both international organizations and international regimes?
What term describes a system that includes both international organizations and international regimes?
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Which methodological debate involves questioning the traditional unit of analysis in international relations?
Which methodological debate involves questioning the traditional unit of analysis in international relations?
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What does the concept of interdependence in international relations primarily refer to?
What does the concept of interdependence in international relations primarily refer to?
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What historical event was idealism trying to address through its emphasis on understanding relations between states?
What historical event was idealism trying to address through its emphasis on understanding relations between states?
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What is the primary ordering principle in Defensive Realism?
What is the primary ordering principle in Defensive Realism?
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Which principle explains that states differ only in their capabilities to pursue similar ends?
Which principle explains that states differ only in their capabilities to pursue similar ends?
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How do states behave under Offensive Realism according to Mearsheimer?
How do states behave under Offensive Realism according to Mearsheimer?
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According to Neo-Liberal Institutionalism, what role do international organizations (IOs) serve?
According to Neo-Liberal Institutionalism, what role do international organizations (IOs) serve?
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What is the main difference between relative gains and absolute gains?
What is the main difference between relative gains and absolute gains?
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What is the potential state of cooperation according to Waltz?
What is the potential state of cooperation according to Waltz?
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What is the 'billiard ball model' associated with in Defensive Realism?
What is the 'billiard ball model' associated with in Defensive Realism?
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What is the perspective of Neo-Liberalism towards the behavior of states?
What is the perspective of Neo-Liberalism towards the behavior of states?
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What concept links the idea of cooperation in Neo-Liberalism to information exchange?
What concept links the idea of cooperation in Neo-Liberalism to information exchange?
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In the context of International Relations, what distinguishes the Neo-Neo Debate?
In the context of International Relations, what distinguishes the Neo-Neo Debate?
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Study Notes
Course Information
- Course Title: International Relations
- Course Code: BSPOL 1312
- Academic Year: 2024/2025
- Lecturer: Dr. Valentina Brogna (replacing Prof. Amandine Orsini)
- Class: 12 - Conclusions
Glossary
- State: Territory, population, government
- State in the international system: Authority, Autonomy, Equality
- Sovereignty
- International relations =/ International Relations
- International institutions
- International Organizations
- International regimes
- Interdependence
- Globalization
What is a Theory?
- A system of constructs (concepts) and propositions (relationships between constructs) that collectively presents a logical, systematic, and coherent explanation of a phenomenon of interest within some assumptions and boundary conditions
- (Bacharach 1989, cited in Bhattacherjee 2012, 25)
Analyzing the World: The Study of International Relations
- Each theory of IR puts different issues/topics on its map (e.g., states, organizations, people, economics, history, ideas, class, gender) based on what theorists consider important.
- International Relations theories can be used as an analytical toolkit, providing methods to answer questions.
Analyzing the World: The Great Theories/Debates
- Idealism/Liberalism vs. Realism (circa 1920s–1950s)
- Neoliberalism vs. Neorealism (circa 1950s–1990s)
- Methodological debates: Traditional approach vs. Behavioralism (circa 1940s–1960s), Positivism vs. Post-positivism (1970s/1980s – onwards)
- Questioning the unit of analysis / premises of IR (circa 1970s/1980s – onwards)
- Transnationalist approaches, Neo-Marxist theory, Constructivism, Critical theories
Early Days: Idealism (Utopian Liberalism)
- Primary concern: preventing WWI-like conditions and devastation.
- Study of international relations to understand the nature of state-to-state relations and achieve peace, preventing future wars.
- Wilsonian idealism: make the world safe for democracy. Creation of the League of Nations in 1920 to achieve international peace and security.
Liberalism
- Idea of modernity and the emergence of the modern liberal state.
- Early liberal thinkers saw great potential for human progress in modern civil society and capitalist economy.
- Focus on individual liberty, ensuring the right of individuals to life, liberty, and property.
- Importance of international institutions to promote cooperation between states.
