POL 3 Lecture 2: POL 2

• School: UC-Davis
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POL 3
• Professor: Mc Kibben Heather

Document Summary

Three purposes of theory: description: explanation, prediction see patterns in events, example from ir: theory of quagmire remember: theories simplify reality to identify patterns. Going back to perspectives: perspectives = sets of theories that emphasize similar types of independent variables when explaining events. 4 main perspectives in ir: realism, liberalism, constructivism, radicalism. Major simplifications of 3 main perspectives of ir: realism: the struggle for power exerts primary influence in world affairs o power (to realists) = economic and military capabilities o events in ir determined by each state"s power and the distribution of power among states: liberalism: interdependence and institutions exert the primary influence on world events o. Interdependence = state a is dependent on state b for something and state b is dependent on state a for something o events in ir determined by the distribution of interdependence o. Institutions work help states cooperate: constructivism: ideas, identities, and norms exert primary influence on world events o.