1. International Politics on the World Stage, Twelfth Edition
John T. Rourke
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

2. Chapter 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
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

3. Previewing the Global Drama
Global Actors: Meet the cast
States
IGOs and NGOs
MNCs
Individuals
How this text is structured
Choosing between the competitive traditional path of world politics or an alternative path of greater cooperation
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

4. The Importance of Studying World Politics
Blurring of the line between the global and the local with intermestic issues such as:
Trade and capital flow
Defense spending
Terrorism and political violence
Disease
Global warming
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

5. World Politics and Your Finances: The Global Flow of Goods and Services
Dependence of foreign sources for vital resources (i.e., crude oil prices)
Jobs and trade–job gains and losses
Foreign investment and international financial markets
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

6. Domestic versus Defense Spending
Guns versus butter–some ambiguity in relationship (See Table 1.1)
Defense sector in the domestic economy–Homeland Security expenses
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

7. World Politics and Your Living Space: Sharing Air, Water and Land
As population increases, resources deplete
Pollution and environmental destruction
Global warming leads flooding, droughts, and other weather-related disasters
Public health and disease control
Deforestation and soil erosion
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

8. World Politics and Your Life: Transnational Disease and Political Violence
Increased human contact through advances in transportation technology
West Nile virus outbreak
Worsening AIDS epidemic in Africa
War and international security
Grave threats of weapons of mass destruction (WMD)
Rise in civilian casualties
Terrorism–unconventional forms of violence
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

9. Can We Make a Difference?
Take direct action at all levels of society
Vote, vote, vote!
Get involved
Participate in issue-oriented groups
Protest and write Congressmen and Congresswomen
Donate money
Support consumer boycotts
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

10. The World Tomorrow: Two Roads Diverge
Realism versus Liberalism
Two Competing Worldviews
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

11. Realism and Liberalism: Some Travel Notes on Two Roads
Laying out 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.
Liberalism: 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.
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

12. 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
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

13. 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 (also known as neoliberal institutionalism)
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

14. 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’
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

15. Prospects for Competition and Cooperation
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
Realism–realpolitik approach
Place national interest first in international politics
Practice balance-of-power politics
Achieve peace through strength
Do not waste power on peripheral issues
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

16. Assessing Reality: Realism and Liberalism
Comparing the ability of realism or liberalism to explain world history
Competition has dominated world history
Realpolitik is the order of the day
Both realism and liberalism influence current policy
‘What should be’ and ‘What will be’ remain far more important questions than ‘What is’
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

17. “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, As You Like It
If we are all a part of and affected by the world drama, the question is…
“What role are YOU playing?”
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

18. Postmodernism
Political reality determined by how we consider, define, and communicate concepts such as technological/scientific progress
Political values are merely mental constructs
Postmodernists criticize liberals and realists for “narrow thinking”
Postmodernists advocate an alternative path to peace that emphasizes the creation and promotion of political identities other than nationalism
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

19. Feminist Theory
Argues that women have been excluded by men from the international politics process and from the conceptualization of world politics
More comprehensive concepts of peace and security represent examples of how women perceive international politics issues differently than men
Seeks to forge a distinct political identity and heightened feminist consciousness for women living in nations around the world
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

20. Economic Theories
Economic nationalism—closely connected to realism with its emphasis on using economic strength to increase national power and vice versa.
Economic internationalism—closely related to liberalism with its belief free economic interchange without political interference can bring prosperity to all nations
Economic structuralism—holds that economics plays a fundamental, dominant role in determining world politics
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

21. Constructivist Theory
Affirms that the exchange of ideas among individuals , groups, and social structures, including states, produces global “structures” such as treaties, laws, and international organizations.
These structures, in turn, shape the ideas of these individuals, groups, and social structures, including states identified collectively as “agents.”
Rejects the view of realists and liberals that the agents and structures such as states and the international system are stable and unchanging.
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

22. Constructivist Theory (cont…)
National political identities, like all political identities, are more subject to change and adaptation by citizens than generally assumed by liberals and realists
Nonmaterial goals such as ideology, morality, and other culture outlooks and values motivate citizens, groups, and states in international politics.
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education