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ToIR > flashcard type questions -- IR > Flashcards

flashcard type questions -- IR

1
Q
  1. General premises of classical realism
A

Human nature is defined the “animus dominandi”, the will to power
(potentially evil, desire for power, not reason/greater good)

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2
Q
  1. General premises of classical realism
A

Protection from others is not guaranteed but must be self-provided
(nobody will give it to you, you have to take care of it)

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3
Q
  1. General premises of classical realism
A

Reason or rationality is not the solution but part of the problem
(why?—think Hobbes, no more one true, will always find counter arguments, reason doesn’t lead to agreement)

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4
Q
  1. General premises of classical realism
A

We cannot trust others but have to calculate their true interests (what are other’s likely interest)

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5
Q
  1. General premises of classical realism
A

What holds for humans in a state of nature is true for states as well
(true for individuals. But also international systems, so states cannot trust each other, they have to take care of their own, because there’s no guarantee, there is no world gov’t)

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6
Q
  1. General premises of classical realism
A

The state is the key actor of international politics, its power is agency
(realist understanding of international politics: more powerful the state is the more it can act. If state has less power the less it can act)

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7
Q
  1. General premises of classical realism
A

We can learn from history that conflict repeats and how to prepare
(realist say history can help prepare for the future)

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8
Q
  1. General premises of classical realism
A

The balance of power must be actively pursued through alliance
(alliances crucial because it help w balance of power, so must maintain…2 ways to balance…1. Increase military mind…2. Find allies that feel threatened from the state… alliances are based on mutual interest… alliance doesn’t mean trust…Balance of power come at time in peace to prevent war—-realist don’t have power, and states don’t want to give them power)

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9
Q

Classical realists as skeptics of liberal promises of progress (books in WW2?)

A

Scientific man vs power politics (Hans j Morgentha) —- skeptical, means to destroy themselves

The children of light and the children of darkness (Reinhold Niebuhr) —early realist, skeptical of utopianism, believe it will be great if…, we have to learn (understand) something from children of darkness to find a middle way

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10
Q

The turn from international law to international politics

A

ii. “Differences” and “Tensions”, legal and political conflicts
iii. In the end, politics is a question of the intensity of conflict
iv. Politically intense conflicts cannot be solved legally (Hans Morgenthau)
v. Or, can every conflict be subsumed under international law (Hersch Lauterpacht)
—-Hersch is a liberal believer of international law, every conflict can be solved by lawyers, can always find equitable solution, “trust law & will have no problem”
vi. Morgenthau’s critique of international law leads to a realist theory of international politics

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11
Q

Concept of prudence

A

a. Realism & ethics
b. Aagainst hubris: Realists as critics of war & overstretch
c. Statescraft as an art in classical realism (Nixon in 1970s)

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12
Q

Realism & ethics

A

i. “The ethic of conviction and the ethic of responsibility are not opposites. They are complementary to one another) –Max Weber
ii. Prudence leads us back to ethics, ethics of responsibility=which is the less bad option, do the right thing in the context that everything is a bad choice, go for the least bad

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13
Q

Against hubris: Realists as critics of war and overstretch

A

Idea that you can use war to change societies, Morgenthau says keep your ideas at home, don’t go to war

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14
Q

Statecraft as an art in classical realism (Nixon in the 1970s)

A

i. Prudence stateman-> understand the opportunity
Ex: China & US want to contain soviet, make China ally

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15
Q

Excursion: Joe Biden and the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, 2021

Pt. 1 Joe Biden speech on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan on Aug 31st, 2021

A

i. “To those asking for a third decade of war in Afghanistan, I ask: ‘What is the vital national interest?”

ii. “We’re engaged in a serious competition with China. We’re dealing with the challenges on multiple fronts with Russia. We’re confronted with cyberattacks and nuclear proliferation. We have to shore up America’s competitiveness to meet these new challenges in the competition for the 21st century.”

Reads like Morgenthau, national interest that counts, real competitors of USA is China not Russa, Taliban-> not what we want

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16
Q

Excursion: Joe Biden and the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, 2021

Pt. 2 Joe Biden speech on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan on Aug 31st, 2021

A

“And there’s nothing China or Russia would rather have, would want more in this competition than the United States to be bogged down another decade in Afghanistan.”

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17
Q

Excursion: Joe Biden and the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, 2021

Pt. 3 Joe Biden speech on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan on Aug 31st, 2021

A

“As we turn the page on the foreign policy that has guided our nation the last two decades, we’ve got to learn from our mistakes. To me, there are two that are paramount. First, we must set missions with clear achievable goals, not ones we’ll never reach. And second, we must stay clearly focused on the fundamental national security interests of the United States of America.”

