1 BERNARDO - Theories of Global Politics Flashcards
Balance of power
The balance of power is a core concept in international relations that suggests states can secure their survival by preventing any one state from gaining enough military and political power to dominate all others.
Classical realism
A form of realism that explains power politics largely in terms of human selfishness or egoism
Defensive realism
A form of structural realism that views states as ‘security maximizers’, placing the desire to avoid attack above a bid for world power
Democratization
The transition from authoritarianism to liberal democracy, reflected in the granting of basic freedoms and political rights, the establishment of competitive elections and the introduction of market reforms.
Egoism
Concern for one’s own interest or wellbeing, or selfishness; the belief that one’s own interests are morally superior to those of others.
For Waltz (see p. 60), theories about international politics could be developed on ‘three levels of analysis
the human individual, the state, and the international system
For realists, global politics is, first and last, about
power and self-interest
Global politics is often portrayed as ________ model of international politics
“power politics”
Hobbes’s thinking was also based on a pessimistic view of human nature. What did he argue?
He argued that humans are driven by non-rational appetites: aversions, fears, hopes and desires, the strongest of which is the desire for ‘power after power’
How did such thinking shape the understanding of international politics? (Referring to the views of Machiavelli and Hobbes)
International “state of nature”, state-centric view, and international politics. Expound on each.
Idealism
(sometimes called ‘utopianism’) is an approach to international politics that stresses the importance of moral values and ideals, rather than power and the pursuit of the national interest, as a guide to foreign policy-making.
Machiavelli’s theory of politics was based on a darkly negative model of a changeless human nature.
In his view, humans are ‘insatiable, arrogant, crafty and shifting, and above all malignant, iniquitous, violent and savage’. On this basis, Machiavelli argued that political life is always characterized by inevitable strife, encouraging political leaders to rule through the use of cunning, cruelty and manipulation.
Morgenthau (1948) similarly placed an emphasis on the ‘art of statecraft’, arguing that the practical conduct of politics should nevertheless be informed by the ‘six principles of political realism’, spelled out as follows:
Politics is governed by objective laws which have their root in human nature.
The key to understanding international politics is the concept of interest defined in terms of power.
The forms and nature of state power will vary in time, place and context but the concept of interest remains consistent.
Universal moral principles do not guide state behaviour, although this does not rule out an awareness of the moral significance of political action.
Moral aspirations are specific to a particular nation; there is no universally agreed set of moral principles.
The political sphere is autonomous, meaning that the key question in international politics is ‘How does this policy affect the power of the nation?’
National interest
Foreign policy goals, objectives or policy preferences that supposedly benefit a society as a whole (the foreign policy equivalent of the ‘public interest’) (see p. 130).
Neoliberalism
A perspective on international politics that remodelled liberalism in the light of the challenge of realism, particularly neorealism; it emphasizes the scope for cooperative behaviour within the international system while not denying its anarchic character
Neorealism
A perspective on international politics that modifies the power politics model by highlighting the structural constraints of the international system; sometimes called ‘new’ or structural realism.
Neorealists argue that international anarchy necessarily tends towards tension, conflict and the unavoidable possibility of war for three main reasons:
Self-help, the Security Dilemma, and relative gains
Offensive realism
A form of structural realism that portrays states as ‘power maximizers’, as there is no limit to their desire to control the international environment
Polarity
The existence within a system of one or more significant actors, or ‘poles’, which affect the behaviour of other actors and shape the contour of the system itself, determining its structural dynamics
Realism
(sometimes called ‘political realism’) claims to offer an account of world affairs that is ‘realistic’, in the sense that it is hard-headed and (as realists sees it) devoid of wishful thinking and deluded moralizing.
Relative gains
The position of states in relation to one another, reflected in the distribution of benefits and capabilities between and amongst them (see p. 436).
Security dilemma
The dilemma that arises from the fact that a build-up of military capacity for defensive reasons by one state is always liable to be interpreted as aggressive by other states (see p. 19)
Self-help
A state’s reliance on its own capacities and resources, rather than external support, to ensure security and survival
State of nature
A society devoid of political authority and of formal (legal) checks on the individual.
