Paper 3 - Comparative Global Politics & Comparative Theories

Liberalism vs Realism ~ Human Nature

Realism ~ Pessimistic - Humans are inherently selfish and will always put their immediate self-interest first

Liberalism ~ Altruistic - humans are rational, and realise that cooperation is often key into meeting their best interests

Liberalism vs Realism ~ Power

Realism ~ Power is the most important part in maintaining sovereignty - States compete for power as it is limited

Liberalism ~ Power can allow states to cooperate and balance power between states in their interest - Pooled sovereignty is required

Realism vs Liberalism ~ Order and Security

Realism ~ Security can only be secured through power accumulation and being stronger than your enemy - International system is anarchic

Liberalism ~ Security is brought through cooperation and interdependence - It is only self-sacrifice to break the peace

Order in the international system

Realism vs Liberalism ~ Likelihood of Conflict

Realism ~ conflict is inevitable and states should be prepared to enter into it

Liberalism ~ Conflict serves only as a final solution after all other diplomatic choices have been exhausted

Realism vs Liberalism ~ International Organisations

Realism ~ Their goal is ultimately futile and are doomed to fail - they detract from states’ sovereignty

Liberalism ~ International organisations are key in maintaining peace in the world - Complex interdependence

Realism vs Liberalism ~ Significance of states

Realism ~ States are the most important part of the world order

Liberalism ~ States are not the only important international actors and are decreasing in importance

Realism ~ Thucydides (460-406BC)

Athenian historian and general - Father of realism

"“History of the Peloponnesian War”

Melian Dialogue - Athenians claimed that they, as the larger power, had the right to conquer Melos in order to stop weakness being shown to their island territories

Relations between states based on might rather than right

Realism ~ Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527)

Florentine historian, politician, diplomat

"The ends justify the means”

The Prince (a ruler) should do whatever is necessary to secure his power

Acquiring and maintaining the rule of a nation requires evil.

Sovereignty - Different types:

Internal Sovereignty - ability to wield absolute power within a state

E.G. UK Pt’s ability to exercise supreme power with no other body or person being able to overrule its laws

External Sovereignty - ability to act independently on the international stage, all states are equal in theory ~ a state can decide its own foreign policy without interference from other states or IGOs

E.g. Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus - Has internal sovereignty but no international recognition besides Turkiye, no external sovereignty

Zero-Sum Sovereignty - the amount of sovereignty is limited and can be given away or retained

E.g. UK gave y amount of sovereignty to the EU taking away from the x amount of sovereignty we had

Pooled Sovereignty - Combining sovereignty in order to increase it overall

E.g. EU - Malta as part of EU has greater influence than the UK outside of the EU

Sovereignty - IGOs

Loss of sovereignty

Growing interconnectedness of world (trade, finance, production)

Hundreds of IGOs created to manage this

E.g. IMF after WWII

Certain decisions made above the state level

E.g. WTO imposes trade tariffs to create stability in world trade

BUT

IGOs follow the principle of intergovernmentalism - members have the veto power

E.g. Russia and China blocked a US-sponsored UN resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza 2024

Intergovernmentalism limits the power that IGOs have over their members - no compulsion without force

States still retain the power to withdraw - E.g. Brexit

Sovereignty - Human Rights

Loss of sovereignty

Increasingly global nature of justice - organisations propel this, e.g. ICC

Universal Declaration of Human Rights upheld by the ICJ

Could be seen as restricting states’ ability to enact internal sovereignty

Introduces consequences for state leaders’ domestic policy

E.g. Charles Taylor, Slobodan Milosevic

BUT

Globalisation of human rights has not restricted internal sovereignty of nations

Globalisation has actually preserved sovereignty as state’s prioritise their own interests such as through trade which override their interest in interfering in human rights

E.g. China remains powerful on the world stage through their trade despite their human rights violations in Hong Kong and against the Uyghurs.

Sovereignty - Cultural Globalisation

Freedom of movement of people, information, culture - especially helped through the internet

Global dominance of English language as well as dominance of American consumer brands

Could be seen as undermining state’s ability to control their internal sovereignty and their citizen’s access to information

The internet supersedes the physical boundaries of national borders

BUT

State’s do maintain control despite the world being increasingly globalised

E.g. China’s “Great Firewall” - 2026 Iran shutting off internet access

Power - Types of state (power)

Great Power - substantial pop., resources, territory, maintains political stability - has the capacity to project power beyond its borders. E.g. UK

Superpower - surpassing capabilities of trad. great powers - global reach, military strength (nuclear), strategic role within its ideological sphere. E.g. USA, Russia

Emerging - growing economy and ability to act on the world stage, int. orgs give greater influence to these countries - (e.g. BRICS, G20 - Argentina, S. Korea, Mexico, Poland, Turkiye)

Power - Types of power (not polarity)

Capabilities - Resources to be drawn on: pop. wealth, military, geography

Relationships - Relational Power - Making the right diplomatic choices and alliances can confer power on a nation

Structures - A state’s establishment or control of knowledge, financial, security and production networks. E.g. USA = architect of many int. orgs.

