1. Thinking and Caring about World Politics
“Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion be your
tutor; suit the action to the word, the word to the action.”
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet

2. Putting World Events in Context: Thinking Theoretically
Realism vs. Liberalism (Idealism)
Two Competing Worldviews

3. Realism and Idealism: 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
Idealism: 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

4. 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

5. 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)

6. 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’

7. 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

8. Assessing Reality: Realism and Liberalism
Comparing the ability of realism or idealism to explain world history
Competition has dominated world history
Realpolitik is the order of the day
Both realism and idealism influence current policy
‘What should be’ and ‘What will be’ remain far more important questions than ‘What is’

9. “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” Shakespeare

10. The Evolution of The International System
“I am amazed, me thinks, and lost my way
Among the thorns and dangers of the world.”
-William Shakespeare, King John

11. Global Actors: Meet the Cast
States
IGOs and NGOs
MNCs
Individuals

12. Power Distribution
Polarity refers to the number of independent power centers in the system.
Multipolar system: Has five or six centers of power, which are not grouped into alliances.
Tripolar system: With three great centers of power
Unipolar system: Has a single center of power around which all others revolve (hegemony)
Power transition theory
Holds that the largest wars result from challenges to the top position in the status hierarchy, when a rising power is surpassing or threatening to surpass the most powerful state. But does this apply in today’s world? If so, how?

13. Figure 2.3

14. The Modern International System
The Treaty of Westphalia (1648)
Emphasis on state sovereignty within anarchical political system
Decline of papal authority
Collapse of multinational empires

15. The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries: Emerging Themes Surrounding the Sovereign State
Growth of the multipolar system and the preservation of the balance of power
Shifting alliances and numerous major powers
Era of Euro-American imperialism

16. The Twentieth Century : A Period of Rapid Change
Democracy rapidly eroding the legitimacy of monarchs
Nationalism increasingly undermining the foundations of multiethnic empires
Europe collapses as a global power center
The United States, Japan, and even China emerge as major world powers
Multipolar system quickly becomes a bipolar system with the end of WWII and the beginning of the cold war

17. The Rise of the Bipolar System
East-West Axis established; cold war runs its course
Containment Doctrine--globalization of U.S. policy
Confrontation--Cuban missile crisis, Vietnam, NATO
Détente
The fall of the USSR and the end of bipolar system

18. The Twenty-First Century: The Genesis of a New System
Changes in the Power Stucture:
A unipolar moment–U.S. hegemony
The multipolar urges–regional powers such as the European Union
Limited unipolarity–power of states restrained by international organizations, international law, and interdependence
Future polarity–highly contested

19. Weakening Western Orientation
Colonial possessions become independent states
Increase in number of non-Western independent states:
Strong presence in UN
Joining together to promote their causes (Group of 77)
Different value systems
Less developed countries

20. Challenges to Authority of States
External challenges--McWorld
Political integration:
Increase in number and importance of international actors
Economic interdependence
Social integration
Internal challenges—
Jihad
Ethnic rivalries and tribalism:
State disintegration e.g., former Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Sudan and Darfur
Increased number of refugees
Movement toward autonomy (e.g., Quebec)

21. Clash of Civilization
Huntington argues the real conflicts in the post-Cold War World will not be between nations but between civilizations.
7-Western, Slavic, Islamic, Latin, Confucia (Chinese), Hindu, and Japanese.
Competing cultures cause conflict.

22. Biggest Conflict: Islam vs. Others
“Islam has bloody borders.”
Examples:
-Arab-Israeli conflict.
-Russia-Chechen Wars.
-Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia.
-Lebanon.
-India-Pakistan.
-International Terrorism

23. Huntington argues within Islam there is a epic struggle over who will govern Muslim countries: moderates vs. fundamentalists (Islamists-Sharia).
Sudan and Iran Islamist States.
Algeria, Pakistan, Turkey
West versus Islam-History

24. Security in the Twenty-First Century
National security traditionally based on self-reliance
High costs involved in providing security:
Economic and human costs of war.
Advent of WMDs changes the nature of such costs
Asymmetrical warfare: new responses toward unconventional political violence needed
Alternatives to self-reliance:
Arms control
International security forces

25. Economic Interdependence
Transnational flow of trade, investment capital and currencies linking all countries
Creation and strengthening of global and regional economic organizations (World Bank, IMF, the WTO, and the EU)
Emphasis on free trade, particularly within regional alliances (NAFTA, EU, ASEAN and Mercosur)
Trade and monetary tensions still exist

26. Economic Disparity: The growing gap between North and South
GNP disparity between EDCs and LDCs
Less developed countries demand new international economic order– ne with an equal distribution of wealth
EDCs must recognize the complex link between poverty and political violence

27. The Quality of Life in the 21st Century
Increasing importance of human rights
Women’s rights
International Criminal Court
Emphasis on the environment
Idea of sustainable development

28. Conclusion: Understanding the concept of an international political system
The world is more than just the sum of its parts (countries)
World politics is more than just the sum of the individual interactions among those parts
There are general patterns of actions among the system’s actors