Summary: International Relations

Read the summary and the most important questions on International Relations

• 1 Introduction & Clash of Civilisations

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• What is a civilisation?

  a civilisation is the highest cultural grouping of people and the broadest level of cultural identity people have short of that which distinguishes humans from other species

• What are 3 arguments of Huntington for the Clash of Civilsations?

  1. Dual role of the West 
  2. La Revanche de Dieu 
  3. Differences between civilisations based on history, religion, etc
  4. Result of smaller world, increase in civilisational consciousness

• La Revanche de Dieu

  Secular Western democracies have been wrongfooted by the resurgence of religion. 20th-century intellectual elites generally assumed that economic and social modernisation was leading to a decrease in religion as a significant element in human existence. Instead, it has seen a revival.

• Dual role of the West

  The West is the highest power since the Cold War and is the perfect enemy of non-Western civilisation

• 3 issues that separate the West from the rest

  1. The West's ability to maintain military superiority through the non-proliferation of emerging powers
  2. The promotion of Western political values such as human rights and democracy
  3. The restriction of non-Western immigrants and refugees into Western societies
  
  *Non-Western countries see all 3 aspects as the Western countries attempt to enforce and maintain their status as the cultural hegemony.

• Criticisms of Huntington's Clash of Civilisations

  1. The category of 'civilisation' is too broad and generic --> civilisation is not an actor
  2. Provocative policy recommendations (tightening immigration)
  3. Civilisation division of the world is incorrect (identities are socially constructed, not fixed) 
  4. Superiority/supremacy of the Western civilisation 
  5. Empirically unsound argument: There is no increase in a civilisational conflict

• How will the West be able to remain a global political power?

  By adapting to the increasing power and influence of different civilisations. Without adapting, the West is destined to decline in power and influence, or it will clash with other powerful civilisations.

• 2 IR & Theories (I)

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• What is international relations?

  The study of relationships and interaction between countries, including the activities and policies of national governments, international organisations, non-governmental organisations and MNCs.

• 5 basic social values that states are expected to uphold

  1. Security
  2. Freedom
  3. Order
  4. Justive
  5. Welfare

• Morgenthau's 6 principles of political realism

  1. Politics is rooted in a permanent and unchanging human nature which is self-centred, self-regarding, and self-intered
  2. Politics is an autonomous sphere of action and cannot therefore be reduced to morals
  3. Interests can change, international politics is an arena of conflicting state interests
  4. The ethics of international relations is political or situational ethics which is different from private morality
  5. Realists are opposed to the idea that particular nations can impose their ideologies on other nations
  6. Statecraft is a sober and uninspiring activity that involves an awareness of human limitations and human imperfections