TRM 4311

Chapters 3 and 4

Approaches in understanding International Organisations

Mainstream Approaches Realism Liberalism

Critical Approaches Marxism Feminism

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Realism

Acquisition, maintenance and exercise of power by states.

Power is defined as both hard and soft.– Hard: Tangible military capabilities.– Soft: Influence that results from ideas, wealth and

political/economic innovation.

Focus: Nation-states

Analysis on: Security, war and violent conflict.

Question: Why is there violence

TRM 4313

Roots of Realism

Realism as a worldview has grown out of European historical experience. The wars in Europe and imperialism shaped this theoretical approach.

Pessimistic about the independent role of IOs. IOs can’t constrain state behaviour or stop war.

Napoleonic Wars Congress of Vienna, Concert of Europe

World War I League of Nations

World War II UN

War in Iraq ?

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Comtemporary Realism

Many variations: Traditional Realism, Neorealism, Structural Realism, Mercantilism, Neomerchantilism.

Common Assumptions:

1. The state is the most important actor in international relations.

2. The state is a unitary and rational actor.

3. International relations are essentially conflictual.

4. Security (high politics) dominate the international agenda.

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How Realism Interprets IOs

No hierarchy of authority exist in international relations. Authority resides with each state. No IO exercises jurisdiction over states. A power hierarchy exists among states as a result of resources.

In terms of hierarchy states classified as: Super, great, middle and lesser powers.IOs are formed in two ways:

1.Hegemonic Stability Theory (Gilpin, 1981)A single powerful state controls and dominates lesser states in the

system. The effectiveness of IOs linked with hegemony's power. Example creation of UN in 1945. Hegemon is the US.

TRM 4316

Realism

2. IOs formed as a result of states that have common interests, common problems.

Napoleonic Wars Congress of Vieanna, Concert of Europe (1815)

States were willing to stop war with each other.

They cooperated to stop another continental war.

Concert of War kept peace until WWI.

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Realism: Game Theory

Rational Actors seek absolute gain when choosing among strategies. Best possible outcome for themselves(egoististic).

For a simple game there is perfect information. Realist see IR as a zero-sum game. One has to

loose and the other has to gain. They are critisized for this assumption. Prisoners’ Dilemma explain why cooperation is

difficult. Cooperation may happen in low politics such as

transportaion but not in high politics like security.

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Realism: Role of IOs

Marginal role in IR. Cooperation in only noncontroversial issues. IOs play no role in mainatining world peace. Example: UN, Security Council.

1949: Shift of power. Soviet Union exploded an atomic bomb, Communist cam to China.

Between 1949-1990 no collective security provided by UN. One exception is North Korea-South Korea conflict. UN Security Council ineffective in British/French/Israeli invasion

of Eygpt (1956), Soviet Invasion of Afganistan (1979), US ınvasion of Grenada (1984).

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Criticisms of Realist Approach

Advantages

Simple, lean framework

Great explanatory power in explaining world politics.

CriticsBased on power. But the definition of

power is impricise.

States seek power to further their national interests. But national interests are used to explain every action which leads to a circular logic.

IR as hostile, conflictual and warlike. Pessimistic view. IOs play no role in mainatining world peace.

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Liberalism

Views IR as a mixture of cooperation and conflict.

IOs can play a positive constructive role in world peace.

Definition in:

Economics Belief in capitalism, profit, private property, free-self regulating market.

Politics Belief in individual equality, liberty, participatory democracy and limited government.

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Liberalism

Liberalism as a worldview grew out of Anglo-American experience of political and economic development.

US and UK both capitalist democracies, hegemon in IR, promoted a liberal view of world order since 1850. Both benefited from free trade.

US found the European politics distasteful, isolated itself. But continued to trade with Europe.

UK established free trade by reducing tariffs and a stable monetary order by the gold standard.

US was unwilling to have a leadership role in the League of Nations. UK was unable to provide political leadership. In the absence of leadership states reverted to nationalistic policies.

After WWII US came out as the dominant state and institutionalized liberal rules and IR through the creation of IOs and capitalist international economic order.

TRM 43112

Liberalism: Antecedents

16th century: H. Grotius, The Law of Prize, father of international law.

17th century: J. Locke, Second Treatise of Government, liberal political thought.

18th century: A. Smith, Wealth of Nations, role of government in society.

19th century: D. Ricardo, The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, the theory of comparative advantage.

I.Kant, Perpetual Peace J. Bentham, utilitarian thoughtEconomics should determine politics, the way to socail harmony.

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Comtemporary Liberalism

Both state and non-state actors are important in IR. IGOs, NGOs, MNC...

State is not a unitary and rational actor. National interest is defined by the equibrium between all the competing interests within a nation state.

