POLI 260 Chapter Notes - Chapter WEEK ONE | Intro to POLI260: Father Guido Sarducci, Don Novello, Preventive War
20 Apr 2018
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http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/05/19/how-to-get-a-b-a-in-international-relations-in-5-minutes/
- IR degree… how will all the courses you study actually help you in real world? Will we
ever get enough education?
- Saturday Night Live’s Father Guido Sarducci (a.k.a. Don Novello) created the concept of
“Five Minute University”
MIN. 1 - Anarchy
- No central “big control” on international politics, like there are in domestic politics…
- Therefore, security is max priority. B/c with anarchy, usually comes trouble (or at least,
that’s how all states make it come to)
MIN. 2 - Balance of Power
- Who’s stronger? Who’s catching up, falling behind? ⇐ states’ big concern
- Balance of power helps states determine who is an ally, who is a threat
- Big shifts in power = usually dangerous
- A challenge in status quo, or a lag leading to a preventative war…
MIN. 3 - Comparative Advantage
- Gains from trade…
- States will benefit if they all specialize in one thing they’re good at, and do
tradeoffs with other states
MIN. 4 - Misperception and Miscalculation
- 3 words: fear, greed, and stupidity. These 3 words sum up international politics.
- Anarchy and balance of power = fear
- Economics and free trade = greed
- So… stupidity is??? ⇒ national leaders (and sometimes whole countries/nations)
frequently misunderstand each other, and often do remarkably stupid things
- Despite leaders being surrounded by well-trained advisors, brilliant mediators… why still
do dumb things?
- Information is imperfect. Other nations sometimes bluff, lie…
- “Also, bureaucrats and policy advisors are subject to the usual human foibles
(cowardice, careerism, imperfect rationality)”
- Imperfect Rationality: “when individuals make decisions, their rationality
is limited by the tractability of the decision problem, the cognitive
limitations of their minds, and the time available to make the decision.”
MIN. 5 - Social Construction
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