...Democratic peace theory, in its wider interpretation, is the empirical observation that democracies rarely, if ever, fight one another and it is this empirical dyadic observation that that has been described as the “closest thing we have to empirical law” in international relations. [1] Although what is meant by democratic peace is contested, and indeed as its validity as this essay will explore, the theory has been previously under Woodrow Wilson and more currently the Presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, a significant conceptual factor in the formation of American foreign policy.[2] Our aim is a democratic peace, a peace founded upon the dignity and rights of every man and woman. America acts in this course with friends and allies at our sides, yet we understand our special calling: this great republic will lead the cause of freedom. In light of this statement, ongoing U.S. policy and its likely persistence an examination and understanding of the democracy peace proposition is clearly with merit. This essay will look at the democratic peace proposition at a several levels of analysis: at the monadic level of interstate war on whether democracies generally are more peaceful and whether transitional democracies are more inclined to war; and at the intrastate level as to whether democracies experience more or less civil war. It will examine the validity of the proposition(s), reasons for is occurrence and postulate on what implication there may be for...
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...Jestin Thompson Political Science 23 April 2013 Final Paper Theory of Democratic Peace The idea of democratic peace was brought up in the enlightened era. The theory of democratic peace was based off of Immanuel Kant’s “Perpetual Peace.” The theory of democratic peace argues that nation-states governed by democratic regimes do not tend to have conflicts with other countries that would lead to wars. With this theory, it shows that nation-states with a democratic rule are more likely to not go to war with other countries. In some cases, this theory has been proven to be true, but in other cases it has not, especially with the United States. There are many proponents and opponents for this theory. Through this essay, the theory is to see if democratic, authoritarian, and totalitarian rule can coexist peacefully together, which will be proven either to be true or untrue. In 1795, Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, wrote the basis for the theory of democratic peace, which is called “Perpetual Peace.” Through his writings, it explains how countries can reach a perpetual peace and fit the democratic peace theory. In this writing, contains the preliminary articles for perpetual peace among states. This section includes six main topics to help achieve a perpetual peace. First, he explains that after a war there should not be a treaty with provisions for the future wars between the two nation states. Secondly, no state, whether large or small, should be controlled...
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...International Security Lecture 1 March 30th, 2015 The politics of security knowledge What is international security? We could start thinking about the security council of the UN But also about the invasion of Afghanistan (chapter 7 UN in order to secure the international security) We can also think about security in terms of the invasion of Iraq in 2003. This was a unilateral act of war, but sure it can also mean other things We can think of the national security agency, the agency in charge of spying all the signals and communications to a certain extent. What’s interesting about the NSA, it is seen as a threat to the security of the privacy. Lately, with the reports of the UN development programme, we start talking about HUMAN security (not military security, but rather the security of individuals, having a livelihood that’s acceptable). Whether security is international or not, it can be a rather confusing word The protection of values we hold dear. We search for it, we pursue it, we achieve it, we deny it to others. * what is to be secured? Is it the security of states? Or individuals? * What is the actual threat that we’re facing? Primarily to be dealing with military threats, or are there other types of threats we are facing. Essentially contested concept A concept that ‘inevitably’ involves endless disputes about their proper uses on the part of their users – Walter Gallie There can be ambiguity (one persons freedom-fighter is the other’s...
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... Lecture: Josè Alarcòn EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Conscious Capitalism: A more complex form of Capitalism that hold within itself the possibility to enhancing corporate performance while contributing to advance billion peoples’ quality of life...or...just good business. When approaching to this “new” horizon we have to know that is not new...capitalism doesn’t involve avidity and disrespect, it just has been corrupted. When Kant and Montesquieu were talking about the reducing of conflict through commerce, they were talking about just good business. This is a really important thing that has to enlighten everyone while approaching to capitalism in general and, obviously, to Conscious Capitalism. This philosophical and economical theory has to be understood in all its details because it seems there are no trap this time, we have eroded our world till today but maybe tomorrow we can began to “reconstruct” it. In fact, now, we can see our reality and our future “on the shoulder of the giants” (passage from Bernard de Chartres) and of the other tall men that have kept thinking about what the giants saw and sad. We need a “new” focus, we need a wider one, a multiple stakeholder one...without forgetting we need more, wise stakeholder and wise stockholders. TABLES OF CONTENTS: * Executive summary…………………………………………………………………..2 * Table of contents……………………………………………………………………..3...
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...phenomena. As such global actors, political leaders, political scientists and academia as whole attempts to formulate theories as to explain and makes sense of those events that affect the global community. Those theories also serve the purpose of predicting the outcome of certain actions but more importantly; theories, in the case of international relation serves as a guideline from which political leaders and international actors conduct and formulate their global political agenda. Based on the first great debate of international relations opposing the liberalism to realism, this paper will attempt to argue that democracy is not a guarantee of peace but instead it is the economic interdependence present between states; based on the realist premise that global politics is about competition for power among self-seeking states that seek to maximize their national interests. Arguments will be presented in order to support the stated thesis by consistently outlining the relationship between economic/trade interdependence and political conflict. It is clear that one of the challenges that will arise in the attempt to support the thesis will be how the key concepts are defined and understood as such this paper will provide clear concise definitions of those concepts and ideas. But mostly, those definitions will be the basis upon which the topic of ‘democratic peace’ will be approached. On the surface ideas and enquiries on interdependence and conflict may be recursive in the sense...
