- Status quo, change and theories of

international politics

Marco Nilsson
 What is international politics?
•  The study of the (political) interactions of
international entities.

•  Often overlaps with the diciplines of

history, economy, sociology etc.
 What do you study in IP?
•  States, Power,War, Terrorism, Security
studies
•  Inequality,Justice, Poverty, Environment,
Heath,Globalization
•  IGOs, NGOs, TCs, Global Governance
•  Trade, Global Political Economy
•  EU, Regionalism
•  Gender, Feminism
 Normative approaches?
•  Some have as the goal to make the world
a better place
e.g. FEMINISM

•  But even other theories that claim to be

non-normative often implicitly argue about
how the world should be.
e.g. REALISM
 Positive approaches
•  …aim to replicate the methods of the
natural sciences.

•  …offer causal explanations

(e.g. what makes a state gain more power
and how is it exercised)

e.g. REALISM, LIBERALISM

 post-positivist theories
•  focus instead on constitutive questions

(E.g. What are the states’ interests?)

e.g. CONSTRUCTIVISM, MARXISM

 IP- a theory driven enterprise
•  In exploring these interesting questions,
scholars of IP have come up with a few
major theoretical perspectives.

•  But why should we think theoretically

about international politics?
(rather than just account for historical events
or current events)
•  Conflict in South Sudan

•  Google gives 50 800 000 hits

•  Will it make us wiser?
•  We need perspectives to sort out all the
information, even our daily lives

•  Theories are formal and consciously

constructed perspectives
 Abstraction
= simplification of reality
 Emphasis
= Organization of reality

- Which variables are important?

- What are their functions in the theory (e.g.
what affects what and why)?
 A practical example
•  Why did the UK join the war against Iraq in
2003?
•  If we believe that ECONOMY (oil) is an
important variable: marxism, liberalism
•  If we believe that SECURITY concerns
(WMD, balance of power) are most
prominent: realism
•  If we believe that IDENTITY modifies
states’ behavior: constructivism

”Transatlantic friendship” fighting ”Axis of evil”

•  There is always more than one story to tell

•  These stories are important not only to

scholars but also to foreign policy makers
 Our assumptions of…

1) State motivation (profit, security, power,

friendship, moral duty)

2) Source of motivation (human nature,

rationality, identity, socialization)

…guide our views on how states should act

in international politics.
 For example…
•  If we assume that states rationally strive
for more power, maybe even we should do
it?
•  If we assume that states strive for power
because of socialization or identity,
maybe we can change things?
 Realism och liberalism
•  Realism was the first theory
•  Emphasized national interest and risk of
conflict

•  Liberalism was a critical view that

emphasized a harmony of interest
between nations

•  Both assumed rational behavior by states!

 Both can be accused of perpetuating
status quo.
- Realism argues that we cannot abolish
conflict of interest and wars.

-  Liberalism seems to favor the existing

world economy, and western forms of
democracy and institutions.
 Constructivism and Marxism have a
vision of change

•  Marxism: Western dominans can be

broken with revolutions in the Third World

•  Constructivism: Ideas and socialization

can change how we view the material
world (”enemies” become ”friends”?)