I.

Essay
1. Some scholars say that war is in decline. What is the evidence for this claim? Are you
convinced by the evidence? Use relevant theories of IR/IR Security for your answer.

I. War: Pg. 187

A. 3 Philosophies from Carl von Clausewitz
1. Political: a rational, national and instrumental activity: the decision to employ the
military instrument ought to be made on the basis of a rational calculation taken by the
political authority concerned in order to achieve some specified goal. Political challenge
of warfare was how to achieve such rationality given the fluctuating relationship between
his central trinity of actors: people, government and military, given their principal
characteristics- passion, reason and technique.
2. Eschatological: had a teleological view of history, which would culminate in a final
war leading to the unfolding of some grand design- divine, natural or human. Ex. Nazi
doctrine of the Master Race, Christs Second Coming.
3. Cataclysmic: conceived war as a catastrophe that befalls some portion of humanity
or the entire or the entire human race? This philosophy comes in 2 variants: ethnocentric
and global. Ethnocentric: sees war as something that is likely to befall us; specifically war
is something that others threaten to do to us. Global: views war as a cataclysm that
affects humanity as a whole not just this or that group of humans.
B. Trends in War
1. Interstate
2. Intrastate
3. Decrease in battle deaths
4. Non-state armed conflicts
5. Regional spread
C. Is War Changing?
1. Total War
2. New Wars
- Globalization
- Fragmentation
- Ethnicity vs. cosmopolitanism
3. Western way of war
- Technology vs. human capital
- Participation
- Spectator sport
- Lower costs of war
D. Norms and Violence
1. Genocide
2. Mass atrocity violence
3. Holocaust (1941-1946)
4. Cold War (1970-1980)

5. Post-Cold War (early 1990s)

E. Institutional and Normative Developments
1. ICTY-ICTR (International Criminal Tribunal)
2. ICC (International Criminal Court)
3. ICISS (International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty)
4. R2P (Responsibility to Protect)
5. ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty)

2. You study Human Security? If you want to study human security, you should study
traditional approaches to international security that focus on the state. Thats where the
action happens in the international system. Do you agree/disagree with this statement?
Use concepts and materials from readings and discussion for your answer.
I.
Defining Human Security
A. Negative: absence of threats to various core human values, including the most
basic human value, the physical safety of the individual
B. Positive: to safeguard the vital core of all human lives from critical pervasive
threats, and to do so without impeding long-term human flourishing
C. Globalization: enthusiasts argue that the breakdown of national barriers to trade
and spread of global markets are processes that help to raise world incomes and
contribute to the spread of wealth. Critics argue that although some countries in the
South have gained from globalization, many havent and income inequalities between
the worlds richest/poorest are widening.
II. Dilemmas of Intervention
A. What Constitutes a Just War

How to study human security

International security vs. the state
Pg. 279

3. The Melian Dialogue is as relevant today as it was when it was written. It gives us key
insights into the nature of international security. Do you agree/disagree with this
statement? Use concepts and materials from readings and discussion for your answer.
What is the Melian Dialogue - Historical example of an interaction between the Athenians and
the Melians. The Melians were a colony of Sparta, and the Athenians demanded the allegiance
of the Melians in their war against Sparta. The Melians wished to left alone, but the Athenians
insisted. Athens could not let Melos be because it would set an example to other islands. The
Melians gambled on Sparta coming to their aid, but Athens instead opted to destroy the Melians.
Key quote delivered by the Athenians: The strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what
they must

What is its relevance (as it IS relevant) How is it applicable to the modern concept of international security
Whose security?
Game Theory pg. 48
Liberalism vs. realism vs. constructivism

