1. Fundamental Concepts of
International Politics
Spring 2015
Prof. H. Steven Green
Toyo University
Faculty of Law
CLASS 14 LECTURE 12
July 13th 2015
Paradigms & Theories
2. SOME ADVICE
1. Listen to the lectures today and next week
carefully. Concentrate.
2. Read the textbook.
3. Review the lectures at ToyoNet-G or Slideshare
4. Study with your friends: Talk to each other about
the concepts we are studying.
5. Get enough sleep!
3. Today’s Plan
1. Learn about different kinds of realism.
2. Learn about different kinds of liberalism.
3. Have fun! (Of course!!)
4. Our plan
• Finish this semester by learning more about
the theories of IP.
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THESE THEORIES
These are the of IP.
• In the fall term, we will study World Wars One
and Two, the Cold War, the post-Cold War era
and the international economy.
DO NOT FORGET THE THEORIES AND
CONCEPTS!
6. Why theories are important
1. Simplify reality
• Theories give us a basic set of assumptions(思
い込み) to explain many complicated things.
2. Systematize reality
• Theories help us see patterns in events.
NOTE: A theory CANNOT explain EVERYTHING.
7. Theories are important
When you think about IP theory, ask yourself:
• What does this theory NOT explain?
• Does another theory explain it?
• Which assumptions do YOU think are correct
(e.g. “people are motivated by power,”
“people want to cooperate”)?
• Which theory fits your assumptions AND
explains the most about events in IP?
8. Assumptions & Occam’s Razor
William of Occam (English, 1287-1347)
• Choose the explanation that
has fewer assumptions and...
• Explains more
(“greater explanatory power”)
• Can be falsified: We know how
show it is wrong
9. Occam’s Razor
Law of parsimony (節約の法則)
• Good explanations “shave away” unnecessary
details.
Parsimony: To explain
a lot with a little.
10. Theories, Paradigms, Nye’s Mistake (?)
• In Unit 1, Nye said realism, liberalism and
constructivism are 3 theories of IP.
• In Unit 2, Nye says they are 3 paradigms of IP.
Why?
Because he is famous so his editor checks his
spelling but not his logic…?
DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT.
11. REALISM & LIBERALISM
Realism & liberalism are “big tents”: Different
theories of both but all are realism/liberalism
12. REALISM
All realists agree that:
1. IP is a system of Hobbesian anarchy.
2. States are the most important actors in IP.
3. All international politics is power politics.
4. Power is zero-sum and relative. (If state X has
more power, all other states have less.)
Power politics = States will always and only do what
is best for their own power and security.
13. REALISM
How peace is achieved:
“Peace through superior firepower.”
Peace is the result of deterrence:
Make sure the costs of attack are too high.
(Remember high-crisis stability?)
14. REALISM
All realists also agree that there is an unchanging logic
to the international system.
“States have no permanent
friends or permanent
enemies, only permanent
interests.”
Henry John Temple,
Lord Palmerston, Great Britain
(1784-1865)
15. SCHOOLS OF REALISM
OFFENSIVE
• States always want more power.
• Power is zero-sum and relative: If one state has more power
then others have less and the security dilemma is the result.
DEFENSIVE
• States want ENOUGH power to feel safe (that other states
will not attack them.)
• Power is zero-sum and relative but states can avoid war by
making themselves strong enough to deter attack.
18. Hegemonic Stability Theory
• A single powerful state (a hegemon) is necessary to
create and maintain an international monetary and
economic system.
• Time periods without a hegemon have a lot of conflict
and uncoordinated economic nationalism
• Neither US nor UK coordinated the global economy in
1920s or 1930s
• In the 1920s and 1930s, nations traded less, and imposed
tariffs and quotas and…
• The result was total war from 1939-1945
19. Hegemonic Stability Theory
The hegemon creates the system for its benefit.
• But, other states tolerate or accept the system because
the hegemon provides “public goods” (公共財)
• So, states are better off accepting the system than
challenging it.
