Week 2

Question 1

Realism

Answer 1

International relations are struggle for power & security

Question 2

5 assumptions realism

Answer 2

1. States exists in a world with no higher authority = states need to protect themselves. Power = currency
2. Anarch y = insecurity so people form states. States offer protection
3. States are in general reasonable/rational
4. Security = central problem of international politics. Foreign policy’s nr1 priority is national security
5. The search for security= competitive . Power has relational quality, one must always take it from someone else.

Question 3

3’s’es realism

Answer 3

State, security and Self-Help

Question 4

Institutions realism

Answer 4

result of power politics, at the mercy of the most powerful states

Question 5

Liberalism

Answer 5

States and other actors, like international organizations and corporations, have incentives to cooperate and create positive-sum games (everyone benefits).

Question 6

3 branches Liberalism

Answer 6

1. Commercial liberalism: Economy unifies through the spread of capitalism + shared economy which creates interdependence and thus an incentive for peace
2. Democratic peace: Democratic states seek affiliation with each other to build relations, share common preferences, therefore won’t fight each ther
3. Liberal institutionalism: Law & institutions pacify threats of war.

Question 7

5 assumptions of liberalism.

Answer 7

1. world is always modernizing through technology
2. Individuals are actors in IR
3. Individuals have incentives embedded in society to trade/negotiate for joint gain
4. Modernization, capitalism will lead all countries down the same path
5. Human kind is always progressing, learning to be better

Question 8

Classical Realism

Answer 8

Human nature = perpetually bad –> cause conflict and violence

Question 9

Structural realism

Answer 9

Causes for perpetual conflict & violence are found in the structure of the international system

Question 10

Commercial Realism

Answer 10

As economic relations between two states grow, so do their mutual interests in maintaining stable and continuous cooperation. (the cost of conflict would be too high because of this shared bond - war is less likely)

Question 11

Neoliberal institutionalism

Answer 11

political doctrine should actively promote liberal ideas

Question 12

Transnationalism

Answer 12

The tendency of groups within countries to
build cooperative associations with groups in other countries. Transnational relations—connections between groups within different countries—play an important role in international interactions. Unlike realists, who focus mainly on state-to-state interactions, liberals emphasize the influence of society-to-society interactions. A diverse range of transnational groups, from environmental and human rights organizations to religious and scientific associations, operates across borders, impacting global cooperation and conflict.

Question 13

Cosmopolitanism

Answer 13

Tendency of people from different countries to embrace each other as fellow citizens of the world. Contrasts nationalism

Question 14

Ontology

Answer 14

Theory of being

Question 15

Epistemology

Answer 15

theory of knowing

Question 16

Marxism

Answer 16

class and economic inequalities are main drivers of IR. IR presents clash between capitalist elites and the working class.

Question 17

Class struggle

Answer 17

International interactions are expressions of the capitalist class’s dominance, with international institutions serving capitalist interests.

Question 18

Dependency theory

Answer 18

Economic structures between rich (core) and poor (periphery) countries create dependency, exploiting less developed nations.

Question 19

World-systems- theory (Wallerstein)

Answer 19

divides the world into core, semi-periphery and periphery

Question 20

Constructivism

Answer 20

focusses on beliefs, ideals. How people’s beliefs shape what individuals, states and nations do. Reality is socially constructed

Question 21

4 assumptions Constructivism

Answer 21

1. Ideals/beliefs are not set in stone but subject to the identities of actors
2. identities are shaped by culture, religion etc
3. The most influential people in society play crucial role in how groups and countries act on the global stage
4. Communication is key to forming and changing identities

Question 22

Normative Change

Answer 22

socialization progress the world to progression

Question 23

Strategic culture

Answer 23

Culture shapes foreign policy

Question 24

Postcolonialism

Answer 24

neglect of colonial influences in current IR literature. Sovereignty= european concept, taken for granted by realist and liberalist scholars.
Challenges marxism: the idea that class struggle is rooted in history is not true for all cultures.

Question 25

offensive realism

Answer 25

war is part of the solution

Question 26

defensive realism

Answer 26

security of you own state most important

Question 27

Racialized otherting

Answer 27

exampla: nuclear proliferation, countries in the global south can’t be trusted with nuclear weapons. While the us is the only country that has used them thus far

Question 28

Interracial feminism

Answer 28

Does a black poor women experience feminism the same way a rich white women does?

Question 29

Critical theory

Answer 29

Theory which seeks to expose and challenge existing power structures

Question 30

Post Positivism

Answer 30

Reality itself can not be objectively known, is always influenced by existing power structures and it’s surrounding discourse

Question 31

Sovereign Equality

Answer 31

all states are legally equal under international law