all cards deel 2 Flashcards
(50 cards)
Systems Theory
An approach to study that focuses on works of ‘systems’, explaining their operation and development in terms of reciprocal interactions amongst component parts.
Kenneth Waltz
American political scientist who was one of the most prominent scholars in IR. Theory of International Politics (1979), was the most influential book of international relations theory of its generation, establishing him as Morgenthaus successor.
Ignoring human nature and the ethics of statecraft, he used systems theory to explain how international anarchy effectively determines the actions of states with change in the international system occurring through changes in the distribution of capabilities between and amongst states.
A founder of neorealism/structural realism, associated with defensive realism. His analysis was closely associated with the Cold War and the belief that bipolarity is more stable and provides a better guarantee of peace and security than does multipolarity.
Self help
A state’s reliance on its own capacities and resources, rather than external support, to ensure security and survival.
Security dilemma
The dilemma that arises from the fact that a build-up of military capacity for defensive reasons by one state is always liable to be interpreted as aggressive by other states.
Relative gains
The position of states in relation to one another, reflected in the distribution of benefits and capabilities between and amongst them.
Polarity
The existence within a system of one or more significant actors, or ‘poles’, which affect the behaviour of other actors and shape the contour of the system itself, determinin.
Offensive realism
A form of structural realism that portrays states as ‘power maximizers’, as there is no limit to their desire to control the international environment.
Defensive realism
A form of structural realism that views states as ‘security maximizers’, placing the desire to avoid attack above a bid for world power.
Neoliberal institutionalism
A school of thought within liberalism that emphasizes the scope for cooperative behaviour within the international system while not denying its anarchic character.
Democratization
The transition from authoritarianism to liberal democracy, reflected in the granting of basic freedoms and political rights, the establishment of competitive elections, and the introduction of market reforms.
Commercial liberalism
A form of liberalism that emphasizes the economic and international benefits of free trade, leading to mutual benefit and general prosperity as well as peace amongst states.
Free trade
A system of trade between states not restricted by tariffs or other forms of protectionism.
What are the 3 key themes in liberal theory
- Interdependence liberalism
- Republican liberalism
- Neoliberal institutionalism
High politics
Issue areas that are of primary importance, usually taken to refer to defence and foreign policy generally, and particularly to matters of state self-preservation.
Low politics
Issue areas that are seen not to involve a state’s vital national interests, whether in the foreign or the domestic sphere.
Democratic peace thesis/theory
The notion that there is an intrinsic link between peace and democracy, in particular that democratic states do not go to war with one another. Rooted in Kan’ts 18th century philosophical republicanism
Rule of law
The principle that law should ‘rule’, in the sense that it establishes a framework within which all conduct and behaviour takes place.
Absolute gains
Benefits that accrue to states from a policy or action regardless of its impact on other states.
International regime
A regime is a set of principles, procedures, norms, or rules that govern the interactions of states and non-state actors in particular issue areas within international politics. As such, they are social institutions with either a formal or informal character.
Distant proximity
A regime is a set of principles, procedures, norms, or rules that govern the interactions of states and non-state actors in particular issue areas within international politics. As such, they are social institutions with either a formal or informal character.
James Rosenau (1924-2011)
A US political scientist and international affairs scholar. A pioneer in the analysis of foreign policy decision-making, he came to focus on the dynamics and consequences of globalization and on the wider phenomenon of increased complexity and uncertainty.
In Turbulence in World Politics (1990), he investigated the new forces shaping world politics beyond the nation state, including the rising importance of NGOs and the empowerment of individuals as actors in world politics.
Along the Domestic-Foreign Frontier (1997) and Distant Proximities (2003) took this analysis further, by emphasizing how the increasing number of actors involved in events and the deepening degree of interdependence amongst them create an environment that is dense with causal layers. His concept of ‘fragmentation’ attempted to capture dynamics that operate beyond globalization, notably localization and decentralization.
Chaos theorty
Emerged in the 1970s as a branch of mathematics that sought an alternative to linear differential equations.
Linearity implies a strong element of predictability. In contrast, chaos theory examines the behaviour of non-linear systems, in which there are such a wide range of variable factors that the effect of a change in any of them may have a disproportionate, and seemingly random, effect on others.
The classic example of this is the so-called ‘butterfly effect’: the idea that the mere flap of a butterfly’s wing could cause a hurricane to occur on the other side of the globe.
Cultural relativism
The view that matters of right or wrong are culturally determined, and that moral orders are particular to the time and place in which they emerge, rather than immutable and universal.
Communitarianism
The belief that the self or person is constituted through the community, in the sense that individuals are shaped by the communities to which they belong.
