Contemporary issues in international politics

IR theories: realism

o   Unit of analysis: states

o   Proposition; states compete for power,

o   Instruments: economic and military power,

o    post-cold-war predictions: resurgence of great power predictions.

Limitations: Does not account for institutional change

IR theories: liberalism

o   Proposition: concern for power overridden by economic/political considerations

o   Instruments: international institutions, economic exchange, promotion of democracy

o   Post-cold-war predictions: Increased cooperation as liberal values, free market and international institutions spread

o   Limitations: tend to ignore and underestimate the role of power

IR theories: constructivism

o   Unit of analysis: Individuals, organizations and transnational networks

o   Proposition: state behavior shaped by elite beliefs, collective norms and social identities

o   Instruments: ideas and discourses

o   Post-cold-war predictions: No prediction, focuses on evolving ideas

o   Limitations: Better at describing present and past than anticipating the future

Internal binding

Wedgers trying to create a division, counter-action to that is binding. Keeping up a united front

Autonomy

Self-rule / self-governance. High autonomy= high centralisation. Independence from external influence.

External wedging

Any active effort to stop a histile group from forming or to break up one that already exists

Centralization

 If centralisation within a country is low, the national government has less freedom of action because power is dispersed. This makes it more vulnerable to external wedging, since outsiders can exploit internal divisions or reginal differences. wedging= soft targets.

Qualified majority voting

system where a decision passes only if it meets a higher or weighted threshold than a simple majority — for example, a certain percentage of both member states and population (as in the EU).

Joseph Nye

Hard, soft and smart power, power as resources and power as outcomes

Smart power

Combination of hard and soft power into effective strategies, effective foreign policy requires smart power

Hard power

Push of threats (coercion) and inducements. Compelling others to act against their preferences

Resources of hard power and tangible, such as military power

Soft power

Pull that get other to want the outcome you want. Ability to affect others through the co-optive means of framing agenda.

Resources often intangible like norms, values, institutions, religion etc

Power as resources

Nye, raw materials that underlie power relationships

Power as outcomes/ behavioural power

What the state´s skills are in converting these resources into preferred statistics

Behavioral/relational definition of power

The ability to alter others behavior to produce preferred outcomes

First face of power: Decision making

Robert Dahl, Ability to make others do what they would not otherwise do through coercion, force, direct command.

T.ex US military intervention in Iraq: UN sanctions

 

Second face of power: agenda setting

Buchrach and Baratz: Ability to control what issues are discussed or excluded through control of institutions, procedures, rules

T.ex WTO agenda-setting: US veto power in UN security council

Third face of power: Ideological

Lukes: Ability to shape preferences so others accept your goals as their own through culture, ideology, values, norms

T.ex Spread of democracy

Barry Posen

Multipolarity, unipolarity, bipolarity, latent and imminent power, emerging multipolar world

Multipolarity

Several great powers, high risk of rivalry, harder to build consensus, regional competition and selective engagement

Unipolarity

One dominant superpower: US, more predictable, fewer conflicts, easier to set agenda, global leadership

Bipolarity

Two great powers balancing

Latent power

States economic capacity

Imminent power

State’s readiness or immediate ability to convert its latent power into actual power.

Emerging multipolar world

Key features: Muted military competition among great powers, Persistent competition for Power, Diffusion of power, The problem of weak states

  A global order in which power and influence are distributed among several major states or blacks, rather than dominated by one (unipolar) or two (bipolar) superpowers.

Kenneth Waltz

Neorealism, structural realism

Structural realism

Core claim: Anarchy compels self help

Logic of anarchy: survival is key – everybody there to grab power

State goals: Balance of power

Cooperation: Fragile and limited , still try to cooperate because otherwise coalitions will appear without you

Change: polarity shift

Policy implication: maintain balance, no too big powers

John Mearsheimer

Offensive realism

Offensive realism

Core claim: Anarchy compels power maximization, must constantly expand your power

Logic of anarchy: Aim for hegemony, survival requires dominance

State goal: pursue hegemony ‘Cooperation: Rare, temporary

Change: driven by power transitions

Policy implications: contain rivals

Alexander Wendt

Constructivism

Constructivism

Core claim: Anarchy is socially constructed, norms and interests can transform the system

Logic of anarchy: Interaction shapes meaning

State goal: Identities and interests are socially shaped, interaction shape meaning

Cooperation: Possible via trust and norms

Change: Norms and identity shifts

Policy implications: build institutions                  

Conversion power

Ability to convert resources into geopolitical power

QUAD

Main partnership for India, between India, Japan, Australia and the US. Seen as a response to China.

