ATS2624 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Global Governance, Neoliberalism, World Trade Organization
25 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Global Governance – Lecture – Week 4 – Marxism and Critical Theories
recap
- orthodox theories - concerned with systemic management - how it is rather
than it ought to be
- constructivists - changing state behaviour - how global gov could be set up
differently
• more concerned with norm dynamics than questions of democracy
• lack of focus on power
• still accept many assumptions of orthodox ir theories
• systemic management
- problem solving theory -
• takes world as given - prevailing social and power relations as a given -
does not enquire into how the world came to be - instead interested in
how it can be managed
• largely structuralist
• problem -
•
o no possibility for change
o ahistorical -
o serves the interests of the powerful - normalises and depoliticises
their power
- critical theory -
• seeks potentials for change
• questions how the world came about
• what are the potentials for change in that system
• critique of problem solving theories - they legitimise status quo
• agents create structures - changing behaviour - change the system
• global gov is not simply pursuit of power by states - spread of attractive
norms - these seek to normalise - do not allow for change
• tries to situatie global gov in the capitalist system - inequalities of power -
historicise global gov - evolution of capitalism - accounts for how it has
changed in response to the changing nature of the global economy
• neoliberalism overarching structure - takes into account
• pessimistic view of global gov - sees it as a mechanism to exploit,
dominate and control those that are powerless
• global gov can be positive - change is possible through global gov - agents
can change structures of domination
• global gov brings together subordinate actors - civil societies etc - can act
together to challenge unequal structures of global governance
- historical materialism and marx
• approach to understanding political economy issues
• capitalism -
•
o liberal - human outgrowth of our human nature
o marxism - challenges this
o
▪ does not bring freedom, democracy and prosperity to
everyone as claimed
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