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Ib Higher Level Global Politics Theory v1
Ib Higher Level Global Politics Theory v1
ORG
IB HIGHER LEVEL
GLOBAL POLITICS
SUMMARIZED NOTES ON THE THEORY SYLLABUS
IB HIGHER LEVEL GLOBAL POLITICS
Structural Realism:
Nation- states pursue power because of the structure
1. Power, Sovereignty and of the international system
Anarchy:
International Relations An ordering principle
There is no central authority that governs all the
1.1. Power countries
As a result of the anarchic nature of the international
Power is the ability to influence or control the behaviour system (no central authority governing all countries),
and decisions of people nations pursue power in order to ensure their own
Power accompanied with legitimacy is referred to as survival
‘authority’ 5 key assumptions of Structural Realism:
The concept of power is present is social relations as well All states operate in an anarchic system
IB’s definition of power: All states possess offensive capability to a certain
The ability to induce change through influence and extent
control The intention of other states can never truly be
An aspect of relations among people functioning confirmed
within a social construct Survival is the primary goal of every state
Contested relations between (groups) of people States are rational actors
dominate politics; increased especially due to How states consolidate/ increase power:
globalisation; resulting in the need to consolidate Military: increased military prowess in terms of
power development of modern weapons ( eg. development
Types of power: of nuclear weapons), spending on defense as well as a
Hard Power:the use of military force or economic large military force
influence in order establish control Latent power: the wealth that the country possesses
Soft Power: the use of a country’s attractive aspects as well as the size of the population
(such as language, education or culture) in order to Offensive Structural Realism (Theory by John
influence another nation- state’s population Mearshimer):
The soft power theory was first coined by the States that its rational for countries to pursue as
political scientist Joseph Nye much power as possible
Balance of Power: All states try to ensure survival by States must pursue absolute power in the
preventing a single state from consolidating excessive international system(hegemony) as much as possible
military or economic power which in turn could be used Defensive Realism: (Theory by Kenneth Waltz)
to dominate other states Unwise for states to overtly maximise their power
Balance of Power is achieved through: considering the international system is likely to
Increasing the country’s military or economic retaliate (balance of power)
capabilities or The pursuit to absolute hegemony is irrational and
By forming economic or military alliances with other cost ineffective
countries in the region Anarchy: the absence of certain authority
The theory of structural realism suggests that the
international system is in a state of ‘anarchy’, meaning
1.2. Realism there is no higher authority that governs all the states
The opposite of anarchy is known as “hierarchy”, the a
A global political theory that suggests that all nations are
system where an authoritative figure/ authoritative
motivated by national interests in order to consolidate
figures are present (eg. national governmental
power and influence
systems)
States are concerned of how much power they hold in
Every state has the ability and liberty to inflict harm upon
comparison to other states
another state in an anarchic global system; albeit at
Four types of Realism:
differing capacities.
Classical Realism
States ultimately want to discern whether other states in
Structural Realism
the system are:
Offensive Realism
Revisionist states: willing to use force to alter the
Defensive Realism
balance of power in the region/ world
Classical Realism:
Status Quo States: Satisfied with the current position
Presumption that the longing for power and influence
and the state of affairs, with no desire to use force.
is an innate human desire
It is almost impossible to discern another state’s
Nation- states are led by individuals who share the
intentions with a high degree of certainty
desire to dominate the global political system
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Unlike Military capabilities, intentions cannot be The ideology of nationalism is all about self-
objectively verified as they are in the minds of the determination , which means the occupied will ultimately
decision-makers rise against the occupier
Survival is the primary goal of every state (Although states Realism summary
pursue ulterior goals as national well- being, prosperity it's more rational for states to pursue power
and the protection of human rights) Offensive and defensive realist's beendet disagree on
States are assumed to be capable of coming up with how much power is enough
sensible strategies in order to maximise the prospects for Global political system is characterised by power
survival Dominated 20th century thinking about global
They may miscalculate from time to time considering they politics- most other theoretical perspectives are
operate with imperfect information reactions to or criticisms of realism.
