Alternatives to Power PoliticsCHAPTER THREEDr. Clayton ThynePS 235-001: World PoliticsSpring 2010

Goldstein & Pevehouse, International Relations, 8/e

Student notes version

The Waning of WarIn recent years, a strong trend toward _____________ has become evident.For the world as a whole, the current period is one of the least warlike ever, with fewer and smaller wars than in the past.World wars killed tens of millions and left whole continents in ruin.Cold War proxy wars killed millions and the world feared a nuclear war that could have wiped out our species.Iraq and Sudan and wars like these kill hundreds of thousands.

The Waning of WarEvents in the post-Cold War era continue this long-term trend toward smaller wars.Todays most serious conflicts consist mainly of skirmishing rather than all-out battles.In 2006, wars in Darfur (Sudan), Iraq, and Afghanistan all worsened, a brief Israeli-Lebanese war left lasting wounds, and Sri Lanka resumed a civil warbut progress continued elsewhere.Congo, Uganda, Nepal

Liberal TheoriesRealism offers mostly ____________________to the collective goods problems of IR.Alternative theoretical approaches that draw mostly on the _______________ or ______________principles are called liberal theories.These approaches are generally more optimistic than realism about the prospects for peace.

The Kantian TrianglePeaceWhat explains this positive trend toward peace?Kant gave 3 answers over 200 years ago:

Neoliberal InstitutionalismNeoliberal approach differs from earlier liberal approaches in that it concedes to realism several important assumptions:States are unitary actors rationally pursuing their self-interests, but they say states cooperate because it is in their self-interest.Mutual gains better (more rational) than cheating or taking advantage of each other.

Neoliberal InstitutionalismInternational regimes facilitate _________________________International regimes (def):

Regimes can help solve collective goods problems by

Main point:

Neoliberal InstitutionalismRelation with the Prisoners Dilemma:

Without international regimes / reciprocity normWith international regimes / reciprocity norm

As decisionCooperateDefectBs decisionCooperateA=3 ; B=3A=1 ; B=4DefectA=4 ; B=1A=2 ; B=2

As decisionCooperateDefectBs decisionCooperateA=4 ; B=4A=1 ; B=3DefectA=3 ; B=1A=2 ; B=2

Collective SecurityConcept grows out of liberal institutionalism.Collective security (def): The formation of a broad alliance of most major actors in an international system for the purpose of jointly opposing aggression by any actor.Kantian triangleLeague of NationsFailed because: Many collective security IOs today:Organization of America States, Arab League, and the African Union

Collective SecuritySuccess of collective security depends on two points: Positive example:

Negative example:

Worlds collective security system is creaky and not always effective, but bypassing it to take military action also holds dangers.Concept of collective security has broadened in recent years.

The Democratic Peace Theory (DPT)IR scholars have linked democracy with a kind of foreign policy fundamentally different from that of authoritarianism.

Monadic DPT Theory:

Dyadic DPT:

Trend is toward _______________________ in most of the worlds regions.

Social TheoriesSeveral distinct approaches in IR theory may be grouped together as social theories.They rely on social interaction to explain individuals and states preferences.These theories contrast with realisms assumption of fixed, timeless preferences (states want more power).

ConstructivismAn approach that focuses on

Focus:

Constructivism puts IR in the context of

Norms construct identities, they dont just affect how states interact

PostmodernismA broad approach to scholarship that pays special attention to texts and to discourses (how people talk and write about their subjects)

Central idea:

Postmodernists seek to deconstruct such constructions as states, the international system, and the associated stories and arguments with which realists portray the nature of international relations.

MarxismHolds that IR and domestic politics arise from unequal relationships between economic classes.

Branch of socialism, a theory that holds that the more powerful classes oppress and exploit the less powerful by denying them their fair share of the surplus they create.

Peace StudiesChallenges fundamental concepts behind ________________ and __________________.Seeks to shift the focus of IR away from the interstate level of analysis and toward a broad conception of social relations at the individual, domestic, and global levels of analysis.Connects war and peace with individual responsibility, economic inequality, gender relations, cross-cultural understanding, and other aspects of social relationships.

Peace StudiesCriticism:

Conflict resolution:

Peace StudiesRole of militarism

Conceptualization of peacePositive peace:

Structural violence:

Peace movementsOnly pressure from individuals/groups will force leaders to chose peaceNonviolence:

Why Gender MattersFeminist scholarship seeks to uncover hidden assumptions about gender in how we study a subject.Core assumptions of realism reflect the ways in which males tend to interact and to see the world.Beyond a basic agreement that gender is important, there is no such thing as a feminist approach to IRDifference feminism:

Liberal feminism:

Postmodern feminism:

The Masculinity of RealismDifference feminism provides a perspective from which to reexamine realism.

An international system based on feminine principles might giver greater importance to the interdependence of states than to their autonomy.

Gender in War and PeaceDifference feminists find plenty of evidence to support the idea of war as a masculine pursuit.Bridging other disciplines:Anthropology:

Biology:

Psychology:

Women in IRLiberal feminists are skeptical of difference feminists critiques of realism.Liberal feminism focuses onEvidence:

In U.S. difficult to compare voting records of men and women on foreign policy:

Women as soldiers

In sum

Difference Feminism versus Liberal Feminism?Are the two totally at odds?Difference feminists argue that

Liberal feminists think that

How can these two positions be reconciled?

Figure 3.1

Postmodern FeminismLine of criticism directed at realism that combines feminism and postmodernism.Seeks to deconstruct realism with the specific aim of uncovering the pervasive hidden influences of gender in IR while showing how arbitrary the construction of gender roles is.Archetypes:Power and potency: Realism and liberalism

Impact of feminist theory

*************************