IR philosophical origins and paradigms

Question 1

Plato (427-347)

Answer 1

• Greek political philosopher who argues that life force in man is intelligent
• Plato introduces two ideas seminal to the discipline of International Relations: class analysis and dialectical reasoning, both of which are bases for the later Marxist analysis.

Question 2

ARISTOTLE (384-322 B.C.)

Answer 2

• Plato ́s student, the philosopher Aristotle contributed to contemporary thinking in both substance (the search for an ideal domestic political system) and in method (the comparative method).
• Analyzing 168 constitutions, Aristotle looked at the similarities and differences among states, becoming the firs writer to use the comparative method of analysis.
• He came to the conclusion that states rise and fall largely because of internal factors, a conclusion still debated in the 21th Century.

Question 3

St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-74)

Answer 3

• Italian theorist wrote during the height of Feudal Europe.
• Develops the framework of natural a fusion of classical philosophy, Christian theology and Roman Law.
• Aquinas posited the existence of a law of nations, derived from the natural law, “since man is by nature a social animal.”

Question 4

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)

Answer 4

• English political philosopher who in LEVIATHAN describes life in a state of nature as solitary, selfish, and brutish individuals.
• Society can escape from the state of nature a unitary state, a Leviathan.
• Extrapolating to the international level, in the absence of international authority, society is in a state of nature or anarchy.

Question 5

Jean-Jaques Rousseau (1712-78)

Answer 5

• French political philosopher whose seminal ideas were tested by the French Revolution.
• In discourse on the origin of Inequality describes the state of nature in bth national and international society.
• Argues that the solution to the state of nature is the social contract, whereby individuals gather in small communities where the “general will” is realized.

Question 6

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

Answer 6

• German political philosopher
• Key to the idealist or utopian school of thought
• Advocates a world of federation of republics bound by the rule of law because he believed that in order to achieve peace, a world order in which man is able to live without fear of war.

Question 7

Define Liberalism

Answer 7

• is historically rooted in several philosophical traditions which posit that human nature is basically good.
• Individuals form into groups and later states
• States generally cooperate and follow international norms and procedures that have been mutually agreed on.

Question 8

Define Realism

Answer 8

• posits that states exist in an anarchic international system.
• Each state bases its policies on an interpretation of national interest defined in terms of power.
• The structure of the international system is determined by the distribution of power among states.

Question 9

Define Radical Theory

Answer 9

• rooted in economics
• Actions of individuals are largely determined by economic class; the state is an agent of international capitalism
• the international system is highly stratified, dominated by an international capitalist system.

Question 10

Alternative Critical Approaches

Answer 10

have challenged the traditional theories of liberalism, and realism and substantially modified radicalism, like postmodernism or constructivism.