Hegemony: Control exerted by a single country upon
other nations in the international system. 1.3. Liberalism
Balance of Power: theory which states the inevitable
retaliation by states against a hegemon in order to Liberalism in Global Politics: (John Locke)
maintain a ‘balance of power’ (or influence) in the Apart from realism, liberalism is a more widely
international system; avoids potential threats and accepted alternative perspective on comprehending
conflicts. global politics
Offensive structural Realism (John Mearsheimer) Other theoretical perspectives include idealism, neo -
It makes sense for states to pursue as much power as Marxism, constructivism and feminism.
possible International liberalism is different from domestic
states should pursue hegemony where possible liberalism
Defensive Structural Realism (Kenneth Waltz): In International relations, liberalism refers to the
Unwise for slates to maximise their share of power as emphasis on interdependence between states
the global political system is likely to retaliate Realism stresses on continuity of international systems,
Pursuit of hegemony is irrational liberalism stresses on change.
Hegemony : Offensive Realism Key Principles:
Offensive realists argue that states should always be Societies and states have become extremely
looking for opportunities to gain power and should do Interdependent over the 20th century
so whenever it seems feasible, therefore it is easier for states to relate with each
States should maximise power with their ultimate other
goal being their establishment as a hegemon, Interdependence:
because that is the way to guarantee their survival in the idea that states and their fortunes are connected
the international system to each other
Hegemony: Defensive Realism what happens in one state can have effects on
While defensive realists recognize that the another state
international system creates strong incentives to gain relations between two states can greatly affect the
additional increments of power, they maintain the relations between other states
stance that it is irrational, at a strategic level, to Complex interdependence: a kind of interdependence
pursue hegemony. (aside from the tradiſional form) established after the
States should not maximise power but should instead second world war.
strive for what Waltz labels “ an appropriate amount Components of complex interdependence
of power”. Multiple channels
Defensive realists emphasize that if any state Multiple issues
becomes too powerful, balancing will occur Decline in the use of effective military force
There is an offence-defence balance, which indicates how Realism sees states as the only significant actors, and
easy or difficult it is to conquer a territory or defeat a therefore is confined to state-to-state relations
defender in battle Liberalism does not deny the importance of State-to-state
The Offence-defence battle is almost always in the relation; but also proposes that states aren't the only
defender's favour important actors in global politics.
Any state in pursuit of conquest is likely to lose a lot of Non-state actors in global politics :
resources. Transnational corporations
Aims in Offensive position are limited as the state would Non-governmental organisations
strive to retain its position simultaneously Intergovernmental organisations
Even when conquest is feasible, it does not pay: the costs Liberalism underlines all these non-state actors as
outweigh the benefits important components across national borders.
Because of the existence of nationalism, it's difficult for Substate actors are also important:
the conqueror to subdue the conquered
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Example: Failed “War on Terror” campaign (US :2001) Establishing preferences: getting the other state to
Military power is often measured by the size of a state's want the same goal as your state
military or its military spending. One state can use its (relational) influence to change the
It is also useful to assess how effective a state?s military is behavior of another state using hard, soft and smart
in the conflicts it engages in power.
Just as military power is measuredó economic power too Social and Cultural power:
can be measured through multiple parameters: Globalization has a huge impact on this
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): measures merely the Gives advantage to brands from country of Origin
size of the domestic output, for example in billions of (soft power)
dollars. Eg: Simpsons, facebook, BBC etc.
GDP per capita. Measures the size of an economy as a Cyber powers
proportion of the total population eg. Wikileaks (2016)
Economic growth : measures the annual or quarterly Governments of nations west heavily in cyberspace
percentage by which a state's economy has grown or A lot of countries also use cyber attacks against
declined. countries
A lot of nation's choose to rely solely on economic power The Internet has empowered new groups at both
(example: Germany / Japan) state and individual level.
However it is unlikely that if a country is not a major key infrastructures such as banking, water, transport
economic power; they will have a strong military and tele depend on cyber security.
considering the fact that a larger portion of that country's The relatively new social, cultural and cyber powers have
GDP would be spent on perfecting the military. varying effectiveness. Cultural power may do little for
States tend to also usé economic power as hard power ( nations whereas cyber power has empowered many
sanctions, for instance) groups, states and individuals.
