A Brief Introduction to Theories on International Relations and Foreign Policy - 4 views
-
System level analysis examines state behavior by looking at the international system.
-
State level analysis examines the foreign policy behavior of states in terms of state characteristics.
-
Organizational level analysis examines the way in which organizations within a state function to influence foreign policy behavior.
- ...16 more annotations...
-
Individual level analysis focuses on people. People make decisions within nation states and therefore people make foreign policy.
-
However, it sees the cause of all the power struggles and rivalries not as a function of the nature of states, but as a function of the nature of the international system.
-
States don’t just seek power and they don’t just fear other powerful states, there are reasons that states seek power and there are reasons that states fear other states.
-
Liberalism adds values into the equation. It is often called idealism. It is a state level theory which argues that there is a lot of cooperation in the world, not just rivalry.
-
Neo-liberals might focus on the role of the United Nations or World Trade Organization in shaping the foreign policy behavior of states. Neo-liberals might look at the cold war and suggest ways to fix the UN to make it more effective.
-
Constructivism is a theory that examines state behavior in the context of state characteristics. All states are unique and have a set of defining political, cultural, economic, social, or religious characteristics that influence its foreign policy.
-
Can you find universal patterns of activity, universal rules that can used to explain how any state behaves?
-
So you use historical data to test your theories. That’s what you’re examining in your papers. An author has developed a theory or tested two theories. How well does the author’s argument hold up when tested against the historical data?
-
The US has always had an idealist streak in its foreign policy (some disagree with this) and sees “bad guys” out there in the international system.
-
How did these organizations create US foreign policy would be the key question at this level of analysis.
-
People are greedy, insecure, and aggressive, so the states they govern will have those same characteristics.
-
The world is anarchy and states do what they can get away with to gain power and they do what they must to protect themselves.
-
It is a system level version of liberalism and focuses on the way in which institutions can influence the behavior of states by spreading values or creating rule-based behavior.