INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY NATIONAL UNVIRSITY SAMIH SALAH M.A international Relations ASSESSMENTS • Seminar = 10% • Writing Assignments = 20% • Mid Exam = 20% • Final Exam = 50% ACTORS IN INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM INTRODUCING THE SUBJECT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY • As international relations has grown in complexity, the family of theories that IR offers has grown in number, which presents a challenge for newcomers to IR theory. However, this introduction should give you the confidence to get started. To kick off, this section will briefly introduce IR theory via a three-part spectrum of traditional theories, middle ground theories and critical theories. As you read further into the book, you should expect this simple three-part picture to dissolve somewhat – though it is a useful device to come back to should you get confused. • Theories are constantly emerging and competing with one another. This can be disorientating. As soon as you think you have found your feet with one theoretical approach, others appear. This section will therefore serve as both a primer and a warning that complexity is to be expected ahead! Even though this book presents IR theory in a particularly simple and basic way, complexity remains. IR theory requires your full attention and you should buckle down and expect turbulence on your journey. • Further, liberals have faith in the idea that the permanent cessation of war is an attainable goal. Putting liberal ideas into practice, US President Woodrow Wilson addressed his ‘Fourteen Points’ to the US Congress in January 1918 during the final year of the First World War. The last of his ‘points’ – ideas for a rebuilt world beyond the war – was the setting up of a general association of nations: this became the League of Nations. Dating back to 1920, the League of Nations was created largely for the purpose of overseeing affairs INTRODUCING THE SUBJECT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY • between states and implementing, as well as maintaining, international peace. However, when the League collapsed due to the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, its failure was difficult for liberals to comprehend, as events seemed to contradict their theories. Therefore, despite the efforts of figures such as Kant and Wilson, liberalism failed to retain a strong hold and a new theory emerged to explain the continuing presence of war. That theory became known as realism. ENGLISH SCHOOL • The thinking of the English school is often viewed as a middle ground between liberal and realist theories. Its theory involves the idea of a society of states existing at the international level. Hedley Bull, one of the core figures of the English school, agreed with traditional theories that the international system was anarchic. However, he insisted this does not mean the absence of norms (expected behaviours), thus claiming a societal aspect to international politics. In this sense, states form an ‘Anarchical Society’ where a type of order does exist, based on shared norms and behaviors CONSTRUCTIVISM • Constructivism is another theory commonly viewed as a middle ground, but this time between mainstream theories and the critical theories that we will explore later. It also has some familial links with the English school. Unlike scholars from other perspectives, constructivists highlight the importance of values and of shared interests between individuals who interact on the global stage. Alexander Wendt, a prominent constructivist, described the relationship between agents (individuals) and structures (such as the state) as one in which structures not only constrain agents but also construct their identities and interests. His phrase ‘anarchy is what states make of it sums this up well. Another way to explain this, and to explain the core of constructivism, is that the essence of international relations exists in the interactions between people. After all, states do not interact; it is agents of those states, such as politicians and diplomats, who interact SEMINARS • Game Theory. • Realism in contemporary politics. Student presentation. • Postmodernism. • Constructivism • International relations debate INTRODUCTION AIMS AND OBJECTIVES • Explain the major theories of International relations • Describes the major similarities and differences between the major IR theory. • Identify the leading authors in the IR field and the theories they are associated with. • Understand the historical evolution of IR theory over time. • Apply theoretical frameworks to understanding practical international relations issues. • Access the behavior of actors in international politics in light of Ir theories THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS International relations theory is the study of international relations (IR) from a theoretical perspective. It attempts to provide a conceptual framework upon which international relations can be analyzed. In this part of the course Instructor aims to distinguish between International relation science and other sub-fields. STRUCTURAL FRAMEWORK OF (IR) (INTERNATIONAL ORDER) • International Order. System International Means a group of units that Existing ,occurring ,or carried on have relation with each other between two or more nations and that act as bases and have common characteristic that lead to relationships between these units. Ole holsti : describes international relations theories as acting like pairs of colored sunglasses that allow the wearer to see only salient events relevant to the theory. e.g., an adherent of realism may completely disregard an event that a constructivist might pounce upon as crucial, and vice versa. PARTIAL ANALYSIS IN IR Partial Theory In IR focusing on the state, the individual, and decision makers) System Decision making The game theory theory theory WHY PARTIAL AND MACRO ? • First: a comprehensive analysis is consider Macro theories such as (the international system). (Macro analysis) • Second: Partial analysis (focusing on the state, the individual, and decision makers) GAME THEORY Game theory Cooperative non-cooperative games A game game is non-cooperative if players cannot form is cooperative if the alliances or if all agreements need to be self- players are able to enforcing form binding commitments externally enforced Zero-sum non-zero-sum Zero-sum games are a special case of constant-sum games in which in non-zero-sum games, a gain by one player choices by players can neither does not necessarily increase nor decrease the available correspond with a loss resources. In zero-sum games, the by another. total benefit to all players in the game, for every combination of strategies, always adds to zero (more informally, a player benefits only at the equal expense of others) SYSTEM THEORY • systems theories of international relations (IR) focus on the structure of the international system to explain the behavior and interactions of the system’s units. • Systems Approach can be regarded as a useful approach to the study of International Politics. It can be used for an overall view of the relations among nations. It can be used for both macroscopic as well as microscopic studies of regional sub-systems which form parts of the international system. The concept of system can be used for achieving the objective of theory-building in international politics. • The emergence of Systems Approach to the study of International Politics can be described as one of the most significant developments of the 20th century. Immediately after its birth, Systems Approach captured the interest of a large number of modern political scientists. They began using it as a convenient tool for a large scale macro-cosmic analysis of the political phenomena in the world. • Ever since its introduction in the late 1950’s, Systems Approach has been regularly used by a large number of Political scientists for analyzing relations among nations. MEANING AND NATURE: • systems Approach seeks to analyze international relations as a system of interactions which are interdependent and interrelated. It studies international relations as a system of behavior of international actors. Each nation acts and reacts in the international environment and its behavior is characterized by regularities. WHAT IS A SYSTEM? • For an understanding of the main features of the Systems Approach in international relations, let us be clear about the concept of system. • A system consists of a known set of actors and entities or a known set of variables (political machinery, attitudes, interests and political activities) which set parameters to the study. • A system exists when visible regularities characterize the relationship of variables to each other. International Politics involves describable regularities in the interactions among nations and as such it can be explained and analyzed as International System. System is a set of interrelated and inters— dependent interactions among actors. WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM? • Morton Kaplan conceives of international system as “an analytical entity for explaining the behavior of international actors and the regulative, integrative and disintegrative consequences of their policies.” • Karl Deutsch holds, “International System consists of clusters of settlements, modes of transport, centers of cultures, areas of language, divisions of class and caste, barriers between markets, sharp regional differences in wealth and interdependence.” International system is the set of interrelated and interdependent interactions among international actors-national and supra-national actors.