Final Exam POLI 435 Canada and World Politics Flashcards
1
Q
Principal Power Characteristics
A
- First Tier Status (7-9). membership determined by relative capability. rankings within rankings
- Surplus Capability: beyond that required to assure survival/security,sovereignty, territorial integrity. diverse national interests allows them to focus on other issue areas.
- High degree of autonomy in the foreign policy sphere:
- self determined interests and behavior
- external determinants less important than societal/governmental
- fp made as domestic policy then implemented abroad
- makers over takers - System Determining states (meta power due to institutional leadership)
- Have attention of lesser states (polar actors) define orientation of other states
- Military sufficiency to sustain balance of power, maintain strategic presence abroad, defend against internal threats, deter direct assault on homeland
- High level of international involvement
2
Q
Positional Middle Power Approach
A
- Geographic position:
- based on 19th century German conception of Mitelmachte (central powers)
- definition and signification of middle power derived from its geographic location
- geographic middle between two or more major powers. (Canada, Poland, Belgium) - Status position: Intuitive Approach
- based on impressionistic assessment of a state’s rank
- simply know which states are neither major nor small
- Canada is a middle power because it is unlike the US/China.
3
Q
Empirical Middle Power Approach
A
- Based on state rank in international power hierarchy.
- Power ranking as a function of capabilities that are objective, quantifiable (measurable), and assessed in relative context.
- Some suggest that all middle powers are not created equal. Middle power category needs to be subdivided as follows:
- upper middle power and lower middle power. - Predominantly hard power assets because they are easier to quantify.
4
Q
Middle Power Characteristics
A
- States that are regarded as secondary only to major powers: relative capabilities, rank below major powers but rank well above states below them
- Credible Military Capacity:
- a state whose military capabilities, resources, strategic position are of such significance that major powers seek its support.
- can’t expect to win a war against major power
- possess military capability sufficient to inflict unacceptable losses on any state (including major powers)
5
Q
Middle Power Capability Constraints
A
- Cannot be fully involved in every international issue, region, institution: choose commitments carefully, careful not to waste limited resourced, make sure actions in one area reinforce another
- Limited/selective roles on issues/inst/regions involved in
- Must act with others to make their presence felt: make compromises and adapt to the coalition view
- Must work to prevent major powers form acting unilaterally: commit them to act within dense network of multilateral processes, institutions and rules
- Must work within existing international framework to achieve national interests and constrain major powers:
- not system determining states: can’t transform intl framework, big challenge facing middle powers ensure major powers don’t act against their interests
- middle powers actively involved in bilateral and multilateral with major powers to allow middle to communicate with major. - Moderate degree of susceptibility to external forces in foreign policy making
- More vulnerable to international threats (instabilities) than major powers
6
Q
Middle Power Characteristics 5-7
A
- States that are relatively developed and wealthy with demographic and natural resources to maintain mid lvl econ and military.
- States high regional profile: are significant in own neighborhood.
- System affecting states: cannot affect system on own. significant impact by acting through small groups and alliances or through universal regional orgs.
- not as powerful as upper tier which can influence
7
Q
Behavioral Approach of Middle Powers
A
- Pursue distinctive type of fp, particular type of diplomacy
- Strongly influenced by liberal internationalism approach to IR but with a caveat:
- in Canadian case, this idea has to do with liberal government that identified Canada as a middle power. Louis St. Laurent’s government. - Actively engage in the resolution of international conflict
- Actively support international institutions mandated to restore and or maintain systemic peace
8
Q
Core Ideas Held By Middle Powers
A
- Peace is indivisible: fate of all states is intertwined. interdependence
- All states are responsible for maintaining peace
- Multilateralism over unilateralism. ensure self restraint
- Part in international multilateral institutions act as restraints. Cob Web Theory of IR
- Willingness to enter into formal commitments to use natural resources for the good of the international system. Not free riders, put money where mouth is
- Commitment to international law.
