POL 2103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Unilateralism, Great Power, Hegemony

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POL 2103
• Professor: Meseret Demissie

Document Summary

Classical realism: how does classical realism explain the evolution of the international system, the collapse of the order has nothing to do with polarity. Is explained by the characteristic of the structure of the society: there is no differentiation between national/domestic or international whether internal or external a system can collapse if it is constitutive. Change and transformation result of modernization rather than polarity: more weight on values and ideas than power, think of political systems in terms of their principles of order and how they help shape the identities of actors. Changes and modernization: changes in identities and discourses are the result of modernization, global war is more often a consequence than a cause, different understanding of cause and effect. Impossibility of accurately assessing: the motives, capability, resolve of other states. Cold war and nuclear deterrence: after ww1 it was hard to restore the international system.