II. Short Answer

1. Melian Dialogue:
What is the concept? - See above
Where is the concept situated in the literature? - Greek tragedy
How does it relate to international security? - Reinforces realist theory, the
Athenians do not act out of morality but out of realist logic; they are stronger, and
therefore do what most benefits them
What are some contemporary illustrations/implications? - US involvement in
Somalia during the Cold War used realist logic
2. Anarchy
What is the concept? - A lack of any central authority
Where is the concept situated in the literature?
- Neoclassical Realism: Waltz argues that two elements of the structure of the
international system are constants: the lack of an overarching authority means that its
ordering principle is anarchy, and the principle of self-help means that all of the units
remain functionally alike
How does it relate to international security?
What are some contemporary illustrations/implications?
3. Security Dilemma
What is the concept?
Where is the concept situated in the literature?
How does it relate to international security?
What are some contemporary illustrations/implications?
4. Liberal Feminism: Pg. 107
What is the concept? Focus on the ways in which within governments and
international institutions, women remain highly under-presented. Liberal v. Radical
Feminism, where radicals believe women are more caring than men and their viewpoint
would be valuable to security
Where is the concept situated in the literature? Feminism
How does it relate to international security? Lack of equal representation means
a biased view on international security
What are some contemporary illustrations/implications? Statistics: women in the
UN comprise some 60% of General Service employees, but less than 40% in the
Professional categories and only 22% of the highest professional category of Under
Secretary General
5. Uncertainty: Pg. 137
What is the concept?
Three Logics:

1. Fatalist Logic: the idea that security competition can never be

escaped in international politics. Human nature and the condition of international
anarchy determine that humans will live in an essentially conflictual world
2. Mitigator Logic: the idea that security competition can be
ameliorated or dampened down for a time, but never eliminated. Here, notions of
regimes and societies are key blunting the worst features of anarchy
Transcender Logic: the idea the human society is self-constitutive, not
determined. Humans have agency, as individuals and groups, and so human society can
seek to become what it chooses to be, though inherited structural constraints will always
be powerful. A global community of peace and trust as in principle possible if in practice
it currently looks improbable.Where is the concept situated in the literature?
How does it relate to international security?
What are some contemporary illustrations/implications?
6. Negative Peace
What is the concept? - Absence of war and actual physical violence
a. Positive peace - The integration of human society
Where is the concept situated in the literature? - Peace studies, pg. 85
How does it relate to international security? - What if peace is more than just the
absence of war: international social justice, end of global exploitation, human rights,
alternative world orders, environmental security
What are some contemporary illustrations/implications?
7. Securitization
What is the concept?- Idea that security issues are constructed through speech
acts that designate certain issues or actors as existential threats
Where is the concept situated in the literature? - constructivist school of thought
How does it relate to international security?
What are some contemporary illustrations/implications?
8. R2P
What is the concept? Right to Protect, first doctrine in place for the UN
Where is the concept situated in the literature?
How does it relate to international security? - Not realist or necessarily liberal
institutionalist (though it relies on liberal institutionalist organizations) R2P violates
Westphalian norms of non-intervention
What are some contemporary illustrations/implications? Rwanda, Bosnia,
Balkans
9. Millennium Development Goals
What is the concept? - 2000 UN goals, 8 goals, eradicate hunger, education,
gender equality, AIDS/malaria, environmental sustainability and global partnership
Where is the concept situated in the literature? - Human security
How does it relate to international security? - Human security is global security,
because instability spreads today
What are some contemporary illustrations/implications? - Millennium goals were
highly successful metrics for developing countries to strive towards, many made great
progress
10. Washington Consensus

 What is the concept? - set of 10 economic policies that aid is conditional on.
Used by World Bank, IMF, and US Treasury (incentivize foreign investment, tightening of
wage controls, cutting public spending, currency deflation, privatization et al)
Where is the concept situated in the literature? - Poverty
How does it relate to international security? - Related to poverty, poverty brings
about violence
What are some contemporary illustrations/implications? Countries (dominantly
third world nations) that are affected by IMF conditionalities
11. International Criminal Court
What is the concept? A specific judicial body not affiliated with the UN which is
responsible for trying and convicting leaders/people for crimes against humanity
Where is the concept situated in the literature? - Genocide and crimes against
humanity
How does it relate to international security?Holds people accountable for war
crimes/crimes against humanity
What are some contemporary illustrations/implications? - Rwanda, Uganda,
Kenya, Libya, Sudan, Mali, Ivory Coast
12. New Wars
What is the concept? - In New Wars, the traditional distinctions between war,
organized crime, and large-scale violations of human rights are blurred. Conflicts are
understood through the context of a struggle between cosmopolitan and exclusivist
identity groups. Exclusivist groups seek control of a particular territory by ethnically
cleansing everybody of a different ideology or people who espouse cosmopolitan
principles
Where is the concept situated in the literature? - Kaldors idea, theories of war
pg. 200
How does it relate to international security? Erosion of the states monopoly on
violence
What are some contemporary illustrations/implications? - ISIS, Boko Haram,
Taliban, FARC in Columbia