BALANCE OF POWER

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LEVELS OF ANALYSIS
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In Man, the State, War (1959), Ken Waltz
described the three images of international
relations.
At what ever levels do we find the variables that
have the greatest influence on outcomes in IP?
Kenneth Waltz
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• The levels of analysis can be understood as "the
  net which we throw out in order to catch the
  world to rationalize, explain, and dominate
  it."
• One of the common frameworks for analyzing
  international relations
• Purpose of the framework is to explain the
  behaviour of nation states in the international
  system

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Consisting of three major levels they are
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SYSTEM LEVEL

• An approach to the study of world politics
• Explains nation states
• behaviour on the basis of
• factors external to the country
• International system ANARCHY
• Examine state to state relations ,environmental
  and
• structural pattern which influence the
  behaviour of
• nation state

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• It has been traditionally the most important
  levels of
• analysis
• Analyses systemic factors like changes in balance
  of
• power formation and break down of alliances,
  
• diplomacy and bargaining ,activities of IGOs
• International system becomes more interdependent

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• World realities make nation state to take certain
• courses of action and decisions
• Therefore focuses on interactions of states
  rather
• than internal or particular individuals who
  lead the
• states

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STATE LEVEL

• Middle level emphasizes internal factors
• Examine government structures, bureaucratic
• politics, interest groups, media influences
  and
• Other internal factors that influence states
  foreign
• policies such as geography, relative power
  ,MNCs, and economic sectors, military, industry
  etc

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Institutions
Form of govt
Internal strife
WAR
Influences states behaviour
peace
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• we are referring here to the impact that
  nationalism
• ,ethnic conflict, public opinion ,political
  parties ,party
• systems, and other domestic coalitions, as
  well as
• different types of government e.g. Democratic
  vs.
• Authoritarian

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INDIVIDUAL LEVEL

• Emphasizes the role played by individual leaders
• and often referred as the decision
• making level.
• Focuses on individuals character,
• personality, psychology, ideology
• and beliefs..

leader
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• The individual level of analysis concerns the
• perceptions, choices, and actions of
  individual
• human beings.

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• Heres an example
• What was the primary cause of the Second World
  War?

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The Individual Level

• Adolph Hitler was crazy
• Winston Churchill hated Germans
• Chamberlain had the wrong perceptions of
• Hitlers intentions, and he miscalculated

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The State Level

• Autocracies Democracies War
• Hitler wanted economic stimulus
• German pride was wounded ? nationalism

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The System Level

• Bad distribution of power
• Lack of international institution

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US war against Iraq

• At the individual level, the war could be
  attributed to Saddam Husseins irrational gamble
  that he could defeat the forces arrayed against
  him or to President Bushs desire to remove a
  leader he personally deemed threatening.
• At the domestic level, the war could be
  attributed to the rise of the powerful
  neoconservative faction that convinced the Bush
  administration and Americans that Saddam was a
  threat to U.S..
• At the International system level, the war might
  be attributed to the predominance of U.S. power.
  With no state willing to back Iraq militarily,
  the United States (as the largest global military
  power) was free to attack Iraq without fear of a
  large-scale military response.

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Q
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THANK YOU