introduction to liberalism chapter 3: liberalism and foreign policy liberalism and the study of foreign policy implications: the need for international cooperation liberals understand that rationality dictates, not just an individual struggle for power and survival, but a collective struggle as well liberals, in other words, recognize that states understand the need to work together--not just intermittently, but continually-- to achieve their goals: how is this manifested?

introduction to liberalism chapter 3: liberalism and foreign policy liberalism and the study of foreign policy collective action, institutions, organizations and regimes unlike realism, liberalism argues that international organizations, institutions, and regimes are essential building blocks of international society the united nations, world trade organization, the non-proliferation treaty, the international convention against torture, the framework convention on climate change, etc. are concrete manifestations of the need for and rationality of international cooperation

introduction to liberalism chapter 3: liberalism and foreign policy liberalism and the study of foreign policy liberal institutionalism and the need for international cooperation why are there so many international institutions?

introduction to liberalism chapter 3: liberalism and foreign policy liberalism and the study of foreign policy liberal institutionalism and the need for international cooperation in an increasingly interdependent and globalized world, there are some things individual states cannot resolve on their own, or can better resolve through cooperation and concerted action …

introduction to liberalism chapter 3: liberalism and foreign policy liberalism and the study of foreign policy liberal institutionalism and the need for international cooperation similarly, there are many issues individual states would like to address, but are unwilling to do in isolation e.g., global warming, financial crises, international communications, transportation, trade, non-proliferation, human rights (the list is very long)

introduction to liberalism chapter 3: liberalism and foreign policy liberalism and the study of foreign policy reprise: the importance of ideas and ideals one of the key points dividing liberals and realists is their respective understanding of ideas where realist dismiss non-objective, non-material factors as important, liberals are strongly committed to the belief that ideas matter; even more, they believe that ideas have power consider a few questions …

introduction to liberalism chapter 3: liberalism and foreign policy liberalism and the study of foreign policy reprise: the importance of ideas and ideals are liberals naïve? how might ideas “matter”? what is the power of or in ideas?

introduction to liberalism chapter 3: liberalism and foreign policy liberalism and the study of foreign policy two scenes from v for vendetta: on the power of ideas

introduction to liberalism chapter 3: liberalism and foreign policy liberalism and the study of foreign policy v for vendetta: on the power of ideas the scenes from v for vendetta give a sense of the importance and power of ideas, albeit at a domestic level the scenes also underscore the fact that a belief in ideas is not necessarily a belief in non-violence or peace: “idealism” can lead to great violence and suffering--idealists are not all pacifists ideas, in fact, are one of the great forces of the modern area and have shaped states and relations among states in profound ways

constructivism and foreign policy

introduction to constructivism chapter 4: constructivism and foreign policy constructivism and the study of foreign policy constructivists, as the name implies, see the world around us as socially constructed what does this mean? how can the world be “socially” constructed?

introduction to constructivism chapter 4: constructivism and foreign policy constructivism and the study of foreign policy “socially” means that constructivists give greater weight to the social or subjective forces, rather than “objective” or material forces constructivists recognize that material forces matter, but they also believe that it is our subjective understanding of objective conditions that matter more consider the example of nuclear weapons …

for constructivists, it is significant that north korea is considered a grave threat, while pakistan isn’t … even the potential for iraq under saddam or for iran today to have nuclear weapons is considered far more dangerous than the objective possession of nuclear weapons by the united states, great britain, china or russia why is this significant? consider the phrase … “danger is a effect of interpretation” (d. campbell)

introduction to constructivism chapter 4: constructivism and foreign policy constructivism and the study of foreign policy “constructed” means that constructivists understand the world as coming into being--i.e., constructed--through a process of interaction between agents (individuals, states, non-state actors) and the structures of their broader environment more formally, there is a process of mutual constitution between agents and structures consider these questions …

introduction to constructivism chapter 4: constructivism and foreign policy constructivism and the study of foreign policy where does anarchy come from? how did it emerge? how is it reproduced? is global climate change a threat to humanity? is it a threat to the national security of countries? how is rationality defined? what is rationality? why is it defined in terms of the “national interest”?

