Understanding International Politics Essay, Research Paper

Understanding international political relations can be hard and complex. There are many factors that must be taken into history. A twosome of factors include the types of provinces or histrions involved and what sort of state of affairs is being analyzed. There are three different degrees of analysis that provide a model for understanding international political relations ; the international system degree, the histrion degree, and the decision-making degree ( Spanier and Wendzel 22 ) .

The international system degree emphasizes the external influences on histrions determinations and behaviour. The primary histrions at this degree are provinces but many nonstate organisations like the United Nations are besides of import ( Spanier and Wendzel 22 ) . This degree focuses on the relationships between the assorted histrions and looks at the similarities in their behaviour. The behaviour of each histrion is affected by the behaviour of other histrions. Because the histrions are all complex and different from each other, their actions can non be anticipated, sometimes they are really unexpected. Because of this uncertainness provinces are ever concerned with power and security, the chief end is survival and being able to protect itself against aggression. Because a provinces power is damaging to its endurance, it tries to accomplish a balance or equilibrium, to seek to be every bit powerful as any possible opposition. This balance of power is a pertinent for each province s security ( Spanier and Wendzel 23 ) . This power is sought to procure their nucleus values, territorial unity, political independency and their prosperity ( Spanier and Wendzel 108 ) . The United Stated engagement in both World Wars provides a good illustration of a province seeking to keep a balance of power. The U.S. was an isolationist up until World War I and so once more until World War II. The menace to the U.S. arose from the possibility that one province or a alliance of provinces might suppress most of Europe and utilize its new resources to endanger the U.S. ( Spanier and Wendzel 24 ) . After World War I, the U.S. went back to being an isolationist. When World War II erupted, there were many advocates to isolationism that objected to the U.S. acquiring involved. They organized under the America First Committee and argued that there were plentifulness of jobs inside the U.S. that needed attending and that the U.S. should concentrate on repairing it s ain jobs alternatively of seeking to repair others ( Brands 144 ) . Oppositions of isolationism felt that engagement was necessary to protect American involvements. One of these involvements was entree to foreign markets, which was critical to future American prosperity ( Brands 145 ) . President Roosevelt tried to maintain out of the war, but still assist Britain. He sent 50 destroyers to Britain and set up the Lend-Lease plan. After the U.S. declared war on Japan, Hitler declared war on the U.S. and the U.S. was so officially portion of World War II ( Brands 154 ) . Since this clip the U.S. has remained an interventionist, it came out of World War II a world power. It besides had a new enemy, the Soviet Union, which besides emerged as a world power. The distribution of power in Europe changed drastically and the Cold War therefore began. The United States had no pick but to set up a new balance ( Spanier and Wendzel 27 ) .

The Actor degree of analysis emphasizes internal features or factors ( Spanier and Wendzel 29 ) . This degree focuses on what is different about each histrion. It looks at features such as the grade of social coherence and stableness, the domestic economic system, historical experience, and national civilization and how these affect policy picks and behaviour ( Spanier and Wendzel 29 ) . One of import factor that affects province s behaviour is the type of province involved. One type is a democratic province, which is characterized as a fundamentally peaceable province, one ground being that the elective swayer is accountable to the people, besides, because the public participates in vote and political determination devising ( Spanier and Wenszel 29-30 ) . These states tend to look inward toward domestic policies that improve their component s criterion of life. They emphasize values such as wellness attention, instruction and public assistance ( Spanier and Wendzel 30 ) . Another type of province is a radical province ; this type of province nowadayss a challenge to the international order ( Spanier and Wendzel 32 ) . Traditional provinces usually recognize one another s right to be and regulate themselves. The radical province disturbances the order because they don t accept the legitimacy of other provinces in the system because of their domestic constructions ( Spanier and Wendzel 32 ) . They believe that subverting the opinion category and acquiring rid of the bing system will bring around society s ailments. Revolutionary provinces are likely to assail nonrevolutionary states or do possible victims to establish a preventative war ( Spanier and Wendzel 32 ) .

