WORLD POLITICS IN

CONTEXTCh. 14

ETHICS

INTRODUCTION Ethics are involved

every issue covered from globalization and fragmentation to demographics and resource use.

Each theoretical paradigm implies a certain amount of ethics: Realists favor pragmatism

over idealism, Liberals favor natural law,

and Constructivists favor self-

awareness.

ETHICS OF WAR Ethics and morality permeate the

practice of war and can be neatly categorized into jus ad bellum and jus in bello.

JUS AD BELLUM Justice of war

War is to be considered just if: A just cause, Proportionality A rightful authority

to: Declare war, Chance for success,

and War is a last resort.

JUS IN BELLO Justice in war

Practices that are acceptable once war begins Practices focus on:

Appropriate targets Avoidance of noncombatants/civilian targets

Proportionality.

Both are open to interpretation and are not universally appliedDue to the anarchic structure of the

international system.

THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS Provide the most

systematic outline of the laws of war;Four conventions

deal with: Wounded and

soldiers on the battlefield;

Wounded, sick, and shipwrecked sailors;

POWs; and Treatment of

civilians in times of war.

ETHICS OF SOVEREIGNTY AND POSITIVE INTERVENTION This ethical dilemma addresses two

major debates:One focuses on the competing interests of

sovereignty versus protection of life, andThe second debate questions the efficacy of

intervention.

Sovereignty, a mainstay of the international system, is challenged from a moral perspective when: The state fails to

address, or causes, humanitarian disasters, Ex. such as the current

situation in Darfur.

Ethics only seem to play a role when all other interests have already been metLiberals argue that although the

international community’s response has been slow, it has succeeded in getting some humanitarian assistance to the region;

Constructivists would remind us to recognize both sovereignty and human rights as institutions.

The second debate focuses on intervention for the protection of life, although it might not work either in the long term or at all; Is it better to respond to the short-term

need and let the long-term consequences work themselves out or

Let the situation resolve itself without intervention (Somalia, Haiti, Rwanda, and now Darfur)?

ETHICS OF PEACE AND RECONCILIATION Postwar Behavior

The most contentious questions is whether perpetrators should be forgiven or punished; Complicated by

asking what kind of justice is being sought Retributive or

restorative.

Even if the perpetrator is identified, we must still ask Is the greater good is served by punishing

the person (or state) or by forgiveness. The ICC focuses on the retributive

process Truth and Reconciliation Commissions

focus on the restorative process;Reduce or eliminate individuals’ punishment

in exchange for combatants’ participation in telling the story of the war.

ETHICS OF TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT

Realists Liberals

See trade and development as opportunities to gain a relative advantage and enhance state power;

See trade and development as natural processes where all benefit;

Constructivists Marxists

Consider economic institutions that have been created to: Foster trade and

development.

See trade and development as a means to: Enhance the power of

the core.

Ethical questions focus onConsumerism versus the Preservation of

Culture; Ex. The spread of capitalism and, with it,

consumerism, doing more harm than good?The answer depends on where you sit as the

proliferation of consumerism runs counter to many societies and practices.

ETHICS OF COMPETING INTERESTS Separating the

ethics of economics from the ethics of security is problematic;States’ leaders

must compromise, Accepting a lesser

evil to achieve a more dearly held objective.

The U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia (and other nondemocratic regimes) serves as a good example; Saudi Arabia and its

control over vast resources of oil leads the United States to turn a blind eye when it comes to the level of repression and human rights violations in the kingdom.

China copes with similar ethical dilemmas by stressing its respect for sovereignty; Its relationships

with the Sudan and Burma; Need for oil for

further economic development.

There are innumerable examples of ethical dilemmas caused by competing interests;Global relations are

so complex and interwoven that compromises are inevitable.

Realists Liberals

Believe this is simply the cost of international relations;

Hope that this compromise will lead to economic growth and democratization;

Constructivists

Remind us that our conceptions of morality shift over time.

RELATIONSHIP OF WORLD POLITICS TO OTHER SUB-DISCIPLINES OF

POLITICAL SCIENCE

The study of foreign policy is related to world politics in that the former utilizes the levels of analysis as well as the three major worldviews;Foreign policy and world politics are often

confused because of their similarities; The key difference is that the study of foreign

policy is focused on:American policy structures, goals, and

methods, whereas the study of global politics looks:

More broadly at global relations.

In terms of American politics, The political dynamics

observed at the domestic level are often mirrored at the international level; Ex. Both share an

emphasis on balance-of-power; However, American

politics are hierarchically organized

International relations are anarchic.

THE FUTURE

Realists Liberals

Don’t anticipate a future much different from the present Human nature has not

changed and the system remains anarchic;

The UN is floundering under scandal and criticism;

Nuclear weapons are spreading;

States remain key actors; International law is still

being violated; and The Great Powers still put

their interests first.

Point to a rise in global civil society,

Increasing interdependence, and

The burgeoning world economy as evidence of a changing world,

They see trends toward cooperation on a whole host of issues and

Believe that these trends will continue in the future.

Constructivists

Believe that the future can be radically different It is free to morph as

people’s and their representative groups’ identities and interpretations of the world change, Thus leading to

potentially different sets of interests and political interactions.