Poststructuralism, Postcolonialism, War, and Global Governance Study Guide

Context: Post-positivist critique of mainstream IR (Realism, Liberalism) and Marxism; rejects universalist Enlightenment assumptions.
Discourse: Linguistic structures through which materiality is assigned meaning; language as an exercise of power.
Deconstruction (Jacques Derrida): Method of exposing hierarchical dichotomies (e.g., West/East, Order/Anarchy) where the dominant term depends on the marginalized one.
Genealogy (Michel Foucault): A "history of the present" tracing how certain "truths" became normalized while alternatives were silenced.
Intertextuality: The concept that all political statements build upon previous texts to generate meaning.
Applications: Deconstructing state sovereignty, identity construction (Self vs. Other), and Securitization as a "speech act" by the Copenhagen School.

Foundations: W.E.B. Du Bois ( $1904$ ), Frantz Fanon ( $1961$ ), Edward Said ( $1978$ ), and Gayatri Spivak ( $1988$ ).
Core Critique: Rejects Eurocentrism; argues international politics is defined by hierarchies (West/Rest) resulting from $500$ years of colonial rule.
Theoretical Levels: * Epistemological: Prioritizing the standpoint of the colonized. * Ontological: Viewing world politics as imperial hierarchy rather than state anarchy. * Normative: Highlighting Western moral responsibility for structural inequalities and resource theft.
Key Frameworks: * Orientalism (Edward Said): Binary view of a rational West vs. an irrational, dangerous "Orient." * Neo-colonialism (Kwame Nkrumah): Legal sovereignty masking continued external economic exploitation. * The Subaltern (Spivak): Historically oppressed groups denied agency or voice. * Modernity/Coloniality: Western progress is structurally dependent on colonial violence and dispossession.

Definition (Tarak Barkawi): Organized violence among groups changing with social context, fought for strategic purpose.
Three Pillars: War is relational (social/political), shapes and is shaped by society, and serves an instrumental political purpose.
Carl von Clausewitz: Defined war as a "continuation of politics by other means."
Strategy vs. Tactics: Strategy is the overarching political plan; tactics are the immediate battlefield actions.
Global Approach: Views war as a transnational force where "peace" in the West (e.g., Cold War) was sustained by exporting proxy wars to the Global South.

Global Governance: Institutional and normative regulations (e.g., international law, IOs) that manage global affairs without a world government.
International Organization (IO): Formal entity with representatives from $3$ or more states and a permanent secretariat.
Historical Waves: * Pre-WWII: Congress of Vienna ( $1815$ ), Universal Postal Union ( $1874$ ), League of Nations ( $1920$ ). * Post-WWII ( $1945$ ): UN, IMF, World Bank, NATO, ICJ, Geneva Conventions. * Post-Cold War ( $1989$ ): Rise of the WTO and ICC.
Perspectives: * Liberalism: IOs facilitate absolute gains and lower transaction costs. * Realism: IOs are tools for great powers to maintain control. * Constructivism: IOs are autonomous norm-makers with moral authority, though prone to bureaucratic pathologies. * Marxism: IOs preserve global capitalist hegemony.

Evolution: Shift from traditional state-centric military security to Human Security (individual focus) and Global Security (transnational threats like climate change).
Realism: Perceived as a zero-sum struggle for survival in anarchy; refers to "Thucydides' Trap."
Liberalism: Focuses on Collective Security (e.g., UN Security Council, NATO) and building "liberal peace."
Social Constructivism: Security environments are ideas-based; "anarchy is what states make of it" (Alexander Wendt).
Security Dilemma: Mutual mistrust where defensive actions are seen as offensive threats.
Security Community: Areas of high mutual trust where war is unthinkable (e.g., EU).

Definition: The structural relationship between "states and markets" (Susan Strange) and public/private power (John Ravenhill).
Key Eras: * $16$ th– $19$ th Centuries: Globalization driven by European colonialism and British hegemony. * Interwar Collapse ( $1910$ s– $1940$ s): Great Depression and "beggar-thy-neighbor" protectionism. * Bretton Woods ( $1944$ ): "Embedded liberalism" using fixed exchange rates and capital controls to fund welfare. * Neoliberal Era ( $1970$ s–Present): Focuses on deregulation, privatization, and tax cuts (Reagan/Thatcher).
Competing Views: * Liberal: Market as an engine of efficiency and peace. * Nationalist/Realist: Economy as a tool for national relative gains. * Marxist: Global system as exploitative Core-Periphery relationship.