International Relations, Foreign Policy and International Politics

 

International Relations, Foreign Policy, and International Politics. International relations relations (  (IR  IR ), ), a branch of political science, science, is the study of foreign affairs and global among states within the intern inter nissues ational system system, , including the roles roles of states,, inter-government states inter-governmental al organ organizations izations (IGOs),  (IGOs), non-governmental non-government al organiz organizations ations (NGOs),  (NGOs), and academic a multinational multinatio academic  and nal ndcorporations cpublic orporations  policy field, policy  (MNCs).  field, and It can is both be either an positive or positive  or normative normative as  as it both seeks to analyze as well as formulate the foreign policy of policy of particular states.

 

from political science, IR draws • Apart upon such diverse fields as economics economics,, history, law history, law,, philosophy philosophy,, geography geography,, sociology,, anthropology sociology anthropology,, psychology psychology,, and cultural studies. studies. It involves a diverse range of issues, from globalization globalization and  and its impacts on societies and state sovereignty to nuclear proliferation, proliferation, nationalism nationalism,, economic development, development, terrorism terrorism,, organized crime, crime, human security, security, and human rights. rights.

 

Concepts in international relations  •  Systemic

level concepts

International relations is often viewed in terms of levels of analysis, analysis, the systemic level  level concepts concepts are  are those broad concepts that defi define ne and shape shape an international milieu, characterised by Anarchy by Anarchy..  • Power The concept of Power in international relations can relations can be described as the degree of resources, capabilities, and influence in international international affairs. affairs. It is is often divided divided up into the concepts of hard power and power and soft power, power, hard power relating primarily to coercive power, such as the use of force force, and soft powe powerr commonly commonly covering economics,, diplomacy economics diplomacy and  and cultural cultural influence.  influence. However, there is no clear dividing line between the two forms of power.   power.

 

• Polarity Polarity in International Polarity in In ternational Relations refers to the arrangement of power within the international system. The concept arose from bipolarity during the Cold War, War, with the international system dominated by the conflict between two superpowers superpowers,, and has been applied retrospectively. Consequently, the international system prior to 1945 can be described as multi-polar multi-polar,, with power being shared among Great powers. powers. The collapse of the Soviet Union in Union in 1991 has led to what some would call uni-polarity, with the United States as States as a sole superpower.. superpower Several theories of international relations draw upon the idea of polarity polarity..

 

• The balance of power was power was a concept prevalent in Europe prior to the First World War, War, the thought being that by balancing power blocs it would create stability and prevent war. Theories of the balance of power gained prominence again during the Cold War, War, being a central mechanism of Kenneth Waltz's  Waltz's  Neorealism. Here, the concepts of balancing (rising in power to counter another) and bandwagonning (siding with another) are developed.

 

 

Hegemonic stability theory also theory also draws upon the idea of Polarity, Polarity, specifically the state of uni-polarity. Hegemony is Hegemony  is the preponderance of power at one pole in the international system, and the theory argues this is stable because of mutual gains by both the configuration dominant power and others in the international system. This is contrary to many many Neorealist Neore alist arguments, particularly made particularly made by  by Kenneth Waltz,, stating that the end of the Cold War and Waltz War and the state of uni-polarity is an unstable configuration that will inevitably change.

. 

 

• This can be expressed in Power

transition theory, theory, which states that it is likely that a great power would power would challenge a hegemony after a certain period, resulting in a major war. It suggests that while hegemony can control the occurrence of wars, it also results in the creation of one. Its main proponent, A.F.K. proponent, A.F.K. Organski, Organski, argued this based on the occurrence of previous wars during British, Portuguese and Dutch hegemony

 

  Interdependence Many advocate that the current international system is characterised by growing interdependence; the mutual responsibility and dependency on others. Advocates of this point to growing globalisation globalisation, , particularlyThe with international economic interaction. role of international institutions, and widespread acceptance of a number of operating principles in the international system, reinforces ideas that relations are characterised by interdependence.

 

  Dependency Dependency   Military exercises often help increase strategic cooperation between countries. Dependency theory is theory is a theory most commonly associated with Marxism Marxism,, stating that a set of Core Core states  states exploit a set of weaker Periphery Periphery states  states for their prosperity. Various versions of the theory suggest that this is either an inevitability (standard dependency theory), or use the theory to highlight the necessity for change (Neo-Marxist).

 

  Systemic tools of international relations Diplomacy is Diplomacy  is the practice of communication and negotiation negotiation between  between representatives of states. To some extent, all other tools of international relations can be considered the failure of diplomacy. Sanctions are Sanctions  are usually a first resort after the failure of diplomacy, and are one of the main tools used to enforce treaties. They can take the form of diplomatic or economic sanctions and involve the cutting of ties and imposition of barriers to communication or trade.

 

  War, War, the use of force, is often thought of as the ultimate tool of international relations. A widely accepted definition is that given by Clausewitz Clausewitz,, with war being "the continuation of politics by other means". There is a growing study into 'new wars' involving actors other than states. The study of war in International In ternational Relations is covered by the disciplines of 'War Studies' and 'Strategic studies'. The mobilization of international shame can also be thought of as a tool of International Relations. This is attempting to alter states actions through 'naming and shaming' at the international level. A prominent use of this would be the UN Commission on Human Rights 1235 procedure, which publicly exposes states human rights violations.

 

  Unit-level concepts in international relations  As a level of analysis the analysis the unit level is i s often referred to as the state level, as it locates its explanation at the level of the state, rather than the international system.  system.  Regime type It is often considered that a state’s regime type can dictate the way that a state interacts with others in the international system. Democratic Peace Theory is Theory is a theory that suggests that the nature of democracy democracy means  means that democratic countries will not go to war with each other. The  justifications for this are that democracies externalise externalise their norms and only go to war for just causes, and that democracy encourages mutual trust and respect.  respect. 

 

Communism Communism justifies  justifies a world revolution,   which lead to peaceful similarly would coexistence, based on a proletarian global society. Revisionism/Status quo States can be classified by whether they accept the international status quo, or are revisionist, i.e. want change. Revisionist states seek to fundamentally change the rules and practices of international relations, feeling disadvantaged by the status quo. They see the international system as a largely western creation which serves to reinforce current realities. 

 

  Individual or sub-unit level concepts The level beneath the unit (state) level can be useful both for explaining factors in International Relations that other theories fail to explain, and for moving away from a state-centric view of international relations. Psychological Psycholog ical factors in Internation International al Relations - Evaluating psychological factors in Relations international relations comes from the understanding that a state is not a 'black box' as proposed by Realism Realism,, and that there may be other influences on foreign policy decisions.

 

• Examining the role of personalities in the decision making process can have some explanatory power, as can the role of

misperception between various actors. A prominent application of sub-unit level psychological factors in international relations is the concept of Groupthink , another is the propensity of policymakers to think in terms of analogies.

 

  Bureaucratic politics politics  - Looks at the role of the bureaucracy bureaucracy in  in decision making, and sees decisions as a result of bureaucratic in-fighting, and as having been shaped by various constraints. Religious, Ethnic, and secessionist groups groups  - Viewing these aspects of the sub-unit level has explanatory power with regards to ethnic conflicts, conflicts, religious wars, wars, and other actors which do not consider themselves to fit with the defined state boundaries.

 

  This is particularly useful in the context of

the pre-modern world of weak states. Science, Technology and International RelationsRelations- How science and technology impact the global health, business, environment, technology, and development.