International Relations - 2024/2025 Lecture Notes PDF

2024/2025 CLASS 12 - CONCLUSIONS Lecturer : Dr. Valentina Brogna (replacing Prof. Amandine Orsini) GLOSSARY - State (territory, population, government) - State in the international system: Authority, Autonomy, Equality - Sovereignty - international relations =/ International Relations -...

2024/2025 CLASS 12 - CONCLUSIONS Lecturer : Dr. Valentina Brogna (replacing Prof. Amandine Orsini) GLOSSARY - State (territory, population, government) - State in the international system: Authority, Autonomy, Equality - Sovereignty - international relations =/ International Relations - International institutions - International Organisations - International regimes - Interdependence - Globalization 2 WHAT IS A THEORY? “A system of constructs (concepts) and propositions (relationships between those 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). 3 ANALYSING THE WORLD: THE STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Each different theory of IR puts different issues/topics on its map, such as states, organisations, people, economics, history, ideas, class, gender based on what its theorists believe to be important. In practice, IR theories can be seen as an analytical toolkit as they provide multiple methods for students to use to answer questions. Ex: Lecture by Dr. Anne X. Nguyen 4 5 ANALYSING THE WORLD: THE GREAT THEORIES/DEBATES Idealism/Liberalism vs. Realism (c.a. 1920s - 1950s) Neoliberalism vs. Neorealism (c.a. 1950s - 1990s) Methodological debates Traditional approach vs. Behavioralism (c.a. 1940s - 1960s) Positivism vs. Post-positivism (1970s/1980s - onwards) Questioning the unit of analysis / premises of IR (c.a. 1970s/1980s - onwards) Transnationalist approaches, Neo-Marxist theory, Constructivism, Critical theories 6  ANALYSING THE WORLD: THE GREAT THEORIES/DEBATES Early days: idealism (or utopian liberalism) Primary concern of this approach was that conditions which had led to the outbreak of WWI and the devastation which followed should not be allowed to occur in the future. Study of international relations had the potential to contribute to the prevention of war and the establishment of peace. = a greater understanding of the nature of relations between states would lead to prevention of war in the future. ‘Wilsonian idealism’: make the world safe for democracy. Creation of the League of Nations in 1920 to achieve international peace and security. 7  ANALYSING THE WORLD: THE GREAT THEORIES/DEBATES 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 an individual person to life, liberty and property is the highest goal of government. the wellbeing of the individual is the fundamental building block of a just political system. Importance of international institutions to promote cooperation between states Institutional (Grotius, Locke) / Republican (Kant) / Economic liberalism (Montesquieu) 8  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 o Democratic peace theory (M. Doyle, B. Russett) o New Liberalism (A. Moravcsik) Economic Liberalism (IPE) Collective security 9 ANALYSING THE WORLD: THE GREAT THEORIES/DEBATES Realism Collapse of the League of Nations, break out of WWII...how to explain the presence of war? Need of a more ‘realist’ account of international politics. Focus on states’ power, self-interest and survival (inspiration from early thinkers like Machiavelli etc.). International relations are necessarily conflictual; international conflicts are ultimately resolved by war. International politics is a struggle for power. 10 GLOSSARY Classical Realism Thucydides à inequality is natural and inevitable + ethics of caution Machiavelli à private ethics =/ political ethics (purpose is state survival) Hobbes à State of nature internationally (=anarchy) => Security dilemma Neo-classical Realism (Morgenthau) Animus dominandi à lust for power internationally (Th.) => anarchy leads to war (H.) Ethics of the state à private sphere morality =/ public sphere morality (M.) + ethics of caution (Th.) Structural Realism (see Neo-realism) 11  Liberalism Realism International politics is based on COOPERATION International politics is based on DOMINATION between between states states Optimistic view of international relations = world order Pessimistic view of international relations: WAR / the CAN be improved; PEACE CAN PREVAIL possibility of war is constant State is the dominant actor of international relations State is the dominant actor of international relations IOs are useful to states for cooperation purposes States participate in IOs only when it suits them 12 ANALYSING THE WORLD: THE GREAT THEORIES/DEBATES Traditional approach vs. behavioralist approach First generations of IR scholars were trained as historians or academic lawyers, withhumanistic and historical approaches =/ The behaviouralist approach transforms social sciences in the 1950’s-1960’s. It is an innovative, methodological approach to the study of IR, more ‘scientific’ than the traditional approach. Behavioralism aims at applying empirical and quantitative methods in social sciences, and, therefore, also in international relations. 