GNS T1L1

Narrow sense of international relations

Relations between the governments of sovereign nation states

Broad sense of international relations

Includes actors other than state which have political impact across national boundaries

What four concepts are related to the narrow sense of international relations?

* Diplomacy


* War & peace
* Contracts & international law
* Membership in organisations and alliances

What four concepts are related to the broad sense of international relations?

* Multinational corporations
* IGOs, IFOs, and NGOs
* Transnational movements and organisations
* Violent non-state actors or PMSCs

What is sovereignty?

The supreme authority over a territory, including the right to make uncontested legislative, governmental, or judicial decisions within a polity

When did the Westphalian order emerge?

End of the 30 Years’ War (16-18-1648), Peace of Westphalia in 1648

What was the effect of the emergence of the Westphalian Order?

Monarchies like France, Britain, Spain, or Portugal become major powers, will later become the first nation-states and promise to respect each other’s sovereignty without external interference

Name the theories of international relations

* Realism & Neorealism
* Liberalism & Neoliberalism
* Marxism
* Social Constructivism
* Poststructuralism
* Post-Colonialism
* (Feminism)

What are the strengths of Realism?

* Explains war, diplomacy, and power politics
* Highlights the importance of military power and rational interests

What are the weaknesses of Realism?

* No real consideration of norms and ethics
* Mostly ignores soft power and non-state actors

Name the 3 pillars of Realism (SSS)

* Statism
* Survival
* Self-help

What is meant with statism as one of the three pillars of Realism?

Focus on the **nation-state**. Its **sovereignty** makes the state secure, hierarchical and orderly on the inside.

What is meant with Survival as one of the three pillars of Realism?

On the outside is the **anarchy** of the international system (“war of all against all”). For survival, states need to achieve n**ational security**

What is meant with Self-help as one of the three pillars of Realism?

In the anarchic international system, there is no higher authority. True state power is always **military power**

What is referred to as anarchy?

The endless struggle for international power

Why is national interest important in Realism?

It ensures long-term survival of states (__vital resourcess__; __grand strategy__)

What is reason of state in Realism

Individual ethics do not apply to states (__dual moral standard__)

What does the balance of power mean in the context of realism?

Hegemonic powers cause coalitions of weaker states; long-term __coexistence__ is possible

What is Neorealism?

The updated or “modernised” version of classical realism

The most important school of Neorealism

Structural realism

What is the belief of defensive realists? (Kenneth Waltz)

States are security maximizers

What is the belief of an offensive realist? (John Mearsheimer)

States are power maximisers

What are the strenghts of Liberalism?

* Explains why organizations like the UN or EU have formed and why states cooperate
* Predicted the overall decline of wars between states

What are the weaknesses of Liberalism?

* Idealistic worldview overestimates possibilities for collective action and underestimates self interest of states
* Focus on legitimacy fails to understand true nature of power

Name 2 liberalist thinkers and their theories

* Immanuel Kant’s Federation of Free States (1795)
* Woodrow Wilson and the League of Nations (1920 1945), the predecessor of the United Nations.

What does collective security mean in liberalism?

Security through international organizations (UN, EU, OAS, AU, ASEAN, etc.) and institutions of collaboration (NATO, World Bank, IMF, ICC, ICJ)

What does harmony of interests mean in liberalism?

__Interdependence__ of World economics; __free market__ is mutually beneficent (no zero sum game).

What does democratic peace mean in liberalism?

* Liberal democracies will not go to war with each other (but potentially with non-democracies)
* Principle of self determination ; liberal governments may be inclined towards interventionism

What is meant with transnational actors in liberalism?

Non state actors are important because of soft power

What is the difference between liberals and neoliberals?

Neoliberals have moved away from idealism and are closer to realism (international cooperation is possible, but hard to achieve)

What do commerial liberals believe?

Peace through free market economy monitored by international financial institutions (IFOs) like the World Bank and the IMF

Neoliberal institutionalists

Critical importance of IGOs and military multilateralism

What is the difference of neoliberals and neorealists?

* Neorealists : States will only cooperate when they can gain more than other states relative gains
* Neoliberals: Any gains ( absolute gains ) may be sufficient to cause states to cooperate

What are the strenghts of Marxism?

* Capable at explaining economic inequality and different levels of global development
* “Big picture” theory that traces intricate problems back to a basic philosophical conflict

What is a synonym for Marxism?

Historical materialism

What are the weakensses of Marxism?

