Fiche de révision : Foundations of Political Science and International Relations

📋 Course Outline

1. Political Science Foundations
2. Normative vs Empirical
3. Political Subfields
4. International Relations
5. Political Economy
6. Theory Components
7. Actors and Interests
8. Interactions and Games
9. Institutions and Rules
10. Domestic vs International

📖 1. Political Science Foundations

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Politics: The process through which public values are debated, political actors compete for power, and policy decisions are made. It answers "who gets what, when, how" (Lasswell, 1936).
• Policy: The outcome of political processes, including laws, regulations, and decisions that influence society.
• Normative Theory: A branch of political science concerned with how things should work, focusing on values, ethics, and ideal principles (e.g., justice, fairness).
• Objective (Empirical) Theory: Focuses on how things actually work, based on facts, observations, and data to explain political phenomena.
• Subfields of Political Science: Specialized areas such as Political Theory (normative questions), American Politics (U.S. processes), Comparative Politics (cross-country comparisons), and International Relations (interstate and global interactions).
• International Political Economy (IPE): The study of how political and economic processes influence each other at the international level, using shared methodologies from economics and political science.

📝 Essential Points

• Political science employs a systematic, scientific approach: theory → hypotheses → data → falsification.
• It distinguishes between normative (what should be) and objective (what is) approaches.
• Subfields serve different research questions: normative (political theory), descriptive/explanatory (American, Comparative, International).
• International Relations is divided into subfields like conflict/security, cooperation/organizations, and political economy, each with specific research questions.
• Political economy examines the interplay between political institutions and economic outcomes, using shared methodologies from economics and political science.
• Empirical research involves testing hypotheses against data, aiming for explanations and predictions rather than prescriptions.

💡 Key Takeaway

Political science is a systematic pursuit of knowledge about political processes, balancing normative ideals with empirical analysis to understand how power, policies, and institutions shape societies and international relations.

📖 2. Normative vs Empirical

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Normative Theory
  Concerned with how things should be; focuses on values, ethics, and ideal standards. It prescribes what ought to happen based on moral or political principles.
  Example: "Rich countries should increase foreign aid to promote gender equality."

• Empirical Theory
  Concerned with how things actually are; based on observation, data, and factual evidence. It explains or predicts real-world phenomena without making value judgments.
  Example: "Data shows that foreign aid has mixed effects on gender equality in recipient countries."

• Normative Statement
  A judgment or recommendation about what is desirable or ought to be. Usually subjective and value-laden.
  Example: "All nations should eliminate poverty."

• Empirical Statement
  A factual claim that can be tested or verified through evidence. Usually objective.
  Example: "Countries with higher foreign aid tend to have lower poverty rates."

• Methodological Difference
  Normative approaches rely on ethical reasoning and principles, while empirical approaches use data analysis and observation to understand phenomena.

• Relationship
  Normative theories often guide policy goals; empirical theories assess whether those goals are achievable or supported by evidence.

📝 Essential Points

• Distinction: Normative focuses on what ought to be, empirical on what is.
• Interdependence: Normative claims often depend on empirical facts; empirical research can inform normative debates.
• Application: Policymaking involves both—normative to set goals, empirical to evaluate options.
• Limitations: Normative statements are subjective; empirical statements can be limited by data quality and scope.
• Research Focus: Empirical research tests hypotheses about real-world outcomes; normative research evaluates moral or political ideals.

💡 Key Takeaway

Normative and empirical approaches serve different but complementary roles in political economy: normative theories prescribe ideals, while empirical theories analyze reality to inform and evaluate those ideals.

📖 3. Political Subfields

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Political Theory: The normative branch of political science that explores how political systems should operate based on values, ethics, and principles. It asks prescriptive questions like "How should power be distributed?"

• Empirical Political Science: The objective branch that studies how political phenomena actually occur, using data, observations, and scientific methods to test hypotheses about political behavior and institutions.

• Subfields of Political Science:

  • Political Theory: Normative questions about justice, rights, and the ideal state.
  • [American] Politics: Focuses on political processes within specific countries, such as elections, political behavior, and institutions.
  • Comparative Politics: Compares political systems across countries to understand differences and similarities in political processes.
  • International Relations (IR): Examines interactions among states and international actors, including war, diplomacy, and international organizations.