IR is composite, a combination of conflict and cooperation.

Variety of issues can dominate teh international agenda.

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How Liberalism Interprets IOs

Accepts IGO, NGO, MNC as active participants in IR. Rather than a zero sum game, IGOs have become more than

the sum of their member states. The hegemon, for example US, not only has economical and

miltary power but also ideological power. It is able to influence other nations by power of ideas.

Hegemonic power is necessary for creation of IOs, but hegemony is not necessary for their continuation.

MNC are important actors for liberalism. They achieve economies of scale, they have control over people, capital, facilities and markets.

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Liberalism: Role of IOs

IOs help states overcome collective action problems.In the prisoners dilemna lawyers/ mediators can help the prisoners to overcome their collective action problems.

Promote economic prosperity and global welfare. The market yield the most efficient use of natural use of resources based on comparative advantage.

Help societies to develop shared values and norms.Societies are not so isolated from each other, one global village. Less chances for a war.

Integrative role performed by MNCs. They bring jobs, managerial skills and technology to societies. Transcend national boundaries.

Provide asissatnce to victims of international politics.IGOs and NGOs bring immediate solutions for these problems.

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Criticisms of Liberal Approach

Optimistic than realism. Ethnocentric. Mostly by US and UK scholars.

Balme for underdevelopemnt is placed on the individual, government or firm.Never state that liberalism can create poor as well as rich.

Assumtion that there is perfect competition.

Reliance on the market for determining politics.

Assumtion that market is apolitical, only driven by supply and demand.

Assumtion that all people are equal, there is no discrimiantion.

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Marxism

A critique of realism and liberalism. A critique of capitalism as a mode of

production. Has produced different roles for IOs. Negative connatations around the world for

Marxism, but many scholars or organizations use the ideology in explaining events without being Marxists.

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Roots of Marxism

Karl Marx (1818-1883): Communist Manifesto Alternate view on class formation Predicts that capitalism will collapse

Tendency of the market toward concentration of capital. Reduction in the cost will lead to lowering of wages.

Tendency toward overproduction. More of the same good.

Falling rate of profit, grater savings by capitalists.

TRM 43119

Roots of Marxism...

Hobson (1858-1940)

Capitalism did not collapse because of imperialism.

Imperialismkets, cheap labor: overproduction, underconsumption and oversavings force capitalist to seek new markets in order to sell surplus goods.

It became a cause for war. States seeking new markets, fighting with each other in order to gain access to new markets and raw materials.

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How Marxism Interprets IOs

IOs are created through hegemony. It is a result of military and economic dominance.

IOs are first created, then imposed on the rest of the world. IOs are forms of capitalist domination and exploitation. After WWII US hegemony was able to impose its capitalist

vision. UN helped US to end colonialism. Decolonization made US to

have acsess to the markets, resources and labor that had been prevıously debied by Europeans.

Marxist see IO as public and private, state and nonstae actors.They help to legitimize the underlying economic order.

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Marxism: The Role of IOs

IOs serve as tools for expansion of capitalism. IMF and World Bank impose features like private property.

Mechanism of domination. IOs are tools to exploit and control the weak.Self-determination of states only true as long as they embrace capitalism. The UN not effective in US invasion of Dominican Republic, Panama, Iran, Cuba..

IOs as developers of hegemony. Globalization of production and capital mobility, hegemony also evolving. A dominant class the transnational bourgeoisie is created by IOs.

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Criticisms of Marxist Approach

Predictions have been inaccurate. Capitalism has not collapsed yet??? Is it really true considering what is happening today around the world?

Marxist scholars relying on economic factors to explain political behavior. But wars existed before capitalism, and some wars are difficult to explain by Marxism.

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Feminism as a Worldview

To understand how gender affects IR. Gender: societal norms and expectations regarding

appropriate male and female behaviour. Political, economical and social relations are ordered

around gender identities. IR tradionally male dominated. Under attack by conservatists, it challenges status-

quo beliefs. They see equal rights as destructive to the family.

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Feminism

Four assumptions: Gender matters in studying IOs. International Relations are conflictual. Patriarchy, male dominancy, is the principal

feature of the international system. The hierarchy of international issues is

gendered.

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Feminism

Brings a systematic critism of liberalism, realism and Marxism.

High politics are defined as male issues (war, military)

Low politics as feminine issues like environment, human rights, poverty and education.

In terms of employment women are excluded from posts of power. In UN 85 percent of clerical staff females.

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Critisms of Feminism

Poor scholarship, lack of precision. Few have challenged the approach, but

mostly ignored. Feminist theory is important, half of the world

population is women. We need to understand the influence of IOs

on women by decisions given mostly by men.