World Politics Final

The ideational turn

change from given identities and interests to the importance of ideas, norms and social interactions driving behavior

Social construction of the international reality

social/relational construction of what states are and what they want

Socially constructed ideas

more than just the beliefs of individuals, but are also intersubjective, institutionalized, and not reducible to individual minds

Constructivism: define national interest

ideas about needs based on perceptions of social relationships which can be subject to change

Self help

occurs because of interactions, not because of the anarchic structure itself (Alexander Wendt)

Rivalry

a social relationship that is constructed; states need to see each other as rivals over scarce resources (Alexander Wendt)

Multiple logics of anarchy

spectrum of international anarchies based on variation in the idea that states have about themselves (Alexander Wendt)

Constructivism middle ground

focus on the role of material conditions/interests, ideas, and structure influencing individual behavior

Norms

standard of appropriate behavior for actors with a given identity

Stages of norm creation

norm emergence, norm cascade, internalization

Thin cored ideology (feminism)

puts the rights of women at its center (emphasizing gender equality)

Liberal feminism

focuses on equality of opportunity

radical/critical feminism

the personal is political and the role of the patriarchy

Post colonial feminism

intersection between race and class

Post colonialism

a critical assessment of the universalization of categories and epistemologies

Post colonial definition of normal

what we consider common sense/normal has been shaped by a western centric perspective of the world

Orientalism

creation of an image of how non-western peoples think and act

World order

the concept held by a region or civilization about the nature of just arrangements and the distribution of power thought to be applicable to the entire world

Gilpin’s world order

unipolar, bipolar, multipolar

Mearsheimer’s world order

realist vs liberalist

Kissinger’s world order

european order, islamic order, chinese order, american order

Archarya’s world order

classical near east, indian, Chinese, Islamic

Pax romana

unipolar roman empire

Pax americana

liberal international order

New world order

relies on the strength of the US, international institutions, and bilateral alliances

Multilateralists

embed US power into pre-existing international institutions (especially UN), to demonstrate USA’s ability to exercise its power responsibly and in consultation with other countries 

Unilateralists

UN flawed as an international institution; EU economically important but not major military actor (with exception of Britain and France); need to protect USA’s freedom of action

Important events to the decline of the liberal order

9/11, economic crisis, refugee crisis

Why the decline of the liberal order

backlash to globalization and power of international organizations, regional integration

Mearscheimer’s “Too much Liberalism”

realist order in the cold war defined by polarity; the liberal order contains its own seeds of destruction

Liberal order seeds of destruction

democracy promotion, international organizations, hyperglobalization

Energy dominance

New, more relevant source of power with climate change and technological competition; Dependence on “hostile” countries for energy resources (e.g., Russia and China)

Autonomy

capable of generating an autonomous will distinct from one of its members (implies bureaucracy)

Intergovernmental

state interest focused

Supranational

organization’s interest focused

The UN

corrected failures from the league of nations with the main goal to promote peace and security

UN Security council

may take action to restore international peace and security

UN principles

Sovereign equality of all its members; Settle disputes by peaceful means; Refrain from using force against territorial integrity/political independence of another state

UN Secretariat

administrative work, bureaucratic, can bring issues to the attention of the SC

UNSC

made up of 5 permanent members (russia, france, china, USA, and UK) and 10 temporary members and has decisions with binding power

UN General Assembly

provides recommendations and each member state has one vote. ⅔ of votes for decisions based on peace, budget, and membership

International dispute

Disagreement on a point of law or fact, a conflict of legal views or interests between two persons (at least one of the parties has to be a state)

Non adjuratory courts

mediators and non binding

Adjudicatory courts

3rd party and legally binding

International courts

made of groups of judges who are sitting permanently and are not selected ad hoc

Globalization

Idea that international forces are increasingly driving developments in the world; especially the rising share of economic activity between countries

Advantages of free trade

reduce barriers, allows for specialization and cheap/efficient production; allows for diversified products, better use of resources, knowledge, and skills

Laissez faire

absence of any trade restrictions

Mercantilism

an economic theory that prioritizes national wealth accumulation through trade surpluses and state intervention; central thinking is fixed world wealth, focus on gold and silver and tied ti imperialism

Backlash to globalization

rise in individual support for protectionism, increase in protectionist policies, increase in nationalist political party support, anti globalization protests, and withdraws from IOs

The elephant curve

incomes of the world’s poor and richest have grown over time, but some have stalled; middle class stagnation and the development of rich nations at the extent of poorer ones

Populism

thin centered ideology, elite vs the people

“Pink” socialism

reaction from the populist left such as hugo chavez

Socialism for the 21st century

participatory democracy, economic nationalism, and state interventionism

Reasons for voting far right

economic anxiety, cultural backlash, responsiveness and responsibility

Cultural backlash

Cultural framing of nativism leads to social envy and far-right vote in times of economic deprivation + immigration as concern connected to economy and security. 