13  DEFENSIVE REALISM (Neo-Realism) 1) Ordering Principle: there is no hierarchy in the system, it is a decentralised and anarchical one (while within states there is hierarchy and centralisation) è Anarchy – Each state wants to survive and protect itself from other states => balance of power Billiard ball model 2) Differentiation principle: States differ significantly only regarding their greatly varying capabilities in performing similar tasks and aim at similar ends: security! = states do not look for power (=/ Morgenthau and Mearsheimer) but for their own survival => Defensive Realism 3) Distribution principle. the distribution of capabilities is unequal and those who have more are great powers and determine changes in the structure if the international system = Power differentials  OFFENSIVE REALISM (Neo-Realism) Mearsheimer: anarchy => power competition at its maximum level = States seek hegemony Idea of ‘regional hegemons’: states can only become the hegemon in their own region of the world “Great powers are always searching for opportunities to gain power over their rivals, with hegemony as their final goal” (Mearsheimer, 2001:29) Because states are concerned about the balance of power, they will be primarily motivated by relative gains Cooperation for Waltz is impossible, each state looks for its own security =/ for Mearsheimer cooperation is possible but difficult to sustain and INSTITUTIONS ARE ESSENTIALLY ‘ARENAS FOR ACTING OUT POWER RELATIONSHIPS  NEO-LIBERAL INSTITUTIONALISM Information exchange => cooperation Reputation = expectations IOs limit the anarchy of the system Imitation States have to be invited to cooperate  Neo-Realism Neo-Liberalism Post WWII, Cold-War period Post WWII, Cold-War period Behaviouralist (non normative) Behaviouralist (non normative) Moderately pessimist (balance of power Optimist (but not utopist) attainable but war always possible) Focus on the structural aspects of Focus on interdependence and anarchycal international relations cooperation among states States only formally equal: Power International Organisations and differentials International regimes allow for Anarchy => Balance of power cooperation -> info sharing Competition / conflict Individual, Relative gains = zero-sum gains Collective, Absolute gains = non-zero- Bipolar system (Waltz) vs Hegemony sum games = win-win (Mearsheimer) 17 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 is a zero-sum game (=> relative gains - Neo-Realism) – Cooperation is a positive-sum game (=> absolute gains - Neo-Liberal Institutionalism) 18  ANALYSING THE WORLD: THE GREAT THEORIES/DEBATES Positivist approach vs. post-positivist approach Positivist methodology comes from behavioralism. It aims to apply a scientific method to the study of the social and political world, including the international world, which is seen as having regularities and patterns that can be objectively observed and explained if the correct methodology is properly applied. Positivists believe that international phenomena can be studied in an objective manner. Post-positivist methodology: rejection of scientific methods of positivism. We cannot achieve an objective knowledge of the world because such knowledge does not exist. Knowledge is always political and socially constructed. 19  NEO-MARXIST APPROCHES TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Likewise Marxists, Neo-Marxists consider that the main factor determining all the rest - both in national and international politics - is the economy Unlike Marxists, they were interested in analyzing economic international relations among politically independent units, no longer - among social classes within single countries, at the domestic level. Many Neo-marxists came from Third World countries and were in favour of the Non Aligned Movement: they criticised the Euro-centric view which characterized classical Marxists 20 Dependency: “a situation in which the economy of a certain group of countries is conditioned by the development and expansion of another economy, to which their own is subjected” (Theotonio Dos Santos) The core and the periphery within core and within periphery GLOSSARY Modernisation theory (criticised) 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 24 ANALYSING THE WORLD: THE GREAT THEORIES/DEBATES Transnationalist approaches From around the second half of the twentieth century, global politics was characterized by growing interdependence between societies (= ”complex” interdependence), the spread of transnationalism and the appearance of new global issues within the economic, cultural, and technical realm. Focus on the role of non-state actors, on multi-level and new organizational structures and on trans-boundary interactions in the international scene (=transnational relations). Focus on transnational phenomena like terrorism, climate change crisis (among others....). 