States also build an economic relationship among each Measuring Power
other (mainly through trade) that helps aid any strengths measuring power as resources : this is done by
or weaknesses the country might require calculating the size of the amies, economies and
Economic power can be measured in different ways. It populations
can be used as a method of hard power- in the form of Although the most obvious forms of measuring
sanctions - and is needed 'If states wish to be strong power, it is argued, that these cannot be considered
military powers. accurate as states may not use these resources
Structural Power: effectively.
Structural powers is when states influence the Furthermore, it is possible that states may misuse or use
political ideas, structure and framework of 'global these powers ineffectively against their opponents.
politics Measuring power as behavioural outcomesë measuring
Example: Capitalism vs communism (ideological the practical effect that states have when they use their
warfare): power resources
2011: Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq; use of Military power This usually involves judgement regarding objectives such
by US as air strikes or sanctions being levied effectively
Arab Spring (2011): Mass public demonstrations Distribution of power; understanding whether the word
Ideological: relating to political principles and structures system is unipolar, bipolar or multipolar.
for ordering government and society Unipolar: when one state is more powerful than all
Structural power is the means by which states affect Multipolar: when power is distributed amongst all
global politics, usually by promoting a model of politics states
that they favour , such as democracy or capitalism. Bipolar: is when power is available majorly only
Relational power: this is when a state has a relationship between 2 (perhaps rival states)
with another state and uses this relationship to influence
the other state to change its behavior. A state may use 1.5. Sovereignty
military, economic, hard, soft, smart power, or a
combination of these to achieve its aims and goal Sovereignty: A state with sovereignty has complete
In order to be successful, the state must know the other control over its own government and it has external
state's strengths' and weaknesses and know both what sovereignty when it allows other states control over what
would be a convincing threat and what would be an happens within their borders.
attractive reward. Factors:
Joseph Nye’s 3 types of relational powers: permanent population
Threats and rewards that are likely to encourage the defined territory and borders
state to a desired goal. effective government
Controlling the agenda: 'limiting the choices of the the capacity and legitimacy to enter into relations with
other state to reach a desired goou. other states.
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Human Rights: A list of fundamental rights every person Political Civil/ Social Economic
is entitled to, regardless of their personal differences. Article 9 Article 14
Human Rights are divided into positive and negative
Article 10 Article 16
rights that determine action and inaction respectively.
Positive Rights: An obligation by others (primarily the Article 11 Article 18
authority) to provide to a person. Eg. Right to Education, Article 16 Article 19
Food, Housing, Employment Article 21 Article 20
Negative Right: These call for the prevention of activities Article 24
by others that may infringe upon the human rights one
Article 26
possesses; often consisting of social and political rights.
Eg. Freedom of expression, speech, privacy, fair trial, Article 27
religion etc. Article 28
History of Human Rights Charters: Article 29
The Cyrus Cylinder- 539 BC Article 30
Magna Carta- 1215 CE
Petition of Rights- 1628 CE
United States’ Declaration of Independence- 1776 2.3. Multilateralism Vs Bilateralism
US Constitution- 1787
Declaration of Rights of the Man and of the Citizen- Theories of International Relations in Human Rights:
1789 Multilateralism: The alliance of multiple countries
US Bill of Rights- 1791 pursuing a common objective
The First Geneva Convention- 1864 Multilateral implementation of human rights helps
Three Generations of Human Rights: increase nations’ sense of responsibility and
First Generation: Focus primarily on Civil (rights facilitate national compliance towards the
possessed by the citizens of a country) and Political protection of human rights by inculcating public
(right to participate in the politics of the country) scrutiny.
rights. Primarily negative rights. Concrete multilateralism can result in
Second Generation: Focus on Social and Economic consequences to the violation human rights, but
rights; eg. The right to safe working conditions, wages, does not necessarily guarantee positive
equal pay, education etc. These are a combination of implementation
positive and negative rights. Bilateralism: The conduct of political, economical or
Third Generation: Rights relating to individual and social relations between two sovereign states
collective identities (culture). Eg. the right to pursue The allocation of resources through bilateral
one’s belief, practice any religion, protection against means is a lot more efficient compared to
any form of discrimination etc. These are primarily multilateral
positive rights. Unilateral actions can also help prevent
consequences that affect a state in the long-run
Multiple foreign policies often restrict national
2.2. Universal Declaration of Human interests and use a narrow, partisan perspective
Rights (UDHR) whilst implementing HR; while bilateral
agreements tend to be more specific.
