International Relations/World politics

I.
General
1. The roles/responsibilities/obligations of the state
a. Maintaining public order (Instilling a system of law and order within
its territory)
b. Safeguarding and promoting state economy / economic interest
(Organise economic activity that regulates foreign and domestic
trade)
c. Guaranteeing social securities and public services (Welfare and
social programmes medical services, education, transport,
retirement etc.)
d. Providing military protection / defence (Safety and protection of
citizens lives)
2. The need to maintain IR:
a. Without IR: Isolation
i. Might not be positive
ii. Keep other countries at a distance
iii. limiting international involvement keeps their country from
being drawn into dangerous and otherwise undesirable
conflicts
iv. best served by avoiding international trade agreements or
other mutual assistance pacts
b. Why isolation is bad:
i. Unfeasible in todays globalized world
ii. have to be entirely self-reliant in all aspects
iii. should not expect other countries to help or intervene in
times of need (since they have not expressed interest or
consent to be bound to do the same).
iv. There is usually some historical baggage they carry to lead
them to taking up isolation as a stance towards international
affairs.
direct impact on the people's living standards and might not be
in the best interest of the well-being of the state and its people
Eg: No extreme isolation, North Korea only isolates themselves
to a certain extent (While no formal peace treaty exists between
North and South Korea, both diplomatic discussions and clashes
have occurred between the two.
North Korea has maintained close relations with China and has
often limited its contact with other nations. The North Korean
government has banned all media from other countries (such as
video games, newspapers, and goods), especially South Korea
and United States and smuggling these products is illegal.)
3. The aim of international cooperations:
a. World peace
b. Balance of powers
c. Secure long-term interest
d. Depends on motivations for actions
i. Self-interest

human beings (and consequently, states) are

essentially self-preserving and driven by the need for
survival
Any motivation to act or engage in international
relations would entail some pragmatic gain on their
part that might further national interests
By cultivating and forging foreign relations, a state
stands to gain most notably in terms economic and
military security.
ii. Common interest
we are essentially altruistic in nature and would
cooperate for the collective improvement of standard
of living and quality of life in general.
This seems to be the commitment of
intergovernmental organisations like UN and most nongovernmental organisations (Amnesty International,
Red Cross).
II.

Issues
1. Should DCs (North) increase aid to LDCs (South)? P116
2. Does the world need nuclear weapons at all? P136
3. Would the use of nuclear weapons necessarily violate
international law of war? P174
4. Should foreign policymakers minimize human rights concerns?
P223
5. Would world affairs be more peaceful if women dominated
politics? P254
6. Is Islamic Fundamentalism a threat to Political stability? P274
7. Does ritual female genital surgery violate womens human
rights? P292

1. Should DCs (North) increase aid to LDCs (South)? P116

a. Thesis: Many world problems stem from the impoverished
conditions jumpstart solutions to these problems by extending
more assistance
i. Problems: ethnic conflict, religious hatred, failed states,
economic devastation, environmental degradation
(intractable)
ii. Symptoms of poverty: frequent illness, malnutrition, poor
growth, illiteracy, high birth rates, gender bias
iii. Why break the cycle of poverty: increase capacity of
development process to assault povertys main external
causes, rooted in diverse factors such as geography, climate,
land tenure, debt, biz cycles, governance + unjust economic
relations
iv. Efforts: universal child immunisation effort, oral rehydration
therapy (ORT)
v. Methods:

