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Exploring Causes and Theories in International Relations: The Case of the Peloponnesian War

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16 diapositives · 305 Views · Jul 20, 2014

This lecture series delves into alternative theories of International Relations (IR), focusing on the Peloponnesian War as a case study. It distinguishes between domestic and international politics and examines three levels of analysis: systemic, state, and individual. Key concepts such as power dynamics, anarchy, and causation (deep, intermediate, and proximate) are explored. Theories such as realism, institutionalism, and feminist perspectives are discussed, highlighting their respective tenets and implications in understanding global conflicts.

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  1. Fort Hood – Our Inchoate Theories • Who did it? • Gender • Race/Ethnicity • Sexual orientation • Military Person or not • Why did they do it?

  2. Lecture 2 • Intro, readings, etc. • Theoretical introduction / intro to alternative theories of IR • How international relations differ from domestic politics • Three levels of causes / three levels of analysis • Causes of the Peloponnesian War • Power – • 2 meanings • Paradox of unrealized power

  3. How international relations differ from domestic politics • Anarchy • Self-help system • Law not enforceable • Weaker sense of community and shared norms

  4. Theory, Blind Men, and the Elephant

  5. Theory, Blind Men, and the Elephant International Relations Feminist theory Realism Institutionalism

  6. Three levels of causes of war(and other things in IR - Nye metaphor) • Deep (or ultimate) causes • "logs" • System structure, anarchy, power of actors • Intermediate causes • "kindling" • specific policies, structure of decision-making • Proximate: • "matches" • mistakes, actions of individuals, etc.

  7. Three levels of analysis • Systemic level: system and structure • anarchy, balance of power, polarity • State level: qualities of states • democracy/dictatorship, capitalist/communist • Individual level: • traits/decisions of specific people

  8. Alternative theories of IR • Realism • Institutionalism • Feminist theories • Constructivism – important but not covered in this class • 6 tenets of each – theory matrix on Blackboard • Focus • Actors • Goals • Means • Organizing Principle • Dynamics

  9. Causes of Peloponnesian War • Deep causes – structure and dist’n of power • “growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta” • Intermediate causes • Historical animosity of Athens and Sparta • Political structure that gave women little voice (Lysistrata) • Proximate causes • Getting involved in Epidamnus and Potidaea • Misperceptions/misjudgments of other side

  10. Two meanings of power • Control of resources: • Tangible and intangible resources provide potential to wield influence • Influence over outcomes: • Ability of one nation to make another nation do things they would not otherwise do.

  11. Two aspects of power • Relational • "Power over whom?" • Whether state has power depends on comparison to another state • Situational • "Power to do what?“ • Whether state has power depends on what “powerful” state wants “weak” state to do

  12. Paradox of unrealized power • The paradox: sometimes powerful states are not powerful • States with lots of resources (1st sense) can … • fail to wield influence over others (2nd sense) • Usually, there is no paradox (21 of 30 wars won by country with larger military

  13. Summary • Three levels of causation: deep, intermediate, proximate • Three levels of analysis: structure, state, individual • Applying levels to Peloponnesian War case • Two meanings of power: resources/influence • Two aspects of power: relational/situational • Paradox of unrealized power: strong don’t always influence the weak