• Countries like Iran, North Korea, Myanmar (Burma) and
Venezuela reject the system so their economies do not
develop
20. Hegemonic Stability Theory
• Side payments (hegemon gives subsidies, aid to
smaller states) and public goods (economic and
security) create incentive to cooperate (no
motivation to challenge)
• Costs of challenging hegemon are prohibitive* (no
opportunity of successful challenge)
*prohibitive costs 法外な価格
22. Roman Empire
• Common currency, common rules for trade.
• Justice and order
• Technology and infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.)
22
23. MONGOLIAN EMPIRE & SILK ROAD TRADE
Mongolian Empire: 1206-1368
Largest land-based empire in history
• Encouraged trade along Silk Road from East
Coast of China to Europe
• Protected Silk Road, established regulations
• Used merchants (商人) to help collect taxes
• Empire included different races and religions:
All had protection and rights of Mongolians
24.
25. British Empire 1580-1945 (1997)
– The rise of the UK, Spain, France, and Holland due to more
powerful military technology and better navigational
technology and desire for wealth lead them to dominate
the region and later colonize it.
– As rival empires they did not see the benefits in trading
with each other
– They focused on trade within their empires
– Great Britain was the most technologically advanced and
became the most powerful of the European empires.
26. Pax Briannica
– High level of financial interconnectedness among the
European powers in the 19th century.
• UK was the technological and financial leader due to industrial revolution
(and safety of geography)
• Global dominance of its navy.
• Total war with other empires is avoided (usually)
How does it end?
• World War I
• Causes in the 19th C.
• We will study in the
fall term.
27. “Black Hole” of 1919-1945
The Interwar period (1919-1939)
– All European powers weakened by WWI.
– Idea of autarky (経済自立国家) becomes popular.
– Beggar-thy-neighbor policies. 近隣窮乏化政策
– Great Depression severely reduces what free trade existed.
– The hegemon was too weak and exhausted to
coordinate global trade rules and military cooperation
28. Pax Americana: 1945 - ?
US constructs a new international economy after
WWII
– US leaders believe domestic and international economic stability are necessary
for peace and its own security
– Decides it must act to prevent economic chaos from returning
– 1944: Leaders and experts from 44 countries (but NOT from Germany or
Japan) meet to create IMF, World Bank, WTO (called GATT)
– US provided the most economic & political support for these
– US markets open to most countries
– US Navy becomes “police” of the seas
29. The Bretton Woods System
• UN, IMF, World Bank are all part of the Bretton
Woods System
– Creates high level of coordination between U.S., W. Europe, and
Japan
– Manages the international economy to provide stability, gradual
openness…
…But not so much openness that domestic employment is
threatened!
Makes political stability a higher priority than
economic efficiency
30. Logic of Bretton Woods System
• Security: Hegemon wants rules that benefit it first but also that
others will accept: Trading is better than fighting.
SIDE PAYMENTS: US accepted trade terms that favor Europe and
Japan because it wants them to grow strong in order to help
contain the USSR
31. Exchange Rates: Set to the US dollar (which
was set to gold)
German
markBritish
pound
French
franc
U.S. dollar
Gold
Pegged at $35/oz.
Par
Value
33. REALISM
World War I, World War II, and the Cold War made realism very
popular among scholars in the 20th Century.
• Wealthy, strong states went to war (WWI, WWII), despite the
fact that they had been major trading partners and shared
long histories. (King George V & Kaiser Wilhelm were
cousins!)
• The two strongest states faced each other in a Cold War that
looked similar to the tensions between Sparta & Athens
• The Bretton Woods System is a system of side-payments
• Since 2001, realism is becoming popular again: Afghanistan
and Iraq Wars, fears of China’s rise, economic crisis
34. LIBERALISM
All liberals agree that:
1. IP is a system of anarchy but not Hobbesian: People are
motivated not just by fear but also by a desire to live
well.
Anarchy is a problem, but one that can be solved.
2. States are important, but not the only actors that
matter:
There is an international society where states make
agreements, etc.
This society includes international organizations (IOs) as well
as other actors (NGOs, MNCs).
Different actors have different preferences (besides security).
35. LIBERALISM
All liberals agree that (continued):
3. Peace and cooperation among states can
produce absolute gains for all.
