Realism and Constructivism in Foreign Policy

Week 2: Critiques of Methodological Sophistication in Political Science

• Political science has become less relevant to policy due to scholars prioritizing academic recognition over practical contributions.
• Evolving needs of policymakers (moving from broad theories to detailed operational knowledge) reduce academia's direct policy relevance.
• Trump's election is linked to a broader geopolitical shift from a unipolar to a multipolar system, driving a demand for policies prioritizing national interests, reflecting a structural realist approach.
• Liberal Internationalism is viewed as overly costly and out of touch with American concerns, with Trump's foreign policy aligning with offshore balancing, limiting US intervention, and encouraging regional action.

Week 2: Enduring Relevance of International Relations Theories

• Realism, Liberalism, and Constructivism remain crucial for understanding global politics and foreign policy.
• Realism explains military dominance and responses (like post-9/11 US actions) but struggles with explaining enduring US dominance without balancing coalitions and the rise of non-state actors.
• Realism is relevant for understanding post-9/11 ideological conflicts and transnational activism but has weaknesses in addressing material conditions for sustained change
• A combination of all three theories offers a balanced perspective, avoiding ideological overreach.

Week 3: Peaking Powers and Aggressive Foreign Policy

• "Peaking powers" (nations with rapid economic growth followed by a slowdown) often engage in aggressive foreign policy to maintain geopolitical standing.
• Autocratic peaking powers are more prone to aggressive expansion than democratic ones due to state control of resources to sustain patronage networks.

Week 3: Realism as an Attitude

• Realism is not a set of doctrines but a pragmatic approach to foreign policy, emphasizing national interest, power balancing, and consequentialist morality.
• Realist judgments diverge based on threat perceptions and assessments of adversaries.

Week 3: Historical Parallels and China's Rise

• China's rise mirrors historical contests like Anglo-German rivalry, where economic systems, technology, and infrastructure investments are used to challenge dominant powers.
• The U.S. should reinvest in innovation, science, and infrastructure, secure intellectual property, and re-commit to multilateral trade agreements to maintain global leadership.

Week 3: Predicting Intense Security Competition

• The article predicts a new Cold War-style security competition between the U.S. and China, with potential for conflict.
• Optimistic arguments about China's peaceful rise, like building trust or focusing on defensive capabilities, are dismissed.
• The security dilemma and uncertainty of intentions are emphasized.

Week 4: Protecting Trade Through Legal Adjudication

• Strong trade ties incentivize countries to mitigate uncertainty from political disputes, preventing trade disruption.
• International Courts like the ICJ are vital mechanisms to isolate political disputes from trade concerns, promoting commercial peace.
• Countries with significant economic interdependence are more likely to use international courts to resolve disputes.

Week 4: Middle States in the U.S.-China Rivalry

• Middle powers (e.g., Japan, South Korea, ASEAN) must navigate a changing landscape, balancing economic ties with China and security alliances with the U.S.
• They should emphasize multilateralism, regional integration, and hedging strategies.
• Maintaining a rules-based international order requires cooperation among middle powers to advocate for norms and multilateralism.

Week 4: Mutual Assured Production and Economic Interdependence

• Mutual Assured Production (MAP) suggests intertwined economies deter conflict by making war economically devastating.
• Extensive economic ties between China and Japan act as a deterrent.
• Diplomacy and dispute resolution mechanisms are crucial to maintain economic incentives over nationalist impulses or miscalculations.

Week 5: China's Hegemonic Prospects and Identity

• China's rise depends on its ability to reshape global norms and values instead of solely relying on material power.
• The distribution of identity (shared norms, values, ideologies) significantly constrains China's transformative ability.
• China must align its identity with broader global aspirations for a successful global order transition.

Week 5: Constructivism as an Approach

• Constructivism emphasizes the importance of ideational factors (beliefs, norms, identities) shaping state behavior.
• The study of constructivism should engage more comparative politics analysis and examine the connection between ideas and material power.

Week 5: Chinese Exceptionalism

• China's hybrid system (beyond socialism and capitalism) drawing upon Confucian values, state control, and strategic governance, is challenged as an oversimplified model.
• China's reported economic growth figures are potentially inflated.
• Authoritarian governance under Xi Jinping faces issues like capital flight, regulatory uncertainty, and eroding private sector dynamism.

Week 5: China's "Assertiveness"

• China's assertive actions are not necessarily a new phenomenon, but rather consistent with established conduct.
• Interpretation and causal analysis of these actions should consider historical context and nuanced perspectives on cooperation.

