IR 210 Lecture 1 The 5 Corrosive Shortcomings of American IR Theory Presentism Insisting or assuming that way prevails today also prevailed in every other time and place Ahistoricism studying the past but only to discover general LAWS that apply to all times and places o Thucydides He speaks about Realism Famous Line The Strong Do What they Will and the weak what they most Eurocentrism Assuming that what happened in Europe and the broader West is a microcosm of what happened everywhere Anarchophilia Assuming that anarchy is natural and at root eternal State Centrism Assuming that states are always and forever dominant actors in the international relations Levels of Analysis Issues Alliances International Int Norms Rules System Government STATE Economy Individual Personality Perceptions Activities Choices Interest Groups Intergovernmental Organizations National Interest Multinational Corporations IR 210 Lecture 1 The 5 Sectors Lenses for analysis Military Relationships of forceful coercion and the ability of actors to fight wars with each other Political Relationships of authority governing status and recognition Economic Relationships of trade productions and finance Socio Cultural Collective identity the transmission of ideas Environmental The relationship between human activity and the planetary biosphere which sustains it or not Sectoral Analysis Type Of Unit States Corporations NGOs Type Of Interaction Warfare Trade Persuasion Structure Balance of power Economic Dependence 2 Dangers In Sectoral Analysis 1 The Observer begins to confuse the partial of the sector with the total reality of the whole international system 2 The Observer starts thinking that the social world is completely analogous to the natural word 3 Sources Of Explanation 1 Process Patterns of action and reaction that can be observed among the interacting units that make up the system o Security Dilema Diagram 2 Interaction Capacity The amount of transportation communication and organizational capability within the unit or the system 3 Structure The principles by which units are arranged into a system how units are differentiated from each other and how they stand in relation to each other in terms of relative capabilities A Key Hypothesis Concerning Structure When interaction among the units is high structural effects should be strong When it is low structural effects should be weak 3 Criteria For Identifying an International System Interaction There must be some substantial level of regular and sustained inter unit interaction in 3 sectors military political economic and socio cultural 1 Full International systems They contain significant and sustained military political economic and socio cultural interactions or at least their potential 2 Economic International Systems These lack military political interaction but would normally include both economic and socio cultural interactions 3 Pre International Systems These feature mainly socio cultural interactions though they might also contain elements of noncommercials trade
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