© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Global Power and Complexities Week 1

© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Grappling with Global Complexity  Global politics: signifies that many interactions no longer fit with the term “international”  Complex and often confusing  Global financial crises began in 2007 with U.S. subprime mortgage market Demonstrated fundamental structural weaknesses  G-20: standing forum for economic summitry amongst policy officials and heads-of-state from world’s largest and fastest growing economies  International relations: academic study of global politics

© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Grappling with Global Complexity  Global Actors  Most actors in global politics are organizations States: political actor with sovereignty and a number of characteristics, including territory, population, organization, and recognition Sovereignty: central tenet of global politics (established in Treaty of Westphalia); the administrative unit of the state has the sole right to govern its territory and people

© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Grappling with Global Complexity  Global Actors  International organizations: organizations with international membership, scope, and presence Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs): international/transnational bodies composed of member-countries Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs): international/transnational organizations with private memberships

© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Grappling with Global Complexity  Global Actors  International organizations Multinational corporations (MNCs): private enterprises with production subsidiaries in more than one country  Individuals also exercise influence on global politics

© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Grappling with Global Complexity  Interpreting Global Politics  Realism/realist: view that global politics is driven by competitive self-interest; central dynamic of the global system is struggle for power among countries Traditional and often dominant theory in international relations

© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Grappling with Global Complexity  Interpreting Global Politics  Liberalism/liberalist: view that people and the countries that represent them are capable of finding mutual interests and cooperating to achieve them

© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Why Global Politics Matters  Global Politics and Your Finances  Although is U.S. the most powerful country in world affairs, policy makers have to account for forces and events beyond its borders  Global politics affect your economic well- being, your living space, and your very life International Financial Institutions (IFIs): global institutions established or chartered by multiple states; include the World Bank and International Monetary Fund

© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved FIGURE 1.1: World population growth

© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved International Relations Theory and Your World  Important to find ways to analyze global politics so one can make better personal decisions  Avoid trying to referee the debate among the various schools of thought Theories have both empirical (factual) and normative (value-based) aspects Use theory to organize views about what your country’s foreign policy should be and what the entire future course of world politics should be

© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Defining Power in Global Politics  Laswell: power within political domain is something that explains who gets what, when, and how Defining Power in Global Politics

© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Interpreting Power: A Levels-of-Analysis Approach  Interpreting nature and application of power in global politics requires a look at what power is and where it comes and who has it and how they use it  Levels of analysis: social scientific approach to study of global politics; analyzes phenomena from different perspectives (system, state, individual)

© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved The Levels-of-Analysis Approach  Origins and Applicability  Behavioralism: study of social and political phenomena using the scientific method, including hypothesis testing and empirical analysis  Individual-level analysis: emphasizes role of individuals as distinct personalities or biological/psychological beings

© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved The Levels-of-Analysis Approach  State-level analysis: emphasizes actions of states and internal (domestic) causes of policies  System-level analysis: emphasizes importance of the impact of world conditions on actions of states and other international actors

© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved FIGURE 1.2: U.S. foreign debt

© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved FIGURE 1.3: Attitudes about global governance

© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Conclusion  End of fist of two Week 1 presentations.