Major Ideologies of

IRGoldstein, Joshua A & Pevehouse, John C. International Relations. 9th

Ed. 2010-2011 Update. Pearson.

Things to remember…• States are what you have grown up calling

“countries”.• When discussing IR, we refer to these countries

as states.• So when I say “states are at war” I am not

referring to North Carolina fighting South Carolina.

• Actors are simply the states that are acting in some manner with or against another.

• States are political, nations are cultural.

Realism• Explains IR in terms of power and how states use

their power against each other• Looks at how the world really is instead of what it

ought to be.

Realism• Famous realists:

o Sun Tzu (6th century BCE): chinese strategist, showed rulers how to use their power to conquer dangerous neighbors; The Art of War

o Thucydides (5th century BCE): account of Peloponnesian War focusing on power of Greek city-state. “the strong do what they have the power to do and the weak accept what they have to accept.”

Realism• Famous realists:

o Thomas Hobbes: absence of government leads to a free-for-all where people only fulfill their own self interest.; favored strong monarch (Leviathon).

o Hans Morgenthau: international politics are governed by universal laws based on national interests; no nation has “God on its side”.

Realism• Power

o The ability to get another actor to do what it would not otherwise have done.

o If one gets its way a lot, then it must be powerful.

• Factors affecting powero Size, income level, armed forces

Realism• Example of power

o Bombing of Pearl Harboro Destroyed US military capabilities in the Pacific; gave Japan short term

superiority.o US had greater power resources due to income levels and rebuilt.o in the long term, US matched and overwhelmed Japanese power.

Realism• Key terms

o Sovereignty – the right of a state to rule its own territoryo Balance of power – one or more states use their power to balance that

of another group of states.o Security dilemma – when actions taken by one state (e.g. military

force)threaten the security of other states.o Alliances – coalition of states that coordinate their actions to

accomplish a common goal.

Liberalism• Liberal approaches to IR are more optimistic than

realism.• 21st century has seen shift towards more liberal

views; fewer large scale wars being fought.• Tries to explain how peace and cooperation are

possible

Liberalism• Immanuel Kant (19th cent)

• offered 3 suggestions for how peace could be obtained• Reciprocity principle; suggested a world federation similar to the

modern UN• Peace depends on internal character of govt.• Trade would promote peace by allowing both states to increase

wealth. (realists disagree)

Liberalism• Key theories

o International regimes: rules govern how states interact; each state expects all will play by the same rules.

o Collective security: broad alliance of major states in international system to protect selves from aggressive actor. (UN Security Council)

o Democratic peace: democracies almost never fight each other; the more democracies, the less wars.

Social• Constructivismo Draws heavily on identity principleo Asks how actors define their national interests, threats to those

interests, and relationships to one another.o What past generation thought was threatening may not be so

with later generations

Social• Changing views on what we see as threatening

o Pirates invaded ports, pillaged, murdered, and disobeyed international law

o States used navies to stop them, costing lives and resourceso Blackbeard once held the entire city of Charleston SC hostage to get

medical supplieso Today: sports teams, movies, kids shows, Halloween costumes.

Social• Marxism

o More powerful classes suppress and exploit the less powerful by denying them the surplus they create.

o Class struggle leads to revolution which can have an affect on IR.o Revolution usually happens in backward countries (Russia at turn of

20th century, China in mid 20th century)

Social• Peace Studies

o Focuses on social relations at the individual, domestic, and global level.o Conflict resolution – non-violent means to settle disputes, usually

through mediation.o Argues militarism is what leads to war, not necessarily power.

• Costa Rica has had no army for 50 years but never been invaded despite war in neighboring states

Summary• Realism = dominance principle (US is powerful

because of it’s military, which gives it power over others)

• Liberalism = reciprocity principle (European Union allows many European states to benefit from trade, tourism)

• Social = identity principle (developing nations have common goals and may work together)