Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Relations
By Rob Kevlihan
Overview
Introduction: What constitutes a “small
state‟ ?
Theories of International Relations
Classical realism and neo-realism
Liberalism and institutionalism
World Systems and Dependency
Constructivist
Implications for small states
Introduction
What constitutes a “small state” ?
Geographical size, size of population?
Question of relative or absolute power?
How is power defined? – military, economic,
defensive, offensive?
Context of “smallness”: Local, regional or
global?
Introduction
International relations and small states
IR theory typically focuses on the behavior and
interests of the powerful
The international system is also frequently defined in
terms of power distributions – for example, balance of
power theory
Most modern IR theorists come from powerful
(western) states
But; empirical reality – 190 + states – how many are
actually powerful?
Major schools of IR
Three major arguments:
Realist – that human nature or the system
defines the behavior of states
Liberal - that domestic state / society relations
define state ends and as such state behavior
Constructivist: that states can define the
nature of their interactions – the realist zero
sum game is not inevitable.
Theories on International
Relations
Characteristics of Classical Realism
Reductive view of power
Dark view of human nature
Risk Averse
Classical realism
Reductive view of power
Thucydides “Since you know as well as we do
that right, as the world goes, is only in
question between equals in power, while the
strong do what they can and the weak suffer
what they must.”
Classical Realism
Dark View of Human Nature
Thomas Hobbes: „The life of man, solitary,
poor, nasty, brutish and short‟
In the absence of an overarching law
(anarchy), man lives in a state of war
Morgenthau: Only through working with the
forces of human nature, rather than against
them, by ever balancing interests, that moral
principles can be realized.
Classical Realism
Risk Averse
Machiavelli – It is better to be feared than
loved
EH Carr – “the conservatism of realism”
Morgenthau - realism „aims at the realization
of the lesser evil rather than of the absolute
good‟
Classical Realism
Outcome: the self fulfilling prophesy of realism:
Worst case scenario assumption about states
intentions leads states to adopt realist positions
Implications for small states
Small states are essentially pawns in “the great
game” played between larger states and should use
whatever (small) advantages they have to maintain
(limited) autonomy of action and (relative) freedom
from external domination
Classical Realism
But
Moral aspect in some later writers (Carr,
Morgenthau)
Bounded definitions of what constitutes
international relations
Morgenthau: IR = activities normally undertaken
where power is considered
Carr: Politics defined as power politics, with
international co-operation divided into the „political‟
and „non-political‟
Neo-realism
Focus on the implications of anarchy,
rather than on human nature
More systemic approach that is concerned
with relative power
System defined by the most powerful
states
Neo-realism
Waltz: Theory of International Politics
“Continuities” in international relations - balance of
power the ultimate outcome
Forces are shaped by the very existence of other
states as well as interactions between them and will
persist as long as none of the competing units can
convert the anarchic international system into a
hierarchic one
socialization and competition are the two invisible
hands of the international system that lead to a
persistence in outcomes
Neo-realism
Waltz / contd.
Capability of states is brought to the fore, with small
or weaker states been mostly unimportant for Waltz‟s
analysis.
With respect to the distribution of these capabilities,
Waltz highlights the importance of relative power, with
the distribution of capabilities being a function of the
number of great powers.
This results in a self help approach by states to other
states that involves the use of realpolitick. Realist
behavior is necessary in order for states to ensure
their survival in the system
Neo-realism
Alliance formation in the realist system
Walt:
Balancing or band-wagoning behavior likely from
small states in response to the system of balance
of power;
Not just a question of power: states will ally with or
against the most threatening power.
As a result aggregate power, proximity, offensive
capability and offensive intentions all play a role in
deciding state behavior
Neo-realism
More aggressive variant
Mearsheimer‟s Offensive Realism
All states strive to be the global hegemon
But, global hegemony is not possible; best case
scenario as regional hegemon with ability to
project power into other regions
Regional hegemons will therefore seek to keep
other potential hegemons from emerging
Neo realism
Mearsheimer / contd.
Greater range of strategies possible for states
(including small states):
War, blackmail, bait and bleed (where states try to weaken
rivals by provoking a long war between them), bloodletting
(taking measures to ensure that any war will be costly),
balancing and buckpassing, appeasement and band-
wagoning.
However, actual choice in a realist world frequently comes
down to balancing or buck-passing in the face of threatening
states, with states preferring buck-passing whenever
possible
Liberalism
Classical liberalism is frequently equated
with the straw man of idealism (or
utopianism)
Naive reliance on
International law (e.g. The Kellogg Briand pact
outlawing war)
The power of international public opinion