RNR 1001 Lecture : Notes 10 5
Document Summary
Chapter 3: theories of international relations: realism and liberalism. Paradigm- a theoretical approach that includes one or more theories that share similar philosophical assumptions: agreement concerning which assumptions are uncontroversial and which are debatable, examples: realism, liberalism, feminism, etc. The two who contributed most to its evolution: hobbes and machiavelli. Single actor (state), single goal (security), and single driving force (power) Central assumptions: anarchy- no central ruler; international politics is anarchic because there is no world government to rule over the states, states are the central actors in international politics; states control io"s and. Multinational organizations: states are unitary actors, states act as rational actors- states have consistent, ordered preferences calculating costs and benefits. Security dilemma- the difficult choice faced by states in anarchy between arming (which risks provoking other states) and not arming (which risks being vulnerable: anarchy leads to insecurity. Prisoner"s dilemma- a scenario in which two actors can either cooperate or defect and betray each other.
