Chapter 1

Political Science, International Relations, and World Politics: The Discipline and the Subject

The Discipline and Its Subfields

  

Political Science International Relations Security Studies

Presence of actual or perceived threats

Strategic Studies
Dilemmas, how to deal with threats

The Subject
 

What is World Politics? International Relations/Politics

economic,social,political

  

The State/Nation Problem The State/Nation Question in the US World/Global Politics

Global is geographical location

The Level of Analysis Problem

Actors in World Politics

 

States SubSub-state Actors

Individuals Groups NGOs

International Governmental Organizations (IGOs); UN, NATO, OAS, etc

Actors in World Politics



 

International Non-Governmental NonOrganizations (INGOs); Green Peace, Red Cross, etc Groups (terrorists) Multinational Corporations; BP, Shell, Mercedes Benz, etc

Why Should We Study World Politics?



It helps us relate the world s future to our own It helps us identify connections between international issues and the politics of individual states It helps us find patterns in complexity of current events

The Two Worlds of International Relations

   

The Scholar The Practitioner The Theory-Policy Nexus TheoryWhy there is no separation between theory and practice
Theory is generated from previous practice Theory guides future practice

The Policy-Theory PolicyRelationship

 

 

Five set of questions: 1. To what extent do policymakers and practitioners define and approach problems in similar ways? Do the speak the same language? Do they frame questions in the same terms and apply the same importance to the same aspects of debates?

The Policy-Theory PolicyRelationship



2. How balanced is the relationship between theorists and practitioners? Are policymakers taking more information and direction from epistemic sources or is it the other way around? Do theorists look to issues of implementation to influence their academic work more than practitioners look to theorists?

The Policy-Theory PolicyRelationship

  

3. What relationship does theory have to power? 4. Do academics focus too much on the actions of politicians? Should we always be looking at what politicians or policymakers are doing to frame research questions or aspects of scholarly debate?

The Policy-Theory PolicyRelationship



5. How can we effectively translate academic ideas into the world of policy and practice?