Power - Unipolarity

Unipolarity - one pre-eminent/dominant power state or pole over all other global actors

may be dominant in a range of areas: military, economy, culture

may create hegemony

E.g. Iraq 2003 - USA and allies acted unilaterally - Chomsky “malign or predatory hegemony”

Could also become “World’s policeman” such as in saving Kuwait from Iraqi invasion 1991

Realist - dominant power acts as a policeman and maintains stability, the world benefits from a concentration of power

Liberal - promotes megalomania and hostility towards dominant power - concentration of power leads to arrogance and over-confidence from the hegemon

Power - Bipolarity

Bipolarity - Two major power blocs of evenly matched power poles - effectively neutralise the threat to each other

E.g. Stable rivalry between India & Pakistan

Soviet Union vs United States

Balance of power produces MAD and created an effective deterrent

Realist - Inherently stable system producing a balance of power - Produces a zero-sum situation (My gain = your loss) , neither side can allow the other to gain any advantage - action of opponent creates predictability

Waltz - most stable system, only check on power is power itself

Liberal - USSR vs USA resulted in proxy wards killing over 20 million people

Reagan worsened tensions by increasing military spending and insulting the USSR “evil empire”

Power - Multipolarity

Multipolarity - a system that involves three or more dominant power poles

E.g. The inter-war years (1919-1939)

Realist - least stable system and most likely to lead to war, causes uncertainty in the international system

Miscalculations are likely as there are so many actors to consider, risk-taking is more tempting when states have similar levels of power

States more likely to shift allegiances, breeding suspicion and distrust

Attribute the outbreak of WWII to multipolarity, rise of Germany, Italy, Japan challenged UK, France

Liberal - Multipolarity leads to equilibrium and peace, forces cooperation and multilateralism

All states have an interest in preserving the system and maintaining their equally influential positions

Environment - Shallow-Green Ecology

Prioritises human interests over those of nature - anthropocentrism

Seeks to reconcile competing interests of nature and humans - sustainable development is possible alongside economic growth

Environmental damage (fossil fuel depletion, effects of climate change) will affect human prosperity

Humans can curtail acts that damage enviro (eat less meat, less drive) - may involve decline in living standards, but balance can be met

1987 Brundtland Commission Report

Sustainable Development - “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

Economic growth and poverty reduction should be linked to environmental protection

Implicit recognition that current economic growth should be limited to ensure resource availability of futures gens

• tax of pollution

• subsidies for green energy production

• dev of int. regime (UNFCCC, IPCC

Environment - Deep-Green Ecologism

Rejection of anthropocentrism, argue that nature is equal if not superior

Capitalism & economic growth has led to exploit of workers and environmental damage

Warrants a shift to a more sustainable, less materialistic economic system

Human pop. control is advocated for to minimise human impact on the environment

Rejects paramount nature of state interests, arguing that global cooperation to promote environmental survival

Protecting the global commons (shared global assets i.e. the ocean) is a political principle and goal in its own right.

Human Rights - International Court of Justice (ICJ)

Settles disputes between states, provides non-binding advisory opinions to UN bodies

A UN body and therefore applies to all member states, rulings are largely accepted

Still lacks powers of enforcement, relies on state’s agreeing to be judged before the court and thereby accept the ruling of the court

E.g. 2004 Israel ignored the ruling of the ICJ on the wall built along the Palestinian Border being illegal.

Court relies on states bringing cases to the court - it is reactive, not proactive

Human Rights - International Criminal Court (ICC)

124 states are signatories of the Rome Statute, accepting the jurisdiction of the ICC

Prosecutes against: Genocide, Crime against Humanity, War Crimes, Crimes of Aggression

States can either not sign of leave the court (Russia, USA, China, Iran, India, Israel)

Putin and Netanyahu indicted for crime committed on soil of signatories

Court of last resort, only when someone cannot be prosecuted by a domestic court