Download What Is IR Theory?

What Is International Relations (IR)
Theory?
Prepared for Junior Int'l Politics class at NENU,
Fall 2015
IR Theory

Simplifies the world, makes assumptions and
statements about the “reality” of the world
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Makes predictions based on these assumptions
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Defines interests (may be “normative” or not)

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Tells us what to focus on (levels & units of
analysis)
Often divided into subfields of Security &
International Political Economy (IPE)
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Is based on empirical observations

Gives our opinions more weight and structure
DISTINCTION: IR Theory versus
Ideology

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Ideologies include: market fundamentalism,
communism, socialism, capitalism,
individialism, collectivism, Social Darwinism
etc.
Major IR Theories include: realism, liberalism,
constructivism, feminism
Both end in “-ism” but they are not the same!
All ideologies are normative! Some IR Theory
only claims to make factual statements about the
world.
What are IR Theory's goals?

World peace?

Justice?

Understand world politics?

Rule/Dominate/Conquer the world?
DISTINCTION: IR Theory versus
Current Events

Leaders & diplomats need to know both!

Both affect foreign policy
CURRENT EVENTS
IR THEORY
= “the news”
Includes current and past IR and history
Specific, changing over time
General, stable over time
Journalists' focus
Political scientists study it (a “subfield” of
the discipline of political science)
Used as evidence to support IR Theory
Draws empirical support from current
events
Why study IR Theory and not just
current events?
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There may be patterns underlying IR, similar to the
natural sciences.
News about IR often fails to consider these patterns
and history, focusing mostly on leaders' choices.
IR Theory helps us talk about geographic regions
and historical eras we are less familiar with.
U.S. university classes on international politics or
world politics focus heavily on IR Theory
Grounding our opinions in IR Theory makes us
sound smarter/more professional/more convincing.
Where does IR Theory begin?


We either ACCEPT or REJECT theoretical
assumptions.
Major ASSUMPTIONS about the world:

Structure versus Agency

Anarchy is the prevailing structure?

States are the primary agents (actors) of IR?
?Agency > Structure?

State leaders can do whatever they want?
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There are always many options for leaders to choose

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IR can be reduced to interpersonal conflict between
state leaders and nations (groups of people)?
Leads to a “Great Man” narrative of history
?Structure > Agency?

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Most outcomes are inevitable
(Actors are severely
constrained, have few or no
options and alternatives)
Anarchic world structure →
Imperatives of “self-help”
Change is difficult or
impossible
There is only one reality, and
studying IR will reveal
everything about this reality.
States as a bridge between structure
& agency


Most IR theory assumes:

The structure of the world is a system of nationstates

Nation-states are the primary, most powerful and
therefore most important actors within this system
What is a nation-state and why does IR focus on it?

A bounded territorial entity with a government and
a population with a shared national identity.

Max Weber's definition: a state has a monopoly on
the “legitimate use of force” within its territory.

States have more economic and military (hard)
What is power?

Hard (force)

Soft (persuasion, attractiveness)
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Authority

Meta-power

Agenda-setting

Defining terms & assigning values
How do we measure & compare
power?

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (per capita?)

UN HDI (Human Development Index)
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Size of military

Level of military technology

Outcomes of interstate war (IMPRACTICAL!)

Size of foreign reserves

Moral Authority

Size of territory, population
PROBLEM: Measuring power as in
the previous slide neglects non-state
actors

Powerful non-state actors (Goldstein-Pevehouse,
Ch.1)

IGOs

INGOs & NGOs

Multi-national Corporations (MNCs)
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Influential individuals

Terrorist organizations

Religious & ethnic organizations
Alternative World Concepts

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North-South divide, First-/Second-/Third-/Fourth-World
countries (Developed & Developing)
“The West versus the Rest” (Eurocentric),
天下(Sinocentric)

Regionalism
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Cold War Perspective (Clash of Ideologies)

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World-Systems Theory (Wallerstein)
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Liberal Capitalism VS. Communist Bloc, NonAligned Movement
Core, Semi-Periphery, Periphery
Clash of Civilizations (Huntington)
Huntington's Clash of Civilizations

What is a civilization?
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Can civilizations be units of analysis?
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Can civilizations change fundamentally, be joined or
left?
Any problems with Huntington's division of regional
civilizations?
What are the dangers of thinking only in
Huntington's terms?
Globalization
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The opposite of a “clash of civilizations”?
Global economic integration, security cooperation,
cultural convergence
Mainly in the subfield of IPE rather than security?