POL 2103 Chapter Notes - Chapter 45: Human Nature

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POL 2103
• Professor: Kevin Mc Millan

Document Summary

Levels of analysis: individual, human nature, decision-making processes; individual leaders, state/social forces, social classes (marx, bureaucratic agencies with gov. (power levels, regime type (democratic, authoritarian, international system, anarchy (no higher authority to prevent war) Contest between societies (organized social groups: presupposes human tendency to live in separate communities. A(cid:272)tors u(cid:374)dersta(cid:374)d (cid:449)hat they"re doi(cid:374)g: understand themselves to be fighting on behalf of one society vs. another. Unique to humans: only species with social self-understanding and capacity for organized inter-group killings. Try to dissuade oppo(cid:374)e(cid:374)t fro(cid:373) aggressio(cid:374) (cid:271)y telli(cid:374)g the(cid:373) (cid:894)do(cid:374)"t do x (cid:271)e(cid:272)ause if you do, so(cid:373)ethi(cid:374)g horri(cid:271)le (cid:449)ill happe(cid:374) to you threat(cid:895) most effective when they are specific (if you do this, i will do this) Compellence: do x, because if you do(cid:374)"t (cid:894)for(cid:272)i(cid:374)g(cid:895: when hussein invaded kuwait, us used compellence to tell his troops to get out, compellence is after something happens; deterrence is before. Both are threat-based strategies to get what you want by manipulating risks of war.