Issues & Trends in World Politics: Theoretical Perspectives

Flashcards covering key theoretical perspectives in world politics, including Realism, Liberalism, World Systems Theory, Constructivism, and Feminist Theory, along with their core concepts and definitions.

Theory

A set of assumptions about how the world works, serving as the lens through which we see and interpret global politics.

Empirical theory

A type of theory that provides insightful descriptions and explanations based on factual attributes.

Normative attributes

Value-based attributes within a theory, often guiding what should be.

Prescription (in theory)

Involves policy advocacy, arguing what policy should be on the basis of a set of theoretical principles.

Realism

The view that world politics is driven by competitive self-interest and a struggle for power among states, each aiming to preserve or improve military security and economic welfare.

Anarchy (in international relations)

A fundamental concept in global politics identifying the lack of a governing authority in the global system and its implications on global interactions.

Zero-sum game (Realism)

The idea that improvements to one state’s security is a detriment to the security of other states, typical of the power struggle stressed by realism.

National interest (Realism)

Mainly defined in terms of whatever enhances or preserves a state’s security, influence, and military and economic power.

Classical Realism

A branch of realist thought that believes the root cause of conflict is the aggressive nature of humans, emphasizing self-interest over values and a pessimistic view of human nature.

Neorealism (Structural Realism)

A branch of realist thought that attributes the self-interested struggle for power among countries to the anarchic nature of the global system, rather than human nature.

Balance of power

A concept, especially in Neorealism, where a distribution of military and economic power among great powers is considered the most stable arrangement.

Defensive Realism

A type of Neorealism where states are primarily status quo actors, only undertaking actions necessary to ensure their own survival and thus seek to avoid generating instability.

Offensive Realism

A type of Neorealism where states may be more aggressive and violent to gain resources, viewing anarchy as an opportunity to pursue war and conflict for opportunistic reasons.

Neoclassical Realism

A blending of classical and neorealist ideas, arguing that individual perception, cognition, and social dynamics at the domestic level impact decision-makers' understanding of other states' actions in an anarchic system.

Liberalism

The view that people and their countries are capable of cooperating to achieve common goals, often through global organizations and according to international law.

Positive-sum outcome (Liberalism)

The belief that countries can achieve mutual benefits and common bonds, rejecting the realist contention of a zero-sum struggle for power.

Cosmopolitanism

An understanding and appreciation of the shared human experience and the ties that bind people together across nations, borders, and cultures.

Liberal internationalists

Proponents who seek to transform international relations to emphasize peace, individual freedom, and prosperity by replicating models of liberal democracy globally.

Classical Liberalism

A branch of liberal thought that attributes cooperation to human nature and the understanding that people can achieve more collectively than individually, with an 'inside-out' emphasis.

Neoliberalism

Recognizes inherent conflict in an anarchic global system but asserts it can be eased by building global and regional organizations and processes that allow actors to cooperate for mutual benefit ('outside-in' explanation).

World Systems Theory

The view that global politics is an economic society brought about by the spread of capitalism, characterized by a hierarchy of countries and regions based on economic disparities.

Global North

Referred to in World Systems Theory as the economically developed, richer nations (Core).

Global South

Referred to in World Systems Theory as the economically less-developed, poorer nations (Periphery).

Core (World Systems Theory)

Focal points of global politics, consisting of Global North countries where global economic and political power revolve due to overwhelming capital concentration.

Periphery (World Systems Theory)

Countries in the Global South that are exploited by the Core for their cheap labor, natural resources, or as dumping grounds for pollution or surplus production.

Core goods

Industrial products that help generate higher levels of technology, employment, and profits, typically produced by Core states.

Peripheral goods

Agricultural and mining products that do not help generate higher levels of technology, employment, and profits, typically produced by Periphery states.

Semi-peripheral states

Countries that do not occupy a commanding position in the global economy but serve an important function or fill a niche, supporting the primacy of core countries (e.g., South Korea, Singapore).

Monopoly capitalism

The natural end-state of capitalism, aiming to totally control all means of production in each and every industry (labor, natural resources, capital).

Marxism (World Systems Theory)

A strand of World Systems Theory focusing on the material foundation of global politics and the nature of imperialism, based on Karl Marx's philosophy of economic order determining political relationships.

Dependency Theory

A strand of World Systems Theory viewing global politics as an economic system where the Global South is dependent upon and disadvantaged by the Global North, perpetuating imperialist relationships.

Neocolonialism

Describes powerful states operating without colonies but nevertheless maintaining imperialistic control over other nations, often through economic means.

Constructivism

The view that changing ideas, norms, and identities of global actors shape global politics, centering on values, ideas, and norms as key to understanding behavior.

Norms (Constructivism)

Ideas that become shared by the majority in a given society, serving as the basis for assessing and regulating social conduct and behavior.

Identity (Constructivism)

A by-product of ideas, defining causal factors that produce certain conceptions of interest and types of behavior, seen as fluid and subject to change.

English School (Constructivism)

A constructivist approach relying on the social aspects of interstate relations, arguing that the international arena is a society of states operating within shared norms, rules, and institutions despite anarchy.

Critical Theory (Constructivism)

A constructivist approach that rejects objectivity and challenges traditional theories' assumptions, power structures, and ideologies that shape global politics, stressing agency, legitimacy, sovereignty, and power in society.

Feminism (in Global Politics)

A collection of theoretical approaches that analyze the role of gender in global politics, considering gender and gender roles as key concepts in understanding power.

Gender

Refers to the socially learned behaviors, repeated performances, and idealized expectations associated with and distinguishing between proscribed gender roles of masculinity and femininity.

Sex

Refers to the biological and anatomical characteristics of men’s and women’s bodies.

Power of gender

The ways in which social, political, and economic worlds are constantly 'gendered,' impacting who has power, who does not, who counts, and who does not.

Intersectionality

The concept that multiple institutions of oppression are interconnected and cannot be understood separately from one another.

Liberal (Orthodox) Feminism

The belief that gender equality is best achieved through political and legal reform, granting women equal access and equal opportunity in public spaces like the workplace and politics.

Critical (Radical) Feminism

Less concerned with simply adding women to positions of power, but more focused on questioning existing gendered structures, patriarchy, and how global politics values and promotes certain cultural and social rules.