IR Oral exam 2

principle

doing what is right and fair, not just what is useful or powerful. Ethical standards or shared rules in international relations include respecting human rights, honoring treaties/promises, and avoiding unnecessary war. Justification of these things helps countries remain as morally correct as possible in the international sphere. 

rise and fall

excessive ambition and pride without grounds to stand on brings the downfall of empires and leaders

Augustine

adapts classical thought to Christian teaching, original christian doctrine doesn’t believe in free will but he does, nations themselves are entrenched by lust for power with no clear line between religion and politics, when Carthage died, Rome morally declined because they had no competition or fear

Ibn Khalun

analyzed rise and fall of cities with social cohesion, success takes people out of conditions that make them good, morals are the root problem and the root solution for social decay, god is the causal model for everything

Machievelli

Florence has balance of power but also unbalanced social order, leave behind powerful institutions and assert yourself to leave behind something of value, unreliable author, obsessed with Fortune, loves Livvy and Rome was at its best when it just had Italy

Gucciardini

friend/critic of Machievelli, believed self interest drives most political action, politics retain assumption of selfishness and vanity, wrote history of Italy in an analytical approach

Fulvius example 

Machiavelli, soldiers disguised as shepards with sheep, obviousness means a trap by the enemy, important to always stay one step ahead

armed vs unarmed profit

success based on understanding how the world works (armed) vs. delusion about the state of the world (unarmed)

Machievelli best case scenario 

big threat to make you good and ready for war, but it is not on top of you

consequentalism

the deed accuses, but the end excuses/the efffect excuses (Machiavelli)

discourse 3

every generation must be chastized to keep Rome healthy, renew kingdoms and religions for longevity 

Machiavelli takeaways

treat people as a whole, general good is choosing the least bad thing and calling it good, power drives behavior, faction is sometimes good but domination is bad

Gucciardini context 

power vacuum for states at time of writing, reformation is beginning, church is very vulnerable, Florence kicks out Medicis, spain unifies 

history of italy 

overall theme is decline and decay, internal division runs rampant through italy, first idea of nationalism, polybius connection with obsession with luck, fear causes stability and brings equilibrium 

ricordi

written for his family as advice, reputation is king, be talented without appearing to try, to have a good reputation actually be good, believes humans are basically good but temptations make them bad, give people just enough hope but not too much

Grotius

dutch jurist/philosopher/founder of international law, argued for universal reason based system of law, people and riches mold people and their tastes

grotius context

free sea dispute between portugese and dutch, 80 years war dutch vs spain for dutch hegemony against hapsburg unification, dutch model becomes standard for democracy

free sea

god created nature of man to be in common with one another, god created universal good and justice, you are either a free state or a monarchy, being first and holding fast constitutes occupation 

rights of war and peace

starts with thucydides, seperate moral ledgers are wrong, justice is a relationship that needs to be enforced, external threat of war can cause actors to bargain or give in, rights of war and rights in war

hobbes

met Galileo and Descartes, leviathin written during the english civil war, recieved backlash from royalists and republicans for percieved authoritarianism, proximity is destiny, rise of centralized power

leviathan ch V

reason is a process of calculation and adding or subtracting consequences, reason is clear definitions and logical deduction, rationality in IR is about maintaining order with no higher authority 

leviathan on humans and stability

humans are driven by desire and fear not virtue, no natural good or evil, stability requires external authority, power accumulation more meaningful than moral ideals 

Leviathan state of nature and vulnerability

humans are equal in vulnerability in state of nature, forming the state means escape from constant war, war of all against all is Thucydides classical realism, fear can unify but very fragile

Leviathan Ch XVII

sovereign acts as Leviathan to protect commonwealth, must have absolute undivided authority but contract between people, states are free from external influence

