Lecture 1 - Introduction

Question 1

the capitalist world system

Answer 1

capitalism as the central organizing principle of a hierarchical system

Question 2

capitalism world system - kinds of countries

Answer 2

core

semi-periphery

periphery

Question 3

core country

Answer 3

democratic governments

high wages

import = raw materials

export = manufactures

high investment

welfare services

Question 4

semi-periphery countries

Answer 4

authoritarian governments

export = mature manufactures / raw materials

import = manufactures / raw materials

low wages

low welfare services

Question 5

periphery

Answer 5

non-democratic governments

export = raw materials

import = manufactures

below subsistence wages

no welfare services

Question 6

world views / theories

Answer 6

help to manage flood of information. because of them, we notice certain things and ignore others.

world views result from socialization, historical experiences, our societal position

manage flood of info –> selective

Question 7

world views result from

Answer 7

socialization, historical experiences, our societal position

Question 8

theories are akin to world views

Answer 8

way of making the world or some part of it more intelligible or better understood

systematic reflection on phenomena, designed to explain them and to show how they are related to each other in a meaningful, intelligent pattern, instead of being merely random items in an incoherent universe

Question 9

great debates of IR

Answer 9

served to organize and focus the discipline =˃ structure of IR as a discipline

help us to understand why the theories look the way they do, penetrate their inner logic and to work with them

depending on which we privilege, we consider particular actors, structures and processes to be important and decisive

Question 10

theories: characterization

Answer 10

transcends observable facts and historical incidents

helps to identify the essential and typical patterns and the general causes, effects and relationships

helps us to formulate general statements with respect to these patters, their causes and effects

Question 11

types of theories

Answer 11

1. descriptive theory
2. causal theory
3. normative theory

Question 12

descriptive theory

Answer 12

describing the typical and essential / what is

Question 13

causal theory

Answer 13

determine cause and effect / explain, predict and change. why are thigns the way they are

Question 14

normative theory

Answer 14

evaluate / what is supposed to be

Question 15

problem solving theory

Answer 15

take the world „as it is“ and endevour to think through problems and offer prudent advice to policy makers tasked with the challenge to negotiate the „real world“

Question 16

critical theory

Answer 16

question the immutability of the present world order and see the purpose of theory as advancing the project of positive change

Question 17

building blocks of theories: actors

Answer 17

social actors = entities which have influence or agency
–> focused on states, but now also on transnational corporations and intergovernmental organizations

disposition:
what interests do the actors have / how do they realise them (cost-benefit calculation or societal norms and rules)
how do the identities of the actors inform their interests
are interests assumed to be static or subject to change

Question 18

building blocks of theories: structures

Answer 18

structures determine relations between elements within a system

• resource based structures = material / social / human resources
• normative structures = rules and norms

Question 19

types of normative structures

Answer 19

regulative = rules of behaviour

constitutive = membership within in particular system and position

Question 20

building blocks of theories: processes

Answer 20

processes transform behaviour into social interaction
–> mechanisms of social interaction may be strategic (itnerdependence) or normative (consensus)

patterns of social interactions = cooperation, conflict, dependency, peace, etc.

Question 21

building blocks of theories: dynamics

Answer 21

Feedback mechanisms of social interaction on

• Structure = Reproduction or change
• Actors = Reinforcement or change of dispositons
• Processes = Reproduction or change

dynamic mechanisms = Reinforcement, evolution (e.g., selection, mutation, or innovation) or cycles