Lectures 11-12 Flashcards
Realism
An approach to international relations born out of WWII that sees human nature as power-seeing and posits that hard power is key. Goal is to
ensure balance of hard power between strongest states in a world defined by anarchy.
Idealism
An approach to international relations born out of WW1 concerned with securing peace and which sees human nature as inherently cooperative
and mutually assisting. Proponent of methods like diplomacy and persuasion to create international authority and peace.
Politics Among Nations
Written by Hans Morgenthau in 1948; takes a state-
centred, ‘power politics’ approach to IR, disputing the pursuit of moral aspirations and instead positing that all actions taken by a state are in pursuit of
wielding, maintaining, or increasing their power. Became the standard reference for realist IR.
Woodrow Wilson’s League of Nations
Wilson was US president during beginning of WW1. Lead the creation of the League of Nations and was a proponent of liberal/idealist IR, seeing democracies as inherently peaceful. The League of Nations was created after WWI as a general association of nation-states to secure mutual protection of economic & political interdependence along with territorial integrity.
English School of IR
An approach to IR that emphasizes ‘international society’ that accepts the realist notion of anarchy between nation-states, but that rejects
the idea that cooperation is impossible. A balance between realist and idealistic IR and tries to balance hard and soft power through institutions and norms that would create relationships between states.
UN Security Council
A part of the evolution from the League of Nations to the UN that recognizes that powerful states have
special place in IR. Each of the permanent 5 members (China, France, Russia, the UK & the US) has complete veto power.
Human Security
The idea that security extends beyond the state and that the survival, livelihood, and dignity of people are vital and transcend borders. It has been identified that efforts to secure state security often inhibit human security.
Antonio Gramsci
Italian scholar of critical theory who created the concept of hegemony, arguing that ruling classes maintain their power by naturalizing the inequalities that prop them up and that trick the citizens into supporting the systems that oppress them through cultural norms.
Constructivism
The idea that the “reality” of the world around us is constructed and subjective because social interaction gives meaning to material objects and practices. Therefore, “reality” is not simply an objective truth detached from a social base.
Critical IR Theory
Critiques traditional IR theories such as liberalism and realism. Argues that they are based on capitalistic and colonial assumptions and emphasizes that all political, economic, and cultural orders are humanly constructed, not dictated by nature.
