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International Politics As a Struggle for Autonomy

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International Politics As a Struggle for Autonomy International Politics as a Struggle for Autonomy A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Political Science of the College of Arts and Sciences by Hasan B. Yalcin B.A. Beykent University, 2004 M.A. Koc University, 2006 August 2011 Committee Chair: Richard J. Harknett, Ph.D. Abstract This study is about structural theorizing in International Relations. Based on a review of current theories of International Relations, it argues that current approaches are not purely structural but hybrid theories composed of conflicting unit and structural level assumptions, which produce internally inconsistent theories and externally partial depictions of international politics. The study attempts to develop a purely structural theoretical framework that argues that international structure, which is composed of anarchy and the distribution of power, shapes state identities, motivations, behaviors and international outcomes. In anarchic systems, units struggle neither for power nor for security. International politics is a struggle for autonomy. Units populating anarchic systems are concerned with sustaining their autonomy and a system is anarchic if the units can rely on their own capabilities in a specific distribution of power. In concentrated power structures, states are concerned with sustaining the status quo but take offensive actions which tend to produce minor conflicts rather than major systemic wars. In distributed power structures, states are concerned with change but take defensive actions that tend to produce major systemic wars. The study measures these theoretical predictions against the history of the Cold War. The case study is divided into three time periods according to the specific power structures: concentrated (1945-1957) and (1979-1991) eras and an intervening distributed power structure (1957-1979). It is concluded that the history of the Cold War provides strong support for the arguments developed on state motivations, behaviors and their international outcomes. While the first and third eras of the Cold War were characterized by status quo-oriented motivations and centrifugal, aggressive behaviors in the periphery, the second era was characterized by change- oriented motivations and centripetal defensive behaviors on the central issue areas. While the first and third eras can be characterized as the times of minor conflicts, the second era was the time of the real Cold War that consists of major superpower confrontations. ii iii Preface Aims and Scope This study is about structural theorizing in International Relations. It has four specific aims: pointing out the promise of structural theorizing in principle in explaining causes and effects of social phenomena, evaluating central approaches of International Relations with a special focus on differentiating structurally-oriented approaches from a pure structural perspective, developing a new structural framework for the study of international politics, measuring the predictions developed in a well-established field of great power behavior. Firstly, the study advocates for the promise of structural theorizing in principle, despite its poor development in many disciplines of the social sciences. From a critical perspective, the study targets hybrid theorizing that conflates structural with individual level factors in social sciences generally and in the field of International Relations, specifically. In contrast to the increasing tendency to build multi-causal and multi-level analyses, for the sake of theoretical rigor, the study provocatively aims to revive the idea of a pure structuralist approach, which is based soley on structural factors to explain identities, motivations, behaviors and their consequences in human affairs with a special attention to the consistency of social scientific theorizing. Secondly, the study reviews the central approaches of International Relations from a purely structuralist perspective. It aims to show that the mainstream structurally-oriented theories of iv International Relations, namely defensive and offensive realisms, fail to meet the requirements of a pure structuralism. Despite their claims for and their critics’ recognition of the title of structuralism, these theories of International Relations are hybrid theories composed of both unit and structural level assumptions. They combine their fixed state motivation assumptions with structural conditioning and argue that states act to attain those specific goals assigned by the theorists. In those depictions of international politics not state motivations, in other words not the causes of behaviors but only behaviors are shaped by international structure. Therefore, the comprehensive literature review presented in the study aims to show that those theories professing structuralism are indeed hybrid theories that are internally inconsistent because of the presence of conflicting assumptions on two levels (unit and structural level), and externally partial because of the presence of fixed state motivations. Thirdly, the study tries to develop a purely structural realist theoretical framework, which argues that state motivations and behaviors and also international systemic outcomes are shaped by the combination of two elements of international structure, namely anarchy and distribution of power. Anarchy as a self-reliance system rather than a self-help system motivates states not for survival or power maximization, but for autonomy. Therefore, it is argued that international politics is a struggle neither for power nor for survival. It is a struggle for autonomy. States that rely on their capabilities to sustain or promote their autonomy define their motivations and arrange their behaviors in accordance with distributed and concentrated power structures. Lastly, the study aims to measure the validity of theoretical framework developed in a well- established field of great power behavior. For that end, it uses the history of Cold War to discuss the main great power motivations and behaviors and their international outcomes. It also aims to v contribute to the study of the history of the Cold War by providing a consistent structural theoretical framework that reflects a new interpretation. Literature: Structural Theory and International Relations To meet these aims, the study starts with a discussion over the problem of human motivation in social sciences since this is a fundamental meta-theoretical problem that requires any student of the social sciences to take a position. Social sciences differs from natural sciences, in addition to some other differences, on the characteristics of human agency as a reasoning and responsive unit. In contrast to the unconscious masses in natural sciences, human beings are able think and act in accordance with their considerations and, therefore, considered as holding their motivations that produce the central puzzle of all social sciences. In order to understand general social science perspectives on the problem of human motivation, the study introduces a threefold-classification to illustrate their strengths and weaknesses. According to this classification, theories of social sciences can be grouped as essentialist, intentionalist, and structuralist. Essentialist theories hold a belief that human beings or human organizations act because of their essential characteristics. So an answer given about the identity of any agent is believed to explain its behaviors. On the other side, intentionalist theories hold a belief that we can assign specific intentions for human agencies and these assumptions of human intention help us in building theories to explain human behavior. These two groups of theories about the problem of human motivation are internalist (unit level) theories that try to find causes of behavior in identities or interests of agents. While essentialists assume that we act because of who we are, intentionalists assume that we act because of what we want. Because of that unit level focus on identities and interests that come at the expense of environmental conditioning, vi despite their descriptive richness, these unit level approaches fail to comprehensively explain causes of social behavior. On the other side, structuralism, with a broader scope, provides at least in principle the opportunity of understanding human identity, motivation, and behavior by tracing their roots to the environment in which they are all located. It is based on a belief in the shaping power of conditions over agency. Instead of “who we are” or “what we want,” structuralism is about “what we have.” Our possessions in an environment which is constituted by the distribution of our possessions influence “who we are,” “what we want,” and “what we do.” In contrast to essentialism and intentionalism, structuralism tends to neglect unit level identities and interests for the sake of a broader look. Therefore, despite its theoretical explanatory power, structuralism is criticized for its lack of detailed descriptive accuracy. Under these circumstances, a view to combine both agent and structural level factors in building social science theories is quite tempting and recent scholarship appears to be fascinated with that temptation. Contrary to that widely common tendency of hybrid theorizing, this study offers to revive pure structuralism for two reasons. Firstly, with its perspective structuralism compared to unit level theories
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