The UDHR is a foundational document of international Perspectives on Human Rights:
human rights law, consisting of a range of civil, political Liberal
and economic rights possessed by people regardless of Realist
their differences; adopted by the member states of the Social Constructivist
UN in 1948. Critical
Link to the simplified version of the declaration:
https://www.amnestyusa.org/wp- 2.4. Non-Governmental Politics of
content/uploads/2017/11/Simplified-UDHR.pdf
Segregation of the rights mentioned in the UDHR: Human Rights
Political Civil/ Social Economic Non-state actors also have a significant effect on human
Article 1 Article 3 Article 17 rights and diplomacy- primarily non-governmental
(advocacy) organisations
Article 2 Article 4 Article 22
Civil Society: public political space that is neither the
Article 6 Article 5 Article 23 market nor the state
Article 7 Article 12 Article 25 Civil societies operate nationally and transnationally
Article 8 Article 13 Strategies and resources of NGOs/ Civil societies:
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Resources include the information and the human Sudan (2003 onwards): Arrests and detention of many
capital that NGOs/ CS possess Janjaweed militias for war crimes and crimes against
Strategies include the creation of public pressure and humanity, taking into account the humanitarian crisis
accountability on authorities through of Darfur.
press/journalism, campaigns or protests Uganda (2005): Indicted Ugandan Rebel Leader Joseph
Civil Society advocacy exists at a systematic level in Kony for war crimes, although not convicted.
democratic, sovereign states Libya (2011): saif Al-Islam Gaddafi indicted for crimes
The implementation of human/civil rights lies with state against humanity during the Libyan revolution; yet to
authority, this NGOs/ CS must act through the state to be convicted.
achieve their objectives The primary criticism the ICC has received over the years
International NGOs operate on a multilateral level to is that it primarily targets African nations for investigating
increase international accountability among state actors human rights crimes; claiming bias.
Drawbacks of NGOs:
Ineffective expression despite good intention 2.6. Claims on Human Rights
Lack of financial and political stability
Lack the influence/ authority that state actors possess (Indigenous Peoples)
Power of public opinion is limited
However, NGOs/ INGOs are often more eligible to carry Indigenous people: Socio-cultural groups that share ties
out Human Rights’ initiatives as they do not have any with the region’s ancestral lands and natural resources
vested interests where they reside, occupy or have been displaced from.
Many have developed reputations of accuracy and Characteristics of indegenous people:
impartiality over the years; Eg. Amnesty International, Al Smaller population, relative to the dominant
Jazeera population of their country
People in need to HR assistance: They have (or had) a dialect or language of their own,
Refugees separate from national languages
Asylum Seekers Distinct cultural traditions and practices
Internally Displaced People (IDPs) Have their own land/ territory with ancestral integrity
Stateless persons Examples of indigenous people:
Inuit of the Arctic
Native Americans
2.5. International Criminal Court Hunter-Gatherers in Amazon
Maasai Tribe of East Africa
Placed in Hague, Netherlands and established in Rome,
Aboroginal people of Australia
Italy in the year 2002
The UN Declaration of Rights of the Indigenous Peoples
The ICC is the permanent international court established
(UNDRIP) was adopted by UN member states in the year
in order to investigate, prosecute and try individuals
2007. It outlines laws to protect the dignity and well-being
accused of committing crimes against humanity, war
of people belonging to indigenous communities.
crimes, crimes of aggression and genocide.
Crimes against Humanity: acts of crime committed
against civilians systematically during times of war or 2.7. Individual V. Collective Rights
peace.
