Chapter 8: Marxism and Critical Theory By Mark Rupert

1
Chapter 8 Marxism and Critical TheoryBy Mark
Rupert
International Relations Theories Discipline and
Diversity
2
Learning objectives

• After this lecture you should be able to
• Understand the key principles of Marxist and
  critical theory
• Be able to apply Marxist and critical theory
  logics in IR
• Have an understanding of the relevance of
  Marxism and critical theory in contemporary IR

3
Marxism and IR

• Marxism is a distinct tradition in IR theory
  which rejects the liberal and the realist
  theories
• as limited and limiting theoretical world views
  and
• as characterised by conservative politics

4
Core precepts of Marxist theory

• Marxist tradition is a varied tradition building
  upon the work of Karl Marx.
• It advances a critical interpretation of
  capitalism.
• Marxism advocates a relational and
  process-oriented understanding of human life.

5
Dialectical understanding of history

• Dialectical perspective human agents exist
  within relatively enduring social structures,
  which the agents reproduce or alter through their
  actions.
• The dialectical view of society challenges the
  empiricist approaches that study laws of social
  life.
• Marxism defines politics in an expansive way.
  Politics is seen as struggle over the shaping the
  kind of world we live in and the kind of people
  we are.

6
Capitalism

• Capitalism a form of social life based on
  historically specific class relations between
  capital owning class and wage labourers.
• Capitalism is productive but also
• Disabling
• Exploitative
• Undemocratic

7
Imperialism

• Marxist theorists of imperialism argue that
  capitalist accumulation is what drives major
  capitalist countries into colonial expansionism,
  creating the potential for inter-imperialist
  rivalry on a global scale.
• Classical theories of imperialism were
  economically deterministic.

8
Western Marxism

• Frankfurt School theorists
• are wary of economic focus of Marxism and they
  emphasise that all theories are permeated by
  values and norms and have political implications
  for the social world.

• Antonio Gramsci
• developed theory of hegemony. Hegemony is a form
  of political power that relies upon consent
  rather coercion.

9
Marxism and critical theory in IR

• Key Marxist and critical theorists in IR include
  Ashley, Linklater and Cox.
• In explaining the world politics, Marxism and
  critical theory studies the structures of global
  capitalism and the ideologies and agents situated
  within these structures.
• It emphasises the capital-driven nature of
  states actions in the global capitalist system
  and the need for states to maintain control of
  oil in order to maintain global capitalism.

10
Case study US War on Terror

• From a Marxist/critical theory perspective the
  War on Terror should be understood in the context
  of ideology of economic security.
• Iraq War cannot be understood in isolation from
  capitalism in its historical form Iraq holds
  important oil reserves, a key requirement for
  maintenance of US power and global capitalist
  order.

11
Conclusion

• Marxism is not a domestic theory, not a mere
  economic theory, and not necessarily economically
  deterministic.
• Some theorists have been pessimistic about the
  role of Marxism and critical theory in
  contemporary world politics but new social
  movements that explicitly connect capitalism with
  US imperial power remind us of the remaining
  relevance of Marxism and critical theory in world
  political explanation.