realism, liberal institutionalism, constructivism
INT 463 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS-Part II
Dr. Osman Sabri Kıratlı
Neo-Realism: A structural theory of IR
- Kenneth Waltz: Theory of International Politics, 1979.
Key Assumptions
- Waltz shares key assumptions with classical realism: sovereignty, statism and self-help.
- Innovation: international politics works like the market. This means that ‘human nature’ based explanations should be dismissed. Also, explanations based on the nature of states should be dismissed.
The International System
- The interactions of states generate systemic pressures that states have to contend with. Structural theory.
- It is these constraints that explain the behaviour of states.
Structural Realism
- International Politics is essentially a struggle for power not because of human nature but due to anarchy
- Anarchy is not chaos, but the absence of a political authority
- Two different organizing principles : anarchy and hierarchy
- Anarchy reflects to the decentralised nature of international politics
- Hierarchy is the basis of the domestic order
- Units of the international system are functionally similar sovereign states
- Distribution of capabilities across units is key to understanding international politics. The position of the state in the system determines external behaviour.
The Security Dilemma
Assume that a particular state seeks only to survive by pursuing a status quo policy (which necessitates the maintenance of power)
- This state’s possession of power – no matter how much the state tries to assure others that it is for defensive purposes only – must necessarily result in fear/suspicion on the parts of others
- Main reason: The same tools that are used for status quo and prestige policies are used for imperialist policies
- Absent any enforceable guarantee against the use of force for expansion – and anarchy precludes the enforcement of any guarantee – the realist worldview stipulates that the global community is driven with arms races and the constant threat of both imperial and preventative war
- Thus, war is likely to occur even when political reasons for war are absent
Polarity
- Number of Great Powers determines the structure of the international system (Unipolar, Bipolar, Multipolar)
- Polarity is important because it can help explain how a peaceful stability can be achieved.
- Mechanism for peace: balance of power. Imbalances are dangerous in a competitive environment.
Criticism
- There are two categories of criticism: theoretical and political.
- Theory-based criticism: anarchy is not a static condition; states are not the only relevant actors in the system; notion of sovereignty is questionable. Also, very weak theory in explaining change.
- Politics-based criticism: if the principles of world politics are static, it legitimises inequality and war.
The Cold War: The Beginning
- Many countries became communist immediately after World War 2 including:
Czechoslovakia (1948)
Poland (1947)
Hungary (1947)
China (1949)
Cuba (1959)
North Korea (1945)
The Cold War: The Beginning
- Germany, which had been ruled by the Hitler and the Nazis until their defeat in 1945 was split in two.
- The western side became West Germany and the eastern side became East Germany.
- East Germany became another communist country.
Cold War: Characteristics
- The USSR had a lot of influence over many of the new communist countries (especially those in Europe).
- The USA was very worried that the USSR’s influence over these countries was making the USSR and communism more powerful.
- The USA did not want communism to spread any further – they were worried about the domino effect (one country becomes communist, then another, then another etc)
Cold War: Characteristics
- The tension and rivalry between the USA and the USSR was described as the Cold War (1945-1990).
- There was never a real war between the two sides between 1945 and 1990, but they were often very close to war Both sides got involved in other conflicts in the world to either stop the spread of communism (USA) or help the spread (USSR) (proxy wars).
Cold War: Characteristics
American objectives after the WW2:
Promote open markets for US goods to prevent another depression
Promote ‘democracy’ throughout the world, especially in Asia and Africa
Stop the spread of communism- “Domino Effect”
Soviet objectives after the WW2:
Create greater security for itself
lost tens of millions of people in WWII and Stalin’s purges
feared a strong Germany
Establish defensible borders
Encourage friendly governments on its borders
Spread communism around the world
Cold War: Instruments
Methods:
- Espionage [KGB vs. CIA]
- Arms Race [nuclear escalation]
- Ideological Competition for the minds and hearts of Third World peoples [Communist govt. & command economy vs. democratic govt. & capitalist economy] “proxy wars”
- Bi-Polarization of Europe [NATO vs. Warsaw Pact]
Cold War: Instruments
Truman Doctrine:
1947: British help Greek government fight communist guerrillas.