• International Sub-Subfields:

  • International Conflict and Security: Studies war, peace, alliances, terrorism.
  • International Cooperation and Organization: Focuses on treaties, international law, human rights, and global governance.
  • International Political Economy (IPE): Analyzes trade, finance, development, and economic policies at the international level.

• Game Theory: A formal analytical tool used to model strategic interactions among rational actors, often used in political economy to understand cooperation, bargaining, and conflict.

📝 Essential Points

• Political science is a social science that studies human societies through core questions, concepts, and methods shared across subfields.
• The distinction between normative (what should be) and empirical (what is) is fundamental; normative is prescriptive, empirical is descriptive.
• Subfields differ in their focus: some ask normative questions (political theory), others analyze actual processes (politics, comparative politics, IR).
• International relations is divided into specialized areas, each with specific research questions.
• The use of formal models like game theory helps analyze strategic interactions, especially in international conflict, cooperation, and political economy.
• Theories in political economy focus on how institutions, interests, and interactions shape economic and political outcomes.

💡 Key Takeaway

Understanding the diverse subfields of political science—ranging from normative theory to empirical studies of domestic and international politics—provides a comprehensive framework for analyzing how political and economic phenomena operate and influence each other.

📖 4. International Relations

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• International Relations (IR): The study of interactions among states and other global actors, analyzing how they cooperate, conflict, and influence each other on the world stage.

• State: A political entity with sovereignty over a defined territory, recognized as a legal authority in international law.

• Sovereignty: The principle that a state has full control over its territory and domestic affairs, free from external interference.

• International System: The structure of relationships among states and non-state actors, characterized by anarchy—absence of a central authority.

• Anarchy: The lack of a supreme governing authority in the international system, leading to self-help behavior among states.

• International Cooperation: Collaborative efforts among states or actors to achieve common goals, often through treaties, organizations, or agreements.

• Conflict and Security: The study of causes, dynamics, and resolutions of wars, terrorism, and security threats among states and groups.

• International Organizations: Institutions like the UN or WTO that facilitate cooperation, set norms, and manage collective issues across borders.

📝 Essential Points

• IR examines how states and actors interact within an anarchic international system, where no central authority exists to enforce rules.

• States are the primary actors, driven by interests such as security, power, wealth, or ideological goals.

• Cooperation is challenging due to the security dilemma and commitment problems, but international organizations and norms help facilitate collaboration.

• Subfields include International Conflict and Security, International Political Economy, and International Organization, each focusing on specific issues like war, trade, or global governance.

• Theories such as Realism, Liberalism, and Constructivism offer different perspectives on state behavior and international outcomes.

• Empirical research in IR involves analyzing patterns of conflict, cooperation, and the influence of institutions, often using game theory and quantitative methods.

💡 Key Takeaway

International Relations seeks to understand the complex web of interactions among global actors in an anarchic system, emphasizing the importance of institutions, interests, and strategic behavior in shaping world politics.

📖 5. Political Economy

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Political Economy: The interdisciplinary study of how political institutions, processes, and behaviors influence economic policies and outcomes, and vice versa. It combines insights from economics and political science to analyze the interaction between politics and economics.

• Empirical Political Economy: A methodological approach that relies on observation, data collection, and statistical analysis to understand how political and economic phenomena actually occur, as opposed to normative or critical perspectives.

• Interest: The preferences, goals, or objectives of actors (individuals, firms, governments) in political economy, which motivate their behavior. Interests can be material (economic gains) or ideational (beliefs, ideas).

• Interactions: The strategic behaviors and exchanges between actors that produce political and economic outcomes. These include cooperation (mutually beneficial actions) and bargaining (zero-sum exchanges).

• Institutions: The formal and informal rules, norms, and structures that shape political and economic interactions. They help enforce decisions, reduce uncertainty, and determine who has decision-making power.

• Game Theory: A mathematical framework used to model strategic interactions among rational agents, analyzing how actors choose strategies based on their interests and beliefs about others’ actions, often used in political economy to study cooperation and conflict.

