1. System, State and Individual
Levels of Analysis
System, State and Individual

2. Systems Level Analysis
Basic assumption: actors on the world stage interact and respond in ways that are predictable. Goal: unearth, and understand these patterns so that one can Explain, Predict and Prescribe

3. Forming a Systems Level Theory
#1 Determine the salient international actors:
Nation-states
Supranational Organizations
Intergovernmental Organizations IGOs
Transnational Organizations
Nongovernmental Organizations NGOs
Multinational Corporations MNCs
Highly empowered individuals
Other...

4. #2 Determine the end-goal of primary actors:
World Peace?
Economic Wealth?
Power?
Moral High Ground (Salvation)?
International Respect?
(Realism and Idealism would have very different views...)

5. #3 Understand the Rules of the International System:
Norms (accepted rules of the system, formal or informal)
Example: Ways of gaining power
Authority and Concentration of Power
Living classic anarchy?
Is there an overarching rule-maker?
Sanctioning power?
Is there more than one power source? Does it matter?
Big Question: What are successful pathways in this system for achieving primary end? (#2)

6. Economic System and Level of Interdependence
How do actors behave differently given varying levels of interdependence?
McWorld Theory
Functionalism Theory

7. Assuming Nation States as primary actors:
Ways of thinking about how the international system is organized:
Four “worlds” of nation states
First world
Second world
Third world
Fourth world
Poles of Power
Multipolar
Bipolar
Unipolar – Hegemonic Stability Theory

8. To understand foreign policy,
State Level Analysis
Premise:
To understand foreign policy,
it is necessary to understand each country’s domestic factors and its foreign policy making processes.

9. Basic Three Assumptions:
#1 States not significantly hampered by international system.
#2 States are not a unitary structure. They are a complex political entity.
#3 Interaction between governments is the real substance of events on the world stage. The international system is a sum of state actions.

10. State Level Factors to Consider
Regime Type
Democratic
Authoritarian
Totalitarian
Subnational Actors
Executive
Legislature
Bureaucracies
Media
Interest groups
Public Opinion
Policy Process
Which actors are involved?
Which has most influence?
How is policy negotiated?
Does this process change from one situation type to another?
Standard foreign policy
War v. diplomacy
Treaties v. trade
Crisis situations
Clandestine activities
Does the process change from one administration to another?

11. Other forces at work… History Geography
various syndromes
Geography 
Political Culture: set of values and beliefs that perpetuate/ justify a political system
National Culture
Religion
Ideology: beliefs about the appropriate structure of political and economic regimes.
Nationalism
Role in the International System = Identity