INTERNATIONAL POLITICS- • What is it? • Lasswell’s Who gets what, how, why. • Nation-state taken as unit of description, not always unit of analysis. • Concerned with the interaction of both states and other actors based in separate states. 1 AREAS OF CONCERN • Everything that concerns how states and national leaders interact. • conflict and cooperation, treaties, alliances, security dilemmas, interdependency, war, and trade. • Decisions and behaviors of state and international actors. 2 POLITICAL SCIENCE • Politics are used to resolve collective action problems. • The study of polities that create policies. Outputs, motivations and behaviors. • Field used to focus primarily on behaviors of organized polities. • Now borrows from a number of different fields, sociology (social groups, norm forming, etc), psychology (individual level, perceptions, motivations, behavior under stress or uncertainty),Economics (individual, macro, systemic levels, rat choice, inductive models) 3 GOALS OF SOCIAL SCIENCE • To understand observed phenomenon • Predict behavior, based on minimum of observable inputs (independent variables). • Explain phenomenon, understand motivations, perceptions, expectations of actors. • Positive theory: Explains behavior through observation- objective scientific theory possible. • Normative theory: Explains what should be in terms of norms and values that guide behavior. 4 WHY USE THEORIES • Theories are methods of organizing information in order to lead to understanding of observed phenomenon. • Must be testable and falsifiable. • Must explain and prediction of behaviors. • Work until they don’t! 5 CONCEPTS TO KNOW • Actors: Can be nation-state, IGO’s, NGO, MNC, domestic pressure groups, political leaders, etc. • Level of analysis: Global, interstate,domestic,individual • State Sovereignty • Power • International System: interactions between states, structured by patterns, rules and norms • International Anarchy 6 ACTORS • Nation-states • Sub-national organizations • Bureaucracies • International Organizations • Intra-governmental organization (really only 1) • Individuals • Private organizations- corporations • Religions • Networks • religious • technical • Ideological communities • others LEVELS OF ANALYSIS- • Locate your phenomenon... • Like finding the edge pieces of a puzzle. • Recognizing the actors in a problem helps identify the most appropriate level of analysis. • Recognizing the environment that conditions actor behavior refines selection of level or levels. • Guides determination of appropriate theoretical tools. 8 LEVELS OF ANALYSIS: NOT FIXED • Goldstein 4-levels • Mingst ID’s 3 levels • International System • Interstate level • State • Society Character, Economic Conditions, Bureaucratic etc.. • Individual • Kinsella et al. 6 levels • World Systems • IR- interstate • Society Character/Conditions • National Government structure and type • Bureaucracies, roles of decision makers • Individual decision maker 9 LEVELS OF ANALYSIS-GLOBAL LEVEL: WORLD SYSTEMS • Regional phenomenon • Environmental issues • Terrorism, organized crime • Imperial systems and legacies, Polarity • Cross border cultural phenomenon, world religions • Epistemic communities • Science, business, economics • Knowledge change • Science, organizations, education, communication • International Institutions, norms-- International Laws, conventions. 10 LEVELS OF ANALYSIS: INTER- STATE LEVEL • States as actors • Power rivalries • Treaties • IGO • Wars 11 LOA: NATION-STATE • Domestic level • Domestic political systems • Interest groups • Civil society organization • Ethnic/national motivations • Political culture • Domestic competition, corporations, organizations, political groups 12 INDIVIDUAL LEVEL • Decision making among leaders • Leader psychology • Groupthink • Learning of leaders etc… 13 ORGANIZATIONS LEVEL • Can be between individual and domestic, or other organizations • Analyze the culture, structure, networks, communication, knowledge and power of organizations. • Organizations structure the information, objectives and authority of individual decision makers 14 EXAMPLE: TURKISH ACCESSION TO EU. LOCATE PHENOMENON Global Accession United States National/ France Turkey Regional/Organization Germany Greece National/ National/ National/ ACTORS- LEVELS OF ANALYSIS Courts Business Associations Political Culture Turkey Media Religious Orders Parties EXAMPLE: CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS • Inter-state level analysis • Rational policy • Security threat posed by missiles, undermines US deterrent. • Attack conventional forces • Do nothing • Blockade, act of war escalation? • Blockade with side-deal 17 NARCHY IN THE IR • Anarchy is the absence of authority above the state. • Security dilemma is the notion that under anarchy, the pursuit of security (Arms, treasure, power) by one state is automatically a threat to its neighbors. • Security dilemma is caused by Anarchy, there is no recourse to self- help • The structural level of analysis of realists/neo-realists is based in the idea of the security dilemma. 18 WHAT DOES ANARCHY MEAN? • Does it mean disorder? • For state actions? • For recourse to justice? • To define justice? • Where do individuals fit in an Anarchic system? • What about those without Nation/State representation? • WHAT DOES SECURITY DILEMMA MEAN TO STATES? • All states can be analyzed in terms of the security dilemma and their behavior can be seen as efforts to mitigate the problem faced with finite power. • Either by becoming the strongest state, or adopting strategies that will provide a second best solution. Explains possible behaviors such as arms races, band-wagoning and balancing. 20 ANARCHY TO REALISM • Assumes the “state of nature” is a state of war, kept at bay by balances of power or dominance. • Might makes right. • Where do international institutions fit? Do they? 21.