Theories of International Relations: Realism and Liberalism
Theory in international politics is characterized above all by disagreement and debate
Two schools of thought in International politics
Realism
Liberalism
International politics is about the exercise of power by states, unconstrained by morale limits.
Morale is do not important, States act upon
interest
Example:
“The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”
“So far as right and wrong are concerned … there is no difference between the two.”
Powerful states are safe; weak states are not.
Power is a goal and states are always looking
for power. They are sensitive if they lose power.
Four central assumptions:
Anarchy
States as the central action
States as Unitary Actors
States as Rational Actors
Politics are anarchic different from deomestic politics. Anarchy follows logically from state sovereignty.
Realists argue that international organizations in the contemporary era primarily reflect the interests of the states that create them.
Politics between states
When realists look at the state, they see a single coherent entity.
Satetes are unified and act as one
A state behavior is natural. They:
“have consistent, ordered preferences, and that they calculate the costs and benefits of all alternative policies in order to maximize their utility.”
Most widely debated
Security dilema
Prisioner dilema
Anarchy leads to insecurity, insecurity leads to countries to make armies and weapons,
The problem is that when state A arms, even if only to protect itself, states B, C, and D view the action as a threat thus caos ensues
Two detanied prisioners that the police are trying to make them confess have 2 important possibilities: dont confess and get a short sentence, for this to happen they need to trust each other; one can rat the other out to get a shorter sentence, which is the most likely option. This applies to IR.
Ex:
In a disarmament treaty both countries need to disarm,
but if A does it but B does not, A is in disadvantage
Theories
Balance of Power
There will always be great powers, and there will be a balance between them. If not the biggest power will see the chance to attack and conquer
Hegemonic Stability Theory
There will be periods with an unipolar power
with a hierachical structure. The "great power"
will change over time
Ex:
Ex:
Great britian in 1800s, Roman Empire
Cold war
Arose in the XVIII century with Jhon Locke
Anarchy can be mitigated, and it plays a smaller role in international politics. It also centers on the rights of the individuals; individuals can form a government that shields them form anrachy without it being authoritarian.
Limitation of state power and the guarantee of the rights of individuals are the core of liberalism
Variants of liberalism
Liberal institucionalism
Complex interdependence theory
Democratic peace theory
It follows many of the doctrines of liberalism
but also shares views with realism (nature of international anarchy, the problem of insecurity, and the notion that states can be seen as unitary rational actors) so it isnt accused of not being grounded to the real world.
The creation of institucions can overcome anarchy and promote cooperation is its main pillar
They think there are channels more important than goverment to government only communication, there is no clear hierarchy of issues, and military power is not the only important power.
Interantional politics are extremely complex and do not rely on the same factors
The type of government of states matters a lot. Democratic states can resolve problems withouth wars