POL 3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Security Dilemma, Preemptive War, Hegemony
19 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
Realism: the struggle for power is the primary cause of what happens in international affairs. International system is determined by the distribution of power among states. Unitary actors/coherent units (look at what the state is doing to pursue their national interest) Rational actors (always weighing the cost/benefit of any action) The international system is an anarchy (decentralized - no overarching authority to make laws over states) Decentralized power demands that states protect themselves need power to fend off potential attackers. Bc there is no international law protecting each state. Self-help system - responsible for worrying for your own security. To achieve goal (security), states need to gain power (military & economic might) = material capabilities. Economy supports military & helps exert economic force in the international system. States worry about relative gains > absolute gains (more security) bc basically a state has to be stronger than another state to defend itself from other states.
