Thread by @ProfPaulPoast

This week in #ChicagoIntroIR2019, we're talking about Anarchy and Structure (oh, and "isms").

What are we reading to help us think about these topics?

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First, as listed on the syllabus, we have a couple REQUIRED readings from @IAJournal_CH's special issue on 100 years since the Treaty of Versailles. They are...

...a piece by Yuen Foong Khong on "prestige" and "hierarchy" in world politics...

academic.oup.com/ia/article-abs…

...and a piece by Rosemary Foot that uses China to discuss "status" and highlight the role of "recognition" in sovereignty (which we discussed last Thursday)

academic.oup.com/ia/article-abs…

Second, I have some SUPPLEMENTAL pieces to recommend. These will add to ideas brought forward in lecture

Tuesday's lectures will offer two general views about the "consequences of anarchy": Neorealism and Neoliberal Institutionalism.

There is also a third "ism" -- constructivism -- that critiques the absolute way in which the other two "isms" present themselves.

These "isms" are brought up A LOT in IR. But don't let that fool you: many don't necessarily buy them. This is well captured in the following @DuckofMinerva piece by @pehenne

duckofminerva.com/2018/10/do-we-…

And the "isms" debate rages on @Twitter itself, as humorously captured by @urtepeteris

https://twitter.com/urtepeteris/status/1180235106235097093

Sticking with @Twitter feeds for a moment, @SevaUT used the idea of "uncertainty" to draw some useful distinctions between the "isms" (also worth checking out the responses to his post)

https://twitter.com/SevaUT/status/1157709351261523970

Perhaps the best recent "compare and contrast" b/w neorealism and neoliberal institutionalism is this hilarious video produced by students at @UNSW that compares the views of @UChicago's own JJ Mearshiemer w/ Lisa Martin & Robert Keohane

You'll hear me bring up "rationalist explanations of war" and "democratic peace" when discussing these "isms".

For a sense of the debates surrounding the Democratic Peace, check out this post by @charlicarpenter in @DuckofMinerva

duckofminerva.com/2012/04/constr…

As for "rationalist explanations of war", @nktpnd offered a nice application (& explanation of the idea) in this @Diplomat_APAC post:

thediplomat.com/2013/12/ration…

That's enough for now. Should be a fascinating week learning about anarchy, "isms", great powers, and structure.

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