War Crimes: violation of the laws of war that holds an The argument of whether group rights (such as those of
individual accountable for the actions of combatants. the Indigenous people) is more efficient, or whether the
Eg Acts of sexual violence, killing of POWs etc rights of everyone can be better protected if
Crime of aggression: where a state actor plans, implemented at an individual level.
initiates and executes an act of using military force Classical Liberal approach:
against another nation; going against ‘Charter of UN’ Places emphasis on the rights of individual people
Genocide: Systematic killings of people belonging to a Driven by the notion that the guarantee for the rights
specific ethnicity, religion, or race. of individuals would lead to collective rights
The ICC has tried over 30 cases with 17 detainees over Human rights flow from the individual to the group
the years Despite the increased support towards individual rights
Examples of ICC’s cases: over the years, certain scenarios (such as ethic cleansings,
Democratic Republic of Congo (2006): Former mass genocides, refugee crises etc.) call for the protection
Congolese leaders Thomas Lubanga, Germain of collective rights.
Katanga and Jean- Pierre Bemba tried for war crimes
and crimes against humanity. 2.8. Universalism V. Cultural Relativism
Ivory Coast (2002): Former president Laurent Gbagdo
held responsible for crimes against humanity.
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Progressive Realisation: UN places emphasis on the Indivisible: all rights are of equal importance and
recognition and propagation of second and third cannot be placed in a hierarchical structure. Every
generation rights in member states, recognizing that a human must possess all rights.
lack of resources can hamper the progress thus only Interdependent: the protection of one right ensures
being able to attain these rights in the long run. the protection of others. Similarly, the denial of one
Natural Law (Theory): also contributes to the denial of other rights.
Theory that arises from values intrinsic to human
nature
Applied to Human Rights; it states that all humans 3. Development
have the capacity to understand and adhere to basic
moral and ethical obligations, thus adhering to the 3.1. Definition of Development
basic concept of Human Rights.
Human Rights propagates the idea of ‘Universalism’- a Development: The overall improvement in the social and
global political theory that calls for the implementation of economic well-being of a country. This includes the
laws and principles across cultures regardless of the improvement in the quality of life; in addition to
differences. monetary development, such as:
Cultural Relativism: The idea that one’s beliefs, practices Healthcare
and values should be understood from the perspective of Education
their own culture or belief system, as opposed to Mortality Rate
implementing universal values. Average life span
Cultural Relativism opposes the idea of Gender equality
‘Ethnocentrism’- the judging of other cultures/ beliefs Racial equality (etc.)
based on the standards set by one’s own ethnicity
Relativists also view Universalism (or any conventions,
declarations, or documents associated with the same) 3.2. Indicators of Development
as ‘Western Constructs’ or the blatant use of western
soft power to increase transnational influence on Indicator Definition
laws. Total value of the amount of
The politicization of Human Rights: The use of Human goods and services produced
Rights laws for national/international political agendas in a country (measured in
Gross Domestic Product
and motives dollars). This can also be
(GDP)/ per capita
calculated per capita by
dividing total output by the
2.9. Key Terms
total population.
Justice: The idea of fairness, with individuals receiving Total amount of goods and
what they deserve. services produced by a
Liberty: Having freedom and/or autonomy to act country’s residents (meaning
Gross National Product
according to their will. production occurring in
(GNP)/ per capita
Positive: Individuals acting as per their own will another country is also
Negative: Acting in reaction to external coercion counted). Can be measured
Equality: All humans, regardless of differences, are of the per capita.
same intrinsic value. Social equality is a strong Percentage of the population
determinant of the level of justice. with the ability to read and
Literacy Rate
Codification: The conversion of ideas into laws write (not restricted to
Crimes against Humanity: acts that violate human/ civil english).
rights declarations eg. systematic murder, enslavement, Fundamental facilities and
discrimination, deportation-committed against civilian Infrastructure structures needed for the
populations. functioning of an economy.