They appealed to America for aid, and the response was the Truman
Doctrine.
America promised it would support free countries to help fight
communism.
Greece received large amounts of arms and supplies and by 1949 had
defeated the communists.
The Truman Doctrine was significant because it showed that America, the
most powerful democratic country, was prepared to resist the spread of
communism throughout the world.
Marshall Plan:
In 1947, US Secretary of State Marshall announced the Marshall Plan.
a massive economic aid plan for Europe to help it recover from the damage caused by the war.
There were two motives:
Helping Europe to recover economically would provide markets for American goods, so benefiting American industry.
A prosperous Europe would be better able to resist the spread of communism
Cold War: Instruments
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
In 1949 the western nations formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to co-ordinate their defense against USSR.
It originally consisted of:
America Belgium Britain Canada Denmark France Holland Italy Luxembourg Norway Portugal
Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, some former Soviet republics have applied for membership to NATO.
Warsaw Pact:
Organization of communist states in Central and Eastern Europe.
Established May 14, 1955 in Warsaw, Poland
USSR established in in response to NATO treaty
Founding members: Albania (left in 1961 as a result of the Sino-Soviet split) Bulgaria Czechoslovakia Hungary Poland Romania USSR East Germany (1956)
Cold War: Arms and Space Race
- USSR launched Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite into geocentric orbit on October 4, 1957.
- The race to control space was on.
- April 12, 1961: Yuri Gagarin became first human in space and first to orbit Earth.
US felt a loss of prestige and increased funding for space programs and science education.
On May 25,1961, Kennedy gave a speech challenging America to land a man on the moon and return him safely by the end of the decade.
Apollo 11 landed on the moon on July 16, 1969.
- Cold War tensions increased in the US when the USSR exploded its first atomic bomb in 1949. Cold War tensions increased in the USSR when the US exploded its first hydrogen bomb in 1952. It was 1000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
Cold War: Berlin Wall
Built on August 13, 1961
The West Germans called it Schandmaur, the "Wall of Shame." Over the years, it was rebuilt three times. Each version of the wall was more higher, stronger, repressive, and impregnable. Towers and guards with machine guns and dogs stood watch over a barren no man's land. Forbidden zones, miles wide, were created behind the wall. No one was allowed to enter the zones. Anyone trying to escape was shot on sight.
Early 1960s view of east side of Berlin Wall with barbed wire at top.
A view from the French sector looking over the wall.
Cold War: Cuban Missile Crisis
Closest the world ever came to nuclear war.
In 1962, the USSR lagged far behind the US in the arms race. Soviet missiles were only powerful enough to be launched against Europe but US missiles were capable of striking the entire Soviet Union.
In April 1962, Soviet Premier Khrushchev deployed missiles in Cuba to provide a deterrent to a potential US attack against the USSR.
Meanwhile, Fidel Castro was looking for a way to defend his island nation from an attack by the US. Ever since the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, Castro felt a second attack was inevitable. Consequently, he approved of Khrushchev's plan to place missiles on the island. In the summer of 1962 the USSR secretly installed the missiles.
CIA map showing range of Soviet supplied intermediate and medium range missiles if launched from Cuba
Cold War: Cuban Missile Crisis
The crisis began on October 15, 1962 when radars revealed Soviet missiles under construction in Cuba.
After seven days of intense debate, Kennedy imposed a blockade around Cuba to stop the arrival of more Soviet missiles and demanded that the Soviets remove all of their offensive weapons from Cuba.
Tensions finally began to ease on October 28 when Khrushchev announced that he would dismantle the installations and remove the missiles, expressing his trust that the US would not invade Cuba.
Further negotiations were held to implement the October 28 agreement, including a US demand that Soviet bombers be removed from Cuba, and specifying the exact form and conditions of US assurances not to invade Cuba.
Fail Safe- movie recommendation
Castro, Kennedy, Khrushchev
Cold War: Detente
In 1969 Nixon began negotiations with USSR on SALT I, common name for the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty Agreement.
SALT I froze the number of ballistic missile launchers at existing levels
It was the first effort between US/USSR to stop increase nuclear weapons.