Selective accommodation (SA)

A dominant power can weaken opposing alliances by selectively accommodating certain states, encouraging them to defect, stay neutral or shift allegiance 

SA target selection

Dividers (powerful states) should target states that are potential movers on the margins, have strategic weight and are not in the primary adversary, in order to weaken opposing alliances by encouraging shifts in allegiance or neutrality

SA reward power

Targets must be states that the divider can influence with rewards. In other words, the powerful state (divider) should focus on countries it can persuade or entice by offering benefits, incentives or support

SA alignment goal

The goal is usually to make small, gradual changes, nudging the target state toward a neutral or cautious position rather than forcing a complete shift in allegiance.

SA alliance constraints

Accommodations (means making concessions, offers, or adjustments to satisfy or win over other states.) may need to consider the interests of important allies, often offering side deals or incentives to keep them supportive while pursuing broader goals.

Globalisation

Process by which people, goods, services, capital, information and ideas move more freely across national borders, leading to increased interconnection, interdependence, and integration of economies, societies, and cultures worldwide.

Homogenisation

Process through which social differences are reduced, resulting in uniformity in culture, consumption patterns lifestyles, or social practices across regions or societies.

G-X multilateralism

G-X multilateralism is a concept in international relations and global governance that refers to a form of multilateral cooperation among a limited group of like-minded states, rather than involving all countries in a universal framework.

G-X multilateralism is a system in which coalitions of states (the “G” plus an unspecified number of others, “X”) coordinate policies, make decisions, or take joint action on global issues, often to achieve outcomes more efficiently than in universal forums like the UN.

Regionalism

The pursuit of closer collaboration among neighbouring states to promote common interests, stability, economic growth and political influence

Playground vs Player

Autonomy, wedging and binding interplay determines if Europe is a playground or a player. If fragmented=playground

Super-power

US or SU, comprehensive global reach 

Great Power

Stretches beyond its intermediate region but not global un the same way as a super power

Middle power

A rising power that lack system shaping capabilities

Gaps stopping Inda from being a great power is: no real global strike capability, limited ability to predict serious military power far beyond its region, don’t decisively dominate its own neighborhood – SouthEast Asia

Power transition theory

Rising npower challenging a dominant power

3 scenarios for India in world politics

1.        Increased US dominance -> India drifts closer, unlikely as full binding alliance with the US is difficult due to geographic realities

2.        Increasing Chinese ascendency= nightmare scenario

a.        China dominance-> China-Pakistan alliance become stronger

3.        Status quo continues

a.        Gradual pragmatic alliances with US, in defense strategy

b.        More traditional stance in the UN, trying to maximise its on leverage

c.        Playing multiple sides

Shift one, two and three

Key changes for India

Shift one: Balancing China in the Indo-pacific

Shift two: Building security ties with the west

Shift three: Third world movement, trying to build friends outside the two blocks

IOR

Indian Ocean region

CTPP

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

Malacca strait

2/3rds of all trade passes through the Straits and 9/10 Crude Oil exporters are resident in the IOR

Command and control vs democratic pluralism

China vs India when it comes to organizing political, economic and social systems

China: control, Chinese socialism

India: Democratic pluralism

Performative democracy

A political system in which democratic institutions and practices exist in form of appearance, but real citizen influence, accountability or decision- making power is limited or absent.

Prescriptive democracy

Refers to the ideal, normative or theoretical model of democracy: how it is prescribed to operate according to democratic principles, constitutions and political philosophy.

Maritime security

Crucial part for India, because of its strategic positioning in the Indo- Pacific region. Also because of Chinas maritime strength, with a large fleet and involvement in numerous ports in the region.

Tianxia

All under heaven. One emperor – all should pay tribute

Vaudhaiva Katumbakam

One university, one earth, one family

Entrepreneurial norms

Project based Capacitation, ground level stakeholder transformation, unlocking precious opportunity for landlocked miniature states

Strategic capacitation

EU is a stable and predictable partner offering economic and technological collaboration, without any security dependencies.

   is the deliberate development and enhancement of resources, skills, institutions, and structures that allow an actor to project power, influence outcomes, or respond effectively to opportunities and threats over time.

