POL326Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Security Interest, Kenneth Waltz, Hegemony
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POL326 – Week 2 Sept. 18th, 2017
Lecture
Recap of last week
• Last class we talked about ways of conceptualizing the state
o Understanding different conceptions of the state allows us to develop hypothesis of explaining the actions of
states
Theories of the state
• Conventional understandings of states that dominate the study of FP
Liberalists and pluralists tend to see the state as a dependent variable (the thing that is acted upon)
• Origins of states – states are created by the people to serve their interests
• Based on a social contract between the governed and the governors
• Necessity of the rule of law
o What defines them as liberals is the idea that the state itself is subject to these laws (no one is above the law)
– a mutual entity
• Studying the outputs of policy focuses on things like elections, legislation procedures, etc.
• FP is generally considered not really much different than domestic policy (FP is an outgrowth of DP), it just
influences the international environment
• This approach does have a fair amount of explanatory poer, e: ho’s likel to i the et election, how come
Clinton lost the last election
o A realists or a Marist ould’t hae a aser for this eause the see it as largel irreleat, hereas it is
the core of importance for L/P
• Trade, rather than other aspects of FP is under the authority of Congress, not the executive branch
o Congress is open to lobbying by other interests groups
o In this regard, trade has impact on both the external and internal environment
o Who benefits/suffers from trade will determine what groups tend to lobby in favour of one policy over
another (L/P strong suit)
• They are also good at explaining things like foreign aid – argue that aid should be understood as a subsidy to a
domestic industry
o For the most part most Americans see foreign aid as a giveaway and are in favour of cutting it
o But sometimes they can benefit from it (exporting American food, produced by American farmers)
o Same goes for development aid
o Aid as domestic implications and for that reason domestic roots that will come in defense of international aid
• Liberals also offer explanation about the military-industrial complex
o Points to the coincidence of interest between various domestic groups as related to FP
o Contractors depend very heavily on the defense department for their economic well-being
o Congress – military contractors and the military understand that their funding depends on Congress
• L/P’s hae a great deal of eplaator poer i uderstadig U“ FP
Marxists
• Marists agree that the state is a depedet ariale i order to uderstad poli ou do’t look at the state, ou
look at those who act upon the state)
• While it argues, the state is a dependent variable, it argues the state is a rigged game – the ruling elite
o The do’t see it as a eutral or fair area
• Instrumentalism
o Seems to suggest that the state is the instrument of the dominant elites
o Used as an instrument by the dominant elites because they tend to have close connections to the elites that
run the state (they trade places on a regular basis, revolving door relationship)
o These connections mean that these elites are able to shake gov. policy to favour their interests
o The also argue this a’t e trasparet, otherise it ould de-stabilize
o In order to avoid instability, the state has to be seen to be legitimate – it has to have relative autonomy
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