Download international politics

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS-
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What is it?
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Lasswell’s Who gets what, how, why.
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Nation-state taken as unit of description, not always unit of
analysis.
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Concerned with the interaction of both states and other actors
based in separate states.
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AREAS OF CONCERN
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Everything that concerns how states and national leaders interact.
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conflict and cooperation, treaties, alliances, security dilemmas,
interdependency, war, and trade.
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Decisions and behaviors of state and international actors.
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POLITICAL SCIENCE
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Politics are used to resolve collective action problems.
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The study of polities that create policies. Outputs,
motivations and behaviors.
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Field used to focus primarily on behaviors of organized polities.
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Now borrows from a number of different fields, sociology (social
groups, norm forming, etc), psychology (individual level,
perceptions, motivations, behavior under stress or
uncertainty),Economics (individual, macro, systemic levels, rat
choice, inductive models)
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GOALS OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
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To understand observed phenomenon
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Predict behavior, based on minimum of observable inputs
(independent variables).
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Explain phenomenon, understand motivations, perceptions,
expectations of actors.
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Positive theory: Explains behavior through observationobjective scientific theory possible.
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Normative theory: Explains what should be in terms of
norms and values that guide behavior.
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WHY USE THEORIES
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Theories are methods of organizing information in order to lead to
understanding of observed phenomenon.
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Must be testable and falsifiable.
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Must explain and prediction of behaviors.
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Work until they don’t!
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CONCEPTS TO KNOW
• Actors:
Can be nation-state, IGO’s, NGO, MNC, domestic
pressure groups, political leaders, etc.
• Level of analysis: Global, interstate,domestic,individual
• State Sovereignty
• Power
• International System: interactions between states, structured by
patterns, rules and norms
• International Anarchy
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ACTORS
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Nation-states
• Sub-national organizations
• Bureaucracies
International Organizations
Intra-governmental organization (really only 1)
Individuals
Private organizations- corporations
Religions
Networks
• religious
• technical
• Ideological communities
• others
LEVELS OF ANALYSIS•
Locate your phenomenon...
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Like finding the edge pieces of a puzzle.
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Recognizing the actors in a problem helps identify the most
appropriate level of analysis.
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Recognizing the environment that conditions actor behavior
refines selection of level or levels.
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Guides determination of appropriate theoretical tools.
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LEVELS OF ANALYSIS: NOT FIXED
Goldstein 4-levels
• Mingst ID’s 3 levels
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International System
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State
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Interstate level
Society Character, Economic Conditions, Bureaucratic etc..
Individual
Kinsella et al. 6 levels
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World Systems
IR- interstate
Society Character/Conditions
National Government structure and type
Bureaucracies, roles of decision makers
Individual decision maker
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LEVELS OF ANALYSIS-GLOBAL
LEVEL: WORLD SYSTEMS
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Regional phenomenon
Environmental issues
Terrorism, organized crime
Imperial systems and legacies, Polarity
Cross border cultural phenomenon, world religions
Epistemic communities
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Knowledge change
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Science, business, economics
Science, organizations, education, communication
International Institutions, norms-- International Laws, conventions.
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LEVELS OF ANALYSIS: INTERSTATE LEVEL
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States as actors
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Power rivalries
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Treaties
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IGO
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Wars
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LOA: NATION-STATE
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Domestic level
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Domestic political systems
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Interest groups
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Civil society organization
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Ethnic/national motivations
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Political culture
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Domestic competition, corporations, organizations, political groups
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INDIVIDUAL LEVEL
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Decision making among leaders
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Leader psychology
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Groupthink
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Learning of leaders etc…
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ORGANIZATIONS LEVEL
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Can be between individual and domestic, or other organizations
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Analyze the culture, structure, networks, communication, knowledge
and power of organizations.
Organizations structure the information, objectives and authority of
individual decision makers
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EXAMPLE: TURKISH ACCESSION TO EU.
LOCATE PHENOMENON
Global
Uni
ted
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Accession
tate
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National/ France
Turkey
Nation
N
at
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na
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G
er
m
an
y
al/ Greece
Regional/Organization
ACTORS- LEVELS OF ANALYSIS
Courts
Business Associations
Political Culture
Religious
Orders
Turkey
Parties
Media
EXAMPLE: CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
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Inter-state level analysis
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Rational policy
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Security threat posed by missiles, undermines US deterrent.
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Attack conventional forces
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Do nothing
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Blockade, act of war escalation?
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Blockade with side-deal
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NARCHY IN THE IR
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Anarchy is the absence of authority above the state.
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Security dilemma is the notion that under anarchy, the pursuit of security
(Arms, treasure, power) by one state is automatically a threat to its
neighbors.
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Security dilemma is caused by Anarchy, there is no recourse to selfhelp
The structural level of analysis of realists/neo-realists is based in the idea
of the security dilemma.
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WHAT DOES ANARCHY MEAN?
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Does it mean disorder?
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For state actions?
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For recourse to justice?
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To define justice?
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Where do individuals fit in an Anarchic system?
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What about those without Nation/State representation?
WHAT DOES SECURITY
DILEMMA MEAN TO STATES?
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All states can be analyzed in terms of the security dilemma and their
behavior can be seen as efforts to mitigate the problem faced with finite
power.
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Either by becoming the strongest state, or adopting strategies that will
provide a second best solution. Explains possible behaviors such as arms
races, band-wagoning and balancing.
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ANARCHY TO REALISM
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Assumes the “state of nature” is a state of war, kept at bay by balances
of power or dominance.
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Might makes right.
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Where do international institutions fit? Do they?
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