SALT II was a second round of US/USSR talks (1972-1979), which sought to reduce manufacture of nuclear weapons. SALT II was the first nuclear treaty seeking real reductions in strategic forces to 2,250 of all categories on both sides.
Nixon and Brezhnev toast the SALT I treaty.
Carter and Brezhnev sign the SALT II treaty.
Cold War: Detente
Detente/Rapproachement was interrupted late 1970s-early 1980s due to two factors:
1- In 1978, the USSR invaded Afghanistan and tried to set up a friendly government.
In 1989 the Soviets finally withdrew. Islamic extremists used the opportunity to take over the country.
The defeat weakened the Soviet’s economy and morale.
2- The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was a proposal by President Reagan in 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the US from attack by nuclear ballistic missiles. It focused on strategic defense rather than doctrine of mutual assured destruction (MAD). It was quickly nicknamed “Star Wars.”
Cold War: The End
Gorbachev becomes Soviet premier and understands that the Soviet economy cannot compete with the West, partly because of Afghanistan and partly because of the costs of keeping up militarily.
Gorbachev recognizes there is increasing unrest in the country.
1985: Gorbachev initiates the reforms of perestroika (restructuring of economic policies) and glasnost (openness, more freedom and civic rights)
November 1989: Berlin Wall collapses
Boris Yeltsin (far left) stands on a tank to defy the 1991 coup
The Wall Falls, 1989
A wave of rebellion against Soviet influence occurs throughout its European allies.
Poland’s Solidarity movement breaks the Soviet hold on that country
Hungary removed its border restrictions with Austria.
Riots and protests break out in East Germany.
East Germans storm the wall. Border guards do not fight back.
The wall is breached.
Eventually East and West Germany are reunited in 1990.
On December 21, 1991, the presidents of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed the Belavezha Accords declaring the USSR dissolved and established the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in its place.
On December 26, the Supreme Soviet, the highest governmental body of the Soviet Union, recognized the collapse of the Soviet Union and dissolved itself.
International Political Economy
Economic systems answer the questions:
What to produce?
How to produce?
How to distribute?
Politics: pursuit of power/ Economics: pursuit of wealth
- Focus: the interplay between politics and economics in the international context
Three classical theories of IPE?
| Mercantilism/Nationalism | Economic Liberalism | Marxism | |
| Relationship b/n economics and politics | Politics decisive | Economics autonomous | Economics decisive |
| Main actors/ units of analysis | States | Individuals | Classes |
| The nature of economic relations | Conflictual zero-sum game | Cooperative positive-sum game | Conflictual |
| Economic goals | State power | Maximum individual well-being | Class interests |
Mercantilism/Nationalism: Starting Assumptions
- Accepts Capitalism as the optimal economic system
- Argues that functioning of markets is not neutral
- Market outcomes determine the relative wealth and power of states in international politics
- States must focus on the distribution of gains ('relative gains') from economic activity (Liberals emphasize 'absolute gains')
- State must take action to tip market outcomes in their favor!
Mercantilism: What is the purpose of the economy?
- Wealth translates into power (economic and military)
- Main purpose of national economy is to increase state power
- Increase success in relative terms (i.e., US trade deficit with China)
Mercantilism/Nationalism: What is the relationship between politics and economics?
- Economics is subordinate to politics
- Economics a tool to be used for larger international political struggles
- Structures of the international economic system are largely determined by the interests of the major economic powers
Mercantilism: Basic Arguments
(1) International politics about the struggle
for power among states
(2) Economics an inherent part of larger political struggles
POLITICS AND ECONOMICS ARE INSEPARABLE
(3) Key question for IPE is how economics affects state power
Mercantilism: Strategies for Success
Domestic:
■ Emphasis on the structure of the economy
- Producing the 'right stuff': Need for high value-added industries (e.g.technology)
- Created advantage through industrial policies aimed at altering structure rather than size of economy (i.e., production subsidies; R&D aid, etc.)
