aIntro.

Realism Interest -states are primary actors -seek power and security -states interests are generally in conflict (always ones loss is the other ones gain) Liberalism -states are primary actors, but not the only actors -multiple actors -power, security, wealth -can be conflictual or harmonious Constructivism -multiple actors -interest can be conflictual or harmonious -human rights, power, security wealth (could be anything) -believe that interest and identities are socially constructive -socialization

Interaction

-little scope for cooperation -international politics is primarily about bargaining, in which coercion always remains a possibility -international system is anarchic and institutions exert little independent effect -international institutions reflect the interests of powerful states

Institution

-more opportunity for cooperation -conflict is not inevitable but occurs when actors fail to recognize or act upon common interests -facilitate cooperation among states by setting out rules, providing information, and creating procedures for collective decision-making -guarantee long term interactions between states with common interests

-define identities and shape action through norms of just and appropriate behavior

Anarchy: no authority w/ the power to make and enforce laws. Ex.) interactions between countries is anarchy b/c the UN doesnt have the power to enforce anything Levels of analysis: >International level: representatives of states w/ different interests interact with one another, sometimes in the context of international institutions such as the UN or WTO >Domestic level: subnational actors w/ different interestspoliticians, bureaucrats, business and labor groups, votersinteract within domestic institutions to determine the countrys foreign policy choices >Transnational level: groups whose members span borderssuch as multinational corporations, transnational advocacy networks, terrorist organizationpursue interests by trying to influence both domestic and international politics

Chapter 1 -Mercantilism: an economic doctrine based on a belief that military power and economic influence were complements; applied especially to colonial empires in the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. Mercantilist policies favored the mother country over its colonies and over its competitors; key to political and military power=access to markets and resources; mechanism: state monopolies and controls on colonial trade -Treaty of Westphalia: the settlement that ended the Thirty Years War in 1648; often said to have created the modern state system because it included a general recognition of the principle of sovereignty and nonintervention of internal affairs of other countries; helped resolve religious conflicts -Sovereignty: the expectation that states have legal and political supremacyor ultimate authoritywithin their territorial boundaries -Hegemony: the predominance of one nation-state militarily, economically and politically over others -Pax Britannica/the hundred years peace (1815-1914): a century-long period beginning with Napoleons defeat at Waterloo in 1815 and ending with the outbreak of WWI in 1914 during which Britains economic and diplomatic influence contributed to economic openness and relative peace; things that happened during the period: industrial revolution, inventions in transportation and communications facilitated economic integration; free trade started, slowly end mercantilism; gold standard establish -Colonialism: slows with the end of mercantilist system, but burst of territorial expansion after 1870 in African, Asian, and Latin American countries; reasons include: desire to improve military position and search for resources and new markets, competition between states; continued until the Cold War period -Decolonization: the process of shedding colonial possessions between 1914 and mid-1950s; the developing world and colonies were given little attention b/c rich nations were consumed by war and reconstruction; developing world had to rely on its own markets and products; rise of nationalist and governments hostile to foreign trade, investment and finance; Soviet anticolonialism, US worried that this would lead to the spread of communism in developing countries and that US businesses welcomed decolonization, thus the US also became anticolonialism -The Cold War (1945-1991): US and the Soviet were left as the only military powers, they competed to be the superpower; conflicts between the two nations arise from: struggle for influence, different military and economic interests, failure in interacting productively; blocs consolidate: interactions become hostile and suspicious as each power aims to strengthen itself

(US favors market based, capitalist activities, while Soviet favors socialism); US created NATO and Bretton Woods system with its alliance, Soviet created the Warsaw Pact and strengthen its ties with communist China; the development of nuclear weapons increased the tension; brinks of war: Berlin airlift and Cuban missile crisis -Globalization: international economic integration

Chapter 2 -Interest: what actors want to achieve through political action; their preferences over the outcomes that might result from the political choices; different actors have different interests (actors are individuals or groups of people with common interests); three categories of interest: power or security, economic or material welfare, ideological goals -Interactions: the ways in which the choices of two or more actors combine to produce political outcomes; two general forms: bargaining and cooperation (collaboration and coordination) -Institutions: sets of rules known and shared by the community, that structure political interactions in specific ways -State: a central authority with the ability to make and enforce laws, rules and decisions within its territory; sovereignty is key to define state; can be viewed as an actor, whose interest (national interest) is motivated by an interest in security and safety from external/internal threats; origin of interests: a particular interest group or personal/political agenda -Game theory: a tool for analyzing strategic interactions; includes the prisoners dilemma, chicken, the stag hunt 1. Prisoners dilemma: captures problems of collaboration including arms races and public good provision; regardless of partners decision, always better to defect; the dilemma arises from that both criminals would be better off remaining silence and getting released than both providing evidence and going to jail. Despite knowing this, each still has incentive to defect in order to get off easy or at least safeguard against his partners defection; relates to the temptation to free ride 2. Chicken game: compare to the prisoners dilemma, the last 2 parts are reversed; the winner is the driver who by bluster, swagger, or past reputation convinces the other that he/she is more willing to risk a crash; coercive bargaining, the winner is willing the take the greatest risk, but the danger is that both sides are willing to take high risks 3. Stag hunt game: coordination in international relations; CC>DC>DD>CD; resemble the problem of setting international standards and also the primary barrier to cooperation that an individual doesnt have the incentive to defect, but a lack of trust for other actors

-Strategic interaction: each actors strategy, or plan of action, depends on the anticipated strategy of others. When making a decision, the actor considers his interest and the response from the other actors; two types: bargaining and cooperation -Cooperation (positive-sum game): an interaction in which two or more actors adopt policies that make at least one actor better off relative to the status quo without making others worse off; when actors have a shared interest in achieving an outcome and must work together; benefits exist only for those who become better off by adjusting their policies