📝 Essential Points

• Political economy examines the bidirectional influence between politics and economics, using shared methodologies from economics and political science.
• Empirical methods involve formulating hypotheses based on theories, deriving testable implications, and analyzing data to validate or falsify these hypotheses.
• Actors in political economy are assumed rational, seeking to maximize their interests, which can be influenced by material conditions or ideas.
• Interactions among actors can be cooperative (positive-sum) or bargaining (zero-sum), with institutions playing a crucial role in structuring these interactions.
• International systems are characterized by anarchy, lacking a central authority, which complicates cooperation among states and introduces commitment problems.
• Game theory models strategic interactions, such as coordination problems (e.g., Battle of the Sexes) and cooperation dilemmas (e.g., Prisoner’s Dilemma), to understand political and economic behavior.

💡 Key Takeaway

Political economy systematically explores how political institutions and strategic interactions shape economic policies and outcomes, using empirical and formal tools like game theory to understand complex interdependencies in domestic and international contexts.

📖 6. Theory Components

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Interest: The goals or objectives actors aim to achieve through political or economic actions; preferences that motivate behavior.
  Example: States seeking security or wealth.

• Interaction: The strategic behavior and decisions made by two or more actors that produce political or economic outcomes; how actors' choices influence each other.
  Example: Negotiations between countries.

• Institution: The set of formal or informal rules that structure interactions among actors, guiding behavior and decision-making.
  Example: International treaties or domestic electoral laws.

• Game Theory: A mathematical framework modeling strategic interactions where the outcome for each actor depends on others' choices; used to analyze cooperation, bargaining, and conflict.
  Example: Prisoner’s Dilemma.

• Nash Equilibrium: A stable state in a game where no player can improve their payoff by unilaterally changing their strategy, given others’ strategies.
  Example: Both countries choosing to cooperate or defect in a treaty.

• Empirical vs. Normative Theory:

  • Empirical: Focused on describing and explaining how the world works based on data.
  • Normative: Concerned with how the world should work based on values and preferences.

📝 Essential Points

• The core components of political economy theories are actors’ interests, their interactions, and the institutions that shape these interactions.
• Rational actors are assumed to maximize their own interests based on preferences, within the constraints of institutions and strategic considerations.
• International systems are characterized by anarchy, lacking a central authority, which complicates cooperation and increases reliance on institutions and strategic behavior.
• Game theory provides formal tools to analyze strategic interactions, including cooperation (positive-sum) and bargaining (zero-sum).
• Theories are built by identifying relevant actors, their interests, interaction types, and institutional structures, which help explain observed political and economic phenomena.

💡 Key Takeaway

Understanding political economy requires analyzing actors’ interests, their strategic interactions, and the institutions that influence outcomes—formal models like game theory are essential tools for explaining complex political and economic behaviors.

📖 7. Actors and Interests

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Actor: An individual, group, or organization involved in political or economic decision-making, whose actions influence outcomes.
  Example: Governments, firms, interest groups.

• Interest: The goals, preferences, or objectives that motivate actors’ behavior in political or economic contexts.
  Example: A state seeking security, a firm aiming for profit.

• Preferences: The ranked priorities or desires of actors, guiding their choices based on what they value most.
  Example: A politician valuing re-election over policy reform.

• Rational Actor: An actor who makes decisions aimed at maximizing their own interests or utility, given available information.
  Example: A government implementing policies to maximize national welfare.

• Interest Groups: Organized groups that seek to influence policy in favor of specific interests or objectives.
  Example: Environmental NGOs advocating for climate policies.

• Institutions: The set of formal and informal rules that structure interactions among actors, influencing their behavior and outcomes.
  Example: Electoral systems, international treaties.

📝 Essential Points

• Actors are rational and pursue their interests, which can be material (economic gains) or ideational (beliefs, ideas).
• Interests shape actors’ behavior; understanding these interests is key to analyzing political and economic outcomes.
• Interactions among actors—cooperative or bargaining—are driven by their preferences and the institutional context.
• Power dynamics among actors depend on their interests, resources, and institutional rules.
• Institutions serve to reduce uncertainty, coordinate actions, and enforce collective decisions, affecting how actors pursue their interests.
• Domestic and international levels differ: domestic systems often hierarchic with central authority, while international systems are anarchic, lacking a central enforcement authority.