Responsiveness

government listening to the demands of citizens

Responsible

governments listening to unelected stakeholders

Nationalism defined by Ernest Gellner

political ideology that argues the nation should be congruent with the state; ethnic borders should be aligned with state borders and nations should have their own state determination

The difference between nationalism and patriotism

nationalism is allegiance and identification with the state and patriotism is the belief that one’s own nation is superior to others

Nation definition

imagined community that is inherently limited and sovereign

State building nationalism

seeks to make a territory into a single nation

Peripheral nationalism

nation within a state seeks to have its own state

Ethnic nationalism

membership to the nation based on ethnic traits like language or common ancestry (eg. Catalonia)

Civic nationalism

membership to the nation based on allegiance to political institutions (eg. France)

Alien rule

nations without their own states

Secession

stateless nation becomes independent to have its own state

Unification

two states of the same nation join together

Irredentism

stateless nation leaves one state and joins another where their nation is dominant

Origin of nationalism

the french revolution

Modernism

nationalism as a product of industrialization and new technologies

Primordialism

nations existing before modernization and built upon pre existing ethnic and religious building blocks

Impacts of nationalism on war

increased contribution to the war effort, rise of mass armies, and increased war driven consolidation/expansion

How did nationalism prevent states from endless expansion?

brought attention to linguistic homogeneity and led to decolonization and a search for self determination

Differences between nations and ethnic groups

1. nations can be defined around factors other than ethnicity

2. ethnic groups existed before nationalism

3. ethnic groups do not require their own state

Political violence

violence perpetrated to achieve political goals

Intrastate conflict

conflict within a country eg. civil war, communal violence, one sided violence

Communal violence

violence in which states are not involved

One sided violence

deliberate use of armed force by the state against civilians

Interstate conflict

state based conflict involving a minimum of 2 states

Internationalized civil war

participation of a foreign state on an internal conflict (eg troop support or financing)

Ethnic conflict

at least one involved party is making claims on behalf of an ethnic group or recruiting mostly from that group

Macedonian syndrome

a triangular situation in which minority X is excluded in state A and state B has ethnic kin with minority X and supports the succession of minority X from state A

Development as a process

development progresses through stages (eg. enlightenment, evolutionary theories, colonial economics, or marxism explanation)

Development as growth

decolonizing countries catching up to the rest; has a teleological assumption about linear progress of development

Modernization theory of development

underdevelopment is rooted in the traditional structures of society and there needs to be a big push for investment and new ideas to transform society

Limitations of modernization theory of development

too narrow of a focus on capital accumulation, highly teleological, does not consider historical factors, and reliant on aid

Dependency theory of development

underdevelopment rooted in unequal exchange of core and periphery and there needs to be south/south cooperation and state led industrialization (eg through CEPAL)

Limitations of dependency theory of development

empirically dubious, doesn’t consider internal factors like social class, and there are problematic results from isolation

The neoclassical (washington consensus) theory of development

underdevelopment due to state interventionism so there must be reductions in state control, liberalization of trade and investment (eg through world bank)

Limitations of neoclassical theory of development

debt crisis of the 1980s, too much uniformity, no differentiation of institutions

Statist approach to development

state can and should promote economic development through rule of law, education, and health services

Neo institutional approaches to development

institutional design to reduce uncertainty and foster growth

Human development

growth incorporating non economic dimensions

global governance

managing collective issues between state and non state actors

Anthropology of development

depoliticization of development interventions, reinforce existing structures of power

Development as freedom

maximising the capabilities of people to exercise their freedoms, with both legal rights, and material possibilities.

Liberal opinion on foreign aid

helps with integration in the global trade system, promotion of inclusive institutions, and interdependency

marxist/dependency theory of foreign aid

foreign aid as a way of perpetuating the division between core and periphery, and the “invisible empire”; corrupt governments can mismanage the money, and foreign aid could become a tool to keep oligarchs in power.