POLI 2520 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Moral Responsibility, World War I, Norman Angell

• School: Dalhousie University
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POLI 2520
• Professor: Brian Bow

Document Summary

There is a good buy and a bad guy. There have been failures to make the world a better place through abstract theories. Need to base off of how states have actually acted. Not what states should do, but what states do do. There is authority in national politics, no authority in international politics. War is the focal point of ir, especially following wwii. Critiques argue that realism is only effective at describing wars, not economics, environment etc. States as key actors, focus on great powers. Want to study how they interact and react. Recognize other actors, just don"t think they matter. Focus on explaining patterns of state interactions, not particular states" choices. Most realists are more interested in patterns of interactions as opposed to. Most realists are more interested in patterns of interactions as opposed to state choices. Not all - some realists think its just about state interactions, not interested in international policy.