What is globalization?
The process of increasing interconnectedness among societies affecting distant peoples.
What two meanings can globalization have?
Increasing interconnections among events or the ideology of neoliberal capitalism since the late 1970s.
Since when is globalization associated with neoliberal capitalism?
Since the late 1970s.
What does the book aim to overview?
World politics in a global era.
What main approaches does the book summarize?
Approaches to understanding contemporary world politics.
What material does the book provide?
Material for understanding main structures and issues of world politics.
What is world politics the study of?
Political and power relations among diverse actors globally.
Which actors are included in world politics beyond states?
Institutions, organizations, and other social groups.
What types of groups does world politics include besides states and institutions?
Multinational corporations, transnational terrorist groups, social classes, and NGOs.
Which NGOs are mentioned as actors in world politics?
Human rights groups.
According to Oxfam, what percentage of global wealth is held by 1% of the population?
82 per cent.
According to Oxfam, how many people hold the same wealth as the poorest 50%?
The richest 27 people.
According to Oxfam, how many people make up the poorest 50% of the world's population?
3.8 billion people.
Which organization reported on global wealth distribution in this section?
Oxfam.
What does International Relations study?
Major problems and power relations shaping world politics.
Which subfields are included in International Relations?
International history, security, political economy, law, organizations, and regional specialisms.
Which disciplines does International Relations draw on?
History, Law, Political Science, Geography, Sociology, Anthropology, Gender Studies, and Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies.
When was the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth established?
In 1919.
What event in 1919 is treated as the formation of International Relations discipline?
Establishment of the Department of International Politics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.
When was the first journal in International Relations published?
In 1910.
What was the original name of the journal now known as Foreign Affairs?
Journal of Race Development.
What is a theory in analytical terms?
A simplifying device that helps determine which facts and events matter most.
What forms can theories take in analysis?
Explicit analytical approaches or implicit assumptions.
From where can implicit theoretical assumptions be inherited?
Family, social class, peer groups, or the media.
Which principal theories are introduced in this section?
Liberal internationalism, realism, Marxism, constructivism, poststructuralism, postcolonial and decolonial approaches, and feminism.
What does liberal internationalism believe about human progress?
Human beings and societies can improve.
According to liberal internationalism, which economic system is best?
Capitalism is the best economic organization.
What political system supports liberal improvement in liberal internationalism?
Representative democracy supports liberal improvement.
Besides material power, what else matters in liberal internationalism?
Ideas matter alongside material power.
Which actors do liberals see as important in some world politics areas?
Individuals, multinational corporations, transnational actors, and international organizations.
How does the liberal order emerge?
Through interactions among laws, norms, regimes, and institutional rules managing the global capitalist economy.
What limits states' practical freedom according to liberals?
Negotiations with public and private actors constrain states' practical freedom.
What concept is central to world politics in liberal thought?
Interdependence is central to world politics.
What does Realism view world politics as?
A struggle for power among sovereign states.
What does Sovereignty mean in international relations?
No actor above the state can compel it to act.
How does the balance of power produce order?
By preventing any one state from dominating the system.
What does Neorealism emphasize about international relations?
The structure of the international system shapes state behaviour.
How is the post-Cold War international system described in Neorealism?
As moving toward multipolarity after unipolarity.
What does social constructivism argue about the social world?
People make and remake the social world, so it can change.
When and where did social constructivism develop?
In the United States in the late 1980s.
From when did social constructivism become increasingly influential?
From the mid-1990s.
Who claimed that “anarchy is what states make of it”?
Alexander Wendt.
In which year did Alexander Wendt publish his claim about anarchy?
1992.
What kind of approach is social constructivism in social science?
An approach to the philosophy of social science.
Is social constructivism a complete theory of world politics?
No, it is not a complete theory of world politics.
With what must constructivists combine social constructivism?
A political theory such as realism, feminism, or liberalism.
What does Marxism explain world politics through?
Class forces and the unequal capitalist world economy.
What do states, multinational corporations, and international organizations represent in Marxist theory?
Dominant class interests in the world economic system.
How does world systems theory divide the international economy?
Into a wealthy capitalist core, a semi-periphery, and an exploited periphery.
What does the exploited periphery supply in world systems theory?
Natural resources and cheap labour.
Why do Marxist theorists consider economic autonomy more important than sovereignty?
Because all states must operate according to international capitalist economy rules.
Who are the most important actors in Marxist world politics theory?
Classes are the most important actors.
What explains the behaviour of other actors in Marxist theory?
Class forces explain their behaviour.
What constrains states' freedom of manoeuvre in the capitalist world economy?
The capitalist world economy severely constrains it.
Which states are especially constrained in the capitalist world economy?
Poorer and weaker states are especially constrained.
What matters more than sovereignty for Marxist theorists?
Economic autonomy matters more than sovereignty.
Why must all states follow the rules of the international capitalist economy?
Because economic autonomy is more important than sovereignty.
What is poststructuralism sceptical of regarding human life accounts?
Direct access to truth claims.
How does poststructuralism view knowledge claims?
As dependent on power relations.
How does Jean-François Lyotard define the postmodern?
As incredulity towards metanarratives.
What does Lyotard's definition of postmodern imply about knowledge theories?
They are sceptical of clear foundations for knowledge.
According to Michel Foucault, what does power produce?
Knowledge.
How does knowledge relate to power in Foucault's view?
Knowledge depends on and reinforces power relations.
What do poststructuralist international theorists analyse to examine dominant IR concepts?
Specific power relations and conditions.
Why do poststructuralist theorists analyse power relations in IR?
To understand why concepts appear truthful.
What is neocolonialism?
The continued military and economic subordination of the Global South by Western interests after formal colonial rule.
Why do postcolonial scholars call realism and liberalism Eurocentric?
Because they emerged in Europe from specific European problems, including imperialism.
How do postcolonial and decolonial approaches explain global hierarchies?
Through the historical combination of racial, gendered, class, and national differences.
Why did international relations explicitly refer to “race relations” at the twentieth century's turn?
Because much research focused on administering colonies.
What did W. E. B. DuBois argue was the central problem of the twentieth century?
The problem of the “colour-line”.
In which year did W. E. B. DuBois argue about the “colour-line” problem?
1903.
What unites feminist approaches in international politics?
Their analysis of how gender differences are constructed within hierarchy and power.
What does feminist research analyze in world politics?
How gender affects world politics and produces gendered concepts.
What do standpoint feminists argue about women's subordination?
It gives women a distinctive social standpoint on world politics.
Who reformulated Morgenthau’s principles of political realism in 1988?
J. Ann Tickner.
What did J. Ann Tickner show about Morgenthau’s principles?
They reflected hegemonic masculine values.
What starting point did J. Ann Tickner use in reformulating realism?
Women’s experiences.
What do postcolonial and decolonial feminists argue about Western-style democracy?
Equal rights are insufficient if poor women of colour remain subordinated globally.
Test your knowledge with 40 questions on Critical Theories and Globalization.
1. What does globalization mean when understood as increasing interconnectedness among societies?
2. Which statement correctly distinguishes two meanings of globalization?
Review the complete course in the study sheet for Critical Theories and Globalization.
See study sheet →Import your course and AI generates flashcards in 30 seconds.
Flashcard generator