Week 5 - 7 - Application of Theories

Question 1

Briefly outline Realism:

• Actors
• Main Concepts
• Peace
• Economy

Answer 1

• States: main actors
• Main concept: anarchy of the system is static and
  states will compete against each other into attempts to maximise their power - relative to other actors
• Peace is generated by either a balance of power or a dominant hegemonic power
• Economy should be high functioning to support the military structure; it is important but is not the dominant factor

Question 2

Briefly outline Liberalism:

• Actors
• Peace
• War
• Economy

Answer 2

• Actors: These include the States, but also value international institutions such as the UN
• Peace is created through the growth of interdependence and economic interaction
• War is less likely to happen between democracies because of their cooperation
• Central factor as it can create interdependencies which create a more liberal and cooperative society

Question 3

Briefly outline Marxism:

• Focus / Actors
• Aim
• Capitalism
• Peace
• War

Answer 3

• Actors: based on the economic classes and class conflict
• Aim: The transformation of the future where classes converge to reach a goal of communism / socialism
• Capitalism: State is there to facilitate the wishes of the Capitalist class; dominant class dominates the State and institutions within it
• Peace: Attempt to transform Capitalism; therefore the Economy is crucial
• War: War is created by fighting between the Shares of the economy

Question 4

Briefly outline English School:

• Actors:
• Norms:
• Change:

Constructivism:
- Society & War:

Answer 4

• Actors: States are important, but multiple actors can play a role
• Norms: These are one of the most important actors; more important than institutions and States
• Change: States and norms can change and there is no particular vision of where we are heading; our values shape the future
• Society & War: Society is the most important and war is created by the perception of ‘the other’

Question 5

What was the situation of Europe in the 1900s?

Answer 5

It was perceived as the economic and political pub. It held more than 1/4 of the global population and it was an economic hegemon and dominant global power.

Question 6

Which Empires began to collapse in the 1900’s?

Answer 6

The Ottoman and Hapsburg Empire as well as Tsarist Russia and Imperial China

Question 7

Who presented threats to Europe in the 1900s?

Answer 7

Japan and the USA presented themselves as rising challengers and whilst the UK was still the economic hegemon, there were major instabilities.

Question 8

Outline State responses after World War I

Answer 8

• The Germans had a brief revolutionary moment but it was violently repressed
• There was the decline of the UK’s power; and they had to borrow fro the United States
• In the USSR [Russia] and Eastern Europe, there was the birth of communism which was a counter system to the former liberal European order
• Starting in America in 1929, there is a stock market collapse and this is because the banks lose their ability to loan out money and this leads to people withdrawing their money and keeping it with them

Question 9

How did the Stock Market collapse in 1929 undermine Liberalism - and what impact did this have?

Answer 9

Because people did not trust the banks, they did not put their money there - ultimately undermining the Liberal System. As a result of this, the International Economy collapses which leads to industrial collapse and unemployment.

Question 10

Following World War I, what were the three competing visions of national and international political economy?

Answer 10

1 - The modified Liberal Vision
2 - Fascism in Italy and Germany
3 - Communism in the USSR

Question 11

What is the Modified Liberal Vision?

Answer 11

Focuses on free markets nationally, but with significant state support/ direction and control; primarily focuses on controlling International disruptions

• Keynesianism [New Deal in the USA] focuses on the need of the government to increase growth and this is done by expansionary fiscal policies and state interventions in the economy
• Democratic Socialist / Social Democracy vision in Continental Europe following the German SDP

Question 12

How important was Fascism in Italy and Germany following the War? What did it involve?

Answer 12

Order and resolve prompted short - term economic recovery and this was done by driving a strong state with a national focus

• It strived for national economic autocracy - this was the ability to create everything the society needs within your own society. Had a rhetoric focusing on the idea that the world is threatening and the only way to thrive and prosper is to rely on yourself and create everything that you need
• Therefore, these countries had little interest in economic cooperation and trade i.e. in 1930s - major actors such as Germany took themselves out of the economy.
• There was also the rise of Imperial Japan - this was a strong militarised Japan that was industrialising

Question 13

Outline the progress of Communism in the USSR

Answer 13

• There was very limited market activity, and this was because there was no interest in international trade; they made everything they needed in their society and there were no large capitalists
• There was the extreme dominance of central control and planning; although hidden black markets were rampant
• Collectivisation and industrialisation are a success but at a horrific cost of 10+ million dead

Question 14

What happened in 1931?

Answer 14

Japan invades Manchuria

Question 15

What were the smaller wars that took place at the beginning of WWII?

Answer 15

1937: Chinese Civil War
1936: Spanish Civil War
1935: Italy invades Abyssinia

Question 16

What happened during WWII?

Answer 16

In 1939, German expansion began and there is quick success with the fall of France in 1940.

Japan attacks Pearl Harbour in December 1941 and the battle of Stalingrad happens in late 1942 - 1943.

