Hierarchy

Question 1

Conventional wisdom in IR theory about hierarchy

Answer 1

• NO hierarchy in the international system
• Presence or absence of hierarchy is key to the distinction between domestic and international politics

Question 2

Opinion of different political theories on hierarchy

Answer 2

• Realism: There’s no world government able to protect states or ensure rule compliance. States differ in their power resources, but no state has special rights or functions
• Liberalism: States differ in internal structure/values/culture, which shapes their external interests and behavior, but no state has special rights or functions
• Institutionalism: States adopt international institutions to achieve their join interests, but no state has special rights or functions

Question 3

Domestic vs International systems on hierarchy

Answer 3

Waltz (1979) on domestic vs international politics:
- Domestic systems are centralized and hierarchic
- International systems are decentralized and anarchic
Focus on the nature and implications of anarchy (eg. Watlz vs Mearsheimer vs Wendt)

Question 4

International hierarchy definition

Answer 4

The distribution of authority places actors in vertical relations of domination and subordination where some are expected to rule over others
- Authority = the power or right to set rules and enforce obedience by others
- Hierarchy can exist in relations between states, or involve non-state actors, groups and individuals

Question 5

The sources and forms of international hierarchy

Answer 5

• Differences in coercive power
• Differences in wealth and market position
• Social constructions of identity and difference

Question 6

Hierarchy is based on differences in coercive power

Answer 6

Basic concept:
- States have different roles and authority depending on their relative power to coerce, to force others to do as they want
– Powerful states are expected to lead, weaker states are expected to follow
Emphasize power and coercion:
- Less-powerful states accept differentiation of roles because they have no choice
Effects:
- State action is shaped by differences in roles and authority based on differences in coercive power, regardless of actual interests or preferences

Question 7

Some applications of hierarchy being based on differences in coercive power

Answer 7

Hegemonic stability theory
- Hegemons are able and expected to provide the resources and leadership necessary for maintaining international cooperation. Without hegemony, cooperation breaks down
Power transition theory
- The rise and fall of great powers destabilizes international order, increases the risk of war

Question 8

Hierarchy is based on differences in wealth and market position

Answer 8

Basic concept:
- States have different roles and authority depending on their relative wealth and market power
– Wealthy states are expected to lead, less wealthy states are expected to follow
Emphasizes economic capabilities and/or market position:
- Less-wealthy states accept differentiation of roles because they have little economic power of their own
Effects:
- State action is shaped by differences in roles and authority based on differences in wealth and market power, regardless of actual interests or preferences

Question 9

Special roles for rich states (hierarchy)

Answer 9

• Traditional hierarchy: “great powers”
• Modern hierarchy: Key decisions on global economy are made by states with the wealth and market power to affect the system, not by all states that are affected by it
  – Since 1973: policy coordination via G7 composed of wealthy industrialized states (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, US (now also EU))
  – Since 1999: policy coordination via G20 composed of “systemically significant states”

Question 10

The power of money in the UN (hierarchy)

Answer 10

• UN Charter: UN’s core budget is funded by mandatory contributions proportional to each member state’s GDP
• Reality: UN is increasingly dependent on restricted, voluntary contributions by member states, especially for peacekeeping and economic development
• This increases the ability of rich states to control global governance

Question 11

Hierarchy is based on social constructions of identity and difference

Answer 11

Basic concept:
- Deep structures of organized inequality develop over time and provide advantages to certain groups (of states or persons) over others
Social structures are more important than agency:
- Hierarchy functions through deeply rooted social practices and ways of thinking, not through actors’ choices
Effects:
- Hierarchies produce particular types of actors with particular social capacities for action that belong (or don’t belong) in particular spaces

Question 12

Two dynamics of international hierarchy

Answer 12

• Hierarchy as voluntary contracts
• Hierarchy as contested domination

Question 13

Hierarchy as voluntary contracts

Answer 13

• States and other actors are understood as voluntaristic, purposeful agents in international life
• Hierarchies are legitimate orders of authority in which actors (rulers and ruled) agree on different roles and responsibilities in order to achieve material, functional and/or social interests
• These voluntary arrangements shape the behavior of states and others actors

Question 14

David A. Lake (2009) hierarchies in IR

Answer 14

International hierarchies are “bargains between ruler and ruled premised on the former’s provision of social order of value sufficient to offset the loss of freedom”
- One state agrees to cede some authority (sovereignty) to another in exchange for security, economic, or political benefits
- Hierarchies are an important part of governance in the absence of world government
– US-Europe: US provides defense umbrella, expects political support
– US-Caribbean: US maintains order and keeps outsiders out, expects political support and free trade
– WTO ensures free trade, member states accept rulings by supranational panels
- Hierarchy is closely related to authority, defined as rightful rule, and the legitimate exercise of power
- Hierarchy relies on contingent, relational authority, not coercion or formal-legal authority
- Authority is closely related to compliance and enforcement

Question 15

Hierarchy as contested domination

Answer 15

All forms of hierarchy are contested by subordinate actors - sometimes effectively, sometimes not
- Strategies of contestation - how subordinate actors attempt to challenge hierarchy:
– Contesting the ideas and discourse that sustain inequality
– Challenging the formal rules that sustain hierarchy
– Accumulating greater material resources

Question 16

Racial hierarchies (in ways of thinking) reinforce distributions of wealth and power (DuBois)

Answer 16

Colonialism is a global economic and political system based on racial (and racist) distinctions. These distinctions are evident in the minds of individuals, including Americans, Europeans, Africans, and people of African heritage. These distinctions are reflected in the uneven distribution of economic and military power within states and between states.