International
■ Make sure state gains relatively more from international exchange than other states
Trade Balance: Value of exports minus imports
- Trade Protections
- Autarky (self-sufficiency)
- Strategic Trade (selective protection)
- How?: Through Tariffs, Import Quotas, Export Subsidies, Voluntary Export Restraints (VERs), Non-Tariff Barriers, and so on
- Investment Controls (FDI and portfolio)
■ Examples of Success - Japan and East Asian 'Tiger Economies'
Mercantilism: Weaknesses
- Who Gains?
- Defining Key Industries
- Failures - Latin America; India, Japan's long stagnation
Mercantilism: Three Answers
How does the economy work?
■ Capitalist markets that tend to benefit the more powerful
What is the economy for?
■ To promote the power of the state
What is the relationship between power and economics?
■ Politics and economics are inseparable
Liberalism: How does the economy work?
- Crucial role of MARKETS in the economy.
- Markets use PRICES to connect buyers to sellers
- If rely on markets, get higher economic growth (because of more efficient use of resources)
- Economic Rationality (homo economicus)
- Laws of Supply/Demand Determine Outcomes
- Harmony of Interests (“Positive-Sum Game”)
Liberalism: How does the economy work?
- Market behavior motivated by individual self-interest
- “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from regard to their own interest.” (Adam Smith)
- Liberals see the collective interest as being best served by the free exercise of individual self-interest (tempered by competition)
- The “Invisible Hand”
Liberalism: What is the economy for?
- Improve the economic condition of private actors (individuals, firms, entrepreneurs)
- Best achieved by increasing overall growth (Bigger ‘economic pie’)
- Less concerned with distribution of wealth
- Market justice vs. distributive justice
- Poor best served by a strong economy
Liberalism: What is the relationship
between politics and economics?
- Market decisions more effective than political decisions (government failure) –
- Laissez-faire: “State which governs least governs best”
- Government sets ‘rules of the game’ (i.e., competition policy) and serves as a referee (i.e., antitrust enforcement)
- Direct intervention only with:
• public goods (indivisible and inexcludable)
• (clear) market failure : when markets fail to bring about socially desirable outcomes (Example: Environmental Protection)
Liberalism: Policy Implications
Domestic:
- Limited government role in economy (provide public goods)
- Uphold competitive markets (i.e., antitrust laws)
International:
- Free Trade
- Free Flows of Capital
- Open Economies
Liberalism: Three Answers
1. How does the economy work?
- MARKETS guided by PRICES increase economic efficiency
2. What is the economy for?
- To increase INDIVIDUALS’ economic well-being
3. What is the relationship between politics and economics?
- The two realms are/should be seperate
- If governments don’t interfere increased economic growth
increases wealth increased personal well-being
- Markets allow everyone to win!
Liberalism: Strengths and Weaknesses
Strength:
- Logical Connection from individual interest to society
- Strong Historical Evidence
- Clear Guide to Policy-Makers
- Maximizes Personal Freedom
Weaknesses:
- Favors Efficiency over Equity (or other values)
- Assumes a fair playing field
- Free Markets and the Crash
Marxism: Criticism of Market Economies
- Market economies often result in unequal societies where there are a few very wealthy individuals and many poor people.
- Market economies often encourage free trade that enables large private companies to exploit the laborers or the resources of less-developed nations.
- Market economies often result in economic monopolies (when one company controls a business sector) that stop competition and result in higher prices
Marxism: Basic Assumptions
- Market economies are social arrangements created by specific historical forces
- Private property is a social construct, not something created by nature
- Workers produce surplus value
- Owners of capital (capitalists) take all or most of it
- Accumulation of capital in the hands of capitalists
- Power is rooted in ownership and control of capital
- Division of society into classes based on their roles in the economy and the state
- Struggle between classes for power – for control of the economy and the state
- Capitalism will inevitably collapse due to its inherent contradictions
*
Marxism: Basic Assumptions
Marxism: Basic Assumptions
Materialism
- Structure and Superstructure
- Economics primary over Politics
Historicism
- Primitive communism Ancient Empires Feudalism
Capitalism Socialism Communism
- Historical contradictions of Capitalism
- Lenin and Imperialism
Normative Commitment
Egalitarianism over efficiency
Marxism: Three Answers
1- What is the economy for?