Liberalism (Glossary)
- Liberalism: human progress, civil society, capitalism, individual liberty = peace and prosperity
- Utopian Liberalism (or Idealism)
- Institutional Liberalism revisited (O. Young, Th. Weiss)
- Republican Liberalism revisited
- Democratic peace theory (M. Doyle, B. Russett)
- New Liberalism (A. Moravcsik)
- Economic Liberalism (IPE)
- Collective security
Realism
- Collapse of the League of Nations, WWII - need for a "realist" account of international politics.
- Focused on states' power, self-interest, and survival.
- International relations are inherently conflictual, with conflict resolved through war.
- International politics as a struggle for power.
Classical Realism (Glossary)
- Thucydides: inequality is natural and inevitable + ethics of caution
- Machiavelli: private ethics ≠ political ethics (purpose = state survival)
- Hobbes: State of nature internationally (= anarchy) => Security dilemma
- Neo-classical Realism (Morgenthau): Animus dominandi → lust for power internationally (Th.) => anarchy leads to war (H.)
- Ethics of the state → private sphere morality ≠ public sphere morality (M.) + ethics of caution (Th.)
- Structural Realism (see Neo-realism)
Liberalism vs. Realism (Comparison)
- Liberalism: cooperation; optimistic view of international relations; world order can be improved, peace can prevail. State is the dominant actor of international relations. IOs are useful for cooperation. States participate in IOs when it suits them
- Realism: domination; pessimistic view of international relations; possibility of war is constant. State is the dominant actor. IOs are useful for cooperation but only when beneficial
Traditional Approach vs. Behavioralist Approach
- First generations of IR scholars were trained as historians or lawyers, with humanistic and historical approaches
- The behavioralist approach transformed social sciences in the 1950s-1960s.
- It is a more scientific methodological approach to the study of IR, innovating on the traditional approach
- Behavioralism applies empirical and quantitative methods in social sciences
Defensive Realism (Neo-Realism)
- Ordering principle: no hierarchy in the system, decentralized and anarchical. Each state wants to survive and protect itself and pursue balance of power.
- Differentiation principle: states differ primarily through capabilities. States do not look for power, but survival
- Distribution principle: distribution is unequal; great powers determine changes in the structure of the international system.
Offensive Realism (Neo-Realism)
- Anarchy → power competition (max level)
- States seek hegemony/power competition (max level)
- Idea of regional hegemons
- Motivation: states concerned about balance of power
- Cooperation is possible but difficult, and institutions are merely arenas for acting out of power relationships.
Neo-Liberal Institutionalism
- Information exchange => cooperation
- IOs limit the anarchy of the system
- States need to be invited to cooperate
- Reputation = expectations, imitation
Neo-Realism vs. Neo-Liberalism (Comparison)
- Neo-Realism: Post-WWII, Cold War period; Behavioralist; Moderately pessimistic; Focus on structural anarchy, states only formally equal. Anarchy => Balance of power. Competition / conflict. Individual, Relative gains = zero-sum games. Bipolar system vs Hegemony.
- Neo-Liberalism: Post-WWII, Cold War period; Behavioralist; Optimist; Focus on interdependence and cooperation; International organizations & regimes. Collective, Absolute gains = non-zero-sum games.
Glossary
- Game theory, Prisoner's Dilemma
- Balance of Power
- Neo-Realism (or Structural Realism)
- Defensive Realism -> Survival (Billiard ball model)
- Offensive Realism -> Hegemony
- Neo-Liberal Institutionalism
- Cooperation
- Neo-Neo Debate: Cooperation as zero-sum or positive-sum games
Positivist Approach vs. Post-Positivist Approach
- Positivist methodology: scientific method applied to social & political world; international phenomena can be objectively studied.
- Post-positivist methodology: rejects scientific methods; knowledge is political & socially constructed, not objective.
Neo-Marxist Approaches to International Relations
- Economy is the primary factor in national and international politics.
- Interested in analyzing international economic relations among independent units (no longer just domestic classes).
- Criticize Euro-centric views of classical Marxism.
Dependency
- a situation in which the economy of a certain group of countries is conditioned by the development and expansion of another economy.
The Core and the Periphery
- A model that describes the structure of imperialism with a center, periphery, and semi-periphery.
The Stability of the World's Economy
- The model to describe and discuss the world economy featuring a center, semi-periphery, and periphery.
