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TRANSCRIPT
©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All ©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.rights reserved.
Thinking Theoretically:Putting World Events
in Context
Realism vs. Liberalism:
Two Competing Worldviews
©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All ©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.rights reserved.
Realism and Liberalism: Some Travel Notes on Two Roads
Understanding the basics Realism: The traditional path that emphasizes the centrality of the state on the world stage and the pursuit of national self-interest above all else
Liberalism: The alternative path that emphasizes a more cooperative, globalist approach and the important role of global institutions and regional organization as authoritative actors on the world stage
©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All ©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.rights reserved.
Realism and the Nature of Politics
Influence of Thomas Hobbes and Hans Morgenthau: conflict is inevitableLargely pessimistic: Humans are aggressive and self-serving, and they are unlikely to changeNeorealism: Focus on anarchic nature of world system based on competing sovereign states
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Liberalism and the Nature of Politics
Influence of Jean-Jacques Rousseau: humans join civil societies and cooperate to achieve mutual benefits
Neoliberalism: Emphasize international organization to build effective cooperation (aka – neoliberal institutionalism)
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The Roles of Power and Principles
Realism: an emphasis on powerPower-based perspective--survival of the most powerfulEmphasizes pragmatic, self-help policy prescriptions‘Might makes right’
Liberalism: an emphasis on principles Based on cooperative and ethical standards Seeks to create policy norms of justice and peace ‘Right makes right’
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Prospects for Competition and CooperationRealism: realpolitik
approachPlace own country's interests first Practice balance-of-power politicsAchieve peace through strength Do not waste power on peripheral issues
Liberalism: globalist approach
Power is not the essence of international relations
Power politics is futile and destructive
Peace is achieved through cooperative relations
Willingness to surrender some sovereignty to international structures promoting cooperation
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Assessing Reality:Realism and Liberalism
Comparing the ability of realism or liberalism to explain world history
Competition has dominated world history
Realpolitik is the order of the day
Both realism and liberalism influence current policy
‘What should be’ and ‘What will be’ remain far more important questions than ‘What is’
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Postmodernist and Feminist Theories
Postmodernism: Our political reality (including our values and choices) are mental constructs, not objective facts.
Feminism: International relations is largely conducted by men and studied from a male point of view, ignoring or underrepresenting the role of women.
©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All ©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.rights reserved.
Constructivist Theory
Ideas, Interests, and Identities are socially constructed through an interactive process among the ‘agents’ of world politics.
Goals of agents are shaped by nonmaterial factors—including ideology, morality, values, etc.—in addition to material factors (such as physical safety and security).