alternative approaches Flashcards
Socialism
Marx & Engels didn’t write much about international relations, but influenced others:
Dependency theory
World-systems theory
Critical theory
V.I Lenin (1870-1924)
Saw imperialism as the Highest (and final) stage of capitalism
Widening gap between rich and poor nations, and by wars over land and resources
André Gunder Frank: Dependency Theory
Underdevelopment due to western exploitation rather that local cultural factors
Emphaiss on “core-periphery” relationships
Former colonies may be independent but are still exploited
Immanuel Wallerstein: World System Theory
International system is based on system, not autonomous nation-state model
Core gains, periphery serves center (esp. Raw materials)
Critiques how social science thinks of “development” only in restricted ways
Critical Theory (CT)
Critical of traditional approaches (Liberalism, realism)
Includes, but is not limited to, socialist theory
Most versions of CT address the negative impact of capitalism on social life in one way or another
Emphasis on emancipation from oppressive social and material conditions
Theorists like Jürgen Habermas and Andre Linklater do not just critique, but also suggest alternatives
Challenge neorealist assumptions, by emphasizing the constructed nature of social reality
We’ve made the world in the past, and we can remake it today
Antonia Gramsci (1891-1937)
Ruling class keeps power not only by force but by making inequalities seem natural
“It is ‘natural’ that (what exists) should exist, that it could not do otherwise that exist”
The masses agree to their own oppression
Robert Cox
“Theory is always for someone and for some purpose” (Cox, 1981)
Argues that realism is an ideology of the status quo which supports the existing order, and that there is no “natural” order, and none are immune to challenge or change
Constructivism
Draws on the social theory of Durkheim, Weber, and Mannheim
Social order (beliefs, norms,values,interests, rules, institutions, etc) is an ongoing human production
Does not deny importance of material forces, but emphasizes connection between them and ideas; “social facts” are produced inter-subjectively
Institutions such as markets,governments, states, etc. have no existence or meaning except in the minds of those who believe in them
Gained prominence in 1990s after realism and liberalism failed to anticipate fall of Berlin Wall
Alexander Wendt
Challenges both neoliberalism and neorealist assumptions about the state system and anarchy as given: Anarchy is “what states make of it”
Critical of traditional theorie’s focus on material forces over ideas to explain how people behave
The way we think about the world alters the way we act in the world: “a gun in the hands of an enemy is different that a gun in the hands of a friend”
Two Forms of Constructivism
- Rationalist theories: tend to see an underlying rationality that leads human behavior towards particular ends
Knowledge can be obtained through empirical investigation. Wendt subscribes to this form and accepts that states are the central actors in the international system yet disagrees with other key notions such as predicting future outcomes based off this aspect
- Reflectivist theories: also called post-positivist or interpretive, reject the rationalist approach
Institutions reflect and shape power and preferences
Feminist IR
Gained prominence in the 1980s
Includes: liberal, socialist, critical, constructivist, postcolonial, and post modern varieties
Women and war. Not just passive peacekeeprs (jean B. Elshtain, 1987)
Traditional approaches ignore women. Asks “ Where are the women?” (Cynthia Enloe, 2014)
Postmodernism/ Poststructuralism
Opposition to totalized forms of knowledge
Emphasizes the role of language in the production of knowledges (plural)
More radical that critical theory; challenges assumption that we can be certain about knowledge
Foucault’s Genealogical approach
Truth claims often conceal the machinations of power
Academic disciplines legitimize knowledge claims that operate in the service of power
“Power” is neither “good” nor “bad”… its everywhere
Post-Colonial Theory
Edward Said (1935-2003) argues that Europeans regarded “the Orient” as their major cultural contestant, and defined themselves in opposition to rival cultures in the Middle East
Emphasizes the “Eurocentrism” of traditional approaches to IR
