International Political Theory
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A) In the Realist school of international political theory, the premise of an all-pervasive "security dilemma" is central and dominant. In the Realists' view, states organize their interests toward the goal of maximizing their security, with the consequence that issues of peace and war become most prominent - and power the final arbiter/explanation for all (Moens 39). Realist emphasis on the security dilemma is the logical outgrowth of its exponents' pessimistic view of human nature: that human nature is essentially self-interested - and, because all humans are so self-interested, considers others in terms of threat and distrust (Waltz 2.1: 4). The Idealist/Liberal canon of international political theory, by contrast, stems from a different conception of human nature: that human nature is not inherently evil - only the societal organizations of humankind may or may not be structurally at fault (Moens 44). In so reasoning, the Idealists and Liberal theorists certainly do not altogether disagree with the Realists' observation that power and its associate manifestations creates a security dilemma central to the affairs of states. That observation acknowledged, however, Idealists and Liberals are quick to counter that it is the concept of the "state" itself that breeds hierarchical dynamics and the need to contest for power (Moens 46). In their view of the situation, it is posited that the state, by placing itself at the centre and top of all international activity, ignor
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The perception of other states in the concept of power is also illustrated by the pre-World War II example given above. A state or alliance may possess considerable resources of power, but those resources are effective tools in the process of international relations only insofar as other states are aware of both the quantitative and strength of will factors. This is, perhaps, the most variable aspect of power, since it involves factors of perception by other states - observation, cultural attitude, internal political decisions, etc. - that the state employing power may or may not be able to calculate, or affect (Moens 60-61).
Within this summary description of power and its place in the process of inter-state relations, it can be seen that Canada has dealt very smoothly with the concept of power in its relationships with the United Kingdom and the United States. For reasons of geography and human resource factors, Canada has traditionally been dependent upon - and strategically important to - first, Great Britain in the Pre-World War II international equation, then the United States during the 1945-89 Cold War. Canadian governments have made it clear to both ostensibly-dominant states that they could benefit more from pe
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Approximate Word count = 2031
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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