International Relations

Carl von Clausewitz

Prussian officer during Napoleonic Wars, believed wars were by caused by three 'trinities': passion (people), chance (army), and reason (leadership/government), limited and total war, war is a continuation of politics

Limited war

Fought for lesser goal than politics, example: wars fought over land

Total war

State is fighting for existence

Treaty of Westphalia

Signed in 1648, ended the wars of religion in Europe, showed that supporting religion of other state was not valid cause for war, instead states had sovereignty to govern how they wanted

Rise of the West

Western powers becoming dominate in terms of industrialization, colonialism, technology in mid 1700s to now, created divide in West and East, more encompassing idea

Great Divergence

Period of increasing inequality, West's economic and political rise, fueled by interdependence

Globalization

Increased interdependence and integration of economies, cultures, and societies, specially the exchanging of goods, services, and people--causing diffusion

Thucydides Trap

Uneven distribution of power causes established power to feel threatened leading to warlike tendencies; based on 5th century clash btwn Athens (rising power) and Sparta (est.). Modern example: U.S (est.) and China (rising)

Realism

Power and self-interest are central to international politics, risk/danger of war is always present, became dominant theory after WWII

What are the five subcategories of realism?

Statism, power, anarchy, survival, and self-help

Statism (Realism)

State is main actor in IR, states prioritize their security, which downgrades the security of others

Power (Realism)

Struggle for intl power makes threat of conflict always possible

Anarchy (Realism)

Intl affairs always take place in anarchy, constant competition for power, economic profit, security and influence Zero-sum game: one state's gain is another's loss

Survival (Realism)

Goal of state's in intl space is always survival

Self-help (Realism)

State is responsible for own security and well-being

Liberalism

Emphasizes cooperation over conflict, wants states to have self-restraint, moderation in order to have compromise and peace, inspired by Enlightenment ideals, main actors: political, economic, social, and religious pursuits, trade is good

Immanuel Kant

Championed ideas for liberalism, specifically that to obtain peace there must be intl organizations that act as a permenant peace treaty

Marxism

Centers on class struggle, bourgeoisie (capitalists) and proletariat (workers): rich get richer; poor stay poor because of global capitalism, wants to organize world differently

Three zones of economy (Marxism)

Core: most advanced states dominate (US and Japan) Semi-periphery: In transition between other zones (Eastern Europe, SE Asia) Periphery: poorest and marginalized countries, exploited by rest (African and Latin American countries)

Poststructuralism

Critical of other IR theories, critique of knowledge, major concepts: Discourse, Deconstruction, genealogy, and intexteruality

Discourse (Postructuralism)

Argues language is not neutral, always charged in some way

Deconstruction (Postructuralism)

Meaning of words can change, codes are never fixed

Genealogy (Postructuralism)

Using history to see how present is; history of present

Intertextuality (Postructuralism)

All texts of world are connected; create mega intertext

Constructivism

Emerged in 1990s because of Cold War, emphasizes role of socially constructed ideas (norms, identities, beliefs) in shaping IR, social theory; break down society to rebuild right way

Alexander Wendt

Important proponent of Constructivism, argued that state's behaviors, identities are not fixed, challenging realism

Feminism

Rooted in analysis of the global subordination of women, dedicated to its elimination, wants to achieve equality for women and diversifying women's roles