The course aims to introduce the key assumptions of the international relations theory as a part of social science and as an analytic tool, focusing on the problems of war and peace, foreign policy decision-making, etc. The course combines historic approach and analysis of the modern political problems. The historic part shows the evolution of the international relations theory from being a part of political philosophy to its emergence as a special branch of political science, which is essential to understand the key ideas of the IR science. The lectures also include broad outline of the modern concepts and debates in the context of the contemporary political problems, such as rise of China and other emerging powers, threat of terrorism, US-Russia confrontation, etc. The lectures of the two outstanding Russian scholars and political analysts – Timofey Bordachev and Dmitry Suslov - cover such fields as the problems of international security and conflict resolution, international economic relations, foreign policy decision-making, global governance, the role of power in the IR.
Models of governance
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Del curso dictado por National Research University Higher School of Economics
Understanding International Relations Theory
64 calificaciones
National Research University Higher School of Economics
64 calificaciones
De la lección
Global governance
Is it possible to establish a world government? And will it lead to "eternal peace"? These questions are essential to understand the key patterns and contradictions, which drive the modern international politics.
Conoce a los instructores
Timofei BordachevAssociate professor
Department of international relations
Dmitrii SuslovSenior Lecturer
Department of international relations, HSE
Let's start with the Unidirectional types of governance.
So, the unidirectional and formal governance
is defined by Jim Rosenau as top-down governance.
And this is the most simple and classic,
and also most visible one.
This is the type of governance which is conducted in
domestic politics in the form of state government.
Whereas, at the international level,
this top-down governance is done by,
for instance, individual states,
when they impose some rule on the other states,
or when they demand a certain pattern of
foreign or domestic behavior from the other states.
And the example could be, for instance,
the US Intervention in Somalia in 1993,
the US War in Iraq in 2003,
Russian War in Georgia in 2008,
and so on, and so forth.
Also, this top-down governance can be conducted by groups of states when they
elaborate certain rules and want the others to comply with these rules,
or demand a certain behavior from the others.
And the examples could be the intervention of NATO into Kosovo in 1999,
or the decisions of the G8 and G20 regarding
economic policies and economic financial regulations, and so on.
Another prominent example of this top-down governance could be the performance of
the UN Security Council vis-a-vis the all other states of the international system.
Indeed, when the UN Security Council adopts the resolution,
this is the top-down rule because all other states,
all other member states of the United Nations,
they have to obey to these resolutions,
otherwise, they face sanctions.
So, as this resolution is adopted by the institution and by the group of states,
which are the current member states of the UN Security Council,
and then impose on all the other states,
this is exactly the top-down governance.
So, a top-down governance can be reformed
by international, intergovernmental organizations.
When the United Nations,
WTO, NATO, World Bank, IMF,
and other institutions take decisions and impose these decisions on the others,
this is top-down governance.
And this top-down governance can be exercised even by
transnational corporations when they either
individually or jointly agree on some standards,
and then impose these standards on the other actors,
or conduct direct provision of public goods somewhere, right?
For instance, when transnational corporations open
a hospital or provide jobs in a certain country.
So, this type of top-down governance is done by formal structures,
which establish rule and try to make the others to follow this rule.
And the collectivities, which are involved in this type of governance,
are states, groups of states,
international organizations, and transnational corporations.
Now, let's move to the second type of
unidirectional governance and talk about unidirectional and informal governance.
The type of governance which is unidirectional and informal is called bottom-up.
Jim Rosenau called it bottom-up governance.
It is less visible in terms of dominating the media,
but nevertheless, it is quite spread.
And this bottom-up governance happens when rules are
elaborated by such actors as human rights groups,
NGOs, and mass public,
and such, and then, transmitted up, bottom-up.
These rules are elaborated by non-state actors,
and they passed to the states and
international organizations to be
ratified by governments and/or international institutions.
And there are examples for that.
This is really the phenomena which is very widespread.
Though eventually states and
international institutions are the ones who are officially adopt these rules,
they are not always those who really elaborate these rules.
These rules can be imposed on the states or kind of
passed through the states and international organizations by civil society.
And sometimes, states do dictate considerations of prestige,
and so on, and so forth,
simply have no other option than to accept those rules,
which are really elaborated,
created by the non-state actors.
The classic example is the Land Mines Convention,
which was elaborated and lobbied by a series of NGOs,
and then accepted, and officially ratified by the states.
Another example is a series of standards for conducting free and fair elections that
the organizations like Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe and the Council of Europe adopt.
And indeed, as Rosenau describes this situation,
"Governments are mere policy ratifiers at the receiving end of the flow of authorities."
The collectivities that participate in this form of governance thus include the NGOs,
both national and international NGOs, mass public,
which can be mobilized for a certain demand,
and governments and international organizations who
receive and ratify the impulses of authority from the bottom,
from the non-state actors.
Finally, the unidirectional and mixed governance,
unidirectional in terms of the process and mixed in terms of structures.
This type of governance is defined as market governance by Rosenau.
And this type describes informal horizontal flows of authority,
such as economic exchanges,
but which occur in the framework of formal regulator mechanisms.
And it is quite peculiar that for Rosenau,
agreements and contracts between private actors on trade and investment,
for instance, is a part of global governance.
All these actors establish rules for themselves and for the others.
Private companies, transnational corporations
establish rules for themselves and for the others.
These rules are spelled out in contracts.
But these interactions, this rule-making happens in
the regulatory framework that is provided by the governments, by the states.
Thus, this type of governance process is both formal and informal in the sense that
governments exercise some formal regulation
over the informal flows of trade and investment.
Let's say, Russia-EU contract on gas rate,
and the impact of the Russian legislature, Russian foreign policy,
and the EU's third Energy Package,
and the EU's external energy policy,
these are the regulators framework,
but the agreements between gas companies are the private interactions of the companies.
And the collectivities of this governance processes are both governments,
international organizations involved in global economic governance,
and market actors, the companies, and individuals.
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