NeoRealsim

1. NeoRealsim Levels of Analysis

2. Theories and Levels of Analysis • Kenneth Waltz: “Man, the State, and War” • Explored various explanations for war in a systematic way (placed in 3 images/levels) • Human behavior (reductionist) • Internal structure of the state (reductionist) • The international system (systemic) • Argued that anarchy (in the Int’l System) is a permissive or underlying cause of war. • #’s 1 & 2 determines the immediate causes of war. • #3 explains why war exists at all

3. Waltz and Neo-Realism • Distinguished between reductionist and systemic: • Anarchy remained the permissive cause of war • (Disturbance of the) balance of power became the immediate cause of war • Both (above) are at the systemic level • Focusing on the reductionist level does not satisfactorily explain the occurrence of war • Lessons so far: • Levels of analysis provide a powerful tool to organize ideas • Theories differ in their assessment of what is considered to be the most important level (e.g., Waltz=neo-realist=systemic level) • Emphasizing one level over another involves deep on I.R. • philosophical and theoretical issues

4. Levels of Analysis (Singer) SYSTEMIC Individual State • Focus on humans as individuals, which is the most micro-level • Personalities of people making decisions • Personal and political history • (Mis)perception and information • Attention on domestic political and social system • Distinctions made between state, nation, and government vs. society • Sub-National Actors • Types of Political Systems • Socio-political culture • External Influences considered • IGOs, NGOs, MNC’s (yet still sees these as of minor importance) • Characteristics of the system • Dyadic Relations • World system • Environmental characteristics

5. Individual Level Considerations • (1) Hitler’s personality. (2) Kennedy’s health and state of mind during meeting with Krushchev. • Iraq and “Lessons of History.” Personal values and experiences (personal diplomacy). • Misperception and information. Crisis decision-making. Informational overload and groupthink. Quality and availability of information. • Humans in organizations and roles: humans often act as representatives of institutions. Why? • Selection; Socialization; Institutional biases in perception and information (where you sit determines what you see) • Nature of Humankind: society acts to constrain citizen’s strive for power. But collectively, this goes unchecked. Are we “good” or “bad”?

6. State Level Considerations • Sub-national Actors: groups of people (in and out of gov’t) that may attempt to influence policy. • Types of Political Systems • How decisions are reached? Who’s involved? • Inclusiveness of gov’t; the nature of the opposition • Broad & refined distinctions between varying types • Society and Political Culture • Forces outside of gov’t. A country’s economic wealth, or social & political capital. • The importance of: specific economic systems; civilization; the national interest

7. Systemic Level Considerations • External influences (broader concept than systemic influence) includes pressure from other gov’ts in bilateral relations, NGO’s, MNC’s and IGO’s • Characteristics of the system: it is a specific theoretical construct of the environment in which countries act (Westphalian)... Self-help system, containing functionally identical sovereign actors (internal control, external representation). [analogy of a pool table] • Relations are fundamentally dyadic between pairs of countries (e.g., trade flows, distance, power, relative size) • World system applies to characteristics of the environment . Waltz distinguishes between anarchy (int’l) and hierarchy (dom.) • Participants in a system are likely to share common norms and values from system to society. These norms can be seen as key to understanding how the international system works.