Political Science: An Introduction International Relations: (Erik Lesser/Corbis)

Political Science: An Introduction
Chapter 18
International Relations
(Erik Lesser/Corbis)
Copyright @ 2012, 2010, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
International Relations
 Domestic politics are the interactions within states while

international relations are the interactions among states
 International relations is colored by the concept of

sovereignty – unlike domestic relations, there is no
overarching authority to keep nations in line
 Taking the law into your own hands – by the threat or

use of force – is quite normal; Often there is no other
recourse
Power and National Interest
 Lacking sovereignty, international depends a lot on

power: A gets B to do what A wants
 Morgenthau held that power is the basic element of

international politics that idealists ignore at their peril
 Without sufficient power, a country cannot survive, let

alone prevail, in a tumultuous world
 Countries generally pursue their national interest, and

this makes international relations partly intelligible
Power and National Interest
 If you know a country’s national interest you can
understand much of its behavior
 Countries see their national interests through different

eyes
 The diplomat’s work is in finding and developing

complementary interests so that two or more countries
can work together
 Defining the national interest in any given situation may

be difficult
Types of National Interest
 Vital vs. secondary – a vital interest potentially threatens the life
of the nation; a secondary interest is more distant and less
urgent – nations more inclined to negotiate secondary interests
 Temporary vs. permanent – temporary interests are of fixed

duration; permanent interests may last for centuries
 Specific vs. general - specific interest focuses on a single

problem; general interest might be universal respect for human
rights
 Complementary vs. conflicting – having important goals in

common is complementary; when interests conflict, nations pull
apart
Why War?
 Micro Theories – war is explained by human biology and
psychology; genetic human aggressiveness might make
humans fight
 Macro Theories – rooted in history, these theories argue
that states, not individuals, are key actors; states try to
expand, stopped only by countervailing power
 Balance of Power – peace results when states use
alliances to balance one another and block expansionists
 Hierarchy of Power – calculations of power are
uncertain; peace maintained because states knew where
they stood relatively compared to others
 Misperception – leaders may misperceive a situation,
seeing threats out of proportion
Keeping Peace
 World Government – Sovereignty is a real problem, as it
keeps nations from submitting to outside authority
 Collective Security – the League of Nations tried to

prevent aggression by “collective security,” where
nations would band together to punish aggressors
 Functionalism – having nations first cooperate in

specialized, or “functional,” areas may promote peace as
they see that cooperation gives them many benefits
Keeping Peace
 Third-Party Assistance – sometimes a third party not
involved in a dispute can help contending parties reach
agreement
 Diplomacy – the oldest approach to peace is through

diplomatic contact, sending envoys to negotiate a
compromise
 Peacekeeping – Third-party forces can be used to keep

hostile nations apart from conflict
Beyond Sovereignty?
 Increasingly, the world community is acting in ways that

infringe on the internal workings of sovereign states
 International law increasingly discounts sovereignty as a

cover for mass murder
 A new class of “world-order” issues has emerged, such

as climate change, that no country can handle on its own
Beyond Sovereignty?
 United States
 Theoretically, the UN should be a key arena for resolving issues
 But the UN can only act forcefully if the five permanent members
of the Security Council agree – as Russia and China have veto
power that often stymies action
 Lacking enforcement powers, the UN is mainly a “talking shop”
 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization

 NATO was critical during the Cold War in preventing a Soviet
takeover of Europe
 But post-Cold War, NATO’s functions are not clear, and its
defensive provisions don’t apply outside the alliance
 Without the Soviet threat, and with the increasing integration of
Europe, it’s unclear whether NATO has much purpose any more
U.S. Foreign Policy: Involved or Isolated?
 The Cold War system was bipolar – the U.S. and its allies
facing off against the USSR and its allies: dangerous but
stable
 Some describe the current system as multipolar; complex with

many competing entities
 For most of America’s history, it was assumed that we should

generally stay on our own shores, that little overseas really
concerned us
 After World War II, isolationism was not an option
 Post-Cold War, lack of major threats, and budgetary

constraints, have shrunk US armed forces
Cycles of U.S. Foreign Policy
 U.S. foreign policy swings between interventionism and
isolationism
 Morgenthau saw U.S. policy moving “back and forth

between extremes of indiscriminate isolationism and an
equally indiscriminate internationalism or globalism”
 Some argue that under Bush we practiced unilateralism,

ignoring allies and rejecting treaties that most countries
want
 Because isolationism connotes ignorance, some prefer

the term noninterventionism , a reluctance to use U.S.
forces overseas
The United States in a Dangerous World
 Foreign policy is a most difficult area of governance, as

we need to take into account abilities and intentions of
others as well as our own
 U.S. foreign policy faces a twin problem:

 A messy outside world that often defies our influence and;
 An American people and government little interested in or
equipped for putting this world in order
 It is useful to be well informed about the world around

us, and calmly and deliberately assess options available
– we need to avoid oversimplification and panicked
responses

Political Science: An Introduction International Relations: (Erik Lesser/Corbis)

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Political Science: An Introduction

 Domestic politics are the interactions within states while

 International relations is colored by the concept of

 Taking the law into your own hands – by the threat or

 Lacking sovereignty, international depends a lot on

 Morgenthau held that power is the basic element of

 Without sufficient power, a country cannot survive, let

 Countries generally pursue their national interest, and

 Countries see their national interests through different

 The diplomat’s work is in finding and developing

 Defining the national interest in any given situation may

 Temporary vs. permanent – temporary interests are of fixed

 Specific vs. general - specific interest focuses on a single

 Complementary vs. conflicting – having important goals in

 Collective Security – the League of Nations tried to

 Functionalism – having nations first cooperate in

 Diplomacy – the oldest approach to peace is through

 Peacekeeping – Third-party forces can be used to keep

 Increasingly, the world community is acting in ways that

 International law increasingly discounts sovereignty as a

 A new class of “world-order” issues has emerged, such

 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization

 Some describe the current system as multipolar; complex with

 For most of America’s history, it was assumed that we should

 After World War II, isolationism was not an option

 Post-Cold War, lack of major threats, and budgetary

 Morgenthau saw U.S. policy moving “back and forth

 Some argue that under Bush we practiced unilateralism,

 Because isolationism connotes ignorance, some prefer

 Foreign policy is a most difficult area of governance, as

 U.S. foreign policy faces a twin problem:

 It is useful to be well informed about the world around

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