Introduction to Political Science (IRE 101) Week 3 Political Theories

What is theory? Theory - from Greek word – ‘a way of seeing’. Theories allow us to separate and organize the most important patterns of behavior. They help us to think critically, logically and coherently. No theory is 100% accurate.

What is theory? Theories are like maps. They show us how to get from point A to point B. Theories are like glasses. We need to put them on to see the world more clearly.

The world as ‘is’

The world based on economy (GDP)

Branches of Political Theory 1) Descriptive - Explaining what is. 2) Normative - Explaining how things should be. 3) Realism - Working with the world as it is and not as we wish it to be; usually focuses on power.

Aristotle Aristotle (384–322 B.C.E.) surely is among the greatest philosophers of all time. He reasoned that humans must have a function specific to humans. Things happen in accordance to reason. Where Aristotle differed most sharply from medieval and modern thinkers was in his belief that the universe had never had a beginning and would never end.

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) His originality was – rejection of morality and ethics. Instead focus on power. Good people are not necessarily good politicians. ‘It is better to be feared than loved.’

Soft Vs Hard Power Discuss with your colleague these two types of power. Make a list. Which 3 world countries are the leaders in hard power and which in soft power? Give examples.

Core Assumptions of Classical Realism Anarchy - there is no higher authority above states. “A condition of (potential) war of everyone against everyone” . Survival - Security and survival are the main drives of states’ behaviour. Self-help - States can only rely on themselves, and will therefore try to amass as many power resources as possible. Balance of power - Alliances merely reflect moment - and topic-specific agreements between members in terms of preferred outcomes. Cooperation is short-lived and instrumental. There is no room for long-term convergence of national interests.

Outcomes according to Realist thinking When the security of a state is threatened, all decision makers will behave in a similar manner. Democrats, dictators, monarchs, and oligarchs will all seek to maximize a state’s ability to meet the external threat . In this view (Realism) there is relatively little scope for discussions of ethics and morality, states simply do what they have to do in order to survive.

LIBERALISM Often termed the “opponent” of realism.   Often termed the “opponent” of realism. Democracies differ in important ways from non- democracies in their international behavior. Military power is not the only form of power. Economic and social power matter a great deal as well. Exercising economic power has proven more effective than exercising military power. Between 1816 and 2005, 205 wars have occurred between non-democracies, 166 wars between democracies and non- democracies and no wars between democracies.

LIBERALISM POSSIBLE CRITICISM: Democracy promotion – Western intervention/just a pretext for the use of military force. Is Democracy really universal and can be adopted across the globe? Democracies do not go to war with each other?

LIBERALISM POSSIBLE CRITICISM:   Lack of unified understanding of democracy. There is a gray zone composed of countries that are neither full democracies nor full dictatorships, and sometimes it can be extremely hard to measure the quality of their government. No scholarly consensus exists on how exactly countries become democratic.