• If your state benefits from cooperating with
others, the gains of other states do not matter.
4. Security is not always (or even frequently)
the most relevant issue.
• For most types of international relationships force will
not be the most important issue.
36. LIBERALISM
Three main variants (types) according to
NYE.
1. Economic- focuses on trade
2. Social- focuses on transnational
contacts of people at all levels
3. Political- a) institutions, b) democracy
37. LIBERALISM
Three main variants (types) according to our
class and other IP scholars. (Nye’s terms in
blue.)
1. Commercial (Economic)
2. Institutional (one type of political)
3. Regime (政権) type (another type of political)
DO NOT WORRY ABOUT WHAT NYE CALLS THE
“SOCIAL” TYPE OF LIBERALISM
38. HOW LIBERALS EXPLAIN PEACE
Institutions, democracy and economic interdependence
are all necessary TOGETHER to create peace.
39. Liberalism
1. Commercial Liberalism (Nye: Economic)
• Trade & business create common bonds across borders
– Trade make international cooperation possible and
desirable and makes conflict too costly.
• Commercial Liberals rely on the logic of economic
interdependence to create a common interest in
cooperation
– Trade creates economic security & mutual understanding
• For the past 20 years scholars have focused on the
continued expansion and deepening of economic ties
through the processes of globalization
40. Liberalism
2. Liberal Institutionalism (Neoliberalism)
(Nye: One type of political)
– International institutions reduce the effects of
anarchy and of the security dilemma.
– Institutions provide information and lengthen the
shadow of the future:
• They allow people to believe conflict is not necessary
and that not all problems between states are prisoner’s
dilemmas.
41. Liberalism
2. Liberal Institutionalism (Neoliberalism) continued:
– In one sense, IOs are almost a substitute for an
international government because…
– They create cooperation, which leads to…
– International rules and customs.
42. Liberalism
Institutions “stabilize expectations” : They
make the social fabric that prevents chaos in the
international system.
Institutions provide:
1. A sense of continuity (継続感)
2. The opportunity for reciprocity (相互関係)
3. A flow of information (情報の流れ)
4. Ways to resolve conflicts. (紛争を解消する)
43. LIBERALISM
Islands of peace
(“pluralistic security communities”)
Places where international institutions and stable expectations
have developed.
Stable expectations because war between states in these places
is unimaginable: e.g. EU, North America
So: People in these areas expect to trade with each other AND to
always solve problems
peacefully.
44. Liberalism
3. Regime Type Liberalism (Nye: another type of
political)
•Type of government affects relationships with other
states. (Remember Marxism and traditional (pre-1914)
liberalism?)
•Liberal states create a “zone of peace”: They do NOT
fight each other but…
•They sometimes fight non-democratic states. (Gulf
War, 1990, Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, US/UK/EU help
rebels (反逆者) in Libya, 2011)
45. Liberalism
Islands of peace
•Geographical clusters (群れ)
Zone of peace
•ALL democratic states (EU, Japan, Korea, New Zealand,
India, Israel, etc.)
States in islands of peace are connected to each other,
by borders (e.g. EU) but all democratic states
are part of the zone of peace.
46. WHAT REALISTS SAY ABOUT LIBERALISM
1. Institutions are created BY states so they usually reflect
the interests of powerful states (e.g. UNSC) and small,
non-democratic states can make them ineffective.
2. IOs are NOT useful in areas where states will now give
up sovereignty (e.g., Cuba, North Korea, Syria, etc.
reject human rights rules.)
3. Democratic states act like realists when they are dealing
with non-democratic states.
4. States will participate in IOs and trade ONLY when they
think it is in their interest: They will not risk losing
power or security.
47. Liberalism
Liberalism became very popular in the 1960s
and 1970s (ironically, during the Cold War)
and especially in the 1990s.
• Rapid and deep increase in trade and governmental
agreements between former enemies and all
wealthy, democratic states.
• Creation of EU, NAFTA
• Longest period of peace in Europe in history.
• End of Cold War inspired many to think major war
will never happen again.