The 3rd degree of analysis is the decision-making degree, which focuses on the people who participate in the devising and imple

thinking of policy ( Spanier and Wendzel 34 ) . There are many facets that affect how policy shapers make determinations. One of these is the individual s perceptual experience of the universe, which is influenced by many factors. A twosome of factors are the history of the province and context that it is applied to by the policy shaper and besides the cultural and general background of that individual. Other facets include the fact the policy shapers reach different sorts of determinations and that they arrive at them by different agencies ( Spanier and Wendzel 35 ) . There are three types of determinations and policies. The first is crisis policy, which is normally related to great-power confrontation and involves few policy shapers, usually merely the 1s at the top ( Spanier and Wendzel 35 ) . The 2nd is security policy, which refers to normal noncrisis foreign and defence policies. A far greater figure of people are involved in the decision-making and they usually have more clip to do them ( Spanier and Wendzel 36 ) . Domestic and intemestic policy is the 3rd type. This type involves the largest figure of histrions and revolves mostly on public assistance and prosperity aims ( Spanier and Wendzel 36 ) .

In order to utilize the three degrees of analysis it is of import to cognize the features of a province and how they are defined and besides what their chief aims are. A province is a legal entity ; it s a politically organized organic structure of people that occupy a definite district, usually a autonomous 1. A state refers to a cultural entity ; provinces can hold several states within their boundary lines. An illustration is the Cherokee state in the United States. A state is a physical entity, the district that belongs to a province. States vary drastically in size, population, political and economic systems and the types of natural resources that they have. All provinces portion certain features despite their differences. One feature is sovereignty, a province s right to be free to regulate as it wishes within its ain district ( Spanier and Wendzel 43 ) . All provinces possess district and they have populations. Nationalism is another characteristic, it s a corporate individuality shared by people populating within certain frontiers as a consequence of their common history and linguistic communication ( Spanier and Wendzel 47 ) . The grade of nationality felt within a province is highly varied. Nationality and geographic boundaries do non ever co-occur and struggle is rampant in many provinces because of this. One last of import feature of a province is that it is recognized by other provinces when it is thought to hold control over the people within its boundary lines and that it is a legitimate political entity ( Spanier and Wendzel 51 ) . States are besides classified into certain classs based on specific features. One manner a province is classified is either as a great or little power. This normally depends on a provinces military and economic strength, technological capablenesss, location and population. They are besides classified as being either position quo or revisionist. Status quo provinces are by and large satisfied with the manner things are. Revisionists are non and seek to alter things, sometimes really drastically. Another categorization for provinces is whether they are a rich state or a hapless state ( Spanier and Wendzel 53-58 ) .

The chief aims of provinces are really of import to cognize in order to analyse and expect their policies. States portion common aims, one of the most of import being national security. Physical endurance is the base for all provinces national security. Continuing a province s territorial unity, political independency and manner of life are besides included in security ( Spanier and Wendzel 77 ) . Economic security is really of import, there is a direct correlativity between a province s economic system and their military strength. The national public assistance of a province besides correlates with a province s economic strength and industrial capablenesss. National prestigiousness is another of import aim of a province. It is subjective and intangible because it depends on the perceptual experience of other provinces ( Spanier and Wendzel 84-85 ) . A states military and economic strength and their criterion of populating contribute to their prestigiousness. Ideology is a concluding aim of a province ( Spanier and Wendzel 87 ) . In the past provinces have promoted chiefly secular political orientations, but today those are being replaced by spiritual thoughts and motions. Many of these political orientations have turned extremist ( Spanier and Wendzel 89 ) . Muslim fundamentalism in provinces like Iran and Afghanistan is a good illustration.

The three degrees of analysis can be used to understand international political relations. All factors that can lend to a province s determinations must be taken into history. Knowledge of a province is pertinent to analysing and understanding a states policies and actions.

Trade names, William H. The United States in the World Volume II.

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994

Spanier, John and Robert L. Wendzel. Games Nations Play.

Washington D.C. : Congressional Quarterly Inc. , 1996