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The Extent That Theories of Cooperation Harmonize With Reality in Contemporary International Relations

January 24, 2013 Free Content, International Relations, IR Theories No comments

January 30, 2010 – Jeffrey R. Dwiggins, Copyright, Kapok Tree Diplomacy –

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The Extent That Theories of Cooperation Harmonize With Reality in Contemporary International Relations

International relations theorists have presented distinctly different views on both the prospects for cooperation among states and the environmental and structural constraints impeding it for decades. This essay will explain and analyze the main views put forth in Robert Keohane‘s Regime and Complex Interdependency Theory, Bruce Russett’s Democratic Peace Theory, David Held’s democratization of global politics, and conclude with Robert Jervis’s ideas on the effectiveness of creating institutions to increase cooperation.

The views of Jervis will bring us full circle with realist and neo-realist views of cooperation. Throughout the essay, I will assess to what extent the arguments of these theorists are convincing. Do these theories of cooperation harmonize with reality in contemporary international relations? The following essay will explain how and why they do, and in other cases how and why they do not.

Theories of Cooperation

Keohane – Regimes and Complex Interdependency Theory.  Keohane defines cooperation as occurring when “actors adjust their behavior to the actual or anticipated preferences of others, through a process of policy coordination” (“Cooperation” 491).  The definition leaves some room for why actors would adjust their behavior at all.  Keohane implies that the answer is found in mutual interests that are of equal importance (“Cooperation” 490). When such mutual interests are present, actors will want to bargain and negotiate as opposed to the manipulation and coercion that prevail under divergent interests and lead to strife. Read more

Kapok Tree Diplomacy Slowly Emerges

January 21, 2013 Free Content, Kapok Tree Introduction No comments

Kapok_tree_HonoluluWelcome to Kapok Tree Diplomacy. The kapok tree is a towering and majestic tree native to tropical rainforests, rising to heights of over 150 feet, and providing food and shelter to hundreds of plants and animals dependent on the sunlight found above the canopy. The aim of this foreign affairs-related site is to provide a similar source of light and resources in the form of detailed inquiry into the complex issues of international relations as analyzed through the worldview and prism of the theistic Christian worldview. As a student and practitioner of international relations as well as a Christian, I tend to follow in the footsteps of a far more accomplished scholar who was well known for blending the Christian worldview into his own keen analysis of foreign affairs – Reinhold Niebuhr.

Accordingly, this site will have many branches, some concerning foreign affairs and diplomacy; some concerning other ideals such as democracy and liberty; and still other branches on things like Art, Culture, Entertainment, Religion and Science. It was Niebuhr who said, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”  I reject the God-complex that man can fix the world and all of its ills armed with merely his own abilities, reasoning and knowledge apart from God.

Like Niebuhr, I enjoy challenging many of the accepted ideas and opinions of the established academic, journalistic and philosophical elites, especially the presuppositional planks of the worldviews upon which those ideas and opinions are built. I welcome all to the site – young and old, men and women, religious and non-religious, the students, academics and practitioners of international relations, and the curious and undecided. The site is currently in its infancy, so I ask for your patience as I slowly build it over time.

Enjoy the site and remember, “Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we are saved by love.”  Niebuhr

Jeff Dwiggins
January 2013

Be sure to check out my website as well.

* The posts, views and opinions expressed on this site are completely my own and do not represent the views or opinions of the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy or the Armed Forces.

Applying Domestic-Level Variables in Context to Relative Gains, Reciprocity and Anarchic Concepts to Examine Institutional Cooperation in the Middle East

January 21, 2013 International Relations, IR Theories, Paid Content No comments

In my initial studies of international relations and world politics through the mainstream theoretic lenses, the idea that “liberal” institutions operating within the anarchic structure of the international system can facilitate cooperation and reduce the likelihood of conflict has deeply intrigued me.  The increasing societal interconnectedness brought about by globalization personalizes the hope that such institutions may offer potential to make the world a safer place. While neorealism and neoliberalism disagree to some extent on the causes and likelihood of cooperation, combining essential components of these theories may prove invaluable to understanding the viability of institutional cooperation. However, neither view seems to fully account for the impact of domestic variables on international outcomes.

Joseph Grieco’s concept of “relative gains” and Robert Keohane’s “principle of reciprocity” in particular have significantly furthered our understanding of the causes and conditions for durable cooperation among states.  Might these tools be inherently flexible enough to incorporate domestic variables, thus loosening anarchic assumptions and opening the door for enhanced cooperation through institutions? Moreover, can the inclusion of domestic variables in context to these tools explain subpar cooperation in the Middle East?

The essay’s first section will offer a brief explanation of the Middle Eastern context in which these theoretical tools will be examined. This politically and religiously fragmented  region is marked by huge disparities between wealth and poverty, Sunnis and Shias, and common nationality and sectarian strife. It all makes the Middle East (ME) an outstanding area to examine the impact of domestic-level variables (DLVs).  In the second section I will lay out a summary of the reciprocity and relative gains concepts and make a general assessment of their ability to explain ME conflicts and lack of regional, institutional cooperation.

In the third section, I will apply DLVs as part of reciprocity and relative gains concepts to analyze the unique intergovernmental organization of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Companies (OPEC) within the double security dilemma of competing state and domestic interests. In the fourth section I’ll review the anarchic environment and role of process as specific variables and causal determinants of state interests and outcomes within a structural view of the state that incorporates a simultaneous, dual security analysis,  and shift the focus from  reciprocity and relative gains to the theoretical perspectives of neorealism and neoliberalism from which they’re derived.

In the essay’s fifth and final section, I will present some ideas on moving forward towards greater stability and equitable prosperity in the ME through the promotion of a few specific ideas to include a greater role for capitalism, education, job creation and religious tolerance. Additionally, the application of “soft power” and “contextual intelligence” will be reviewed as potential strategies that utilize DLVs to shape interests and preferences, thereby influencing outcomes. {20 pages double-spaced + 18 references}

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