Customary (international) law: verbal agreement that is
An index that measures key
binding to all states
aspects of human life (such
Genocide: ethnic cleansing/ violent crimes committed
Human Development Index as healthcare, education,
against a specific sector of a population
(HDI) standard of living etc.) to
Humanitarian Intervention: Military intervention
determine the level of
conducted uni/bi/multilaterally in light of protecting
development.
national human rights
Human Rights are:
Inalienable: they cannot be taken away from people
under any conditions.
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Poverty: a state in which the population of a country lacks Cultures tend to also progress and evolve in
basic finances and resources to sustain themselves at an alignment with the developmental progress
elementary level Culture and development, oftentimes, are also
Absolute Poverty: When the population is ‘Below exempt from each other
Poverty Line’ and cannot afford even the basic
necessities such as food, clothes or shelter 3.6. Institutional Factors Affecting
Relative Poverty: When the income of a population is
less compared to another sector of the population Development
Poverty Cycle: \n
International institutes such as the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) exist to help provide economic and
financial support at a transnational level
Descriptions:
IMF: Provide support for international financial and
monetary stability; as well as trade, employment and
sustainability.
World Bank: Provides loans and grants to low to
middle income economies
WTO: Intergovernmental organisation that regulates
international trade and trade laws
Effects on development:
Institutions such as these help promote economic
The poverty cycle is hard to break unless there is
development by ensuring financial support to economies,
external intervention (eg. governmental/ non-
and help them grow at par with the international
governmental aid)
community
The lack of qualitative or skilled labour in a country
Unfortunately, power dynamics within the organisation
arising from the aforementioned factors can lead to a
can lead to biases and increased indebtedness that could
low rate of economic growth, and thus impede
negatively impact development
development as well
Welfare, increased crime rates, healthcare and the
need for increased public resources increase 3.7. Environmental Factors Affecting
government expenditure; something that could have Development
instead been allocated towards investing or
infrastructure that would facilitate development Natural resources, such as oil, timber, coal etc. are
essential to the foundational stages of economic
3.5. Social Factors Affecting development of a country
The depletion or mismanagement of natural resources
Development can lead to significant reduction in the economic growth/
development of a country
Discrimination:
Factors such as pollution; which includes carbon
This can occur based on gender, race, religion, tribe
emissions, excessive use of fossil fuels, water pollution,
etc. at a systematic level
litter etc. lead to social costs which the countries
The disenfranchisement of an entire sector of the
resources would be allocated towards managing instead
population can significantly lessen the economic
of investing in the economy
productivity of a country
Sustainable development: Development that meets the
Population:
needs of the present without compromising on the
Countries with very large populations also suffer from
resources required in the future
slow development
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Developed in
A large population inherently is not a problem,
2015, the 17 SDGs coined by the UN outline issues that
however the lack of resources can impede the
need to be addressed in order to ensure sustainable
sustainability of the population
development at a global level
Culture:
A country’s culture covertly influences aspects such as
business, trade and level of development within a 3.8. Models of Development
country
Factors such as nationalism, communal violence, and Model: Theory designed to explain a certain situation or
radical philosophy can can impede development behavior within the intention to predict the same in the
Limitations: future
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One of the simplest models of development is the ‘Core Implementation of protectionist policies such as tarrif
Model’ which suggests that the world is divided into two or non-tariff barriers to prevent excessive
parts; the more economically developed north and the consumption of imported goods and promote
less economically developed south, separated by the national produce
‘Brandt Line’ Implement ‘Import Substitution’, complete
termination of certain imported goods/ services to
\n promote local produce
Global economic system reform
Increased economic aids at a multilateral and bilateral
level
Disadvantages of Neo marxist strategies:
Aids increase international intervention
The lack of international competition in economies
can reduce innovation of products which is important
for development
Quality of products would also be poor considering
imported goods are often produced with better
quality
(Source:
https://denzil2016.wordpress.com/2016/02/03/brandt-line/ )
3.10. Developing Society
Although the model in today’s world is pretty much Factors affecting social development:
outdated; it still generates an argument for the Citizenship skills and engagement: The total amount
developmental gap that exists between the nations of population employed, as well as the portion of the
Perspectives: population comprising of skilled labour affect level of
Neoliberal: Argue that if international economic development
development was based on liberal theories then it can Improvement in education/ facilities
facilitate over all development Improvement in healthcare facilities
Neomarxist: Argue that the developmental gap arises Sustainable living
as a result of an unequal economic structure, which Indigenous revitalisation: Promotion of indegenous
can only be resolved through complete economic heritage and culture to increase inclusivity
reformation
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Multipolar system: few dominating states (eg. current Definitions of types of conflicts:
state of affairs) Dispute: a political conflict is classified as a dispute
Bipolar system: 2 dominating states (eg. Cold War era when it meets all parameters of the basic concept
with US and USSR) Non-Violent Crisis: when physical violence is being
Unipolar system: A single, dominant state (eg. US shown implicitly or explicitly with a disregard towards
hegemony post 1991 (dissolution of USSR), although the damage of property or people
China is said to overtake them soon). Violent Crisis: When at least one actor uses force
Balance of power is a subset of the theory of realism against another and causes harm to people
What happens when a single state consolidates Limited War: when at least one party involved uses
considerable power: significant force against the other (usually military)
The state would use both military and economic and inflicts severe damage on people and property
exploits in order to dominate the weaker states and War: when the use of force against people and
dictate its terms property is intentional and extensive, leading to grave
In such a scenario, weaker states tend to form consequences.
alliances with each other in order to effectively Concept of Violence intensity:
oppose the hegemon
Countering a threat: Dispute Non-Violent Conflicts Low Intensity
Balancing: encompasses the actions that a state, or a Non-Violent Crisis
group of states take in order to equalise the odds Violent Crisis Violent Conflicts Medium Intensity
against more powerful states:
Limited War High Intensity
Internal Balancing: This includes increasing
War
economic and military capabilities within the
country in order to compete with possible
hegemons 4.4. Justifications against Humanitarian
External Balancing: Involves the expansion and
strengthening of a country’s alliances in order to
Intervention
increase their cumulative power
State actors violate human rights within borders in a
Bandwagoning: A state joins forces with an already
multitude of ways:
strong power in hopes of increasing their own
Governments stay in power without conducting
influence
elections
Buck-Passing: instead of taking the responsibility to
Implement policies that can induce violence and
balance a power in the region, states often pass it on
internal conflict at a systematic level
to other states (known as “buck- catchers”) in the
Due to the concept of state sovereignty however (on of
region
the most important principles of international relations),
Blood-letting: A situation where a state causes the
external forces cannot easily intervene in the internal
buck-catcher and aggressor to engage in conflict while
affairs of a state to put an end to the injustice
retreating to the sidelines -> “Bait and Bleed”
Despite the existence of international human rights laws
(3rd Module) Mearshimer’s Strategies (of Buck-Passing)
(such as the UDHR), their non-binding nature makes it
Seeking good diplomatic relations with the aggressor
difficult for states to carry out swift interventions
by shifting the focus to the buck catcher
Still maintaining a neutral relationship with the buck-
catcher 4.5. The Just War Theory
Increasing military strength to deter the aggressor
and shift its focus to the buck-catcher The theory specifies conditions for judging whether it is
Facilitating growth in favour of the buck-catcher “just” to go to war, and how the conditions of war should
be.
There are three primary principles developed by Christian
4.3. Conflict and Violence
Theologians that determine the level of justness involved
in participating or instigating war:
Violence: Physical psychological harm caused by external
Taking human life is wrong
entities
States have a duty to defend citizens and provide
Direct Violence: Physical or mental harm caused to
justice
people such as assault, rape, murder etc.
Protection of people’s rights and morals require the
Indirect Violence: Comes from intangible sources
use of force on occasion
Structural Violence: Violence that stems as a result of the
Criteria for Just War:
social structure; oppression being an example of the
Jus ad Bellum (right to go to war)
same. This counts as ‘indirect violence’ as it is covert.
Jus in Bello (right to conduct in war)
Cultural Violence: Aspects of culture; such as religion,
Jus Ad Bellum: cannot be solely for recapturing
ideology, race etc. that lead to violence.
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factions
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