INR2002 Introduction Notes What is World Politics and Why Do We Study It The field of world politics a k a international relations seeks to understand how the peoples and countries of the world get along Thomas Carlyle Economics was not a happy science but rather a dreary desolate and indeed quite abject and distressing one what we might call the dismal science o We study world politics b c the bad things that happen in the world distress us and b c the good things give us hope that through understanding and effort the world could be a better place Twelve Puzzles in Search of Explanations Puzzles observations about the world that demand an explanation o Arise because the world does not work the way that we might expect or variations that need to be Theory a logically consistent set of statements that explains a phenomenon of interest explained o Theories Specify factors that play a role in causing the events we are trying to understand Show how these pieces fit together Help us describe predict and prescribe Describe theories can help describe events by identifying factors that are important and factors that are not Predict theories can help us predict by offering a sense of how the world works and how a change in one factor will lead to changes in behavior and outcomes Prescribe theories can help us prescribe policy responses by identifying what has to be changes to foster better outcomes Provide manageable explanations for complex phenomena Probabilistic claim an argument about the factors that increase or decrease the likelihood that some outcome will occur The Framework Interests Interactions and Institutions Framework a way of thinking about world politics that will be useful in building theories that shed light on these puzzles o Three core concepts interests Interactions and institutions Interests the goals that actors have the outcomes the hope to obtain through political action Ex Protecting citizens acquiring more territory maximizing profits etc Interactions the ways in which two or more actors choices combine to produce political outcomes War requires at least two sides one to attack one to resist Institution a set of rules known and shared by the relevant community that structure political interactions Often embodied in formal treaties laws or organizations the United Nations Create procedures lay out standards of acceptable behavior include provisions for monitoring compliance and punishment o Applying the framework 1 Think about who the relevant political actors are and their interests 2 Think about the choices strategies available to each actor how these choices interact to produce outcomes how strategic interaction influences what the actors actually decide to do 3 Think about what institutions might exist to govern their behavior o Since not all decisions are made by individuals it is not precisely accurate to say that a state or an interest group or an institution is an actor Two types of interactions bargaining and cooperation o Bargaining describes situations in which two or more actors try to divide something they both want Ex Allocation of a disputed territory how high or low to set currency exchange rate o Cooperation occurs when actors have common interests and need to act in a coordinated way to achieve those interests Ex Gov ts that want to stop one country from invading another impose economic or military sanctions on the aggressor climate change restrain countries emissions Rules in world politics o Some areas have well established rules and ways to enforce them Levels of Analysis World Trade Organization WTO sets rules for determining what kinds of international trade policies member countries can and cannot have and provides a dispute resolution mechanism that allows countries to challenge one another s policies o Weaker institutions The United Nations UN theoretically governs the use of military force by states but in practice it has a hard time enforcing these rules on its strongest members Human rights laws noncompliance is common offenders rarely punished o International level the reps of states w different interests interact w one another Ex International institutions UN WTO The interests that states pursue at the international level often emerge from domestic policies Ex Reps pushing for liberalizing trade agreements w other countries depends on the interests within the country which support freer trade Relative influence of actors within domestic politics depends on international conditions o Domestic level subnational actors w different interests interact within domestic institutions to determine foreign policy choices Ex Politicians bureaucrats voters o Transnational level groups whose members span borders pursue their interests by trying to influence both domestic and international policies Ex Multinational corporations terrorist organizations Actors operate on all levels they try to change national policies by lobbying gov ts or mobilizing public opinion within key countries try to change international outcomes o No single level is always superior to others in making sense of puzzles Useful explanations can be built from the bottom up 1 Domestic interests interactions and institutions determine the interests that state reps bring to the international level 2 These interests combine in international interactions and institutions to determine the final outcome Integrating Insights from Realism Liberalism and Constructivism o Three schools of thought a k a isms realism liberalism constructivism Realism Thucydides Niccol Machiavelli Thomas Hobbes Jean Jacques Rousseau Hans Morgenthau 2 States are dominant actors on the international stage the institutional setting of world politics is characterized by anarchy o Anarchy the absence of a central authority in the international systems with the ability to make and enforce laws that bind all actors Every state must first and foremost look out for its own survival and security o All states have an interest in security this interest dominates other possible interests o Interest in acquiring power military capabilities states can ensure they are not vulnerable to attack and conquest Security dilemma when one state improves its military capabilities to enhance its own security of its now comparatively weaker neighbors Hobbes state of nature a war of every man against every man in which life is nasty brutish and short Nearly all interactions involve bargaining and coercion o Threat of war looms over
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