INGS1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Historical Materialism, Robert Keohane, Kenneth Waltz
26 Jul 2018
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Document Summary
The birth of the modern state: lecture: no slides. Problem solving theory: you cannot discount it validity but it has problems: works within the framework- without questioning the social forces and historical and political systems. Critical theory: origins of the international system, whose benefit it suits. Historical materialism: the myth of 1648: elephant theory/ marxist. Conclusions: revolution as the sixth great power : neo-realism and state-centrism: basic assumptions of neo-liberalism. Sets out to theorise the international" in a clear, logical, objective" sense. Wants to build a systemic theory of ir by arguing the international system is one of anarchy: It is based on two key points; a system comprises of structure and interacting units: The system of the international is made up of international anarchy + states. He argues there is no global government that has control over states in the international system. His primary unit of analysis is the state.