outsmart poverty at the outset of each new life by

providing bubble of protection around the childs first
vulnerable months and years need strong
international leadership + cooperation
vi. What US (super power) can do
Actions have more immediate effects than signatures
US needs to demonstrate a new culture of caring for its
own children
20/20 vision
new spirit of democratic change will not survive if its
creditors do not give it some debt relief
US must actively support multilateral cooperations
US must strengthen its commitment to UN
b. Thesis: the way aid is given and spent makes it a waste of resources
+ negative impacts on recipients
i. Bigger LDCs (with fewer poor) get more money
ii. Ambiguous process
iii. Which kinds of aid to be abandoned when budgets stop
expanding
iv. What aid is for and what it has achieved (taxpayers)
Failure to reach the poorest
In the recipient country, even the aid that is spent on
health care goes to services that benefit
disproportionately the better-off
Priorities of recipient government?
o The pursuit of national security
o Commercial interest (Japan econ partner)
o Tied aid and export promoting
o Technical assistance (bad advice)
o Steer money from voluntary bodies
(charities/church)
Post-intervention sustainability
After WW2, aid is seen as transitional device to help
countries reach a point from which their economy
would take off from their own accord (CA) However,
growth in recipients countries is negligible (R)
Countries w/o aid still grow, so what is aid for?
Aid hurts price competitiveness
2. Does the world need nuclear weapons at all? P136
a. Thesis: the drive towards denuclearization is likely to leave US
exposed to its enemies
i. Hans Morgenthau once put it, Men do not fight because they
have arms. They have arms because they fight.
disarment would actually increase the likelihood of war or
domination by tempting aggressor to cheat and spring their
weapons on an unsuspecting and defenseless victim.

ii. Secretary of the State James Baker: I am not prepared to

walk away from the concept of nuclear detterence that has
kept the peace for more than 40 years.
iii. Winston Churchill: nuclear weapons may have rendered
nuclear war and even large-scale conventional war between
nuclear powers too dangerous to fight
b. Thesis: advocates for the elimination of all nuclear weapons
i. War has not occurred for other reasons
ii. Nuclear war is possible by inadvertence or conscious decision
3. Would the use of nuclear weapons necessarily violate
international law of war? P174
a. Thesis: destructive power of nuclear weapons means that their use
would necessarily violate the law of war
i. Severe restrictions exist on threatening to use and using
nuclear weapons. This opinion puts any leader who is
considering the use of nuclear weapons on notice that he/she
could wind up the defendant in some future war crimes trial
b. Thesis: in some circumstances, the use of nuclear weapons can be
justified under international law
i.
The threat or use of nuclear weapons would be lawful or
unlawful in an extreme circumstance of self-defense, in which the very
survival of a state is at stake (ICJ)
4. Should foreign policymakers minimize human rights concerns?
P223
a. Thesis: US human rights policy has collapsed and ought to be
jettisoned (dropped)
i. There is doubt and debate about the degree to which imperative
human rights and realpolitik point in the same direction
ii. Bill Clinton: The real challenge of foreign policy is to deal with
problems before they harm our vital interests and what we must
do in Kosovo
b. Thesis: US should continue to incorporate human rights concern into
its foreign policy decisions
i. Cost a great deal of life loss
ii. Humanitarian intervention (NATO)
5. Would world affairs be more peaceful if women dominated
politics? P254
a. A truly matriarchal world would be less prone to conflict and more
conciliatory and cooperative than the largely male-dominated world
we live in now
i. human behavior is a mix of socialization and genetic coding.
Genetics play a strong role (Fukuyama). Caprioli assigns a much
greater role to socialization in accounting for the fact that women
seem less aggressive than men.
b. When women assume more political power and have a chance to
act aggressively, they are as apt to do so as men are
i.

6. Is Islamic Fundamentalism a threat to Political stability? P274

a. Those who dismiss the threat from Islamic fundamentalists are
nave
i. Muslim countries is part of a larger effort of people to find
belonging and meaning in a rapidly changing world dominated
by huge, impersonalised govs, biz, and other orgs.
ii. Some of the causes of Islamic fundamentalism are the same
factors that have strengthened the so-called Christian right in
the US and Hindu fundamentalists in India
b. It is wrong to view Islam as a monolith whose adherents post a
threat to the stability of the international system
i. Muslim countries are adjusting to what is arguably a spreading
homogenization of global culture.
ii. Demoracy has taken hold in some Muslim countries and
struggles to survive or begin in others
7. Does ritual female genital surgery violate womens human
rights? P292
a. The practice in some regions of the world of performing
clitoridectomies on young women and gilrs violate their
fundamental human rights must have global ban on the practice
b. The practice of ritual clitoridectomy is to be changed or discarded,
the change should come from within Islam and not through the
imposition of external cultural values