- Normatively: To help the masses
- Empirically: To serve the wealthy by exploiting the masses
2- How does the economy work?
I- Dependency Theory (Terms of Trade and dependent development)
II-World System Theory (Core, Periphery and Semiperiphery)
III- Theory of Imperialism
3- Relationship between Politics and Economics?
- Politics derives from economics
Marxism: Strength and Weaknesses
Strength:
- Highlights Nature of Inequality in IPE
- Relates National Development to International Economy
Weaknesses:
- Failure of Communism
- Poorly Developed Concepts
- Vastly different historical examples
Strands of Marxism: Imperialism
- Johan Galtung: “Imperialism is a complete structure encompassing the military, social, political and economic relations”
- Modern imperialism is different from the colonial era. Today, control is not direct but mediated though transportation and communication, linking the centers in the core and peripheries to each other. This link is also established by international organizations. The centers make agreements through international organizations whose headquarters are in the core countries. These organizations vary from IGO’s through multinational corporations to the military alliances and treaties.
Strands of Marxism: Dependency Theory
- Andre Gunder Frank, Fernando Henrique Cardoso
- Capitalism operates systematically to underdevelop and exploit the economies of less developed countries (LDCs)
- Poverty is a process in which the LDCs are caught and cannot escape because of the inherent relationship between developed and underdeveloped nations. Economic exploitation is an integral part of the capitalist system and is required to keep it functioning.
Strands of Marxism: World System Theory
- Immanuel Wallerstein
- Against modernization theory
- Structural Theory: the structure is capitalism
- System is divided to core, periphery, semi-periphery countries
- Transnational division of labour
- Yet, room for changes: transition from periphery to semi-periphery etc. is possible
- Not exactly exploitation of periphery by the core, instead a dynamic process where core capitalists exploit workers in all zones of the capitalist world-economy
Three Paradigms
Left Right
marxism nationalism liberalism
dependency
Imperialism
World Systems
Right vs. left: amount of government intervention
*
Global Transformations
Technological advances
- Expansion of international commerce (exports and imports)
- Rising importance of private capital flows (stock markets and multinational corporations)
- Increasing travel and migration (international tourism and domestic diversity)
- Increased communication and interaction between peoples (through all sorts of media)
- New global networks, a global culture, a global society?
Global Transformations
- Globalization made possible by:
- Technology
- Communication networks
- Internet access
- Growth of economic cooperation – trading blocs (EU, NAFTA, etc.)
- Collapse of ‘communism’
- Movement to free trade
- Decline in barriers to the free flow of goods, services, and capital since the end of World War II
Global Transformations: Rising Actors
- Macro-regions: like the EU, or NAFTA, these regions coordinate capital flows within a locational unit but also provide access to the globalization process.
- Micro-regions: global cities offering new opportunities esp. in low wage jobs and information occupations.
- Civil societies: growth of network organizations
Economic Globalization
- The increasing reliance of economies on each other
- The opportunities to be able to buy and sell in any country in the world
- The opportunities for labour and capital to locate anywhere in the world
- The growth of global markets in finance
Technological Globalization
- “World Wide Web” has exploded in last 10 years
- Computers can move money around world = “finance capital”
- Silicon Valley is 9th largest economy in world!
Africa
- More computers in Manhattan than all of Africa!
- Post-colonial infrastructures don’t support technology
Cultural Globalization
- Cultural Imperialism: Dominance of one culture over others
- Hollywood movies, McDonald’s, Apple, Starbucks
- Dominance of the English language and invasion of other languages
- Do people all over the world have the same taste?
- A new impetus to cultural homogenization in the form of a consumer culture
Africa
- “Culture Industry”: opportunities for Africans to sell their culture in the “global market” that values traditional culture
Global Transformations: Different Perspectives
- Strong Globalization thesis: a range of qualitative and quantitative changes introduce a new stage in human history
- Weak Globalization thesis: despite technological shifts and increasing internationalization of trade, finance, social patterns and human mobility, nothing much has really changed
Global Transformations: Different Perspectives
Hyperglobalists:
- Thomas Friedman, Susan Strange, Kenichi Ohmae, etc.
