Rena Ju

International Relations
The Globalization of International Relations
1. Globalization, International Relations and Daily Life
a. International Relations concerns with the interaction
between world governments together with other
actors such as non-governmental organizations,
multinational corporations and individuals
b. Globalization becomes increasingly prominent in recent
years
i. Integrated markets makes states more
interconnected with one another
ii. Communication technology creates a new way
to affect politics and shape the international
community
c. Globalization and international relations in connection
with peoples daily lives
i. Better communication and transportation
expands the possibility an efficiency for ordinary
people to contact others even with a great
distance in between
ii. Every decisionhowever smallordinary people
make ultimately affects and shapes the
international community
2. The collective goods problem is a problem of how a group
of actors achieve its common goals despite varying selfinterests of individual actors
a. Each nation is sovereign, the international system has
not a central authority to govern the states
b. Dominance
i. Dominance is a solution to solve the collective
goods problem by establishing a power
hierarchyoften through fightingin which the
scarce resource will be distributed according to a
states status of power
ii. Actors that are higher in the hierarchy controls the
ones below them
iii. Great power system: one or more states will set
up rules of conduct which other states follow
I.
Hegemony
II.
Bi-polar
III.
Multi-polar
iv. The advantage of dominance as a solution to
collective goods problem is that it minimizes the
potential of open conflict and it forces the member
to contribute to the common goal

v. The disadvantage is that because the system

obtains stability using force, resentment in the
lower-ranking members may accumulate, and also
conflicts over the position in the hierarchy may
occasionally occur
c. Reciprocity
i. Reciprocity is a solution to the collective goods
problem based on the principle that any action
has its consequence; an action contributing to
the common goal results in a reward, an action
harming the group results in a punishment
ii. Positive realm: You scratch my back and Ill
scratch yours
iii. Negative realm: An eye for an eye, a tooth for a
tooth
iv. Reciprocity is the basis for most international
agreement, organizations
v. Reciprocity in the negative realm may result in
activities that threatens the international security
such as arms race
d. Identity
i. A solution to the collective goods problem based
on moral obligations and willingness to
sacrifice self-interest of actors in the
international system to contribute to the common
goals
ii. Identity plays an important role in international
cooperation such as contribution to development
assistance, world health, global warming or UN
peacekeeping missions
iii. Non-state actors rely on identity to a great extent
3. IR as a field of study
a. IR is about international politicsthe decisions of
government about foreign actors, especially other
governments
b. International relations is a mix of cooperation and
conflict
c. Study of international security focuses on questions
of war and peace
d. International political economy focuses on how
nations cooperate politically to maintain the steady flow
of international economy
4. Actors and Influences
a. State actors
i. A states is a territory occupies by a population
that is and controlled by a government, which
exercise sovereignty over its territory and people

ii. A states is recognized by other states as having

sovereignty through diplomatic relations and
not alwaysa membership in the United Nations
iii. A population that shares a common identity may
consider itself a nation
iv. The international system is a relationship
among states which includes a code of conduct
and patterns according to which states interact
v. Sub-state nationalism, globalization of economic
processes, power of telecommunications and
proliferation of ballistic missiles are important
factors affecting state actors today
vi. Great powerspowerful statesusually
possess strong economy and military
vii. Some states are often referred to as states but not
formally recognized as states
viii. To some extent pushed aside by companies as
economies become integrated internationally and
individuals interact more directly with one another
b. Non-state actors
i. International organizations
I. States may take actions through/within
intergovernmental organizations
II. Nongovernmental organizations are
organizations
A. Some NGOs have political purposes,
some have humanitarian purposes,
some have economic or technical ones
B. Some NGOs combine effort through
transnational advocacy network
ii. Multinational corporations
I. A large company doing business across
state borders that does not have interests
corresponding to any of the states
II. May support friendly small or even create
governments
III.Also provide developing states much-needed
foreign investment and tax revenues
iii. Terrorists
I. Have demonstrated increasing power in
recent years as technology develops
iv. Sub-state actors
I. Exist within a states border but neither
affects the states foreign policy not
operates internationally
II. Help create a context against which
international political event play out
III. Help create a economic context within which
states operate

c. Levels of analysis
i. Levels of analysis are perspectives on IR based on
a set of similar actors or processes that suggest
possible answers to why questions in IR
I. Individual decision making
II. Domestic/State/Societal: individuals within
states that influence state actions,
especially foreign policies
III. Interstate: Interaction among states
regardless of what happened within states
IV. Global: seeks to explain outcomes of
international activities in terms of global
trends and forces beyond states themselves.