A radical perspective

1. A radical perspective Based on Marxist theories of IR The international status quo can and must be changed without endangering the survival of humanity

2. A renewed interest in Marxism • No longer has the baggage of Marxism-Leninism and the legacy of Stalinist era to contend with • The analytical capacity of Marxism retains depth– even more so today where the ‘market’ rules the world

3. … in comparison to the realists? • Marxist theories expose a deeper truth: the familiar events of world politics all occur within structures which have an enormous influence on these events • The structures of a global capitalist system

4. … the focus is on ‘inequality’ • The total wealth of the world’s 358 billionaires is equal to the combined incomes of the poorest 45% of the world’s population (p.203, Baylis & Smith)

5. ….those theorists in the Marxist vein… • The social world must be analysed in its totality ( history – philosophy – economics …) in order to get an understanding of the dynamics of world politics • The materialist conception of history – the processes of historical change are ultimately a reflection of the economic development of society

6. … this central dynamic is.. • The tension between … • Means of production (technology) • Relations of production (people) which forms the economic base • When there is change/development this acts as a catalyst for the broader transformation of society as a whole

7. …class… • A key role in Marxist analysis • `society is systematically prone to class conflict’ • Marx is committed to ‘change’, not just writing and thinking about it!

8. World-systems theory • Basis is Lenin’s contribution 1917, Imperialism… • This forms the basis of dependency theory, developed in 50s in South America • Core v periphery and so workers in the ‘core’ would be placated by the exploitation of their counterparts in the periphery

9. World-system theory ‘Wallerstein • Two types of world-system • In both, there is a transfer of resources from the periphery to the core • World-empires: here a centralized political system uses its power to redistribute resources from peripheral areas to the central core area • World-economies: here there is no single centre of political authority, but multiple competing centres of power; resources are distributed through the medium of the market

10. The modern world system: ‘capitalism’ • The capitalist system: this is the central dynamic of the modern world system and this he defines as • ‘a system of production for sale in a market for profit and appropriation of this profit on the basis of individual or collective ownership (1976:66) • Within the context of this system, specific institutions are continually being created and recreated

11. The modern world system: characteristics • Spatial dimension - core, periphery, semi-periphery • Three zones linked together in an exploitative relationship where wealth is drained away from periphery to the centre

12. The modern world system: characteristics • Temporal dimension: • Cyclical rhythm – boom or bust • Secular trends – long-term growth or contraction of the world economy • Contradictions – constraints imposed by systemic structures which make one set of behaviour optimal for actors in short run and a different set of behaviour optimal for the same actors in the middle run, for example the crisis of underconsumption (wages down, consumption down, …profits down • Crisis – the above combine in a way that the system cannot continue to reproduce itself and will be replaced by another

13. Gramsci • The prison notebooks ( in prison from 1926 – 1937) • ? Why no revolution in Europe • ‘Hegemony’ his key concept • Term to describe the most powerful state in the international system, or, the dominant state in a region

14. Gramsci • His understanding of ‘power’ is a mixture of coercion and consent • The moral, political and religious values of the dominant group are widely dispersed in society… ‘common sense’…and this takes place through the institutions of civil society.

15. Gramsci • What underpins a given order is the mutually reinforcing and reciprocal relationships between the socio-economic relations and political and cultural practices

16. Cox: modern theorist, a Gramscian • ‘theory is always for some one and for some purpose’ (1981:128) • Facts and values cannot be separated • So realist theory, it serves the interests of those who prosper under the prevailing order • Critical theory – challenges the prevailing order by seeking out .. Assisting social processes that can potentially lead to emancipatory change

17. ‘the hegemon’ • Theoretical understanding of world orders grasps both the sources of stability in a given system and also the dynamics of processes of transformation • ‘hegemony’ in the international system very important as they shaped a word order to suit their interests using both coercive means but also generate broad consent for that order • US, UK, : ruling ‘hegemonic’ idea, ‘free trade’, now widely accepted, has attained ‘common sense’ status

18. ‘the future’ • Can the hegemon remain in position? • Or is capitalism inherently unstable, riven by contradictions with economic crises acting as the catalyst for the emergence of counter-hegemonc movements

19. Critical theory • Concerned with questions international society and security; not focused on economic base of society • It developed out of the work of The Frankfurt School, … their legacy being carried on by Jurgen Habermas, ‘the most influential of all contemporary social theorists’

20. ‘emancipation’ • See this in terms of ‘reconciliation with nature’… • Habermas: Centrality of communication and dialogue to processes of emancipation; the route to emancipation lies through radical democracy

21. Linklater: ‘expand the moral boundaries of political community’ • Emancipation: this means a process where borders of the sovereign state lose their ethical and moral significance • Citizens must share the same duties and obligations of non-citizens as they do to their fellow citizens • Critical theory tries to identify and nurture tendencies that exist within the present conjuncture that point in the direction of emancipation