- A neoliberal position which expect convergence in institutional and social configurations
- Denationalization of economies, radical transformation of society, global diffusion of cultures, weakening state power
Global Transformations: Different Perspectives
Skeptics:
- Is it really new?
- 20th vs. 19th C: The world economy is no more than internationalized and integrated by the start of the 21st C. than in pre-WWI era
- In the 19th C. world trade grew eleven times more quickly than world production, more than it grew after WWII era.
- Looking at the trade to GDP ratio and other forms of capital flow, financial markets were more open in pre WWI era than today.
- Africa, Asia and South America were all within the trading system
- In terms of labour mobility, people have less opportunities to move largely due to restricted migration policies adopted by first world countries.
- Many of the features of financial integration today have some counterparts in the 19th C. such as gold standard for dollar dominance, London for New York, etc.
Global Transformations: Different Perspectives
Still some differences from earlier eras:
- Today, there is more generalized and institutionalized free trade through the WTO, foreign investment is different in its form and destination, the scale of short term financial flows is greater, the international monetary system is quite different, and the labour mobility is much more restricted.
Global Transformations: Critiques
- Globalization as a tool for Western dominance? Exploitation of bourgeoisie? Hypocricy of the West?
- New types of strafication, hierarchy, winners and losers
- Winners: advanced economies, transnational industry and finance, skilled labour
- Losers: periphery countries, unskilled labour, immigrants
Constructivism
- Skeptical of realist and liberal assumptions
- Try to identify roots of state interests and see how people use language to socially construct the world
- Norms dictate the conception of interests
- Social norms are the behaviors and cues within a society or group. Could be defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors".
- States derive interest and identity through interaction in international culture
Constructivism
- Wendt abandons rationalist assumption – assumption that states’ identities are given (exogenous; fixed) either by,
- human nature (classical realism)
- or international system (neorealism)
- State identities and interests are not given (exogenously), rather they are constructed socially (social interaction)… hence social constructivism..
- Self-regarding identities other-regarding identities
- IR liberalist/neoliberal institutionalists institutions affect behavior of states, but they do not change states’ identities or interests… they only constrain behaviour in strategic sense, but they do not constitute it!
- Constructivists – institutions not only constrain behaviour but also constitute it. They can change identities and preferences
Constructivism
- Two important claims of Constructivists
- (1) interests and identities do change… and they are socially constructed! They are not givens! They are not exogenous
- Ideational structure of International Relations
- (2) Anarchy (as defined by Neorealists) is not the most important structural characteristic of international system. Neorealist conception of structures is too limited! They only focus on material forces.
- The key structures of the international system are intersubjective or social (rather than material). The way we interact (and think) constitute an important structure as well!
- Thus, our interests derive from the identities we construct for ourselves
Constructivism
- Structure is a malleable entity… agents can shape the structure!
- Self-help and Security Dilemma and Power Politics are not essential feature of anarchy
- They are the result of our interaction based on self-help and power politics! Our practices made that way
- (Physical) structure has no causal power apart from processes and interaction
- Self-help and power politics are the result of our interaction (or practices) based on power politics and self help!
- If states’ practices change, then so will the structure, so will our understanding of structure…!!!
- Therefore “Anarchy (as structure) is what states make of it!”
Feminism
- Gender Matters- rather than sex
- History- His story
- 1- written by males 2- wars- males 3- for males
- Current paradigms (esp. realism) are flawed because the universal truths they propose apply only to males
- Males have normally hold top positions; factors only important because of masculine views
- Historically prevalent gender stereotypes and cultural indoctrination are bases upon which understanding in IR is CONSTRUCTED; this construction is inherently flawed
1) Difference Feminism
- Differences between men and women stem not only from social construction / indoctrination, but also biology and nurturing
- Identity formation differs due to physiology and factors in upbringing (males – individuality and control competition; females – group well-being, conflict resolution)
- Leads to competition and aggressiveness in male dominated international system
2) Liberal Feminism: Equal rights & access to the “public sphere”=Advocacy of international human rights
- Equality in terms of capacity; focus on allowing women to realize their social and civic rights including equal participation
- Don’t believe system would be different if women were more involved; wthere would be still conflicts (Examples of past female leaders)
- Women are as skilled in the art of soldiery as men; They have just been banned from combat
3) Postmodern Feminism: See modernist constructions themselves as a source of power and oppression – need for relativism
Feminist Theories: Various approaches
Feminist Theories:
- All share:
i) Commitment to redressing gender exclusions in IR practice and theory
ii) Commitment to foregrounding issues relegated to “domestic politics” by other theories = Common cause with some liberal and historical structuralist analysis . . . ?
