POL 203 Study Guide - Final Guide: Dynamic Equilibrium, Limited War, Structural Level
12 Sep 2016
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POL 203 Study Guide
Class Notes
Vortex
The wicked problem- ill structured problems that don’t have clear causes,
or clear answers
Vortex meaning lack of control
Anarchy
oAssumed to be a preexisting condition in the world by many theorists
oMeaning- lack of central authority; chaos
oClosest thing we have to international government is UN
oIraq has anarchy on a state and international level
oHedley Bull- the anarchical scholar
oEli Kedourie
Middle eastern but European thought scholar
Understood the importance of morality
Sovereignty- countries are always protecting themselves first
Power
oPolitics
What happens between 2 or more people (or groups) that have
different agendas
oMartin Wight
British Classroom Teacher- scholar
Offers three different intellectual traditions (theories_
Realism
Liberalism
Marxism
Political theory is tradition of speculation about the state
International theory is the tradition of the speculation about
the society of states or family of nation- which is lacking
because no overarching government
IR is the theory of survival and is dominated by
Legal perspective
Moral perspective
Diplomatic perspective
Dilemma
oEmerges intellectually- security dilemma
As one actor becomes more secure, everyone else becomes less
Taken to be a preexisting condition
oJohn Herz- political realism and political idealism
Hermeneutics- following a certain line of reason because of a certain
thought ex: Marxism)
oClausewitz- three actors in war
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Violence- guns/weapons/threats
Chance- not knowing what comes next
Reason- rational subordination to violence or politics
Carl von Clausewitz on War
oMarxists/ critical theorists
Critical theory
Do not believe that things are inherently evil
The socioeconomic system is the villain (capitalism)
Struggle to make the current system better
oRealists/conservatives
Calculated, care about power/ self interest
Machiavelli or Hobbs
Evil is embedded in all of us, then the circumstances bring it
out
Nation states are only interested in sovereignty
Morgenthau- balance of power keeps us from collapsing into
anarchy
Niebuhr- believed people were touched by original sin- and
fascinated by irony
Knew he could never solve all the problems of the world
but doesn’t mean he shouldn’t try
oLiberalists/ reformers
Self reliance/optimist/social justice
John Locke- people do bad things out of need, not out of
selfishness- poverty/oppression etc.
Wanted to focus on commonalities between nations, not
differences
Social contract theory-rational people argue with
other rational people- scale that up to state level
Neorealists and classical realists don’t agree
Universal equality- removing governance
Security dilemma will be solved by institutionalizing and
creating ties internationally and organizing global
democratization
Want to take the whole system and redo it
WWI was the beginning of people studying international relations
WWI
oFinding a force that can kill as many as possible in the shortest
amount of time
oEH Carr- The 20 Year Crisis
Idealists on one hand, realists on the other
Wanted people to think with a realist lens
oNeville Chamberlin
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Idealist, British Prime Minister
Was very sure that Britain wasn’t going to be sucked into
another world war cause of how awful the first one was even
though Carr told him he was wrong- which he was 1939
oBarbara W Tuchman The Guns of August
Drew lessons from Kennedy to find causes of WWI
Cause- the march to falling- WWI was an accident
Miscommunications between countries
Didn’t realize if certain troops mobilized that WW
would break out- alliances caused multiple
mobilizations at a time
Thought WWIII was going to happen in the 60s with Cuban
missal crisis
oWhen Germany felt trapped by France and Russia they built up their
military which in turn made UK feel less safe- Security Dilemma
Blaming
oFritz Fischer
German historian/professor
Captured in a POW camp in the 40s
Researched and decided WWI was not Germany’s fault
Theory
oExplanation
oAnticipation
oEmancipation
Critical theory- how we think theoretically helps explain
liberation of people from oppression
oAcademia
Avey and Desch on academia in IR- what does academics have
to do with IR?
Revealing and guiding
oRevealing reality- how we should think about the
material world through various lenses of theory
Foreign policy does nor relate well to theory because policy is
all actions and reactions- which makes it hard to make a
theoretical framework that can be studied
Proven that sleep and practicality are key when dealing with a
crisis
Some say that International theory has very little impact on
public debate outside of academic world
The road between the ivory tower and the white house was
short during Kennedy, now it is much longer
But there is a danger in being too close because then
objectivity is lost
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
The wicked problem- ill structured problems that don"t have clear causes, or clear answers. What happens between 2 or more people (or groups) that have different agendas: martin wight. Political theory is tradition of speculation about the state. International theory is the tradition of the speculation about the society of states or family of nation- which is lacking because no overarching government. Ir is the theory of survival and is dominated by. As one actor becomes more secure, everyone else becomes less. Taken to be a preexisting condition: john herz- political realism and political idealism. Hermeneutics- following a certain line of reason because of a certain thought ex: marxism: clausewitz- three actors in war. Reason- rational subordination to violence or politics. Carl von clausewitz on war: marxists/ critical theorists. Do not believe that things are inherently evil. The socioeconomic system is the villain (capitalism) Struggle to make the current system better: realists/conservatives.
