Graduate School of International Development, Springsemester 2023

International Politics
Course instructor: Francis Peddie

Lesson One: Course Introduction
April 11, 2023

Contact information
Francis Peddie, Associate Professor

SPRING 2019

Office 301 GSID; I’m happy to meet with you if you need help with thecoursework, but please arrange a time with me first.

INTERNATION AL
POLITICS

peddie@gsid.nagoya-u.ac.jp; I usually answer from fpeddie@hotmail.com.

CAN WE COOPERATE? THE PRISONER’S DILEMMA

Let’s start with a game…
You and your partner have committed a theft and have been arrested by the police. You hid
the money before you were caught and you both know where it is.
There is not enough evidence to convict you of a serious crime, but there is enough toconvict you of a lesser crime. A lawyer representing the state gives you the following
options: “You can stay silent (choice 1) or testify against your partner (choice 2). If you bothstay silent, you will both go to prison for one year; if you testify against your partner but yourpartner stays silent, you will be free and your partner will go to prison for 10 years; if you
both testify against the other, you will both go to prison for five years.”
What choice will you make, 1 or 2? Before you look at the next slide, make a note or yourchoice and why you chose that.

WHAT IS THE “BEST” RESPONSE?

Simple game theory for strategic interactions

A: You both stay silent
Rank these four options in order Both prisoners get out in one
from best to worst result for you year and divide the money
equally

B: You testify against yourpartner; your partner does not
testify against you
Your partner goes to prison forten years; you are free and keep
all the money

C: You do not testify against yourD: Both of you testify against thepartner; your partner does
othertestify against youYou both go to prison for fiveYou go to prison for ten years;
Your partner is free and keeps all years; divide the money later?
the moneyEQUILIBRIUM IS WHEN BOTH PLAYERS PLAY THEIR BEST RESPONSESTRATEGY

What is the equilibrium choice?

Based on the concept of self-interest, the best
option for both partners in testifying; that is PROBLEM: You have both testified against the
why D is ranked higher than A. It is considered other. Is there any trust left between you?
the most likely outcome.

A: 3,3: You will only get half the money andwill have to spend time in jail

B: 1,4: Best for you, worst for partner
You get all the money and spend no time injail

C: 4,1: Worst for you, best for partner

D: 2,2: It’s possible you may get all the money
and spend no time in jail; you haveincomplete information (what your partner
will do) but if you take a chance that theother person will stay silent, you stand to get
the most. Logically the partner should also
think this way, so this is considered theequilibrium response

The “best response” or equilibrium is mutual defection. Why is this so?
The incentive is to defect to maximize personal gain; even if your partner also
defects, you do not lose the money (though it may cause conflict); if you defectand your partner doesn’t, you get all the money.
However, the best result is for both to stay silent, spend a short time in prison,and split the money peacefully. This requires a high degree of trust andcooperation.
The irony is that the best response and the best result are not the same.
COOPERATION VS COMPETITION
Or, collective interest vs self interest
What choice did you make? Why?

•In this course we will try to answer some easy questions:•

1. Do politics matter in issues of cooperation? Do international
relations matter for development?

• 2. What are the dominant perspectives in modern politics andinternational relations? How do these perspectives affectinternational cooperation?

•3. What are our own political perspectives?

•4. How do competing political systems affect cooperation?

•5. How do various global issues look through different political‘lenses’?

•Why take this course?

•It is important to be aware of the broad ideologies that affectpolicy at all levels; policy affects people, who are the centre ofquestions of cooperation and development.

•Development plans and projects do not happen in a vacuum; they
are shaped by the politics of localities, regions, nations, andinternational relations.

•The ability to understand multiple perspectives -even (especially?)
those we disagree with -help us as academics, fieldworkers,
government workers and so on to make better decisions and havegreater ability to find consensus.