Modernization Theory
- Criticized
- Neo-Marxism
- Desarrollismo
- Dependencia
- Core countries vs peripheral countries
- Active under-development / Unequal exchange
- De-linking, structural imperialism (Galtung)
- Structural violence vs social justice/positive peace
- World-systems (Wallerstein)
- Semi-periphery
Transnationalist Approaches
- Global politics characterized by growing interdependence between societies.
- Focus on non-state actors, multi-level structures, and trans-boundary interactions.
- Focus on transnational phenomena like terrorism, climate change.
Complex Interdependence (Keohane and Nye)
- Classic interstate politics, domestic politics, transnational interactions, and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs).
Cobweb Model (John Burton)
- Model for complex interdependence in international relations
The Turbulence Model (James Rosenau)
- Micro-political, macro-political, and micro-macro parameters
- Rise of influential individuals (e.g., tourists, terrorists) in post-international politics
- Changing allegiances, leading to a globalized world
- Need for a new type of global governance
Glossary (Transnational Relations)
- Transnational relations
- Non-state actors
- NGOs vs IOs
- Complex interdependence (Keohane and Nye)
- Cobweb Model (John Burton)
- Turbulence Model -> skillful individuals (James Rosenau)
Critical Approaches
- Wide spectrum of theories in response to mainstream approaches (liberalism & realism)
- Critical theorists oppose commonly held assumptions about IR.
- Call for new approaches to understanding and questioning the world.
- Identify previously ignored positions (e.g., women, Global South).
When Scientific Knowledge is Biased
- Theory is always for someone and for some purpose (Robert Cox)
Ecocentrism
- Biocentrism
- Expanded Anthropocentrism
- Anthropocentrism
- Non-Environment
Dimensions of Human Security (UNDP)
- Economic (unemployment, job insecurity, income disparities)
- Food (quantitative & qualitative availability)
- Health (diseases, new viruses)
- Environmental (air, water, soil, forest degradation)
- Personal (conflict, poverty, terrorism)
- Community (ethnic & cultural conflict)
- Political (violation of human rights)
The Feminist View of Conflicts in IR
- Women as victims (direct & indirect)
- Women & children as worst sufferers of wars
- Women penalized by economic sanctions, refugee camps
- Rape as a wartime strategy, sexual services
- Unequal gender relations that sustain military activities
- War is a cultural construct, not inevitable; gender inequalities uphold war legitimacy.
Glossary
- Problem-solving vs critical theory
- Ecocentrism – Anthropocentrism – Biocentrism
- Feminisms in IR
- Critical security studies
- Human security
Constructivism
- Reality is inter-subjective; values & shared interests.
- Relationship between individuals & structures (e.g., state).
- Anarchy is what states make of it.
- International anarchy as defining principle of international system.
A Constructivist Perspective on Anarchy
- Wendtian constructivism: no logic to anarchy; anarchy is an effect of practice; anarchy is what states make of it.
- Three Cultures of anarchy: Hobbesian (states as enemies), Lockean (states as rivals), Kantian (states as friends)
Norms in International Relations
- Norms → Interests → Action
- IOs diffuse norms
- Norms are socially constructed, therefore changeable.
Non-State Centric Constructivism
- Table showing international NGO social change organizations categorized and classified
Glossary
- Cultures of anarchy (Wendt)
- Hobbesian, Lockean, Kantian
- Security Communities
- Norms (Finnemore)
- Transnational Advocacy Networks (Keck and Sikkink)
Exam Information
- Exam - research paper deadline: 30 December before 23:59
- Submission via: Compilatio
- Guidelines on: Moodle
- Exam will be based on: Slides, readings, summaries, and glossaries.
Exam (MCQ and Transversal Questions)
- Read each question carefully before answering.
- Keep an eye on time, but take your time.
- Don't use the exam sheet to draft answers, but, structure, prioritize, and sharpen points in answers.
- Write clearly on the exam paper.
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Description
Test your knowledge on key concepts and theories in international relations. This quiz covers topics such as political interaction, human security, and the interplay of various authorities on the global stage. Challenge yourself and deepen your understanding of complex interdependence and constructivism.