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...would peace among states (Coetzee 2013: 310). The Arab Spring served as a confirmation that the world would eventually get to a point where it was liberal democratic and that if the Arab world was to be liberated, there would be tranquillity. Even though the aims of the Arab Spring were intended for good, it did not achieve positive results. It actually created more problems and threatened the security and stability of the Arab countries. The theoretical perspective that the author used is a structural realist one. He drew on the theory of Kenneth Waltz and argued that the future of international politics is going to be filled with complications and difficulties. The theory of structural realism argues that the highest goal of states is to attain power (Jackson & Sorensen 2013: 81). Even though this is so, the states are guided by the principle of anarchy and are restricted by the structure of the system since it is the one that determines how states behave. The power of states such as Russia and China is increasing which threatens to move the balance of power from unipolar to multipolar which will be dangerous because the rise in numbers of great powers is likely to cause problems in the future since each state seeks its own interest (Coetzee 2013: 310). [ 263 Words] QUESTION 2 There are two dominant sub themes in the article. The first one is liberal optimism and the second one is the future of world politics. Liberal optimism comes from the “democratic-peace theory” and...
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...Liberal Internationalism: Peace, War and Democracy, 1997). Therefore, there are barely any disputes between first world countries which embrace democracy and liberalism as the main doctrine of their governance. This essay argues about the impact of democracy towards peace and how comes peace is embraced successfully among the representatives of democracy. Following paragraphs briefly explain liberalism’s role in today’s world and society, how liberalism reflects in business, what...
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...Introduction to Neoliberalism/Neoliberal Institutionalism The theory/theoretical framework that is used to examine cooperation between nation-states, which emphasizes the possibility of mutual gains Related terminology 1. Absolute gain: a theoretical option open to political actors based on the belief that decisions will benefit all organisations within a state and/or all member states within an intergovernmental organisation (IGO) Includes all aspects of cooperative behaviour between states; especially power ratios, economic activity and socio-cultural effects 2. Relative gain: a theoretical option open to political actors based on the belief that decisions are only intended to balance power relations between states or increase the power of one state over its rivals Generally disregards economic and socio-cultural considerations, and only allows limited cooperation between states (especially in relations where information about other states’ interests and inclinations is limited) 3. Zero-sum: a relational state wherein a participant's gain or loss is exactly balanced by the losses or gains of the other participants (assuming that total gains of the participants are added, and the total losses are subtracted, the numerical result will sum to zero) Particularly useful in competitive relations, and explains economic behaviour such as opportunity cost and absolute advantage Non-zero sum: a relational state wherein all participants act based upon their respective efficient capabilities...
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...Rather than assuming that market structure always creates incentives for cooperation among social actors as well as states, or focusing exclusively on those issue areas where it does, as do some liberal ideologies, liberal IR theory focuses on market structure as variable explaining both openness and closure. The resulting commercial liberal explanation of relative gains seeking in foreign economic policy is quite distinct from that of Realism, which emphasizes security externalities and relative (hegemonic) power, or that of Institutionalism, which stresses informational and institutional constraints on interstate collective action. One source of pressure for protection lies in uncompetitive, monopolistic or undiversified sectors or factors that lose the most from liberalization and have an incentive to oppose it. Commercial liberalism has important implications for security affairs as well. Trade is generally a less costly means of accumulating wealth than war, sanctions...
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...security dilemma is when one state’s security becomes another state’s insecurity. Vague signals along with lack of communication can cause uncertainty, which can result in unwanted fighting. The big question is whether or not we can resolve the never ending security dilemma spiral through globalization and international institutions. Is it possible to learn from past mistakes and learn from new perspectives in order to obtain peace, I believe so. This essay will provide explanations from all of the International Relations theories, and will furthermore discuss how global order can be achieved through careful cooperation between states. To begin with liberalism is optimistic about cooperation, and believes that decision makers are rational and human nature is good. Liberalism focuses on three main concepts: international institutions, democratic peace, and economic interdependence. Liberalists view war as avoidable if government is reduced and if more international institutions are created. They hold international institutions with a lot of merit. Firstly, they consider international institutions to create peace because the institutions reduce transaction costs, make state commitments more credible, enable states to discuss issues multiple times, and encourage countries to join in multilateral collective security mechanisms ( Textbook p. 117118). International...
