More educated, but not much more certain

After weeks of reading theory about why states act the way they do and what makes states want to integrate economically but not politically, I am not certain I can address either question better now than when I started.

There does seem to be a progression, in the topics covered that is moving us to the ‘current debates’ of International Relations (IR) theory. Realism is too pessimistic and leaves little room for progress. Normative theory seems to be in vogue, despite realists emphasis on the ‘reality of anarchy’. Liberalism, particularly the neo-liberals recognize that anarchy, but are simply more optimistic than realists and would like to think the free trade policies and institutions, non-governmental and/or business, could ‘prevent cheating’ in a cooperative (albeit, still anarchical system). The English School, perhaps just slightly more optimistic, and with the same Liberal foundations, as the neo-liberalists seek order and justice, not necessarily in that order, depending on which English School theorists you ask, to maintain the existing--and relatively peaceful--‘international society’ that exists. Finally, the latest, Marxism or the structuralist approach would actually turn the politically-driven and state-centric theories of all of the above theories on their heads and emphasize that nation-states are simply a political corollary or result of a capitalism; a system of core states exploiting a ’semi-periphery’ exploiting a poorer ’periphery’ and unless anything shy of a revolution and massive redistribution of wealth occurs - which is contradictory to the capitalist system working and inevitably, in the long term at least, its own demise, a polarized rich-poor world will implode on itself.

Perhaps there’s something to the Constructivist’s arguments next week - because so far I am not seeing the answers to some of the big questions being addressed in class - honouring the premier principle of self-determination (non-intervention) and ending poverty or preventing genocide.