POLS 425 U.S. Foreign Policy

POLS 425 U.S. Foreign Policy Topic: Nested Games And Alternative Theories February 28, 2007

U.S. Foreign PolicyNested Games and Alternative Theories A Nested Game with Many Players • The notion of security games is a useful segue to chapter 5, which discusses the significance of globalization on foreign policy • Rather than focus on details of chapter, let’s begin with a basic question … What is globalization?

U.S. Foreign PolicyNested Games and Alternative Theories A Nested Game with Many Players Key Point: Globalization is understood or perceived very differently by different groups, societies and countries How globalization is perceived can have (is having?) a major impact on the foreign policies of different states Consider Iran:“The aspirations for an open society at home and integration into the international community stem from a combined sense of national pride and a growing consciousness of the need to be part of the democratic movement sweeping across the world” • This has led to a new, more open foreign policy under Khatami (Iranian president, 1997-2005)

U.S. Foreign PolicyNested Games and Alternative Theories No basic change. Globalization does notand cannot change the structure of theinternational system. States remain sovereign,and the system remains anarchic. A Nested Game with Many Players • How might the various theories deal with globalization? Realism Marxism Liberalism Constructivism Globalization deepens and intensifies alreadyexisting conditions. It may lead toviolent conflicts among major capitalistpowers in the future. Globalization is having a profound impact onthe world. It undermines sovereignty, andallows new players to shape foreign policy. Globalization blurs the boundaries betweenthe domestic and international. It depends on how globalization is understoodand perceived. Globalization may create basisfor more peaceful, cooperative world, or it mayvery well lead to a “clash of civilizations”

U.S. Foreign PolicyNested Games and Alternative Theories A Nested Game with Many Players Implications of Globalization on American Foreign Policy From a liberal perspective, globalization has a number of implications for US foreign policy, the most important of which stem from the relative decline of sovereignty What is sovereignty and why is it important? Globalization undermines sovereignty, whichundermines the power of states; globalizationopens the door to the empowerment of non-state actors to a degree never before seen

U.S. Foreign PolicyNested Games and Alternative Theories A Nested Game with Many Players Importance of (Declining) Sovereignty If liberals are right, the decline of sovereignty will open the door to more and more domestically-based, international and transnational actors exercising more and more influence over foreign policy. These actors include … The usual suspects: corporations, domestic interest groups, political parties, lobbyists, and other domestic non-state actors The not-so-usual suspects: non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international governmental organizations (e.g., UN, WTO), social movements (e.g., anti-globalization movement), transnational organizations and coalitions, epistemic communities, individuals, and so on

U.S. Foreign PolicyNested Games and Alternative Theories A Nested Game with Many Players Importance of (Declining) Sovereignty As more non-state actors become involved in the foreign policy making process, the line between domestic and international becomes more and more blurred; foreign policy becomes more and more “nested” (that is, more multi-level). This means … The study of foreign policy becomes more complicated Traditional conceptions of foreign policy (i.e., realist and Marxist) must be rethought and seriously revised, and perhaps even abandoned If you doubt this, a liberal might say, just consider the role of a single non-state actor, al Qaeda

U.S. Foreign PolicyNested Games and Alternative Theories A Nested Game with Many Players Importance of (Declining) Sovereignty Al Qaeda is the quintessential “model of globalization”: the group’s power derives from globalizing processes … - no fixed base of operations - appeal to transnational, decidedly non-state identity based on Islam - uses tools of financial globalization to finance operations and evade state power - uses tools of technology and global communications to accumulate and mobilize resources and manpower

U.S. Foreign PolicyNested Games and Alternative Theories Constructivism, Globalization and U.S. Foreign Policy Basic Point: Constructivism tells us that our “construction” of globalization is key • Consider the example of another quintessential model of globalization: Global Warming • How has the Bush Administration (and its supporters) constructed global warming--as a “grave and serious threat” to the United States and the international community, or as something else … ”[M]uch of the debate over global warming is predicated on fear, rather than science." The threat of catastrophic global warming is the "greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people” U.S. Sen. James M. InhofeChairman of the Senate Committee on the Environment

U.S. Foreign PolicyNested Games and Alternative Theories A Nested Game with Many Players Constructivism, Globalization and U.S. Foreign Policy A light-hearted interludeon global warming:Will Ferrel as George W.Bush discussing global warming

U.S. Foreign PolicyNested Games and Alternative Theories A Nested Game with Many Players Constructivism, Globalization and U.S. Foreign Policy Key Point. The construction of global warming as a grave threat, as a the “greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people,” or as something else as profound policy implications … As grave threat (say, more grave than the threat Iraq posed to the US in 2002): Demands an immediate, large-scale, coordinated, long-term, and expensive response As a hoax: Demands no pro-active policy response at all; instead, requires that “perpetrators” of the hoax be ostracized, marginalized and even punished

POLS 425 U.S. Foreign Policy