* Over-emphasizes the economic perspective, neglects other factors
* Class (and class struggle) is historically a European concept

What are the3 basics of Marxism?

* Means of production vs. relations of production
* Base vs Superstructure
* Monopoly capitalism & imperialism

Means of production vs. relations of production (Marxism)

Technology changes the means of production, causing the (social) relations of production to become unstable

Base vs. Superstructure (Marxism)

This tension (means vs. relations) forms the economic base. The base shapes (and is shaped by) the superstructure (political/legal system, culture, etc.)

Monopoly capitalism & imperialism (Marxism)

Lenin “globalizes” Marx in 1917: The (imperial) core exploits the (colonial) periphery; imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism.

World-Systems Theory (Immanuel Wallerstein,1979)

* Periphery
* Core
* Semi-periphery

World Systems Theory - Periphery

Developing countries supply cheap labour and raw materials to the core

World Systems Theory - Core

Western, former imperial that sells high profit (manufactured) consumption goods to the periphery

World Systems Theory - Semi-periphery

Balances the system by buying from and selling to both

Gramscianism (Antonio Gramsci, 1891 -1937)

Power through coercion vs. power through consent (superstructure enables change)

* It is a socio-political theory that emphasizes the role of culture, ideology, and hegemony in shaping power relations and maintaining social dominance.

Gramscianism - Robert W. Cox

Problem solving theories of international relations (like realism) vs. critical theories (like Marxism)

What are the strenghts of Social constructivism?

* Highlights the power of norms and ideas vs. material interests
* Leaves room for human agency and copes with massive change

What are the weakness of Social Constructivism?

Social (non substantive) theory; does not identify or predict patterns of international politics, is more concerned with the “why” and the “how”

What are the essentials of Social Constructivism?

* Social construction of reality
* Life cycle of norms
* Diffusion
* Institutional isomorphism

What is social construction of reality in Social Constructivism?

* National interests and identities are social facts (=depending on a human agreement)
* Political actors are a product of their cultural environment.

What is life cycle of norms in Social Constructivism?

Norms emerge, cascade, and become internalized. The legitimacy of political actors and actions depends on them.

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What is diffusion in Social Constructivism?

How the internationalization of norms and ideas occurs. This can be top down (e.g. imperial coercion, international prestige) or bottom up.

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What is institutional isomorphism in Social Constructivism?

Organizations that share the same environment will, over time, resemble each other.

What are the strenghts of Poststructuralism?

* Tackles the big ontological and epistemological questions
* Explains the relationship between language and power (“facts” as value statements)
* Sensitive to positions and groups that have been marginalized.

What are the weaknesses of Poststructuralism?

* As a constitutive and anti foundationalist theory, it borders on the philosophical and is not very useful for problem solving.
* Emphasis on language, identity, and (popular) culture may fail to account for material processes.

What are the essentials of Poststructuralism?

* Critique of statism
* Discourse:
* Genalogy
* Intertextuality

What is critique of statism in Poststructuralism?

The state is only one of many forms of political community (neglect of __non-state actors__)

What is discourse in Poststructuralism?

Michel Foucault : Language produces meaning; the “framing” of an issue is political

What is genealogy in Poststructuralism?

Rediscovering marginalized discourses

What is intertextuality in Poststructuralism?

International politics are full of signs, symbols, and statements that can only be understood in connection with cultural texts and historical events. Popular culture is an important object of study.

What are the strenghts of Post-Colonialism?

* Bottom up approach, emphasizing human agency and everyday life
* Draws attention to still existing global (North South) patterns of exploitation and interventionism.
* Emphasizes race and cultural stereotypes (e.g. Orientalism ) in foreign

What are the weaknesses of Post-Colonialism?

* Suffers from low accessibility (abstract philosophical debates).
* Is ideologically charged and tends to place blame on “the West”

What are the essentials of Post-Colonialism?

* Subaltern studies
* Agency
* Neocolonialism

What are subaltern studies in Post-Colonialism?

Integrates marginalized groups into analysis; includes study of literature and art, psychoanalysis, or the empathy based technique of world travelling

What is agency in Post-Colonialism?

Emphasizing the capability of ordinary or suppressed people to influence political events and to sabotage the ambitions of more powerful actors.

What is neocolonialism in Post-Colonialism?

Even without formal empires, economic exploitation, political paternalism and interventions by Western countries into the affairs of the Global South continue.