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...Jager (2015) defines idealism as a theory that states that our reality is shaped by our thoughts and ideas. Realism on the other hand deals with the fact that reality has an absolute existence independent from our thoughts, ideas and even consciousness. This essay intends to contrast idealism and realism that is outlining the differences between the two theories. The first part is the comparison of the two theories, the second part discusses the differences between the theories with examples to elaborate. In conclusion the essay purpose that the reader is able to differentiate with a clear understanding of the two theories in the context of international relations. Idealism, according to (Heywood, 2014) dealing with how we view things whether in an ideal or perfect manner and Realism dealing with treating with things in a practical way and viewing some situations pragmatically and makes idealism focus on “what could be done” and realism focusing on “what actually is”. Generally idealists are under the impression that human nature is good and with regards to international relations the cycle will initially attain peace, whereas realists sorely believe that the cycle of international relations will not change, it will always be anarchic...
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...and values. In fact, a lot of political leaders seem to severely be deficient in numerous of the majority necessary leadership qualities. This assay will be analyzing on one of African president ever recognized as dedicated leader; who dedicated his entire life fighting for freedom of his nation. Mandela was born in Transkei in a small rural community in the easterner cape of South Africa. On 18 July 1918 and named Nelson by one of his teachers, Mandela led the struggle to reinstate the apartheid rule of South Africa against racial discrimination. As well-known as a democratic leader he was incarcerated for 27 years. Has been awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1993 and 1994 Nelson Mandela been voted as South Africa first black president. The assay will seem at his behavior, characteristics as leader, and the style of his leadership at last relate his leadership with particular theory of leadership that is transformational leadership model. Leadership is a function of personal and professional qualities (retrospection), the conception of a vision, structure and satisfying a sense of collective purpose, and make sure carrying out, with strategy and culture as two situational or contextual factors. Mr. Nelson Mandela Charismatic personality he’s...
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...Essay Title: Is Global Civil Society an answer to War? Introduction War is not a modern phenomenon but as old as human existence itself. Wars are not like natural calamities or phenomenon but are very much part of human existential dynamics that seeks both peace and ability to survive acknowledging its natural competitive behaviour which unlike realist assumptions is conditioned and not natural. However, realism has dominated the field of international relations since the end of World War 11. It dominates political thinking, with exclusive emphasis on the state as the primary actor in world politics. Realists display a very overt pessimistic view of human nature, advocating with religious conviction that selfish human nature drives international relations into conflicts subjugating state to resort to organized violence and wars in order to gain upper hand and to always resort to wars to resolve international conflicts. Thus resulting in a system framed to maximize state’s military power in a predominantly anarchical environment. As a distinct school of thought, Realism emphasizes separation from domestic to international with little or no democratic structures within its sphere. Consequently, warfare has remained an institutionalized social order against the predatory behavior of others and consequently a legitimate instrument of survival. Moreover, growth in the size of armies and the development of weapons technology has led to an increase in the frequency of wars resulting...
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...The impact of domestic determinants on foreign policy has long been a widely debated topic in the field of international relations, and foreign policy analysis in particular. Some scholars argue that domestic politics and foreign policy are two independent arenas of issues. Others believe that the two respective issues do not stop at the water’s edge. Foreign policy and domestic politics are interdependent and could spill over into each other. While both schools of scholars make some convincing arguments about their respective cases, it’s probably reasonable to expect that the degree of influence between domestic and international determinants of foreign policy is contingent on different foreign policy contexts. In some cases, international factors play a more important role, whereas in other cases, domestic reasons are more important. In this presentation, I put forth a conglomeration and an intellectual web analysis in examining the domestic determinants of national foreign policy. Prior to reaching this goal a definition offered by Webber and smith in 2000 on foreign policy is stipulated. The interpretation of domestic determinants as illustrated by Sulliban is furthermore encapsulated. According to Webber and Smith, A country's foreign policy, also called the international relations policy, is a set of goals outlining how the country will interact with other countries economically, politically, socially and militarily, and to a lesser extent, how the country will...
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...Realism and Liberalism Political realism believes that politics, like society in general, is governed by objective laws that have their roots in human nature. In order to improve society it is first necessary to understand the laws by which society lives, the operation of these laws being impervious to our preferences. Realism, believing as it does in the objectivity of the laws of politics, must also believe in the possibility of developing a rational theory that reflects, however imperfectly and one-sidedly, these objective laws. It believes also in the possibility of distinguishing in politics between truth and opinion – between what is true objectively and rationally, supported by evidence and illuminated by reason, and what is only a subjective judgment. Realism is a theory within international relations which predicts states will act in their own national interest in defiance of moral consideration. In general, this belief results from an observation of human nature and the perception of people as selfish and fiercely competitive. Realism regards the international arena as anarchic, governed by no authority overriding sovereign states. International institutions such as the United Nations are not afforded significant credibility from a realist perspective. Rather, influence is perceived to be held predominately by major powers such as the United States, whose dominance is a product of military and economic strength. Realists hold the primary interest...
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