Textbook Notes

Chapter 1 → Challenges of Global Governance

● Global Governance → the sum of informal and formal ideas, values, norms,
procedures, and the institutions that help all actors-states, IGOS, civil society and
TNCs- identify understand and address trans-boundary problems. Thomas Weiss
and Rorden Wilkinson
○ Multi actor perspective on the world politics. Dingweth and Patterberg
● Globalization → “historical process involving a fundamental shift or
transformation in the spatial scale of human social organization that links distant
communities and expands the reach of power relations across regions and
continents. McGrew
○ States no longer have the monopoly on power and authority
● Figure 1.1 pg 8 → actors in global governance
● The BRICS are challenging the US
● IGOs → include at least 3 member states, activities in several states and are created
through formal inter-gov agreements such as treaties, charters or statutes
● Figure 1.3 → varieties of global governance
● Figure 1.4 → IO Functions

Chapter 2 → Theoretical Foundations of Global Governance

● The principal goal of theory is to simplify, clarify what matters most
● A debate in IR is whether one should focus on measuring and explaining human
behaviour and institutions objectively, through positivist or rationalist theory, or
whether one should focus on interpreting the language and symbols of social
interaction through constructivist or nonrational theory
● Liberalism
○ Human nature is good; social progress is possible
○ Grotian tradition → Int relations were subject to the rule of law. States
can’t do what they please
○ Free trade raises the cost of war and rewards cooperation
○ Woodrow Wilson
○ States are the most important actors but are pluralistic, not unitary actors
○ IOs → means for mitigating the danger of war and promote development
of shared norms and enhance order
○ Positivist Feminist Theory → ignored the place of women
■ Want increase attention to women in economic development
● Neoliberal Institutionalism or Neoliberalism
○ More state-centric view
 ○ Prisoner’s Dilemma
○ Choose to cooperate cuz you will have future interaction with the same people
● Functionalism
○ Governance arrangements arise out of the basic needs of peoples and states
● International Regimes Theory
○ International law consists not only of formal authoritative prohibitions but also
of more informal norms and rules of behaviour that over time become codified
and sometimes institutionalized
● Collective or Public Goods Theory
○ Natural commons such as high seas, ozone shields etc. also include human-
made global commons
■ Like norms and principles
● Realism
○ Individuals act rationally to protect their own interests, states are primary
actors, anarchy
○ Morgenthau → IOs are tools used by states
● Neo-realism/Structural
○ Waltz
○ Relative gains
● Strategic or Rational Choice Theory
○ State actions are based on rational calculations about subjective expected
utility
● Theories of Hegemonic Stability and Great-Power Concerts
○ Hegemonies create stability
● Soical Constructivism
○ Shared beliefs, socially constructed rules; the changing of this means the
change of norms
● English School
○ While the world at its core a system of autonomous, sovereign states and these
states are not always mutually antagonistic
● Marxist and neo-Marxist Theories
○ Economic forces explain political and social phenomena
○ Hierarchical structure
● Dependency Theory
○ North relies on the south
● Critical Feminism
○ Gender permeates all international structures
● Securitization Studies
○ States were exaggerating security threats to feed the financial needs of those
involved in producing weapons

Chapter 4 → pp 109-129, 140-144, 148-159

Chapter 5 → 195- 229