Question 17

Racism and imperialism (Rodney)

Answer 17

• Imperialism is an integrated global system in which wealthy capitalist states dominate and exploit less-powerful regions of the world
• It was shaped by both economic rationality and racism
• “Pervasive and vicious racism was present in imperialism as a variant independent of the economic rationality that initially gave birth to racism. It was economics that determined that Europe should invest in Africa and control the continent’s raw materials and labor. It was racism which confirmed the decisions that the form of control should be direct colonial rule. (p. 141)

Question 18

The “global racial imaginary” (Barder)

Answer 18

• The modern state system and the original idea of global order were based on a “global racial imaginary” - ie. constructions of racial difference and hierarchy
• Racialized violence created and maintains a system that is economically beneficial to some and harmful to others
• Maintaining racial hierarchy sometimes takes priority over economic rationality

Question 19

Racial hierarchy is integral to international relations (Freeman, Kim, Lake)

Answer 19

• Focus on racism and racial hierarchy helps to understand key aspects of IR, including behavior that sustains an unequal global system
• Examples:
  – The belief that non-White countries lack essential domestic or international capacities -> unevenness in the application of international law; justification for intervention or denial of self-determination
  – The belief that non-White countries are inherently aggressive and threatening -> decisions on national security and alliance formation

Question 20

The complexity of racial hierarchy (Untalan)

Answer 20

• In the early 20th century, Japan challenged and reinforced racial hierarchies in IR
• 1905: Japan’s victory is the Russo-Japanese War broke widespread expectations regarding the military superiority of white, Western states
  – This encouraged anti-colonial movements around the world
• 1919: Japan proposed that the new League of Nations adopt a proposal on the abolition of racial discrimination, but said that it would apply only to members of the League, not to all peoples worldwide
  – Proposal supported by China; rejected by US, UK, British dominions (Australia, Canada, New Zealand)
• 1920s and 1930s: Japan adopted its own racialized hierarchy to justify its domination of East Asia

Question 21

Contractual hierarchy is not new and not always dominated by Western States (Kang)

Answer 21

• Study of international relations in East Asia 1368-1841 - from the Ming dynasty to the Opium Wars
• China ensured a Confucian-inspired social order valued by Korea, Japan, Vietnam, who accepted the legitimacy of Chinese leadership and provided tribute to China
• Exchange of tribute and regulated trade -> trust, conflict resolution, few major wars

Question 22

Hierarchical contracts can be made by international society as a whole, not just by individual states (Clark, Bukovansky, Eckersley)

Answer 22

• A: Why is there a P5 in the UN? Why has international society consistently addressed major global problems by allocating differentiated responsibilities (hierarchy) among sovereign states?
• Q: Allocating special responsibilities is more efficient than relying on sovereign equality or power competition. Special responsibilities give both rulers and ruled incentives to support the outcome that international society values

Question 23

Examples of contesting hierarchical ideas and discourse (Chia and Shilliam)

Answer 23

• Response to Kang 2010
• In early modern Southeast Asia, both Siam and Vietnam tried to assert their equality (and even superiority) to Chinese dynasties that challenged their sense of self
• The political struggles of the African diaspora resonated with and influenced the strategies of South Pacific peoples because they also confronted an international hierarchy based on racial distinctions

Question 24

If you can’t change the rules (of hierarchy) then accumulate resources (Golub)

Answer 24

• In 1970s, poor countries challenged rules of the world economy, proposed a “New International Economic ORder” (NIEO) that would mandate redistribution from North to South
• They failed, due to resistance by North and divisions in South
• Since 1990s, “Global South” has used global capitalist system to gain wealth and challenge hierarchy between “haves” and “have nots”
• Some states in Global South have become much wealthier and gained global influence - G20 now as important as G7
• But global inequality remains

Question 25

Legal hierarchy intersecting with racial hierarchy (Ba)

Answer 25

• After liberation from colonialism (racial hierarchy) justified by int’l law (legal hierarchy), African diplomats and lawyers attempted to create a new int’l legal order that would promote global justice.
  – New crimes – broad definition of crimes against humanity incl. colonialism, apartheid…
  – New court – independent of UNSC and powerful states
• Western states had different priorities, resisted the African vision.
  – Because hierarchy: western states had the power that the African states did not have
• The jurisdiction of today’s International Criminal Court (new legal hierarchy) codifies a limited set of crimes, empowers the UNSC, and mostly protects powerful states