9
Q
Middle Power Diplomacy
A
- Assumes prosperity and security of states (alone and collectively) dependent on international stability. liberal international world view informs worldview.
- Actively seek to resolve conflict where it is occurring because peace is indivisible.
- Actively participate in institution driven efforts to restore/maintain peace. Limited power capabilities mean add power of other states to your own.
- Mediatory middle powermanship. Canada not seen as imperial power
- Distributive internationalism: international outlook that views war and conflict as due to economic inequality and asymmetric resource distribution.
- Promotion of democracy and human rights. Democratic Peace Theory
- Promotion of Trade. trading states don’t go to war. Ricardo and comparative advantage
- Functional specialization: attributes that other states don’t have.
10
Q
Common Assumptions of the Two Streams of the Satellite/Peripheral Dependency Model
A
- subordinate actor: dependent status to great/major powers. French 1534-1773, British then US
- System Ineffectual Actor: little/no impact on the system, take rules as is, determined by system determining/affecting states.
- Penetrated Polity: domestic and foreign policy easily manipulated by domestic actors and other states.
11
Q
Characteristics of a Penetrated Polity
A
Colonial Status
-in the beginning, forcible incorporation into empire of an imperial power
Imperialism: process of empire building, ideologies associated, empire as necessary and legitimate through conquest.
-intimidation: (gunboat diplomacy) over the top military capacity
-compellance: exercise of military force to get another to do what you want
-deprivation of independence, self determination and sovereignty in domestic affairs as well as foreign policy.
1763-1867: completely subordinate. white settler colonies. 1867 BNA Act, control over home affairs but some disallow some legislation.
1931 Statute of Westminister: 1926 British Crown passes, 1930 becomes legislation through imperial conferences. product of pressure by dominion governments to control own foreign policy.
12
Q
Neo-Marxist Dependency Overview of Liberal Approach
A
- Critical of liberal explanations of foreign policy, reject the behavioral middle power and principal power approaches.
- Reject the liberal development or modernization theory of all societies will develop and all begin in an undeveloped state.
- Walt Wittman Bostow: progressive and incremental process with stages. dev and modern as liberal democratic and capitalist.
- Differential rates of development but all eventually reach point of development.
- Expediated if already develop intervene. assume internal obstacles to development
- Diffusionism: core developed, diffuse change agents to catalyze development. what need to develop faster. integration into IPE positive and progressive.
13
Q
Neo-Marxist Dependency Issues with Liberal Assumptions
A
- no original state of undevelopment. all societies have been developing.
- integration= negative for developing societies.
- states don’t develop to point of sovereignty: external factors.
- status product of imperial and post imperial histories
14
Q
Neo-Marxists Mission and Assumptions
A
1. why postcolonial societies have failed to develop. product of classical marxist, with neo-marxist addition Classical Marxist Assumptions 1. state level analysis. domestic and national internal interests matter. (v.s realist anarchy) 2. international system is capitalist. power, power acquisition, empire and exploitation because of capitalist rather than anarchy. 3. capitalism is negative: exploitative, interaction two antagonistic classes. class struggle. class that owns has access to political power to perpetuate their status. 4. all capitalist states garner profit and thus have an insatiable appetite for more profit: expand productive capacity, cost effectiveness, looking for new consumer market. so look beyond own state to international system
15
Q
Canada as a Peripheral State According to the Neo-Marxist Approach
A
- Economic penetration: happening over time. FDI benefits US interests, appetite for raw resources, distortion of CAD economy, dependent on American market and consumer demands. Canadian elite represent ‘Comprador Bourgeoisie’, alignment with interests of foreign capital, exploit own people. ex) Keystone XL, Branch Plant Economy, extension of US markets.
- Cultural Penetration: think like them, align with them, become complicit in exploitation by consuming what US sells
- Political Penetration: avoid violating American interests, public opinion constraining factor, US centered foreign policy. continental and internationalist military. NORAD always US at top post, answer US calls for military interventions.
