©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. ©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Thinking Theoretically: Putting World Events in Context Realism vs. Liberalism: Two Competing Worldviews

©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. ©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Realism and Liberalism: Some Travel Notes on Two Roads Understanding the basics Realism: The traditional path that emphasizes the centrality of the state on the world stage and the pursuit of national self-interest above all else Liberalism: The alternative path that emphasizes a more cooperative, globalist approach and the important role of global institutions and regional organization as authoritative actors on the world stage

©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. ©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Realism and the Nature of Politics Influence of Thomas Hobbes and Hans Morgenthau: conflict is inevitable Largely pessimistic: Humans are aggressive and self-serving, and they are unlikely to change Neorealism: Focus on anarchic nature of world system based on competing sovereign states

©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. ©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Liberalism and the Nature of Politics Influence of Jean-Jacques Rousseau: humans join civil societies and cooperate to achieve mutual benefits Neoliberalism: Emphasize international organization to build effective cooperation (aka – neoliberal institutionalism)

©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. ©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Roles of Power and Principles Realism: an emphasis on power Power-based perspective--survival of the most powerful Emphasizes pragmatic, self-help policy prescriptions ‘Might makes right’ Liberalism: an emphasis on principles  Based on cooperative and ethical standards  Seeks to create policy norms of justice and peace  ‘Right makes right’

©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. ©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Prospects for Competition and Cooperation Realism: realpolitik approach Place own country's interests first Practice balance-of- power politics Achieve peace through strength Do not waste power on peripheral issues Liberalism: globalist approach Power is not the essence of international relations Power politics is futile and destructive Peace is achieved through cooperative relations Willingness to surrender some sovereignty to international structures promoting cooperation

©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. ©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Assessing Reality: Realism and Liberalism Comparing the ability of realism or liberalism to explain world history Competition has dominated world history Realpolitik is the order of the day Both realism and liberalism influence current policy ‘What should be’ and ‘What will be’ remain far more important questions than ‘What is’

©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. ©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Postmodernist and Feminist Theories Postmodernism: Our political reality (including our values and choices) are mental constructs, not objective facts. Feminism: International relations is largely conducted by men and studied from a male point of view, ignoring or underrepresenting the role of women.

©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. ©2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Constructivist Theory Ideas, Interests, and Identities are socially constructed through an interactive process among the ‘agents’ of world politics. Goals of agents are shaped by nonmaterial factors—including ideology, morality, values, etc.—in addition to material factors (such as physical safety and security).