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Ch3

lecture slides

Uploaded by

Jimmy Teng
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chapter 3:

Theories of International Relations

Enduring question:

How do theoretical traditions in international relations differ on


how to understand actors and their behavior on the global stage?

© Joseph Grieco, G. John Ikenberry and Michael Mastanduno, 2019


Realist assumptions

 States are the main actors in international relations.

 States are reasonably rational actors.

 States operate in a world characterized by anarchy.

 Security is the central problem of international


politics, and is an inherently competitive endeavour.
Realist propositions
 States seek a balance of power in international
relations, and often pursue such balance by forming
alliances.

 The anarchic nature of the international system


means that states can never be sure of other states’
intentions, a situation that can often lead to security
dilemmas.

 Due to the competition for power inherent in


international relations, states care deeply about
relative gains.

 International power transitions are fraught with


danger.
English School of IR
 The English School of IR shares many of the
assumptions and propositions of Realism.

 However, the English School tradition emphasizes


that states are social rather than isolated and
organize “international society” through diplomacy
and dialogue to manage anarchy.
Liberal assumptions

 Individuals and groups are the main actors in IR, and


individuals have deeply rooted incentives to trade,
cooperate, bargain, and negotiate for joint gain.

 The world is in an ongoing process of modernization,


and modernization and advancement tend to take
societies toward democratization and market
society.

 Progress exists. The human condition can and will


get better.
Liberal propositions

 Liberals support the concept of commercial liberalism,


and argue that economic interdependence has a
pacifying effect on states.

 Liberals also support the democratic peace theory.

 Functionalism supports the growth of international


laws and institutions for cooperation and dispute
resolution in IR.

 At a sub-state level, transnationalism and


cosmopolitanism encourage relationships between
citizens of different countries.
Neo-liberals

 Neo-liberalists focus on the role of international


institutions in facilitating cooperation among states
and other actors.

 They argue that such institutions facilitate the spread


of information between states and help them
overcome mistrust.
Marxist assumptions

 Economics shape politics, and that socioeconomic


actors are the main actors in international relations.

 The modern state is organized to serve the interests


of the capitalist class.

 Class conflict will increasingly define the relations


between workers and capitalists.

 Revolution is the great source of political change.


Marxist propositions

 States will act in ways that protect and advance


the interests of capitalism and the capitalist class.

 Transnational business will be a salient feature of


world politics.
Constructivist assumptions

 Elite individuals in society and the state are the


main actors in IR.

 The interests of those individuals, as well as of


groups and states, are not set in stone.

 Interests are shaped by the identities of the actors,


and identities are molded by a variety of ideational
factors - culture, religion, science, and normative
beliefs.

 Communication also plays an important role in


shaping and changing identities.
Constructivist propositions

 Constructivists propose that ‘the world is what you


believe it is’.

 States operate in a global civil society, and


constructivists argue that normative change is a
major way in which world politics evolved from era
to era.

 State elites operate within and are influenced by a


strategic culture.
Feminist assumptions

 The dominating views of world affairs ignore the


standpoints of the weak and powerless.

 States and international relations have gendered


structures of domination and interaction.

 Women play a role in the world economy and


geopolitical system primarily as subordinate and
undervalued laborers.
Feminist propositions

 Feminism offers a critique of male-oriented


assumptions, especially realism.

 Feminists also challenge the reduction of women’s


roles and capabilities in IR due to gender bias.

 When women are given more opportunities to hold


power, they lead with different priorities than men.

 Women have been systematically under-represented in


the study and practice of IR.

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