Chapter 1: Theoretical Approaches to Global Politics I. Introduction A. What is theory and why do we need it? B. Many theories, many meanings C. Levels of analysis D. The Great Debates: an introduction to different world views II. What is theory and why do we need it? III. Many theories, many meanings IV. Levels of analysis A. We live in a world of many stories, each told by individuals with different perspectives, both theoretical and personal B. Different theories focus on different factors as most important C. Differences in background, wealth, education, culture, age, and personal experience also explain why observers view the same events through different lenses D. No story is entirely true, but most contain some elements of truth A. An analytical tool that simplifies theorizing by categorizing key factors in global politics at the level of the whole global system or of some of its constituent parts (individual or units such as states and international organizations) B. The individual level of analysis 1. At this level, scholars observe the characteristics of people, such as personality traits, ways of reaching decisions, and beliefs 2. Many theorists assume that leaders are rational, acting to promote their own interests by adopting means that are conducive to achieving desired and feasible ends C. The unit level of analysis 1. At this level, scholars focus on actor s foreign policies 2. They might examine political systems, ideology, national wealth, military power, territory and population, social identities, and government organization D. The global system level of analysis 1
1. At this level, researchers focus on structural factors, like the distribution of power, wealth, attitudes, and other key features of the world as a whole 2. They are preoccupied with patterns of aggregate events and behavior across the entire world 3. Example: During the Cold War, peace was less a consequence of the policies or intentions of either superpower and more a product of the threat of nuclear annihilation (a system trait) V. Making sense of a complex world: theory in global politics A. The great debates: an introduction to different world views B. Realism vs. liberalism 1. Two competing paradigms 2. Centered on issues like relevant actors and issues in global politics and whether cooperation was the exception or the norm 3. Realism a. This tradition can be traced back to ancient China and India, as well as to Western thinkers such as Thucydides, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Thomas Hobbes b. Realists view global politics as a struggle for power in which leaders must remain alert to the efforts of others to acquire additional power that might endanger the security and survival of their own state c. Realists view states as the only important actors in world affairs d. They tend to look only at major states e. They regard the distribution of power as critical and believe that states act according to the relative power they possess f. They think states are unitary actors and, as such, factors internal to states (like type of government) have little impact on foreign policy 4. Traditional realists a. Focus on the desire of leaders to acquire and wield power over others b. Example: Hans Morgenthau 5. Neorealism (structural realism) a. Contend that the drive for power grows out of the fact of anarchy 2
b. Anarchy predisposes states to conflict, even when they share common interests c. It produces a security dilemma d. It compels states to pursue relative gains 6. Liberalism a. This tradition emerged between the 17th and 19th centuries in France, Britain, and the United States b. Key formative figures include Voltaire, Immanuel Kant, John Locke, and Adam Smith (1) Believed history was progressing and improving the lives of individuals (2) This improvement was in everyone s interest and ought to be everyone s objective c. Believe some areas of political intercourse are variable-sum games in which all participants can gain or all can lose d. States are not the only relevant actors in global politics; they share authority with nonstate actors e. They believe actors are more concerned about absolute gains than relative gains f. Value justice over power and prudence 7. Neoliberalism (neoliberal institutionalism) a. Share some fundamental beliefs with neorealists (1) The importance of the global system level and anarchy (2) Actors are unitary and rational b. But, actors are interdependent and interdependence produces cooperation c. The real obstacle to cooperating under anarchy is the possibility of cheating d. International organizations help states coordinate their activities e. International regimes are another way to accomplish cooperation under anarchy 8. The English School a. Also believe that cooperation is possible under anarchy b. Anarchy is not the same as disorder 3
c. International societies, a form of order, can exist in anarchy (1) International law (2) The balance of power (3) Diplomacy (4) Legal sovereignty C. Traditionalism vs. Science 1. This debate centered on how to construct theory and conduct research. 2. For example, should theories be based on scientific observations or deduced from general principles? 3. Traditional scholars a. Studied history, philosophy, law, and institutions in order to understand the world b. Employed case studies of specific wars and policies c. Mixed empirical and normative claims, claiming facts and values are inseparable 4. The behavioral revolution a. Behavioralists emulated the research methods of mathematicians and natural scientists b. Empirical and normative theory should be strictly separated c. The goal of research is to identify patterned behaviors d. By identifying patterns, it is possible to formulate general theories that can predict and explain events and policies 5. Key issues in the traditionalist behavioralist controversy: a. Complexity versus uniformity b. Trees versus forests c. Whole versus parts d. Subjective versus objective D. The Third Debate : positivism and constructivism 1. This debate involved more fundamental questions about research and theorizing. 2. For example, is it really possible for researchers to observe global politics objectively? 3. Postpositivists and reflexivists rejected empiricism (positivism) 4. Employed reflection and reason 4
5. Reject the claim of empiricists that the political world is real and that such reality can be perceived by any observer 6. Postmodernism a. Traits (1) Extreme Postpositivists (2) We can never know anything with certainty (3) Language is not objective and reflects the speaker s version of reality (4) Words and concepts have no value outside the social context in which they are defined (5) Every theorist s view of the world is colored by the language she uses (6) Only insight and imagination can produce genuine theory b. Positivist critique 7. Constructivism (1) If everyone s interpretation is equally truthful, then nobody s opinion is better than anybody else s (2) Theory has no prescriptive or explanatory value (3) Postpositivists critique positivism without providing an alternative a. An effort to narrow the gap between empiricists and postpositivists b. Identities are not inherent, but are learned through experience in a social context c. Logic of consequences versus logic of appropriateness (1) Realists and liberals assume actors are rational and employ a logic of consequences (2) Constructivists believe actors employ a logic of appropriateness, acting in ways that are normatively right d. Collective ideas and norms play a key role in producing identities and interests. E. The agent structure problem 1. Which plays a more important role in global politics? 2. Individuals and groups? 5
VI. Conclusion 3. The global structure? F. Anarchy is what states make of it 1. Does anarchy logically produce a self-help system, as realists contend? 2. Or is the self-help system an institution constructed out of interaction among actors in anarchy? G. Marxism and critical theory 1. Karl Marx (1818 1883) a. Economic forces drive political and social change b. Core idea: dialectical materialism c. History evolves through class conflict d. Prediction: capitalism would be transformed into communism by a revolution of the workers to overthrow the rule of the bourgeoisie 2. Adaptations a. Vladimir Lenin b. Critical theory H. Feminist international relations A. Theory 1. Realism and liberalism focus on issues that grow out of men s experiences (Tickner, 1992) 2. Women are largely absent from most accounts of global politics 3. Feminist theory views the world from the perspective of the disadvantaged and takes greater account of economic inequality, ecological dangers, and human rights 4. Feminist theory is skeptical of an objective truth B. Levels of analysis C. The great debates 1. Realism vs. liberalism 2. Traditionalism vs. science 3. The Third Debate 6