Question 17

What were the results of WWII?

Answer 17

• The death toll was around 40 - 60 million with Germany and Japan both totally defeated.
• The USSR succeeded but at a horrific cost as fighting on their territory resulted in 15 - 20 million dead.
• The UK emerges but is exhausted - the Empire is collapsing and they are heavily reliant on the USA.
• USA is emerging as the new reluctant super power
• China defeats Japan but is still in a Civil War for more than 4 years after WWII

Question 18

What is an International Society ?

Answer 18

It is also known as a society of States and it exists when a group of states, conscious of certain interests and values, form a society in the sense that they conceive themselves to be bound by a common set of rules in their relations with one another.

Question 19

What has growing economic complexity given rise to?

Answer 19

Growing economic complexity and diversity has given rise to increasing trade relations with other communities, which in turn, produced the need for mutual understanding.

Question 20

How did Greece resemble an International Society?

Answer 20

In Greece, the city - states had a common language ad religion and together with institutions such as the Olympics; it solidified their unity. Aspects of their inter - city relations suggest that an authentic and well - established society was a genuine element of their affairs.
Greek international society was also underpinned by shared moral understanding about rightful international conduct, derived from religious norms - concerned areas such as diplomacy, the sanctity of treaties, entries into war, and the treatment of enemy dead. Although violations in all of these areas occurred, there were also various forms of sanction, including incurring a reputation for unreliability or dishonesty, and being punished following a subsequent arbitration.

Question 21

What affect did the Great Depression have on liberal ideologies?

Answer 21

The Great Depression weakened liberal democracy in many states and strengthened the appeal of communist, fascist and Nazi parties.

Whilst all modern states suffered mass unemployment, inflation in Germany was acute and therefore economic and political instability provided grounds in which support for the Nazi’s took place. By 1933, Hitler had achieved power and the transformation of Germany began.

Question 22

Outline the British Empire

Answer 22

• In 1945, the British Empire extended across the Globe. Between 1947 and 1980, 49 territories were granted independence
• The independence of India i.e. ‘Jewel in the Crown’ created the world’s largest democracy
• British withdrawal from the Empire was relatively peaceful, save for the conflicts in Kenya (1952 - 6) and Malaya (1948 - 60)

Question 23

Outline the French Empire

Answer 23

• France had been occupied during WWII and successive governments sought to preserve French international prestige by maintaining its Imperial Status; in Indo - China after 1945, Paris attempted to preserve Colonial rule
• Only withdrew from there after prolonged Guerilla war and military defeat at the hands of the Vietnamese revolutionary forces
• France refused to leave Algeria; it was regarded as part of France and the resulting war from 1954 - 1962 led to hundreds of thousands of deaths, and France itself was brought to the edge of Civil War

Question 24

What was the Marshall Plan?

Answer 24

A plan for the US to willingly fund the revival of newly defeated enemies and this is because the biggest threat was not seen as the military, but seen as povety and despair, because that is what gives way to the development of Communism with a Country

Question 25

What happened in 1945 - 1953

Answer 25

• The future of Germany and various Central and Eastern European countries was an issue of tension
• Reconciling principles of national self - determination with national security was a formidable task and in the West, there was the feeling that Soviet policy towards Eastern Europe was guided by ideological expansion; America declared that they would help those threatened by Soviet subversion/ expansion
• In 1949, the Cold War takes off; the Soviet Union gets the Atomic bomb and this prompts the Americans to start working on the hydrogen bomb.
• Mao Zedong leads communists party to victory in the long Chinese civil war; now china is under the influence of communism and therefore the notion of liberal democracy was partially disregarded.

In 1950 - 53, there was the Korean War where North Korea invaded the South, US forces arrive to push them back then China gets involved to push back the Americans.

Question 26

What happened between 1953 - 1969

Answer 26

• The idea that communism was a monolithic political entity controlled from Moscow became an enduring American fixation and Western Europeans depended on Washington for military security
• By 1960s, there were apron 7,000 nuclear weapons in Western Europe alone and NATO deployed nuclear weapons to offset Soviet conventional superiority
• The events of 1962 were followed by a more stable period of coexistence and competition - but the arms race was taking place. The nuclear dimension increased with the emergence of other nuclear weapon states. 1962 first strike (launch fastest), second strike and MAD - creating ICBMs.

Question 27

Who was Nikita Khruschev?

Answer 27

Stalin dies in 1953 and Nikita Khrushchev takes over and he wished for a peaceful coexistence as he believed that capitalism would eventually be of detriment one day and when it did, the Soviets would ‘bury them in goods’.

