Chapter 1 Why world politics matters Study Guide World Politics Midterm The Importance of World Politics to each of us Americans don t have knowledge of the world or of Global Affairs World Politics and Your Finances so intertwined that social scientists now use the term intermestic to symbolize the merger of international and domestic concerns International Trade and Your Finances US dependence on foreign petroleum raises gas prices export create jobs 13 of the total US workforce import create job loss imported goods less US production plants run by workers inexpensive foreign products improve our living standards shirts would cost more if they weren t made in china US workers are more expensive The Flow of International Capital and Your Finances international investment capital flow of money in and out of the country to buy companies stocks bonds real estate and other assets Nissan automobile makers in the US foreign firms in the US employ 64 million Americans Defense Spending and Your Finances paying taxes for defense spending cutting defense spending would create job loss for military etc World Politics and Your Living Space world population threatens to change the quality of life global warming due to more carbon dioxide because of more fossil fuels rising sea levels World Politics and Your Life Transnational Diseases We need global responses to counter health threats that ignore national borders melanoma caused by ultraviolet sun rays international interferences with air attacking chemicals are making the ozone layer gradually begin to recover diseases that hosts transport from continent to continent Transnational Political Violence civilians dying because of military operations terrorism soldiers dying in wars Wars in the 1980s 1990s over 85 of those killed were civilians Environment global warming emissions water reserves draughts Diseases avian flu SARS Population boom immigration At the heart of all these technological advancements especially communication technology Thinking Theoretically Putting Events in Context Political theory is an idea or connected set of ideas about why things happen and how events and trends relate to one another 4 cautions for theories none of these are truly comprehensive each theory has numerous variations don t be fooled by the connotations of liberalism and realism focus on what the theory has to offer rather than whatever its shortcomings may be There are overlaps between theories and weaknesses to each of them Realism Theory Realism is the view that world politics is driven by competitive self interest Realists believe that the decisive dynamic among countries is a struggle for power in an effort by each to preserve or preferably improve its military security and economic welfare in competition with other countries Realists see this power as zero sum game in which a gain for one country is inevitably a loss for others They also see humanity as inherently divided by national loyalty to countries or some other focus of political identity such as religion or culture Examples of realists Sun Tzu Thucydides and Kautilya Also Otto von Bismarck Realism emerged partly as a reaction of the failure to preserve peace after World War I 1914 1918 Many thought that it was due to the realpolitik by major European powers and in response idealist movements started like Woodrow Wilson s failed League of Nations and the Kellog Briand Pact 1928 FAILED Classical Realism and Neorealism not a new approach between the outbreak of World War II and depths of the cold war in the 1950s and 1960s Classic realism is associated with Morgenthau and other realists who are pessimistic about human nature 1 Political struggle among humans is probably inevitable because people have an inherent dark side 2 Don t trust other countries or their people 3 Thomas Hobbes humans want to dominate which causes them to become enemies and destroy one another 4 Morgenthau the lust for power in human is an ubiquitous empirical fact 5 Foreign policy A country should and usually does follow the dictates of power but that they don t believe they always do so National leaders can and do err by allowing anything else other than power realities to govern foreign policy 6 Human nature is immutable 7 Thucydides The Melian Dialogue Niccolo Machiavelli The Prince St Augustine Thomas Hobbes Morgenthau Waltz Gilpin Realism An Emphasis on Power Contend that struggles between states to secure their frequently conflicting national interests are the main action on the world stage National interests are anything that preserves a nation s security influence military and economic power Morgenthau states don t follow policy based on justice and morality Do good if the price is low They are not amoral Realism and the Competitive Future 1 There is little hope for substantially reforming the anarchic international system Secure your country first and then care about others 2 Realpolitik holds that countries should practice balance of power politics Alliances divisions of others or self strengthening to avoid coalitions or individual countries to run the world 3 The best way to maintain the peace is to be powerful Peace through strength Ronal Reagan Countries must be armed because the world is dangerous 4 A country should neither waste its power on peripheral goals nor pursue goals that it does not have the power to achieve Liberalism Theory contends that people and the countries that represent them are capable of finding mutual interests and cooperating to achieve them at least in part by working through international organizations and according to international law They do believe that politics involves a struggle for power but they ad morality ideology emotions habits of cooperation and even altruism as factors that influence the behavior of national leaders and the course of world politics International politics can be a non zero sum game it is possible to have win win All humans have a common bond They can relate themselves to people from all over It is not a new approach Resurrected idealism Justice is a basic right universalism President Woodrow Wilson s attempt to form the League of Nations 1970s cold war began to thaw international landscape looked different and liberalism situations the world resurged Democratic peace theory realism would destroy civilization supports global cooperation like the UN Classic Liberalism and Neoliberalism Classic Liberalism oldest direct descent of liberalism Based on