Strategic autonomy

The capacity of a state or actor to pursue its own strategic objectives, maintain freedom of action, and manage external dependencies while protecting its security, economic, and political interests

India and EU’s strategic autonomy chimes, by ensuring economic, technological and strategic cooperation, sans security entanglements.

Strategic resiliance

India and European partners advance global commons, through in-concert initiatives, such as the ISA, CDRI, IPOI, IRIS, GGI, etc.

Ability to anticipate, absorb, adapt to, and recover from internal or external disruptions in a way that protects and sustains strategic goals, interests, and capabilities

Strategic accommodation

India and the EU remain advocates of non-exclusion, non-antagonism, with partners in the Indo-Pacific.

is the deliberate adjustment of strategy or policy by a state to manage power relations, mitigate threats, or maintain stability, without fully yielding or surrendering sovereignty.

Strategic stability

India and the EU uphold Rules Based International Order through G-7, G-20, UN, WTO, etc. Both construe China, as an ‘Economic Partner’, ‘Strategic Competitor’, and a ‘Systemic Rival’

The condition in which the structure of international power, military capabilities and deterrence relationships reduces the likelihood of conflict, encourages restraint and maintain predictable interactions among states

Strategic standards

India and the EU adopt five principles in infra-financing, viz., wider stakeholder consultation, fiscal viability, ecological sentience, need based grassroots demand, and non-preclusion. Against unilateral Rule-Making

the established principles, performance benchmarks, or operational criteria used to measure, guide, and coordinate strategic decision-making and actions in pursuit of overarching goals.

Unions of diversity

India and Europe embody this – a democratized and multilateral way of cognition and action

Invisible hand

Free market, Adam Smith - market as self correcting

William Lloyd

Rebuttal of the invisible hand in population control is found in pamphlet by Lloyd

Garett Hardin

Global commons, tragedy of the commons

Global commons

Shared global resources like ocean, wind, space

tragedy of the commons

how individuals acting rationally in their own self-interest can collectively destroy shared resources

Hardin

Solution of tragedy of the commons

GOvernmental regulations, privatization of resources and community-based management

Hardin concludes that only “mutual coercion, mutually agreed upon”—such as laws, taxes, or restrictions—can manage common resources sustainably. True freedom, he argues, comes from recognizing the necessity of limits.

Positive and negative utlity

Positive:function of the increment of one animal, positive utility is + 1

Negative: Additional overgazing created by one more animal, effects are overgrazing shared by all herdsmen -> fraction of -1

Kenneth Waltz

Governance without government is impossible. International organizations can coordnate but not govern

States remain the dominant actors for international politics. The “end of the state” rumour is a myth.

International politics is defined by anarchy and state sovereignty

Globalization is not unpreceeded

Ikenberry

The liberal international order is not declining despite power shifts. Wealth and power are moving from West to East, rising states like China, Brazil, and India don't want to overthrow the current system. Instead, they want more authority within it because they've benefited enormously from its rules, institutions, and open markets.

The liberal world order will persist but the US wont dominate any longer 

Waltz realistic critique vs globalist view

Globalist view vs Waltz

 State is weakening vs state remains central

Markets govern themselves vs markets exist under state rules

Global governance is emerging vs institutions rely on state power

Interdependence reduce conflict vs power politics persist

Stewart Patrick

Good enough, idealist and fatalist myth

Good enough governance

The world lacks a global government, but cooperation still occurs. Focus on what works, not on ideal institutional designs. Global order where everybody are equal – unrealistic, should focus on what works. Countries with similar values should cooperate more – easier

Practical, flexible, problem solving based on state interest, no one solution fix all

Decentralised: No single authority controls outcomes.

Adaptive: Institutions evolve with new challenges.

Diverse: Different solutions fit different problems.

Effective: Judged by outcomes, not structure

Idealist myth

Global government is possible and necessary

Fatalist myth

Without global governance, cooperation is impossible 

(Both myths are wrong – effective governance can occur through flexible arrangements)

Functional paradigm

Many different institutions (minilateral) for different issues. The distribution of societal functions across multiple independent actors or institutions, allowing for specialisation, checks and balances, and negotiation among competing interests.

