POL208Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Game Theory, Expected Utility Hypothesis, Gulf War
Document Summary
Survival: states want to increase their security and power. Self help: world in anarchy, no international organization, defend yourself if attacked. Cooperation is unlikely: in a self help world there is no incentive for states to help each other. Liberalism: cooperation is possible: secuirty not dependant on military, through self help states can help one another. Progress: war is not the only answer in dictating relationship between states. Irrational from a survival perspective to constantly seek out conflict. Same set of actors state, against their interests to renegotiate every time they interact. Repeated interactions: encouraged states to create institutions, and international organizations. Dictates how states will interact with each other. Anarchy as structure of ir: they share a basic assumption, what exerts pressure on states. States are the most important actor in international system and they are the primary actors and are rational. Liberalism: states mutually benefit from interaction, realism believe one state always benefits more through cooperation.