introduction to constructivism chapter 4: constructivism and foreign policy constructivism and the study of foreign policy constructivism is not just the domain of pointy-headed intellectuals. consider this statement by an unnamed official in the Bush administration … "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality--judiciously, as you will--we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors...and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."

what is the difference between these two variants? introduction to constructivism chapter 4: constructivism and foreign policy constructivism and the study of foreign policy the author makes a distinction between two variants of constructivism, the ______________________ variant and the ________________ variant, the latter of which is often labeled post-positivist or interpretive north american european what is the difference between these two variants?

introduction to constructivism chapter 4: constructivism and foreign policy constructivism and the study of foreign policy  north american variant focuses on the role of social norms in shaping, both directly and indirectly, foreign policy behavior closely aligned with liberal-idealist framework european variant explores the role of language or discourse in mediating and constructing social reality; asks how-possible questions

introduction to constructivism chapter 4: constructivism and foreign policy constructivism and the study of foreign policy how-possible questions: an example consider the issue of slavery: how was slavery possible in the united states? how did it last so long? (contrast this with conventional question: why did the u.s. adopt the practices and institutions of slavery and why did it last so long?

introduction to constructivism chapter 4: constructivism and foreign policy constructivism and the study of foreign policy three ways in which constructivism contributes to foreign policy analysis understanding bureaucracies and interests understanding decision-making: bargaining and arguing understanding the interaction between the international and the domestic (levels of analysis)

introduction to constructivism chapter 4: constructivism and foreign policy constructivism and the study of foreign policy understanding bureaucracies and interests interests are not just given (or “defended”), but are defined constructivists seek to understand how interests are constructed through a process of social interaction material facts are important, but it is the social context that gives meaning to them

introduction to constructivism chapter 4: constructivism and foreign policy constructivism and the study of foreign policy understanding decision-making: bargaining and arguing constructivists tell us that the decision-making process itself is far more contingent than it appears: actors do not simply represent particular views and interests, but also “discover” their interests through a social process (arguing and persuasion) arguments themselves, however, are enabled and legitimated by the broader social discourse in which they are embedded

introduction to constructivism chapter 4: constructivism and foreign policy understanding decision-making: bargaining and arguing example “arguments” about climate change are deeply influenced today by a broad shift in the social discourse that have legitimated concerns about the potentially destructive impact of global climate change

introduction to constructivism chapter 4: constructivism and foreign policy constructivism and the study of foreign policy international society and states the increasingly tight global-local nexus demands a more interactive, multi-level framework of analysis consider the example of human rights: states’ evolving policy on human rights can only be understood as complex process involving a range of actors, institutions and organizations operating a multiple levels; social norms and a new social discourse that shape understanding of the concept of human rights are also critical

marxism and the study of foreign policy

introduction to marxism marxism foreign policy what is marxism? some questions what is marxism? what does the term suggest to you? is marxism dead? did it die with the failure of communism in the former soviet union? is marxism relevant to the study of u.s. foreign policy? after all, american policy makers aren’t marxists

introduction to marxism marxism foreign policy what is marxism? key points first and foremost, marxism is a theory of history: it’s a theory of how history unfolds and of the primary forces that shape history second, marxism is a theory of capitalism: it’a a theory about the dynamics and logic of capitalism third, marxism is a preeminently structural theory

introduction to marxism marxism foreign policy what is marxism? marxism as a theory of history is premised on the concept of historical materialism the fundamental proposition of historical materialism is embedded in the following quote by marx …

introduction to marxism marxism foreign policy what is marxism? It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness.

introduction to marxism marxism foreign policy what is marxism? historical materialism is premised on a fundamental “fact”: in order for human beings to survive from generation to generation, it is necessary for them to produce and reproduce the material requirements of life this basic insight has profound implications: for one, it tells us that societies are governed by the forces of production more simply, those who control the forces of production, control society

introduction to marxism marxism foreign policy what is marxism? control of society by those who dominate or own the forces of production is pervasive, although not always obvious the key is to recognize that the economy is the foundation of any society, and that social institutions serve to maintain the foundation: this is encapsulated in marx’s concept of base and superstructure Superstructure Base