iii) Commitment to reducing economic injustice
Various approaches - shared “commitments,” different methods
1) Liberal Feminism: Focus on removing legal and political manifestations of gendered constructs
- I.e. Equal rights & access to the “public sphere”
=Advocacy of international human rights Remnants of “old orders” impeding liberal expansion of individual rights to women
- Optimistic about liberalism’s focus on individuals for correcting gendered inequalities
- Out of date – feminists have moved far beyond this narrow set of battles.
- Evidence of backward discipline – Liberal feminism still just making inroads in this discipline
2) Radical Feminism: “Patriarchy” seen as source of oppression
- Supported by legal, political and cultural practices Legalistic liberal feminism ignores sociological origins of those legal systems and rights
- Gendered constructions seen as particular problem - Women’s attributes constructed as “of little value”
- Supersedes Marxist concerns about capitalism - Capitalism simply latest phase of patriarchy
3) Socialist Feminism (Maria Meiss)
- Women’s oppression driven by both:
- Relations of Production (Marxism)
- Relations of Reproduction (Radical Feminism) Synthesis of patriarchy and capitalism as the source of inequality
- See a “hierarchy of oppressions” Methodologically committed to the real world observations of the oppressed
4) Postmodern Feminism (Cynthia Enloe) See modernist constructions themselves as a source of power and oppression
- I.e. “justice” or “women” as universal concepts
- Reject other feminists’ use of modernism’s concepts to justify their agendas
- Suspicion these ideas will not be “emancipatory” = Relativism - Fears that feminism ran a risk of carrying with it a westernized cultural imperialism
- i.e. Those who insisted on universal rights of women
- In practice, very influential internal critique of IR Feminism in the 1990s
Postmodernism
- Central Tenet: No single objective reality; instead host of experiences and perspectives
- Statehood is not an objective reality, but a human construct for understanding, as are all explanations based on it
- Realism is biased because it has omitted a necessary emphasis on other important contributors to the IR process
Postmodernism
- Positivists vs. Post-Positivists (Or Rationalists vs. Reflectivists)
Positivists
- Search for positive theories
- Scientific (positivisitic) epistemology
- Objective truth about social life
- Find explanations and causal mechanisms
Post-Positivists
- Denounce positivistic epistemology
- No objective truth about social life.
- All the social theories are value-laden Normative theories
- Post-modernism, Post-modern Feminism, Critical theory
- Social constructivism as a bridge between positivism and post-positivism?
Several Trends Today
- Trend 1: World Financial Crisis
- Trend 2: Climate Change
- Trend 3: Rearmament and Fragile Statehood
- Trend 4: Migration
- Trend 5: Religion as a Factor
- Trend 6: Urbanisation
- Trend 7: Inequality of “life chances”
- Trend 8: Internationalisation of Science/Technology
- Trend 9: New Governance Mechanisms
* Source: Development and Peace Foundation/Institute for Development and Peace (eds.) (2010): Global Trends 2010. Peace – Development – Environment
- The world financial crisis is a major setback to socioeconomic progress in large parts of the world, demonstrating conclusively that neoliberal paradigms are not effective.
- The economic consequences are being felt not only by the wealthy economies but also, and especially, by developing countries that are heavily dependent on foreign trade (especially commodities) and foreign capital inflows.
- The economic progress achieved in recent years, especially in Africa, is at risk of being reversed.
- Many emerging economies will be weakened for a transitional period, although their significance as new drivers of the world economy will increase overall.
Trend 1: World Financial Crisis
- Climate change has become the main driver of global environmental change, with far-reaching implications for societies, economies and the international system.
