ULUSLARARASI İLİŞKİLER TEORİLERİ I - Deneme Sınavı - 5

Dialectics is a term used to describe a method of philosophical argument that involves some sort of contradictory process between opposing sides.

Surplus value is the difference between the amount of exchange and value created by workers. The capitalist buys the worker’s labor force, as any other commodity. The capitalists’ control over this surplus value is the
basis of their power and wealth over the workers.

False consciousness, in Marxist philosophy, refers to the notion that members of the proletariat unwittingly misperceive their real position in society and systematically misunderstand their true interests within the social relations of production under capitalism. False consciousness, to Marx, denotes people’s inability to recognize inequality, oppression, and exploitation in a capitalist society.

Hobson (1858-1940) was an English economist influenced by liberal thinkers, such as John Stuart Mill and Herbert Spencer. In his classic study, Imperialism: A Study, first published in 1902, he attempts to explain the rise of new imperialism in the 1870s and 1880s when Great Britain, together with the other European powers, engaged in a scramble for colonies.

Gramsci developed the concept of “cultural hegemony”, through which capitalism perpetuates itself. Cultural hegemony, in a generic sense, is the dominant ideology of the society that reflects the beliefs and interests of the ruling class. More specifically, the term refers to the ability of a group of people to hold power over social institutions, and thus, to strongly influence the values, norms, and worldview of the rest of society.

It became more apparent with the welfare liberals who based their ideas on Keynesian doctrines of increased role of state in economics that brought economic nationalism on the agenda again. The doctrinal elements of liberalism were reevaluated under the light of changing international circumstances. Correct answer is B.

Through liberal lenses, cooperation is a positivesum game which means that all participants benefit from its priviliges, outcomes. This is called as absolute gains (where all can win) opposed to the relative gains perspective of the realist assumption as regards nature of cooperation. Correct answer is A.

Following the liberal tradition; democratic peace theory is based on

(1) faith in human rationality, 

(2) capability of maintaining peace, 

(3) ability to overcome anarchy and power politics,

(4) peace enhancing effects of trade. Correct answer is E.

In  modern sense, realism is influenced the most by two authors, namely, Edward H. Carr and Reinhold Niebuhr.  Until today, there are many other names such as George Kennan, Hans Morgenthau, Nicholas Spykman, Henry Kissinger etc. who contributed to the development of the theory in its classical shape.

The statements in the first options are about the four assumptions that realist theory of international relations has. However, according to realist theory, socio-economic issues are considered low-politics as opposed to what is stated in the option E. Indeed, military, strategic issues that concerns security of state are often referred to as “high politics”.

First, let's have a look at the six principles:

1. Politics is governed by objective laws that have their roots in human nature.

2. Statesmen conduct themselves in terms of interest defined as power.

3. Interest determines political conduct within the political and cultural context which foreign policy is formulated.

4. Prudence is the supreme virtue in international politics. There can be no political morality without prudence.

5. Nations are entities that pursue their interests as defined by power and should not be judged by universal moral principles.

6. Political realism rejects the legalistic-moralistic approach to international politics.

As seen in these principles, first classical realists, without denying the importance of anarchy, underlines the role of human nature. To describe this nature, Thomas Hobbes uses these words:

“… in the first place, I put for a general inclination of all mankind a perpetual and restless desire of power after power, that ceaseth only in death” (Hobbes, 2016).

Simply put, man is naturally egoist and in a world of limited resources, he is guided by an endless will to gain power and it is this will that shapes his relations with others. As an animus dominandi, he constantly seeks to make others the subject of his domination. In realist perspective, this egoism and powerseeker (domination-seeker) character of human-being is also found as a constitutive element in every association and organization created by man. So, if international politics is all about power, it is the inevitable result of the reflection of human characteristic on international actors.

Kenneth Waltz is considered as the precursor of neorelaism. Theory of International Politics (1979) is his seminal work and in this book he tries to develop a scientific approach to understand and explain the international political system.

In Waltzian perspective, having only two great powers in the system is a sine qua non condition to a stable international environment. “Significant changes take place when the number of great powers reduces to two or one. With more than two, states rely for their security both on their own internal efforts and on alliances they may make with others. Competition in multipolar systems is more complicated than competition in bipolar ones because uncertainties about the comparative capabilities of states multiply as numbers grow, and because estimates of the cohesiveness and strength of coalitions are hard to make”.

For defensive realists, international structure incites states to maintain the existing balance of power, the present status quo. So, in this regard, main goal of international actors is to preserve their relative power not to increase it. However, in offensive realist perspective, common belief is that it is extremely rare to find states that are content with the existing status quo. That is because the international structure compels them to maximize their relative power as it is the only way to maximize their security. In that sense, their aggressive actions should be considered as an implication of their natural desire to survive.

According to Walt, there are four elements that define perceived threat. The four elements of threat are aggregate power, geographic proximity, offensive capabilities, and offensive intentions. Basically, how powerful is it, how close is it, how much military might is it capable of, and is it acting aggressively? Those are the four criteria that states use to evaluate the threat posed by other states.

Neoclassical realism could be considered as an approach that seizes the middle-ground in realist perspective. Given the increasing importance of some domestic variables such as public opinion, civil society on foreign policy process, adding that the immaterial factors that have been mostly ignored by the other realist views, its inclination to combine “outside and inside” elements to establish a solid analytical framework for not only states’ foreign policies but also international politics in general, offers, without doubt, a promising prospect for the study of international relations in 21st century.

Neorealist paradigm of international relations is not capable of offering an “… explicit policy guidance to state leaders as they confront the practical problems of world politics. This is presumably because they have little or no choice owing to the confining international structure in which they must operate”.  It is not at all interested in developing a solid framework to facilitate foreseeing foreign policy moves of international actors. Waltzian argument, conforming to its determinist character, is simply that structure determines behavior and dictates policy.

There are “four factors that encourage the limitation of violence in interstate relations”, thus, the stability, within a bipolar world. First of all, as a natural result of an international system with only two major powers, there are no peripheries. Secondly, the scope of factors those included in the competition is extended as the intensity of competition increases and “increased intensity is expressed in a reluctance to accept small territorial losses.” As a third characteristic of bipolar world, one must point out “the nearly constant presence of pressure and the recurrence of crisis.” Although it may sound, at first glance, a bit odd that this condition of permanent tension is considered to be a factor that encourages peace and stability, this assumption emphasizes the fact that “to fight small wars in the present may be the means of avoiding large wars later.” These three factors as the stabilizing particularities of a bipolar world, combined with a fourth element which is the preponderant power of major actors that help to achieve, in one way or another, comprehension and absorption of revolutionary political, military, and economic changes within the bipolar balance, are to be seen as sources of peace and stability. These are also the characteristics of the AmericanSoviet relations in the post-WWII era and in that perspective, they are considered to be generally effective to maintain the relative stability of this period and relevance of each factor is proved by various crisis examples of different degree such as Korea, Formosa Strait, Cuba, Berlin, Indo-China, etc..

The permanent members of the United Nations Security Council are the five states that the United Nations Charter grants a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. These are the United States, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, France and People’s Republic of China. Italy is not a permanent member.