International Relations Concepts Quiz

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.