25 Complex interdependence (Keohane and Nye) 26. Cobweb Model (John Burton) 27. The Turbulence Model (James Rosenau) 3 Parameters: 1) the micro-political parameter (the individual one) 2) the macro-political parameter (the “systemic or structural level”), 3) the micro-macro parameter, (the relational parameter) Þ Systemic change at the individual level (micro-political) = the rise of skilful individuals in « post-international » politics: the tourist and the terrorist Þ Changing allegiances => changing micro-macro parameter (States are no longer the only authorities) => changing macro-political parameter = GLOCALISED world (both state-centric and multi-centric) Þ a new type of global governance is needed 28 GLOSSARY Transnational relations Non-state actors NGOs vs IOs Complex interdependence (Keohane and Nye) Cobweb Model (John Burton) Turbulence Model -> skillful individuals (James Rosenau) 29 ANALYSING THE WORLD: THE GREAT THEORIES/DEBATES Critical approaches A wide spectrum of theories that have been established in response to mainstream approaches in the field, mainly liberalism and realism. Critical theorists share one particular trait – they oppose commonly held assumptions in the field of IR that have been central since its establishment. Call for new approaches that are better suited to understand, as well as question, the world we find ourselves in. Critical theories are valuable because they identify positions that have typically been ignored or overlooked within IR, particularly women and those from the Global South. 30  31. 2018 32. Dimensions of Human Security (UNDP) - economic security (unemployment, job insecurity, disparities in income and resources, poverty and homelessness), - food security (expressed in terms of the quantitative and qualitative availability of food), - health security (diseases, new viruses), - environmental security (air, water, soil and forest degradation), - personal security (conflict, poverty, terrorism), - community security (ethnic and cultural conflict) - political security (violation of human rights) 33 34 GLOSSARY Problem-solving vs critical theory Ecocentrism – Anthropocentrism – Biocentrism Feminisms in IR Critical security studies Human security 35 ANALYSING THE WORLD: THE GREAT THEORIES/DEBATES Constructivism Reality is inter-subjective Importance of values and shared interests between individuals who interact on the global stage. Alexander Wendt on relationship between individuals and structures (such as the state): structures not only constrain individuals but also construct their identities and interests. ‘Anarchy is what states make of it’ (Wendt 1992). The essence of international relations exists in the interactions between people. International anarchy as defining principle of international system. But if anarchy is what we make of it, then different states can perceive anarchy differently and the qualities of anarchy can even change over time. 36 A constructivist perspective on anarchy Three different “cultures of anarchy”: - Hobbesian: states as enemies; ‘war of all against all’ - Lockean: states as rivals; but states do not seek to eliminate each other - Kantian: states as friends, settle disputes peacefully and support one other in case of threat by a third party NORMS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Norms -> Interests -> Action IOs diffuse norms Norms are socially constructured = they can change 38 NON-STATE CENTRIC CONSTRUCTIVISM 39  GLOSSARY Cultures of anarchy (Wendt) - Hobbesian - Lockean - Kantian Security Communities Norms (Finnemore) Transnational Advocacy Networks (Keck and Sikkink) 40 The exam – research paper deadline 30 December, before 23:59 Submission via Compilatio Guidelines à on Moodle 41 THE EXAM – MCQ AND TRANSVERSAL QUESTIONS The exam will be based on: - The slides - The readings - The summaries and glossaries 42  THE EXAM – MCQ AND TRANSVERSAL QUESTIONS In organizing your answers to the exam questions: Read carefully each question (possibly more than once!) before answering. Keep an eye on time but also...take your time! Do not use your exam sheet to draft your answers. Try to structure your answers: organize, prioritize, sharpen your points. Write clearly when using the exam sheet. 43