Limits to global governance

Waltz: international system is anarchic- there is no overarching authority above states. States act primarily in their own security and self- interest, limiting the ability of global institutions to enforce rules.

Patrick: global governance is constrained by unequal power among states. Strong states can dominate institutions or evade rules, while weak states may lack capacity to implement them.

Ikenberry: global institutions often rely on voluntary participation and cooperation, especially in liberal order context. Enforcement is limited because institutions cannot compel states to act against core interest.

Hardin: global commons problem (like climate, oceans and atmosphere) are prone to overuse because individual actors prioritise self- interest. Even with global agreements, coordination failure and free- riding limit effectiveness.

Special economic zones (SEZ)

Designed geographical areas along the South China coast (established by China 1979) where different set of economic rules or conditions apply compared to the rest of the country. To attract foreign investment, serve as testing ground for Chinas open door policy

Locations: Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou, and Xiamen.

SEZ mistake

The failure of the SEZ was due to a fundamental conflict between China’s goal of creating export- oriented high- tech bases and foreign investors’ primary goal of selling to the Chinese domestic market.

Policy shift

Change in Chinas national economic strategy that occurred starting in the late 1970s, specifically under Xiaoping. From the Maoist self- reliant policy of economic development to the open door policy and a focus on economic construction

Open door policy

The shift in economic strategy. The strategy meant to encourage foreign participation in the Chinese economy.

Wai- yin, Nei- lian

The summarising slogan and core conceptual objectives for China’s special economic zones. Meant attracting and drawing in foreign capital and technology from outside China.

Iron rice bowl

Chinese economic concept that refers to a system of guaranteed lifetime employment and comprehensive social welfare benefits provided by the state under the Maoist economic system

Difference of SEZ to rest of China

operated as economic outliers by offering liberal administrative rules and tax incentives to foreign investors, while the interior adhered to the tight control of central planning and the “iron rice bowl” system.

State capitalism China

system where the central party- state maintains overall political and strategic economic control while allowing market mechanisms and foreign capital to operate. Designed to selectively harness the benefits of capitalism while ensuring they were directed toward national modernisation.

Modernisation

Core goal of post 1978 economic reforms, primarily driven by the Communist Partys shift focus and the implementation of the open door policy

Market orientation/trade

A significant aspect of the post 1978 economic reforms. The move away from China’s traditional system of rigid central planning towards a system where economic decisions are influenced by market forces and international trade

Technology/capital transfer

One if the pillars of China’s post- 1978 economic reforms, designed to bridge the country’s development gap with the West. To bring foreign capital investment and advanced technology that China lacked In the Maoist era.

Infrastructure under Mao

Principle of central planning and an emphasis on heavy industry and national self- reliance, rather than consumer or commercial efficiency.

Significant efforts to expand basic infrastructure across the country: such as railways, irrigation and water control.

Impact of infrastructure 

Positive impact: laying the foundation for later economic development.

Negative impact: the infrastructure became a bottleneck for modern, export- oriented activity: underdevelopment for trade, inefficiency and low quality technology. As well as low living standards, lack of mobility and freedom for the people.

Deng Xiaopings economic legacy

A shift from Maoist central planning and self- reliance to an open-door policy and market orientation. This change centred the Communist Party’s mission on economic construction and growth, relying on pragmatism, the use of material incentives, and gradual, experimental reform, to transform China’s economy.

Vison and reform style of Xiaoping

Rapid economic development of China, prioritising results over rigid ideology (black or white cat). Reform style was pragmatic, relying on a gradual, experimental approach (groping for stepping stones) and political management to support reforms while delegating details.

laissez-faire

A core principle of Xiaoping reform style, not defined by classical Western economic theory, but as the importance of non- interference by the political leadership in economic development.

“black cat or white cat, so long as it catches mice”.

The effectiveness and outcome of a policy are more important than its political ideology or theoretical framework.

“crossing the river by groping for stepping stones”

Means proceeding with a major and complex undertaking without a complete, predefined theoretical map. Instead, one takes small, cautious and experimental steps, testing the ground (the stepping stones) before committing fully to a policy.