Power and Powers Through IR

Question 1

What is the importance of power to IR for Morgenthau? What theory of IR does this accord with?

Answer 1

Morgenthau sees international politics as a struggle for power - ‘power the immediate aim’
This accords with the ideas of Realism.

Question 2

What is the theory of balancing of power?

Answer 2

The balancing of power sees it being that states will collectively aim to secure a natural equilibrium in power, aiming to diminish the power of a state that is aiming to expand its own against others. This will supposedly ensure peace and prosperity.

Question 3

What is unipolarity? What are the strengths and weaknesses of unipolarity?

Answer 3

Unipolarity is the situation in which one major power secures stability through hegemonic dominance of the whole world (as the US did from the 1990s onwards)
This can be positive as it reduces the potential for conflict, however it reduces the need for consensus and cooperation, allows a single state to dominate.

Question 4

What is hard power? What is soft power? What is smart power?

Answer 4

Hard power is the ability to get others to do what a state wishes through threats or rewards.
Soft power is the ability to get others to act as you wish through persuasion.
Smart power is the combination of hard and soft power in an effective strategy.

Question 5

Why is it difficult for authoritarian regimes to make use of soft power?

Answer 5

Soft power tends to exist outside of the hands of governments - generally through products and cultural assets that are globally valued. Hence, it is difficult for authoritarian regimes to make use of this if it is outside of their remit, whereas democratic regimes can work in partnership with soft power sources.

Question 6

What rising bloc has challenged the dominance of the G7?

Answer 6

The G7’s dominance has been challenged by the rise of the BRICS - whose share of GDP at purchasing power parity outweighs the G7’s

Question 7

What problems exist with the concept of power?

Answer 7

Power is difficult to quantify - it is measured in different ways
Power is seen as the be all and end all in IR - it defines all successes and failures because a state is ‘powerful’ or not.

Question 8

What are the four faces of power?

Answer 8

1st face - encouraging an actor to do something they wouldn’t usually do: IMMEDIATE
2nd face - shaping terms of discussion: MEDIUM
3rd face - shaping the preferences of other actors: LONG TERM
4th face - controlling the agenda/paradigm

Question 9

What type of power does Realism favour/prioritise?

Answer 9

Realism favours military forms of power, geared towards self defence or war-like conquest. Based around principles that you cannot be sure of another state’s intentions.

Question 10

How does Liberal Institutionalism prioritise power being expressed? How can this be contrasted with Realism?

Answer 10

Liberal Institutionalism favours power being fostered through longstanding institutions, agreements, etc. that can build and accumulate power over time. This contrasts with the short-termist and immediate power favoured by Realism.

Question 11

What general approaches do critical theories have on the sort of power that should be used?

Answer 11

Critical theories believe that ideas should focus on norms and ideas rather than physical or institutional power - this is geared towards getting the international system and world to change.

Question 12

What is bipolarity? What is multipolarity?

Answer 12

Bipolarity is the situation whereby 2 dominant powers exert most influence on the international system and events. Multipolarity sees a fragmentation of power between states, generally seen as creating instability.

Question 13

What is the idea of hegemonic stability?

Answer 13

Hegemonic stability is the idea that international order can be created through a single hegemonic power. This will see a hegemon define long-term interests, with these interests being compatible with those of lesser powers in the system. THEY ARE ACCEPTED BY OTHERS, HENCE THEIR HEGEMONIC NATURE.

Question 14

Explain Barnett and Duval’s approach to what power is through a constructivist lens

Answer 14

Barnett and Duval believe power to be ‘the production, in and through social relations, of effects that shape the capacities of actors to determine their own circumstances and fate’

Question 15

Why did Mead see 2014 as being the return of major power plays?

Answer 15

2014 saw China making territorial claims against India on its contested border, as well as the Russian invasion of Crimea.

Question 16

What was Fukuyama’s ‘End of History’ thesis intended to mean? What has been the reality of this?

Answer 16

Fukuyama believed the End of History to mean the end of ideological conflict and the rise of technocratic disagreements - the reality is that new tensions have arisen, between democracies and autocracies.

Question 17

How does Mead characterise the style by autocracies that has dismantled US hegemony and unipolarity? What examples are there of this?

Answer 17

Mead believes that there has not been a dramatic assault on US/democratic hegemony, instead a slow chipping away at this by autocratic powers. This can be seen through Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s undermining of Hong Kong, Iran’s agitation in the ME, Russia in Syria and the actions of China in the Pacific.

Question 18

How does O’Dell characterise the constitution of the international system after WW2 in relation to great powers? What evidence is there of this?

Answer 18

O’Dell thought the international system was constituted in the interests and to favour great powers, rather than all states being equal under anarchy - this can be seen through the P5 members of the UNSC, for instance, allowing the vetoing of UN decisions.

Question 19

Explain Graham Allison’s concept of Thucydides’ Trap. How can this be applied to contemporary IR?

Answer 19

Thucydides’ Trap is the situation whereby a rising power challenges the hegemony of a dominant, one leading to an almost certain outbreak of war due to the escalation this will create and the structural tensions resulting from this. This can be applied to studies of the US and it being challenged by China.

Question 20

Explain Nye and Keohane’s idea of complex interdependence. How does this undermine a state-based view of the world?

Answer 20

Complex interdependence is the process by which states’ economies become increasingly intertwined, deepening the connections and undermining the significance of individual states as actors. Instead, the value of multinational bodies and governance structures grows.