Man, the State, and War §

Created Time: October 1, 2021 8:44 PM Database: Evergreen Database Last Edited Time: October 20, 2021 3:16 PM References: IS405 Lect Tags:#Book Type: Literature Notes

• Author: Kenneth Waltz

• The book argues that an international system has three components

  1. Interacting Units are states, impossible to be anything else
  2. Ordering Principle: rule of interaction between units. Between two rules
     • Hierarchical: not possible
     • Anarchic: only choice
  3. Distribution of Power: who is big and who is small. The only characteristic of a system that varies and changeable
     • Uni-polarity
     • Bi-polarity
     • Multi-polarity

  Waltz says the system’s polarity is the only variable that can change

  • and when it does change it leads to world wars

    1. says uni-polarity always create a coalition against them

    2. multi-polarity will create many opportunities for war

       • when alliances happen even for the smallest country the international system becomes unstable and creates multiple potential enemies for the entire system

       💡 Both WW1&2 started from small countries expanding their power in a multipolar world.

    3. bi-polarity is the most stable and will last forever

       • even if one super power got every power in the int system to go against the other super power, it doesn’t mean that much

       

References §