POLI 211 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Neoclassical Economics, Autocracy, Democratic Peace Theory
17 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Fearon- Domestic Politics
What constitutes a domestic political explanation of foreign policy?
What factors indicate a foreign policy decision was made because of domestic political factors?
The meaning of domestic political explanation varies based on the definition of
systemic/structural explanations. There are two types of systemic explanations:
S1: States as unitary rational actors,
S2: States as unitary rational actors and specific characteristics of states cannot enter into
explanations.
There are two corresponding types of domestic political explanations:
D1: Domestic-political interactions yield sub-optimal foreign policy.
D2: Specific characteristics of states explain variation in states’ foreig poliies.
Fearon examines the distinction between systemic IR theory and theories of foreign policy. He
argues this is a meaningless distinction on the grounds that the explanatory variables in
systemic theories are – balancing, capabilities, etc – are caused by the behavior of individual
states. This is the ore sese of a theor of foreig poli. Fearo aalzes eah of Waltz’s
arguets i faor of suh a distitio, arguig i eah ase that Waltz’s arguet higes o a
narrow definition of a theory of foreign policy and that his systemic analysis is consistent with
the ore sese of theories of foreig poli. I partiular, he otes that a of Waltz’s
analogies to neoclassical economic theory are misappropriated because neoclassical theories of
markets allow the consideration of firm-level characteristics.
Fearon goes on to consider the potential roles for domestic politics for theory, reviewing the
existing literature in each type of explanation. The importance of domestic politics depends on
which theory of foreign policy is employed. D1 explanations are confined to explaining sub-
optimal foreign policy while D2 explanations consider a much larger range of domestic-level
explanatory variables. Fearon contends that S1 theories allow us to combine domestic and
international level of analysis. S1 theories allow the analysis of unit-level factors in the context
of a broader system. He argues that S1 theories are more appropriate analogs to neoclassical
economic theory than S2 theories precisely because it can accommodate simultaneous
consideration of unit and system-level factors into its theoretical framework.
In developing this line of thought, Fearon identifies the need for further work to distinguish
between S1 and S2 arguments. Such work would, among other things, help establish a baseline
against which to assess the relative importance of domestic political factors.
Domestic- Level Theories part 2
Opeig the Blak o
State as a single entity in structural realism, and all of these state act pretty much he same way.
But we will talk about their differences in Intl politics.
Examples of Domestic Level Theories
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
The meaning of domestic political explanation varies based on the definition of systemic/structural explanations. S2: states as unitary rational actors and specific characteristics of states cannot enter into explanations. There are two corresponding types of domestic political explanations: D2: specific characteristics of states explain variation in states" foreig(cid:374) poli(cid:272)ies. Fearon examines the distinction between systemic ir theory and theories of foreign policy. He argues this is a meaningless distinction on the grounds that the explanatory variables in systemic theories are balancing, capabilities, etc are caused by the behavior of individual states. This is the (cid:862)(cid:272)ore se(cid:374)se(cid:863) of a theor(cid:455) of foreig(cid:374) poli(cid:272)(cid:455). I(cid:374) parti(cid:272)ular, he (cid:374)otes that (cid:373)a(cid:374)(cid:455) of waltz"s analogies to neoclassical economic theory are misappropriated because neoclassical theories of markets allow the consideration of firm-level characteristics. Fearon goes on to consider the potential roles for domestic politics for theory, reviewing the existing literature in each type of explanation.
