Lecture 2: Actors, systems, and practices Flashcards
What is the concept of structure and agency in international relations?
Structure refers to the rules like social norms and laws, while agency is the freedom to act within or beyond these rules. Their overlap defines possible actions in a given context, evolving over time as actors challenge boundaries.
What is the core focus of realism in international relations?
Realism focuses on the survival of the state within an anarchic international system, where states operate with the primary goal of preserving their sovereignty and security.
Differentiate between offensive and defensive realism.
Offensive realism advocates for state expansion to increase power, while defensive realism focuses on protecting what the state already possesses.
What are the key features of sovereign negotiation?
- Negotiations are government-to-government
- About extending national foreign policy
- Focusing on state power, influence, and authority
- Typically in formal ‘Track I’ formats led by professional diplomats.
What is polarity?
Polarity is about distribution of power at the international level. How many powerful states you have at the international level will define the system.
How stable are the three types of polarity?
- Multipolarity is very difficult to maintain, because it leads to alliances where different blocks go to war with each other.
- Unipolarity could be stable, because no one is able to challenge the only hegemon (hegemon stability theory).
- Bipolarity depends; it combines the advantages of both systems. They both have the same things, so balance each other’s capacities to destroy each other.
What are internal and external sovereignty, and how do they differ in international relations?
- Internal sovereignty refers to the the states’ ability to control what’s happening inside of the state without external interference.
- External sovereignty relates to the recognition of a state’s independence by other states and its ability to enter into relations with them.
What is Westphalian negotiation?
If state A wants something and needs the help of state B. A has to negotiate with B to achieve this.
In the system before the Westphalian Negotiation, state A could intrude state B to take what they want. Intruding can happen again, when the states do not believe in the idea of balancing the power.
Change in conflict comes when states don’t see the system as restriction / legitimate anymore and they can challenge the system.
What significant changes occurred in the international system post-WWII?
- There was a rise in new international and transnational actors like NGOs, corporations, and religious groups,
- Expanding the scope of issues to include global, postmodern concerns
- Permanent negotiation forums, more interdependence, new technologies
What are coalitions?
Coalitions are results of state interdependency, pooling sovereignties for leverage.
What is Westphalian sovereignty and how does it impact international negotiations?
Westphalian sovereignty refers to the principle of national sovereignty free from external interference. Each state has exclusive sovereignty over its territory. You cannot intrude a state and claim the state like it is yours. It made sure that we have boundaries and that there is a balance between the states, so that none of them is big enough to get too much power.
What tensions exist between old and new negotiation systems?
- State representatives do not identify with an ideology or identity, but new international actors are often about ideology and identity, like human rights movements/environmental movements.
- States want to decouple issues. If you decouple issues, it is easier to negotiate on them issue by issue. This is easier because states are more powerful than movements, so item by item is easier. New actors want to connect them (linking). Sometimes different issues are all part of the same things, so it is more challenging to the system.
- States want to retain the Westphalian system (want to identify leaders), but modern international actors often do not (don’t want to have a clear leader). But figureheads often become representatives. States want a leader to have someone to talk to on behalf of the movement.
How do gender dynamics influence traditional diplomatic institutions?
Diplomatic institutions are often seen as gendered due to their competitive and aggressive nature, traditionally making them male-dominated environments.
Differentiate between Track I and Track II diplomacy.
Track I diplomacy involves official governmental negotiations often formal and public. In contrast, Track II diplomacy involves informal, unofficial discussions led by individuals or groups not acting in an official capacity, aimed at building trust and finding creative solutions.
