POLSCI 1G06 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Billiard Ball, Billiard Table, Long Term Ecological Research Network
19 Dec 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Political Science 1G06 2016 II Lecture 6b
Political Science 1G06 2 Political Science 1G06 2016 II Lecture 5b
Federal Politics 016 II Lecture 6b International Relations Theory
Realism
-According to Realist theory, politics between states (international relations) is different
than politics within states (domestic politics)
-International politics is characterized by competition, struggle, and insecurity
-International outcomes in all areas (not just military matters) are best understood by
focusing on the following factors:
1. State Power
-For Realism, the state is the most important actor in the international system
-Other actors are subordinate to the state – consider the UN and the Security Council
-If you want to understand international outcomes, you should look at states, their
political interests, and their relative power with respect to one another
-A billiard ball model of politics
-If you want to understand why a particular treaty was signed or why international
relations were involved in a certain act you MUST look at the STATE POWER
involved
-States will use certain acts to provoke their own state power
-If you want to simplify international states and the way they interact than you must
analyze their state power
-It doesn't matter what the internal characteristics of a state is, states act on the
relative power that they possess
!1
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
2. Survival is the primary motive of every state
-Any means to secure this end will be pursued
-Military power is the best means to secure this end
-In order to achieve other things a state wants they must ensure their survival
-Maximize power= survival
3. Relative Gains
-Given the above, states must be more concerned with Relative gains than absolute
gains in their international relations
-This makes international politics a zero-sum game
-When states enter agreements with one another, they re more concerned with
relative gains than absolute gains
-When a state is involved in an interaction with another state, they have to think about
WHO gets more and WHO is better off at the end of the day
-If the most powerful state does not achieve more at the end of the day than the
agreement is not sufficient
Why Cooperation?
1. Power projection
-It might be easier to agree and loose a little than to disagree and suffer a lot
-Small states sign agreements because the costs of not signing it may cause more
damage
-If a powerful state wants a less powerful state to sign an agreement than they will
force them to do so
2. Peculiarities in the balance of state power
-Where a greater third party threat exists, for example
-after if they don't agree to do so (the less powerful stages)
-when two states are overwhelmingly powerful it is"called bipolarity "
!2
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Political science 1g06 2 political science 1g06 2016 ii lecture 5b. Federal politics 016 ii lecture 6b international relations theory. According to realist theory, politics between states (international relations) is different than politics within states (domestic politics) International politics is characterized by competition, struggle, and insecurity. International outcomes in all areas (not just military matters) are best understood by focusing on the following factors: state power. For realism, the state is the most important actor in the international system. Other actors are subordinate to the state consider the un and the security council. If you want to understand international outcomes, you should look at states, their political interests, and their relative power with respect to one another. If you want to understand why a particular treaty was signed or why international relations were involved in a certain act you must look at the state power involved. States will use certain acts to provoke their own state power.