“I refuse to continue a war that was no longer in the service of the vital national interests of our people”

^^^^^^^REALIST SPEECH^^^^^^^

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18
Q

Offensive vs Defensive Realism

A
  • How much security is enough?
    –Nuclear submarine
  • Balancing or expansionism? NATO & Russia
    – Some argue NATO push too hard and threaten/provoked Russia, others say Russia wants power?
  • Balancing & bandwagoning In Asia today
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19
Q

Argument of Economic Liberalism

A

-states don’t go to war bc it is not in their best interest, not profitable, not bc its in their treaty, dumb way to make money is go to war
-conquers cost & nobody gains from them

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20
Q

Republican or democratic liberalism

A
  • Democratic peace treaty: based on one fact: that democracy have rarely ever fought each other
  • Idea on map shows that they don’t fight each other, shows that depends on which state they are in
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21
Q

Republican or democratic liberalism

Democratic peace treaty:

A

ALL 3 ONLY WORK IF ALL CONCERNED PARTIES ARE DEMOCRACIES =2nd img & 3rd img factors but mainly 2nd img=state, a brief, liberalism critique to realism

  • Fact: Democracies hardly ever fight each other – why? 3 major arguments presented, main, (democracies don’t fight each other, or few, kinda like an imperial law)

o Constraints on gov’t & accountability
— Should expect criticism because ppl disagree?— leaders can get kicked off, so they can’t do whatever they want, have to listen to the ppl

o Transparency of decision-making before war
– US invading Iraq, US needed lies to convince ppl that there is reasoning to go to war, democracies can trust each other bc there’s bates and stuff ab the things

o Shared values & objectives
–Prosperity & peace

  • OR is it commercial peace, institutional peace, or alliance peace?
    –^^^^peace (3 types, commercial, institutional, Alliance)
    – Realist argument — peace b/w their alliances
22
Q

Liberal assumptions

A
  • Multiple channels: trans-governmental (gov’t interact w each other’s in diff levels, foreign ministries/environ. Ministries, sometimes they agree more than their own would) & transnational (not living in a world w/ only gov’t)
  • Absence of hierarchy among issues: other goals than military security matter
  • Complex interdependence undermines effective use of force
    —undermines utility/force, bc damage more than any other interest
  • Institutions foster cooperation – by providing transparency, fostering collective gains, & sanctioning cheating
  • Other actors than states matter too
23
Q

Linkage strategies and the use of interdependence by states

A

o complex interdependence: a lot of connection in trades, you can link different topics
o Both gain something, link different topics to find a solution

24
Q

Agenda setting & micro-politics of diplomacy

A
  • you can influence how to negotiate
    o Matters whether gov’t is smart & has good staff, you can drop certain topics, prioritize the topic you want to talk ab
25
Q

Transnational and trans governmental relations

A

o more interconnected the countries are, the more influence?
o Different ministries understand each other as to ppl in their group

26
Q

International organizations change the strategies of states & others (if you organize together, they change out preference profitable, no need to conflict)

A

o Corp. become more profitable more likely, if its bilateral constilation on trade = might impose trade in things bc it’s more profitable
o WTO: the organization can have sanction by themselves
o No need for conflict

27
Q

1991-2008 or so: Just a liberal moment?

A
  • Unipolar moment of USA—Mearsheimer
    —- Not the end of history, it was just a moment
  • Now is the multi polar (USA, Russia, China)
  • International politics is about conflict—realist
28
Q

International liberalism & its discontents

* First debate never ended

A
  • Realism: liberal universalism as hubris and US overstretch? critic to the liberalism
    —-US tried to fix but lost their resources
  • Critical theory: Contradictions & hypocrisy of liberalism?
    —-Liberalism is contradicting w each other
  • Postcolonialism: Liberal discourse as influence of “the West”?
29
Q

Principles of International society

A
  1. Preservation of the state system & society themselves… (Most fundamental principal)
  2. Maintain the external sovereignty of individual states (world divided by sov. states)
  3. Peace among states (if possible)
  4. Limitation of violence (politics), guarantee of agreements (law) —(keep your word), protection of property (economics)
  • Result of principle: Tension between order & justice (realism & utopia)
30
Q

English School

How did we get to a “universal/global society of states”

A

o English school say : how did we get here how did it come about
o Didn’t have universal state system—100+ yrs ago before WWI

31
Q

English School

Sovereignty as institution (a vital moment for English school)

A

o Even sovereignty is an institution, we have to discover where it came from
o (Thus international society has often allowed independence of individual states to be extinguished, as in the great process of partition & absorption of small powers by greater ones, in the name of principles such as ‘compensation’ and the ‘balance of power’ that produced a steady decline in the number of states in Europe from the) Peace treaty of Westphalia 1648 —in the reading (…until the Congress of Vienna in 1815)
—Where sovereignty was constituted

32
Q

English school

Balance of power as concept of order

A

o Principle of order for bull/English school
o Congress of Vienna 1815

33
Q

English School

The “expansion” of international society? –book by Hedley Bull & Adam Watson

A

o Sovereignty was established in Europe
o International society is born in Europe/established w/in European states
o Peace congress where western states established sovereignty and then expands and becomes a universal thing
o Expansion through colonization???
o International law plays a key role here
o Book ab expansion of international society— the expansion of inter….”