Question 28

What were the key trends in the late 1950’s and 1960’s

Answer 28

• Nuclear stability - the Cold War becomes stable; both sides are producing
• Proxy conflict and war - the real fighting during the Cold War does not take place between the USSR and USA; but different sides supported by the different countries e.g. East and West Vietnamese
  Global competition – realist world order
• Rise of CIA and USA military spending
• Tension with non-aligned movement/third world - newly independent countries e.g. India are nervous about the fact they are constantly being used as the battleground for the Cold War and therefore they start the non - aligned movement by saying that they will be the ‘Third World’
• China, from Great Leap Forward (1956-61) - was meant to be a major industrialisation process (fails miserably) - to Cultural Revolution (1968) - very briefly a breakdown of political struggles and disconnects it from other actors in the world

Question 29

What was the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis?

Answer 29

The closest the world had come to nuclear war; US sending spy flights over Cuba and they find out that Ciba is creating missiles to potentially send missiles over to the USA. The USA had just put missiles in Turkey which was only a short distance from the USSR. Both sides panic about the separate proximity of missiles. The US blockade Cuba and stop ships - one of the ships had nuclear capability and they decided not to release the torpedo to destroy the American ships; this prevented nuclear war

Question 30

What did the transition from Krushchev to Brezhnev lead to?

Answer 30

Attempts start to lower nuclear tensions: 1963 limited test ban treaty, 1968 non-proliferation (should not be spreading nuclear weapons to other countries), 1970 SALT and ABM (Anti - ballistic missile treaties).

Question 31

What did Soviet support for revolutionary movements reflect about Moscow?

Answer 31

It reflected Moscow’s self - confidence as a ‘super power’ and its analysis that the Third World was turning towards socialism.

Question 32

What was the Detente?

Answer 32

This was a period of calming global tensions between the USSR and America

Question 33

What did the 1975 Conference on Security and Cooperation promote?

Answer 33

It was in Helsinki and it recognises the division but also the importance of human rights. The concept of human rights grows and there is a transition where we see connections growing and they are adhering to create a liberal vision

Question 34

What was the big shift in China in the 1980s?

Answer 34

Following the death of Mao, Deng Xiaoping comes to power. This included opening up economic development - this focused on areas where market socialism was allowed to develop, the creation of economic zones etc

Question 35

How did Germany prevent people from worrying about the split of Germany?

Answer 35

They locked themselves into the European Union and they showed that they were not a threat (through driving European integration)

Question 36

When is Germany reunited?

Answer 36

3rd October 1991

Question 37

What was the USSR replaced with?

Answer 37

It was replaced by the Commonwealth of the Independent States - Ukraine, Russia and Belorussia

Question 38

Outline the beliefs of Fukuyama

Answer 38

Liberalism said to be the most socially effective and economically efficient system, in which it created relative peace between democracies.
It was perceived as a long term arch of history - references the idea that the long term future is liberal democracy which parallels in the new world order; and whilst there will be variations, it is the arc of history.

Question 39

Outline the beliefs of Hungtington

Answer 39

Was a classic realist and said that we have got past the clash of ideologies, but this means we will return to normal cultural conflicts.

He identified seven major civilisations that could and would come into conflict with each other - previously they were separate from each other; but following globalisation, they are now in contention with each other. He believed that his meant that there would be growing tensions and growing potential for conflict between fundamentally different areas.

Question 40

Which 8 Eastern States joined the EU in 2004?

Answer 40

Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Hungary and Poland

Question 41

Why is money a continual weakness for the EU?

Answer 41

Upon being part of the EU, there is a legislative piece of a budget based treaty saying that the EU can take 1.25% from each of the individual states and therefore a continual weakness is that the EU never had any money because it has a fixed budget

Question 42

Outline Operation ‘Desert Storm’

Answer 42

It was a military operation to expel occupying Iraqi forces from Kuwait, which Iraq had invaded and annexed months earlier. For weeks, a US led coalition of two dozen nations had positioned more than 900,000 troops in the region, most stationed on the Saudi - Iraq border.

A UN declared deadline for withdrawal passed (Resolution 660), but there was no action from Iraq. As a result, coalition forces began a five - week bombardment of Iraqi command and control targets from the air and sea. A ground invasion followed in February and coalition forces swiftly drove Iraq from Kuwait, advancing into Iraq and reaching a ceasefire within 100 hours.

Question 43

How was Operation Desert Storm a reflection of the Liberal Rhetoric?

Answer 43

Because it was a successful use of a UN and large cooperative coalition. This was a liberal moment of linking growing peace to collective security. Therefore, not only is everyone becoming liberal, but those who are violating the norms of the liberal vision will be opposed agaainst

Question 44

Why did Bush’s application of a ‘free democratic Iraq not work?

Answer 44

He believed he could create a free and democratic Iraq - and they could do this because the US is at the peak of its power with no problem in applying knowledge and money, and therefore they can ‘reshape a small country’.

Nevertheless, it did not work because Iraq had no democratic traditions, multiple religions and regional factions, alongside an unbalanced economic, regional instability and deep history which has been prompted about authoritarianism and colonialism.