Politics
CHAPTER Power TWO
International Relations 8/e Goldstein and Pevehouse
Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman 2008
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Interests
Paramount interest: Survival
Secondary interests:
Security Prosperity
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Realism
Realism's foundation is the principle of dominance.
Explains international relations in terms of power. Also called Power Politics Sometimes called realpolitik
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Realism
Realist tradition: Thucydides
"The strong do what they have the power
to do and the weak accept what they have to accept."
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Realism
Realist tradition: Sun Tzu
"All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him."
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Realism
Realist tradition: Thomas Hobbes
War of all against all, life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and above all, short"
Lord Palmerston
"We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual and those interests it is our duty to follow"
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Realism
Realist tradition: Karl von Clausewitz
"War is nothing but a continuation of politics with the admixture of other means"
Hans Morgenthau (1950s)
No nation has God on its side "And, above all, remember always that it is not only a political necessity but also a moral duty for a nation to follow in its dealings with other nations but one guiding star ... THE NATIONAL INTEREST"
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Power
Power: The ability to get someone else to do what they would not do on their own.
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Defining Power
Power is not influence itself, but the ability or potential to influence others.
Based on specific (tangible and intangible) characteristics possessions or of states
Sizes, levels of income, and armed forces
Capability: Easier to measure than influence and less circular in logic Remember that power is relative
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Defining Power
Hard power
Military force Also sometimes called "material power"
Soft power
Diplomatic Trade "ideas" or culture
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Estimating Power
The logic of power suggests:
The more powerful state will generally prevail. Estimates of the power of two antagonists should help explain the outcome. Careful, though: Soft power is harder to quantify than hard power, though it might be a lot more important.
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Elements of Power
The fungibility of power.
When power in one arena can translate into power in another arena, it is fungible. Military capability (nuclear warheads, especially) may not translate into influence Money is the most fungible capability.
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Figure 2.5
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Prisoner's Dilemma
Two conspirators are arrested and interrogated separately. If one implicates the other, he may go free while the other receives a life sentence. Yet, if both confess, bad fate befalls them. If both stay silent, insufficient evidence will lead them being charged with and convicted of a lesser crime.
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Modeling the PD
Prisoner 2
Prisoner 1 Deny
Confess
Deny 2,2
3,0
Confess 0,3
1,1
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Stag Hunt
The French philosopher, Jean Jacques Rousseau, presented the following situation. Two hunters can either jointly hunt a stag (an adult deer and rather large meal) or individually hunt a rabbit (tasty, but substantially less filling). Hunting stags is quite challenging and requires mutual cooperation. If either hunts a stag alone, the chance of success is minimal. Hunting stags is most beneficial for society but requires a lot of trust among its members.
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Modeling the Stag Hunt
Hunter 2 Hunter 1 Stag Hare
Stag Hare
10,10 8,0
0,8 7,7
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