Cosmopolitikos' Notes
Concise summaries of important texts in the field of International Relations, notes on key Concepts and Theories.
Articles, Books & Texts
Bull, Hedley. The Anarchical Society (1977)
In his seminal book, Hedley Bull exposes the essential principles of the International Society approach to World Politics, also known as the English School. In the tradition of Grotius, at mid-way from the Realists and the Cosmopolitans, Bull recognizes the existence of a society of states sharing common rules and institutions, even in the absence of a universal authority. This is the Anarchical Society. In this study, Bull’s interest leans toward the explanation of the maintenance of Order by the common institutions.
In his article, Barry Buzan attempts to relate the concept of International Society of the English school to the American Structural Realism and the Regime Theory. By doing so, Buzan argues that the two approaches will be enhanced by giving a normative aspect to Neorealism and to reconnect Regime Theory to its own tradition. The new approach has the advantage of explaining the complex and uneven expansion of the European international society toward a global international society.
The systemic theory of international politics developed by Kenneth Waltz is often used to explain alliance strategies at the “foreign policy” or unit level. Christensen and Snyder show that Waltz’s insight is indeed useful, but must take into consideration other variable such as the offense-defense balance of technology and the perception of it to be able to explain, predict or prescribe alliance patterns (chain-ganging or buck-passing).
Deutsch, Karl and J. David Singer (1964). “Multipolar Power Systems and International Stability”
Karl Deutsch and David Singer explore the idea that multipolar systems are more stable or less prone to war. This “diffusion-stability” proposition is explained by 1° the rise of interaction opportunity and 2° the decrease in the allocation of attention. They analyze the implication of the “diffusion-stability” relationship on arm race and the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651)
Written while Hobbes was in exile in France to respond to the turmoil of the first English Civil War (1942-51). The title of this masterpiece refers to the biblical Great monster of the seas. It is, in fact, an eloquent treatise on absolute power.
Jervis, Robert. “Cooperation under the Security Dilemma,” (1978)
In his article, Robert Jervis explores two approaches (prisoner’s dilemma and the offence-defense balance) to show how the security dilemma can operate less strongly, decreasing the effects of anarchy to make cooperation among states more likely.
This article is part of a special edition of the journal International Organization, which was later published as a book, International Regimes (1983). Krasner first defines the concept of International Regimes. This definition is, to this day, the most authoritative one. Second, the author explores the modified structuralist and the Grotian view to understand how they conceive the regimes as being an intervening variable in world politics. Thirdly, Krasner identifies the basic causal variables (self-interest, political power, norms and principles, usage and custom, and knowledge) to explain the regimes development.
Moravcsik’s article proposes to reinstate Liberalism as a non ideological theory of International Relations. It is argued that state-society relations, through values, interests and institutions, shape the state preferences, and therefore the policies to adopt in world politics. From three core assumptions, three variants of Liberalism can be defined (Ideational, Commercial and Republican). These variants can be unified and serve in a multicausal “two-stage” process of state behavior, alongside with the other majors theories of IR.
Pape, Robert. “The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism,” (2003)
In his article, Robert Pape argues that the traditional explanation of religious fanatism and socio-economic marginalization do not count for much for the understanding of suicide terrorism. Instead the author states that suicide terrorism follows of strategic logic.
In his seminal article, Wendt argues against the neorealist’s assumption that self-help and power politics are constitutive features of the anarchic structure of the world system. Privileging a constructivist approach, Wendt shows that processes, i.e. the intersubjective interactions between states, transform identities, interests and institutions. Demonstrating that “self-help” is an institution, he comes to the conclusion that “anarchy is what states make of it”.
Wilson, Woodrow. “An Address to a Joint Session of Congress” (January 8, 1918).
On January 8, 1918, United States’ president Woodrow Wilson, addressed Congress with what came to be known as the Fourteen Points. This was the first attempt to set goals for the post First World war peace negotiations. The speech is seen to be one of the founding texts of modern liberal approach to international relations.
