INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS PS 145 MR DOUG PERKINS

2. TODAY’S AGENDA • Administrative Stuff • Get your exam if you have not • Challenges due Thursday (extension) • Website of the Day

3. RELIGION AROUND THE WORLD

4. Transnationalism: Extension beyond the borders of a single country; applies to a political movement, issue, organization, or other phenomenon. Postmodernism: This theory holds that reality does not exist as such. Rather, reality is created by how we think and our discourse (writing, talking). As applied to world politics, postmodernism is the belief that we have become trapped by stale ways of conceiving how we organize and conduct ourselves. Postmodernists wish, therefore, to “deconstruct” discourse. IMPORTANT TERMS

5. Global Interaction Human Thought: we can think beyond our personal experiences/ construct larger identities Stoics: thoughts of themselves as civilized humans Early Christians: universal view of mankind, transnational identity Liberals and Communists were transnationalists Postmodernists also market transnationalism Recognize plethora of potential identities Are transnational identities real, or potential If potential, why should they be realized? SOURCES OF TRANSNATIONALISM

6. Economics Bring People Together But does this create transnational identities Communication Hard to control, democratizes Allows protesters from many places to work together (evidence of tr. Identities?) Transportation But does it create a new identity? Organizations Huge growth in number of NGOs Example of International Women’s Movement (next page) TRANSNATIONAL OCCURANCES

7. Women are second class citizens How? Why do they put up with it? 70% of the poor, 35% of earned income, 80% of refugees Is this new? No, but now there is a greater awareness of it due to increased communication and travel. People work through NGOs to lobby for gender equality Women’s Movement Stigma of feminism? What is the shared goal? Is the diversity among the movement problematic? TRANSNATIONAL WOMEN’S MOVEMENT

8. Existing IR is a product of the male point of view and ignores or underrepresents the role of women, their concerns, and their perspectives. (p. 167) Women “experience societies and their interactions differently” than do men (ibid) Peace: more than the absence of war (positive) Security: more than military (security from…) Normative in Goal (relationship to science?) Equality of representation, change policies Improve entire society FEMINISM AND IR

9. What is the role of religion in international politics? Churches as transnational (international) actors Religion as a transnational identity How should we deal with religious fundamentalism? How does it affect international relations? Islam and the World Triumphant past (then decline) Conflict with Christianity Pan-Islamicism? Must take religion into account, but don’t overstate it TRANSNATIONAL RELIGION

10. Jihad Vs. McWorld THE FUTURE

11. This chapter explores the bases and evidence of transnationalism in the world. Transnationalism includes a range of loyalties, activities, and other phenomena that connect humans across nations and national boundaries. Some streams of transnational thought are referred to as globalism, cosmopolitanism, or some other such encompassing word. Other transnational movements, such as religion and gender, have a more limited focus. The development of transnationalism springs from two sources: human thought and global interaction. The lineage of the globalist strain of transnational thought extends in Western culture back to the Stoics of ancient Greece and Rome and to Buddhism in Eastern culture. Transnationalist thought is evident today in idealism, postmodernism, and postinternationalism. Transnational interaction is increasing, as evident in changes in economics, communications, transportation, and organizations. International economic interdependence, mass communications, the ease of travel across borders, and the growth of transnational organizations are all helping to break down national barriers. An important modern trend in international relations is the growth of transnational movements and organizations that are concerned with global issues. This includes the transnational women's movement and its associated organizations. Though women's attitudes and emphases may vary, the transnational women's movement shares a similar philosophy and goals. These center on the idea that women around the world should cooperate to promote gender equality and to transform the way we think about and conduct politics at every level, including the international level. Feminists, both women and the men who support gender equity, are pursuing numerous projects and making progress. The fourth World Conference on Women and its follow-up Beijing +5 Conference are just examples of activity in this area. Most religions have a strong transnational element. Some religions assert universalistic claims; other religions create an urge to unite all the members of that religion across countries. Religion has played many roles in world politics. The roles have been both positive and negative. The current rise in religious fundamentalism in many areas of the world is worrisome. To understand the role of religion in world politics, a case study of Islam discusses the global impact of a transnational religion. Transnational culture is both bringing the world together and dividing it. The movement of goods, ideas, and people across national boundaries is helping to create what is perhaps the beginning of a common global culture. Some people see this as a positive development; others oppose it. Some observers believe that we are not moving toward a common culture but, instead, toward a future in which people will identify with and politically organize themselves around one or another of several antagonistic cultures or so-called civilizations. SUMMARY

12. QUESTIONS???