Week 7: Asymmetric Alliances and Power Control

• The U.S.'s strategy of "powerplay" formed asymmetric alliances to exert maximum control over allies (Korea, Taiwan, Japan).
• Bilateral agreements were used to constrain alliances that could provoke adversary conflict, a necessary approach to controlling unpredictable leaders.

Week 7: A Better Path for Ukraine

• NATO membership is the most effective way to secure Ukraine's future, transcending temporary bilateral agreements.
• History (unilateral self-limitations) and West Germany's approach demonstrate strategies for Ukraine to adopt.
• Seeking a militarily defensible border while renouncing force beyond that border will prevent immediate war with Russia after Ukraine's accession to NATO.

Week 7: NATO's Institutional Strengths

• NATO's resilience stems from its institutional strengths: cooperation norms, robust decision-making, and flexible operations.
• NATO adapted to post-Cold War realities, managing crises and addressing emerging threats.
• NATO's enlargement and decision-making processes ensured member input, maintaining cohesion and credibility.

Week 8: Asymmetric Strategic Problems in Nuclear Nonproliferation

• Cooperation between powerful democracies and weaker non-democracies in nuclear nonproliferation faces significant challenges due to power asymmetry and incomplete information.
• Time inconsistency of policies from stronger states reduces trust in commitments, while weaker states' opaqueness creates negotiation hurdles.

Week 9: Postcolonial Moment in Security Studies

• Traditional security studies are Eurocentric and marginalize the Global South's impact on global dynamics.
• Security challenges often stem from colonial practices (arbitrary borders, exploitation), requiring a postcolonial approach.
• Global security is interconnected, not solely dominated by Western priorities.

Week 11: The Democratic Peace and Racialized Assumptions

• Racialized assumptions in public opinion impact perceptions of the democratic peace.
• Public reluctance to support military action against other democracies connects to racial and ethnocentric (whiteness/Western) perceptions. Recognizing this bias helps refine theoretical models and understanding of foreign policy decisions.

Week 11: Gender Inequality and State Conflict

• Gender inequality (violence and discrimination against women) is a significant yet overlooked factor influencing state conflict and insecurity.
• Societies tolerating gender inequality show patterns of broader societal aggression.
• Improving gender equality enhances state security, peacefulness, and stability.

Week 11: Diplomacy and Domestic Politics

• National leaders face the complexity of navigating both international and domestic political pressures (two-level game).
• Agreements must be internationally viable and domestically ratifiable, reflected by a "win-set."
• Domestic institutions profoundly impact the negotiation process, significantly influencing the feasibility of international agreements

Week [Unknown]: Realism : Key Aspects

• Realism emphasizes state prioritization of survival and power within an anarchic international system.
• Classic realism connects to human nature, while neorealism links to international system structure.
• Key concepts include security dilemma, relative gains, balance of power, hegemonic stability theory.

Week [Unknown]: Realism : Contemporary Issues and Debates

• Realism's use in evaluating power transitions (like China's rise) and associated policy implications (like defending Taiwan) is discussed.
• Debates involve the inevitability of war during power transitions and the weight of strategic interests versus power dynamics.

Week [Unknown]: Liberalism: Key Aspects

• Liberalism posits international cooperation attainable through modernization, democratic governance, and institutional design.
• Liberalism sees global order maintenance through a dominant power that provides public goods, believing it to be benign.
• Concepts include democratic peace theory, institutions like WTO facilitating cooperation, and complex interdependence (beyond military considerations).

Week [Unknown]: Constructivism: Key Aspects

• Constructivism argues that the international system is social constructed through shared beliefs, norms, and identities shaping state behavior.
• Concepts like cultures of anarchy (Hobbesian, Lockean, Kantian) and focus on "how" questions (interpretivism) instead of strict causality are emphasized.
• Constructivism acknowledges institutional shaping of norms and behaviors to promote transparency and cooperation.

Week [Unknown]: Rationalist Theories of War

• Rationalist theories of war explain why wars occur despite their high costs.
• Key causes include incomplete information, commitment problems, and indivisibility of goods.
• Bargaining strategies (compellence, deterrence, brinkmanship) and mechanisms reducing war likelihood (e.g., nuclear deterrence) are discussed.

Week [Unknown]: Balance of Power

• States strive for security by concentrating power, internally or externally balancing against threats.
• Emulation and bandwagoning strategies are discussed.