- In vulnerable regions of the world, it is likely to trigger new conflicts as a consequence of food crises, a decrease in freshwater availability, storm and flood disasters, and crisis-induced migration.
- Our demand for natural resources is exceeding supply.
- If all of the world’s people consumed resources and produced waste at this rate, we would require 4.3 Earths to maintain our current lifestyle.
Trend 2: Climate Change
- Security, as a policy field, is characterised by shifting and sometimes inconsistent trends:
- Armed conflicts have been in decline since 1993.
- But numerous countries continue to experience sporadic outbreaks of violence and are affected by fragile statehood; this applies especially to sub-Saharan Africa.
- In parallel, a decade of rearmament has been observed since the end of the 1990s.
- Multilateral arms control is in crisis, and a further proliferation of nuclear weapons is likely.
- [New threats for peace > Conflict prevention – human security]
Trend 3: Rearmament and Fragile Statehood
World Conflict and the Flow of Refugees
World Conflict and the Flow of Refugees
- Massive destruction
- Kill, injure and displace thousands of people each year
- Refugees globally
- The number of international migrants has increased more than threefold since 1960.
- Although the proportion of migrants in the world population is fairly stable, the relative importance of migrants in the “ageing” industrial societies is increasing.
- As the dark side of globalisation, human trafficking has become a multi-billion-dollar industry, and interal security became bigger concern for developed states.
Trend 4: Migration
Contagious Diseases
- HIV/AIDS leading cause of death worldwide
- UN predicts 70 million will die from AIDS over the next 20 years.
- In 2013 over 35 million people were living with HIV/AIDS
- 95% infected live in low or middle income countries.
- The West has long underestimated the significance of religion as a factor in international and transnational relations.
- In the academic discipline of “international relations” in particular, exercise of power and willingness to cooperate have generally been analysed in terms of the rational calculations of a “homo economicus”.
- By contrast, the assumption of power by Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran back in 1979 and the ending of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan by mujahideen fighters were some of the first signs that global politics is crucially influenced by politico-religious identities and ideologies as well.
Trend 5: Religion as a Factor
Trend 6: Urbanization
- The urbanisation process is steadily continuing.
- As of 2018, more of the world’s people live in cities than rural regions, with most urban growth taking place in the emerging economies and developing countries.
- The rise of megacities, most of which are located in the developing countries, poses a major development challenge.
Trend 6: Urbanization
- There continues to be extreme inequality of “life chances” between and within world regions and societies, with the gap continuing to widen in some cases.
- Sub-Saharan Africa in particular and South Asia in particular are lagging further and further behind; life expectancy decreasing.
- In contrast, East Asia is a “winner region” – albeit accompanied by growing social polarisation.
Trend 7: Inequality of “life chances”
The World of Inequality
- In 2013, over 3 billion people lived on less than $2.50USD a day.
- Denial of basic human rights
- At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day
- The poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of world income.
- Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.
- Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation.
- HDI – Human Development Index – is used to measure the quality of life. (life expectancy, adult literacy and years spent at school and the GDP In 2013 Norway was first and Niger was last.
World map indicating the category of Human Development Index by country
The World of Inequality
- Scientific and technological progress is becoming increasingly “internationalised”.
- This is an outcome of greater market openness and spread of Internet, but it is also a response to global problems.
- The ongoing conflicts of interest over rules to protect intellectual property rights remain difficult.
Trend 8: Internationalisation of Science/Technology
The Communications Divide
| Internet users by region | |||
| 2005 | 2010 | 2013 | |
| Africa | 2% | 10% | 16% |
| Americas | 36% | 49% | 61% |
| Arab States | 8% | 26% | 38% |
| Asia and Pacific | 9% | 23% | 32% |
| Commonwealth of Independent States | 10% | 34% | 52% |
| Europe | 46% | 67% | 75% |
The Communications Divide
- The hierarchical approach to global governance is increasingly being supplemented by new horizontal governance mechanisms.
- These may be exclusive or inclusive in terms of the participation of various actors.
- They often facilitate solutions to problems where hierarchical processes have been ineffective and hegemonic approaches are likely to fail.
Trend 9: New Governance Mechanisms