What is globalization? It depends on what lens youview it throughFigure based on Baylis, Smith and Owens (2008), 6-8
Realism: Political perspective

Just abuzzword

Liberalism: Institutional perspective

Globalization affects economic relations, society
and culture but does not supersede sovereignty
and self-interest

Globalization is the result of a long process ofprogress and development of rules (institutions)that apply to all human beings

Despite claims to the contrary, the nation state isstill the dominant actor
State-centred, power driven, spheres of influenceand power blocks

The nation state is important but increasingly lessso; more and more actors are emerging who
influence politics

Prefer the term internationalization overglobalization
Marxism: Economic perspective

The world is increasingly interconnected throughtrade and technology and governed by commonrules

GLOBALIZATION

Globalization is nothing new; it is just another stageof development of international capitalism
A Western-led movement increasing the wealth gap
and power divide between core, semi-periphery andperiphery regions/nations

Constructivism: Social perspective

Globalization is a real force and should be directed
to empower new political actors and join people
together across national boundaries united forcommon purposes
Transnational networks to build new and more
equitable societies

A real andimportantphenemenon

WHERE ARE YOU O N THE POLITICAL
SPECTRUM?

2018 to 2023: no change

2018 vs.
2023 8 Values: Virtually no change
RESULTSECO N O M I C A XI S: SOCI A L
6 5 .2 % EQUA LITY
3 4 .8 % M A RKETSDIPLOMATIC AXIS: PEACEFUL38.8% NATIONAL
61.2% WORLDCIVIL AXIS: LIBERAL
67.3 % LI BERTY
3 2 .7 % A UTHORITY
SOCIETAL AXIS: VERY PROGRESSIVE
23.4% TRADITION
76.6% PROGRESSTry the tests for yourself!
Use the URLs to go to the sites and try these tests for yourselves.
https://www.politicalcompass.org/
https://8values.github.io/
For your first small assignment for this course, write a short report (one A4page) about your results. Did they surprise you? Were they what you
expected? What do you think the results say about your character andtendencies? You can upload this to the TACT site for this class
We will discuss your results in next week’s class so be prepared to talkabout them. This assignment is worth 5 points (more on evaluation later!)•

So what are the implications of my political position for mydecision making if I
was the Minister of Development for country X, or working at the WorldBank in charge of region Y? What kind of projects would I promote? Whowould I see as the people most deserving of support? What kind of projects
might I avoid or disfavor?
••

Who would I trust? Who would I want to start relations with,and keep them going over time (iteration?)

COURSE OUTLINE
1.Introduction- The lecturer explains the course outline and the dominant perspectives on governance as they connect to international
relations and global governance issues. READING FOR NEXT CLASS: What Shaped Our World? A Historical Introduction.
This is a PDF file available on our TACT site.
2. The emergence of human societies and the need for politics
3. The Westphalian system and the nation state
4. National and international issues: interests, interactions and institutions5. War and peace between states
6. International organizations and war
7. Civil war and terrorism
8. International trade
9. Development as an issue of international politics
10. Human rights
11. Climate change
12. International migration
13. Student presentations on simulation results
14. Student presentations on simulation results
15. Challenges to the Global Order and wrap-up
The schedule is subject to change

Readings will be supplied by the course instructor and will be available on our class TACT site. You will be able to access the site
once you have registered for the course or I add you by your student
number. The main text used will be Frieden, Lake and Schultz, World Politics, fifth edition.

Evaluation...the only thing you
truly care about...
Evaluation will be based on active participation in class discussions andactivities, today's short assignment, a presentation based on the results on an
online simulation activity by each student, and two short comment papers
based on the readings (20/5/35/20/20). A cumulative score of 60 is needed topass.
Regarding comment papers:
Each student must submit 2 comment papers by the end of the semester. You
can choose to comment on any of the readings that you find most interesting,challenging, or even confusing. The minimum length is 500 words, maximum
1000.In analyzing and commenting on readings, you should consider how thespecific reading fits into the overall themes and ideas of the course and relate
it to real-life examples. It is not a research paper, so you do not need to worry
about finding corroboration or counter-proofs in other sources.
I suggest you don’t leave writing both papers until the end of semester, when
you will be busy with other coursework. Try to get one done early or by themid-point of the course, and one later in the semester.

Statecraft simulation
After the number of students is set, you will take part in an online
simulation game called Statecraft where you are responsible forchoosing a development trajectory for your designated country. You
accumulate points through choices you make and completion of weekly
memos. Points are accrued through both competing and cooperatingwith other nations. At the end of the simulation, you will be ranked andyour position will determine your score /15. You will also give asimulation debrief presentation in week 13 or 14 that explains thestrategic choices you made, your successes and failures that will bescored /20.
Participation in the simulation outside of class time is essential if you
plan to win. The student licenses will be paid through myresearch/class budget so there is no cost to you.

Any questions?