Intro IR 2 : Concepts and Theories
- Key questions :
→ What do we mean by “International Relations”? (relations, actors, focus)
→ Why do we even need to define IR? Why does it matter?
→ Why do we need concepts?(democracy, conflict, etc.), Why do we theorize
IR? What are IR theories?
- Concepts contested because :
→ their definition is rarely consensual (scholars do not agree on concepts)
→ meaning not fixed in time (definition of state, democracy, etc. has evolved)
→ ethnocentrism (some definitions may be settled in a certain academic
context of a particular region, i.e. concepts from the West may not be
applicable to other cases as they may only be applicable to the academic or
regional context in which they were invented)
- Concepts useful because :
→ make sense of complex realities (use of names, adjectives to simplify
complex phenomena)
→ make sure we are talking about the same things (minimal degree of
consensus in certain parts of the concept)
→ ensure some degree of constructive dialogue (common knowledge of
concepts such as democracy, conflict, etc. that make discussions possible)
→ develop and evaluate theories (theories : explanations that link particular
concepts together to explain particular phenomena)
- Theories :
→ try to simplify reality (life too complex : too many data points, too many
variables, too many moving parts)
→ goes beyond mere description
→ is an explanation: an answer to “why did this happen?”
→ Interprets data
→ Identifies patterns, regularities across time & space (nothing unique about
an event, variables regularly come up and are able to explain series of events
across time and space) (theories that have been used to explain a past event
may be helpful to explain new ones or anticipate future ones)
→ Helps us describe, explain, anticipate and, eventually, prescribe
→ theorists think that some variables are more important than others and
argue that these, in a particular context, will be able to explain most of the
event
- Example : WW1
,- Causal explanations : derived from theories (built on a set of assumptions,
i.e., realism, liberalism, constructivists)
- International Relations :
- What type of actors are we talking about?
- What type of “relations” are we interested in?
- Where are these actors interacting?
- According to international law, a state should possess the following
qualifications:
→ permanent population
→ defined territory
→ government (should be recognised by the population)
→ capacity to enter into relations with the other states (need the capacity to
establish embassies etc.)
- Problems :
→ Declarative vs. constitutive theory of statehood (existence of a
state is independent of recognition by other states vs state exists only
when recognised by other states)
→ statehood : when a state declares itself independent or
autonomous because it fulfills 4 conditions of international law
→ How is the ”state” created in practice? (by military force, by
referendum etc.), greatly influences recognition by other states
→ Internal vs. External sovereignty
→ Internal : final internal authority within a territory (state is absolute
ruler of a territory), enforces its rule within the territory (prints money on
a national, scale, collects taxes, implements laws and regulations,
etc.), monopolises certain functions within the territory
→ External : no intervention by foreign powers against legitimacy of
the state (states have recognised the sovereignty over its territory)
- Sovereignty in IR today :
→ even when we should have sovereign equality across countries,
external influences may take over internal or external sovereignty of
certain governments or political authorities
→ states are never completely autonomous in the international
community : always influenced to a certain degree by outside
influences, events, pressures etc.
- In IR : states are simply a unit of analysis
→ entities with well-defined territory and recognized political
authority
,- Pseudo-states : geopolitical entities that have some of the attributes of
an independent country, but lack to real independence because of no
real recognition by the international community
- What the state is not :
- state vs. nation (not the same thing)
→ nation : group of people who see themselves as a core unit
based on historical or cultural criteria (bound together by notions of
unity that circle around religion, language, ethnic identity, cultural
practice, etc.)
→ nation not always limited to a state (may spill over multiple
states)
→ some states may contain multiple nations (i.e. India)
→ nation-state : idea that a homogenous nation is governed by
its own sovereign state (each state contains only one nation)
→ nation-building : process through which the boundaries of
modern states and those of the national community become congruent
(desire outcome : achieve national integration, create a homogenous
community)
- state vs. non-state actors :
→ actors motivated by commercial needs or incentives
considered to be non-state actors (i.e. multinational
corporations, Dutch East India Company)
→ mercenaries (i.e. Blackwater)
- State and sovereignty :
→ Failed state (don’t control parts of their territory, cannot
provide basic services, etc.)
→ Globalization (states lost control of borders, flow of trade,
people, information, etc.)
→ Supra-national and global governance
→ Disaggregated state (sub-entities become more powerful
because of globalisation, i.e. some cities or regions develop
their own foreign policy)
, - International Relations (relations we are interested in) :
- Interactions :
→ between states, non-state actors, etc.
→ war and peace (why do states go to war? Why do states
cooperate?)
→ trade (why states trade? why are states more protectionist in certain
domains?)
→ international agreements (why do they sign international
agreements? why do they join international organisations?)
- Bilateral vs. multilateral :
→ bilateral : relations between states
→ multilateral : relations between more than two states
(i.e. between all UN members)
→ impact of one state’s action over other states (any
state action : considered to be part of IR because it
affects international sphere)
- Transnational relations (relations between non-state
actors or sub-states such as cities or regions)
- Intern. Rel. (what is international about these relations) :
- International politics vs. national (or domestic) politics :
→ Intern. politics (foreign policy, interaction between states)
→ National politics (everything happening within a state, i.e.
government policies)
- Level of analysis (differentiate the ways you can look at
international relations) :
→ International (what happened at the international level?
What happened between states? )
→ National/domestic (what happened within a state?)
→ Individual (how a particular individual affected a particular
event?)
→ analytical tool to think and organise IR
