POLS 2940 Lecture Notes - Forego, International Court, Secretary-General Of The United Nations
16 Apr 2013
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Document Summary
This week and next we"re looking at international organizations, international law and human rights. Still using theoretical categories from first term for this week and next week. Realists and critical theorists: skeptical about prospects for international institutions for different reasons: liberal pluralists: are very optimistic about the possibilities for international institutions. This makes sense: think about emergence of international relations about a debate between realists and idealists. They are debating about in part, the failure of an early international organization that was focused on security (the league of nations: realism emerges as in a way a critique to international organizations and their possibilities. Realists: international organizations do exist but states will abide by them only when it is in their interests to do so. Less powerful may more commonly have an interest to abide by whatever an international institution tells them they should do, but for realists, that"s only true if it"s in their interests to do so.