Leviathan on religious kingdom

hobbes critiques religious kingdom of darkness to the fairy kingdom, soveriegn only must interpet divine law for civil peace 

leviathan context 

written during english civil war, nothing is worse than civil war not even absolutism

spinoza

dutch and jewish philosopher, excommunicated for trying to understand universe through reason instead of faith, determinism and rational understanding are path to human freedom and happiness

locke

english philosopher and englightenment thinker, restoration, english civil war, liberal democracy, constitutional government, human rights 

spinoza preface

superstition comes from fear and ignorance about the future, exploited by priests for power, true piety is living through reason and virtue, must have freedom to think

spinoza on the state controlling people’s desires

humans are driven by passion and self-preservation, states’ purpose is to channel human desires into peace and stability, fear and desire are manageable through reason

spinoza on the monarchy

unchecked monarchy can become tyranny, good monarch governs through law and reason, monarch’s power is legit when used for good, councils and institutional checks to limit monarch power

spinoza take on democracy

defends democracy as most natural/rational form of government, laws come from collective reason, freedom of speech is necessary, governments that suppress free thought weaken themselves

Locke on divine monarchy

no divine monarchy because you can’t trace Adam’s lineage, governments must rest on human consent

locke political power definition

right of making laws with penalties of death and all less penalties for regulating and preserving property 

locke on political authority

it exists to protect life, liberty, and property which are the core natural rights

locke social contract

state of war happens when people try and take away others natural rights when force replaces reason, unite under government for mutual protection

locke government dissolution

arises when rulers betray people’s trust when government seeks absolute power and forfeits legitimacy, people have the inherent right to revolt

other text connection to spinoza

machiavelli connection to church using religion to infantilize and plato saying that alchohol releases inhibition

locke take on men and women

men and women are both responsible for life, women carry the baby, custom can make accident sacred

locke on property

if someone takes your property, you’re allowed to kill them

montesquieu 

born in france to wealthy family, influenced by enlightenment and scientific revolution, believed in checks and balances and moderation

rome causes of greatness (Mont)

constant competition for honor is channeled into public service (rival generals both seek roman glory), simplicity and discipline form hardy citizens, institutional virtue was a love of the republic and equality, greatness grew gradually

roman wars w neighbors (Mont)

earliest wars were for survival not conquest, citizen army ensured cohesion, every conquest meant new roman citizens because of roman methods of absorption through partial citizenship, rome always acted as though it was in danger 

roman conduct after victory

moderation and political foresight with strategic cruelty, planted colonies to spread roman culture among conquered territories, victory management and restraint 

roman division of authority

senate had wisdom and foreign policy and people checked aristocratic success and approved laws, votes were bought and power shift to the elite, institutions ceased to reflect civic virtue 

corruption of roman republic 

wealth brings moral decay, soldiers become loyal to generals and not state, civil wars because ambition no longer served the state, empire outgrew system that made it strong, roman generals became private kings

first emperors of rome

augustus preserved forms of republic but lost the substance, citizens accepted servitude for stability, the republic to empire change was the roman moral turning point, freedom requires institutions not just intent 

final decline of rome

internal collapse, despotism/mercenaries/luxury drained roman strength, citizens stopped defending the state, corruption/luxury/idleness killed rome 

Mont. on laws

laws are necessary relations arising from nature of things, political law is not universal, a good law is harmony between a state’s nature and principle/what motivates it 

rational pluralism

laws must correspond to local conditions (Mont.) 

mont. view on political liberty 

it is security from arbitrary power, best safeguard for it is seperation of powers 

mont. seperation of powers

legislative makes laws (tyranny by assemblies), executive enforces laws (monarchic oppression), judicial applies laws (arbitrary rule)

mont. view on england

moderate form of government balancing monarchy, lords, commons, and courts. he likes the roman idea of mixed constitution into system of checks and balances

mont view on commerce

keeps the nation soft by teaching value of mutual interest and links societies through mutual dependence, interest based morality means that people act justly out of calculation not virtue, moderate wealth breeds stability

machievelli on roman senate

disunion of the roman senate creates power, well regulated faction can be useful

machiavelli bio

born in florence during renaissance, imprisoned by the medici family, eventually hired after medici pope is elected

machiavelli realism

heart of politics is violence, deal with your circumstances, rabbit becomes a lion by leaving meaningful legacy

Ibn Khalun assabiyah

human life is twisted together, money follows power, solidarity drives success not wealt