48. WHAT LIBERALS SAY ABOUT REALISTS
1. Realists over-emphasize anarchy and
competition. They ignore the history of
cooperation and expansion of democratic
values worldwide.
2. Realists ignore regime type so they cannot
explain the islands of peace or the zone of
peace.
49. CONSTRUCTIVISM
“Anarchy is what states make of it.”
Anarchyは国家が思い込んでいるもの。
-Alexander Wendt
Anarchy depends on the dominant norms,
perceptions and beliefs.＊
＊気配的な規範や認識や信念
50. CONSTRUCTIVISM
“Anarchy is what states make of it.”
Anarchyは国家が思い込んでいるもの。
States do NOT worry about ALL other states.
• The US worries about North Korea, which has 1
nuclear weapon, but NOT about Britain, which has
500.
• France & Germany fought twice in the 20th Century:
Now they are the heart of the EU.
51. CONSTRUCTIVISM
Constructivists focus on how our interests and views
about IP are CONSTRUCTED.
What constructs our views?
1. Social structures (社会的な構造), e.g. economic-,
legal-, political systems, etc. of a country.
2. Ideas
3. Norms (規範）
4. Culture
Constructivism is based on these four concepts.
52. CONSTRUCTIVISM
• Constructivists focus on the ties that bind* people to
institutions and the cultural practices that make people
who they are.
• States are not the only or the most important actors.
• People’s identity is constructed by how they spend their
lives interacting** in the social structures of their own
country.
• People have different identities so how they see the
world is different. (There is NO universal identity.)
• Rules and values change over time through interaction.
*ties that bind: 結ぶ絆**interacting: 相互に作用する
53. CONSTRUCTIVISM
Examples of international norms that change over time
through interactions:
• End of slavery (奴隷)
• Spread of human rights values, especially women’s
rights
• Spread of environmentalism as a value
• Peter Katzenstein: Japan’s anti-war values
54. CONSTRUCTIVISM
Criticisms of realism & liberalism
Realism and liberalism:
• Cannot predict long-term change (e.g. the
end of the Cold War)
• Do not think about how interests are created:
they assume everyone has the same interests.
55. MARXISM
Anarchy is competition among capitalist states
for world markets.
• Capitalist societies need overseas markets,
which leads to imperialism (帝国主義)
• Imperialism leads to war.
KARL MARX
German
1818-1883
VLADIMIR
LENIN
Russian
1870-1924
56. MARXISM
The key actors are ECONOMIC CLASSES
• The wealthiest people in any society are the
ones who own the means of production (生産
手段), i.e. the capitalists.
• Capitalists control states: All politics is about
protecting the interests of capitalists
• Capitalists want profits but workers want
good wages and working conditions.
• Capitalists use the state to exploit (搾取)
workers.
57. MARXISM:
Criticisms of realism, liberalism, constructivism
All of the other theories ignore inequality:
Interests are shaped by power:
• “National interest” is really just the interest
of capitalists.
• International institutions are controlled by
the wealthy, capitalist states so international
rules are just the rules of the wealthiest class.
• Norms, cultures, etc. are just the values of
capitalists who control the social systems.
58. WEAKNESSES OF MARXISM
1. Tries to reduce politics to economics. （政治を経
済に還元しようとした。）
• People care about more than just economics.
2. Assumes the state is a simple tool of the
wealthiest class.
• Wealthiest groups inside of states have different
interests (e.g. wealthy Republicans, wealthy
Democrats in US politics)
• Many non-wealthy groups have access to power
3. Incorrect understanding of history.
• Human choice matters, not just “law of history”
• Predicted end of capitalism, peace between
communist states.
59. WHAT DO YOU THINK?
• What is your view of anarchy in the
international system?
• Based on that view, which view do you think
best explains how states act?
• Do you think the international system can
become more democratic (i.e. will islands of
peace increase?) Why?
• Do you think there will always be a certain
amount of conflict in the system and that
states that are friends now might become
enemies at war in the future? Why?
63. 誠に有り難う御座います！
You worked very hard this spring.
Thanks to you I enjoyed teaching
this class very much and I look
forward to meeting again in the
fall term!
Good luck with the final test!