34
Q

English School

The institution of recognition

A

o 19th century doctrine of recognition, how do you know when it becomes a state
o Colonize, tribes, principalities, independent cities,
o You’re a Sovern state if you get recognized
o Who recognizes?
– Existing Sovern states are those who decide if they are or not
– (Relationship of the states, (19th century a bit diff))
o Criteria
– “Standard of civilization” —- (favor of English school bc they say see it’s an institution that becomes establishes, bc English school is an industry, it’s a product of social forces)
* Highly discriminatory—non European entity would have to have European entity to be recognize as sovereign
* (Great adv., goes into history, Bull there’s something beyond world society)
* Inter. System = something you can’t understand in realist way, you compete there’s power
* Inter. Society= establish rules, institutions, sovereignty, English school cares ab this one

34
Q

Whose history, institutions, & norms?

A

o English school is looking at advantage point w/o reflecting on it????

35
Q

Other sources of sovereignty, diplomacy, & international law

A

o Diplomacy is found in ottoman land, Islamic, Asia (not necessarily in Europe, in other parts of the world)
o Img. Talking to diplomacy ppl, so diplomacy relationship, English school accused of being euro centric

o Important: English school came under power for its euro centric

36
Q

Two models of international integration (Barry Buzan)

A

“Vanguardist” Model
“Syncretist” Model (most that work in English school)

37
Q

“Vanguardist” Model

A

 European invention & spread to the world later
 Dominance of “Western” values (have been universalized)
 Diffusion in 19th century from Europe to the rest
 Future: Homogenization of the world in the image of the “west” (everyone around world wants, all states look more and more the same)

38
Q

“Syncretist” Model (most that work in English school)

A

 Emergence across different “civilizations” (not simply European phenonium)
 Partly cross-cultural values (pick up aspects from diff places back in history)
 European dominance mainly in 19th century (Europeans dominant in that period)
 Future: increasing variety of institutions in international society (should not expect for states to be homogenies, the same)

39
Q

Traditional approach – Bull

A

knowledge based on practice, history & imagination
(Faculty that is needed to do good IR history)

40
Q

Scientific approach – Kaplan

A

knowledge based on rigorous models & empirical testing

41
Q

Marxism & inter. relations

A
  • Capitalism & globalization (if u want to do this, must go into history deeper)
  • Primitive accumulation & globalization (capital expands, has to be invested, ppl to work, how it happened around globe)
  • Global markets & circuits of production
  • State power & capitalist society (state protect conditions of economy, not OG for marxist, state there bc it has capital)
  • Imperialism(s) & geopolitical competition (comes out of capitalism dev.)
  • Global exploitation & international system
42
Q

Open questions: Drawbacks of Marxism & traditional theories

Is the international system a function of capitalism? What explains power politics?

A

o Lanny’s theory
o Power politics is the effect of monopoly capitalists?
o Norman angel and others don’t believe that — more capitalism =more interest of going to war…. Why go to war? =glory and what not?
o Marxists & IR always having questions like that

43
Q

Open questions: Drawbacks of Marxism & traditional theories

Do nationalism and identity as well as international law & norms matter at all? If they are only ideology, then do ideas matter after all?

A

What does ideology really do—heart of critical theory

44
Q

Problem Solving Theory:

A

take situation for granted to focus on few variables & causal relationships to offer new insights & solutions
–For realists and liberals in the world how it is, some are questioned
–Balancing or bandwagonning?

45
Q

Critical theory:

A

reconstruct why the situation exists in the first place, & whom it serves to ask only problem-solving questions + then re-direct questions to the social totality producing the situation

 Need a diff picture of the world-it’s not the same as main stream theory tells us
 What interests do main stream theories serve

46
Q

Great Debates 1-3

A
  1. Liberalist & Theorist
  2. Scientists approaches, behavioralism coming in, traditional theory —epistemically debate,—- debate on how we should conduct=should it be a science?
  3. Scholars go at liberalist and theorists also scientists, = come in feminism, the “big stream”
47
Q

Names of Constructivists in IR

A

Reus-Smit, Wendt, Adler, Onuf, Fierke, Kratochwill, Sikkink, & Finnemore
–not all constructivists agree w/ other constructivists

48
Q

Continuum of security systems–help distinguish 3 types

Competitive (“Hobbesian”)

A
  • negative identification
  • risk averse
  • relative gains
  • collective action nearly impossible

o Realism

49
Q

Continuum of security systems–help distinguish 3 types

Indivdualistic (“Lockean”)

A
  • indifferent to others
  • absolute gains
  • collective action more possible

liberalism

50
Q

Continuum of security systems–help distinguish 3 types

Cooperative (“Kantian”)

A
  • positive identification
  • altruistic / prosocial
  • collective security
  • community
  • shared norms

friendship, European integration beyond both realism & liberalism expectations

51
Q

Continuum of security systems

A
  • Can only explain w constructivism
  • Argues that can be explained in constructivism
  • It matters how you see yourself
  • Its rationality
  • Identity
  • Criticizes Keohane
  • Img. 3 charts

ToIR (17 decks)

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