💡 Key Takeaway

Actors’ interests and preferences fundamentally drive political and economic behavior; understanding these motivations within institutional contexts is essential to analyzing how outcomes are shaped in both domestic and international arenas.

📖 8. Interactions and Games

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Political Economy: The interdisciplinary study of how political and economic processes influence each other, using empirical and theoretical methods rooted in social sciences.

• Empirical Political Economy: The branch focused on observing, describing, and explaining political and economic phenomena through data and evidence, rather than normative judgments.

• Theory: A systematic model or framework that explains how and why certain political or economic outcomes occur, based on assumptions about actors, interests, and institutions.

• Actors: Rational individuals, groups, or organizations with preferences and goals that influence political and economic interactions.

• Interactions: The strategic behaviors and exchanges between actors, which can be cooperative (positive-sum) or bargaining (zero-sum).

• Institutions: The set of formal and informal rules, norms, and procedures that structure interactions, reduce uncertainty, and facilitate collective decision-making.

• Game Theory: A mathematical framework used to analyze strategic interactions among rational actors, often modeling cooperation, bargaining, or conflict scenarios.

• Nash Equilibrium: A stable state in a game where no player can improve their payoff by unilaterally changing their strategy, given the strategies of others.

📝 Essential Points

• Interactions in political economy are often modeled as strategic games, where actors' choices depend on expectations about others' actions.

• Cooperation occurs when actors work together to improve collective outcomes, while bargaining involves actors making mutually dependent decisions that may involve trade-offs.

• Institutions influence interactions by setting rules that reduce uncertainty, enforce compliance, and streamline decision-making processes.

• Domestic systems tend to be hierarchical with a central authority, whereas international systems are anarchic, lacking a central authority, which complicates cooperation.

• Game theory tools, such as the Prisoner’s Dilemma and Coordination Games, help explain behaviors like cooperation, defection, and strategic bargaining.

• Empirical research in political economy involves hypothesizing about actors’ interests, interactions, and institutions, then testing these hypotheses with data.

💡 Key Takeaway

Interactions and games provide a structured way to understand strategic behavior in political economy, emphasizing the importance of actors’ interests, institutional rules, and strategic decision-making in shaping economic and political outcomes.

📖 9. Institutions and Rules

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Institution: A set of formal or informal rules, norms, and procedures that structure political and economic interactions among actors, guiding behavior and decision-making.

• Rules of the Game: The established guidelines within institutions that determine how actors interact, make decisions, and resolve disputes, often shaping outcomes and power dynamics.

• Norms: Shared expectations about appropriate behavior that influence institutions and actors' actions, often informal but powerful in shaping political and economic conduct.

• Enforcement Mechanisms: Processes or institutions that ensure compliance with rules, such as courts, sanctions, or monitoring bodies, crucial for the credibility of institutions.

• Anarchy in International Systems: The lack of a central authority governing states, which makes cooperation more challenging and relies heavily on institutions and norms to facilitate interactions.

• Endogenous Institutions: Rules and norms that emerge from the strategic interactions and interests of actors within a system, rather than being externally imposed.

📝 Essential Points

• Institutions serve to reduce uncertainty, facilitate cooperation, and enforce collective decisions in political and economic interactions.

• They influence power distribution, decision-making processes, and policy outcomes at both domestic and international levels.

• International systems are characterized by anarchy, lacking a central authority, which complicates cooperation; institutions help mitigate this by establishing standards and dispute resolution mechanisms.

• The origin of institutions can be endogenous, shaped by actors' interests and power relations, or exogenous, imposed externally.

• Effective enforcement mechanisms are vital for ensuring compliance and maintaining the legitimacy of institutions.

• Variations in institutional design (e.g., democratic vs. authoritarian, formal vs. informal) significantly impact actors' behavior and outcomes.

💡 Key Takeaway

Institutions and rules are fundamental in structuring political and economic interactions, reducing uncertainty, and enabling cooperation, especially in complex and anarchic international systems. Their design and enforcement critically influence policy outcomes and power dynamics.

📖 10. Domestic vs International

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Domestic System: A political and economic structure where a central authority (the state) maintains law, order, and enforces contracts within a hierarchic framework.
  Example: The U.S. legal system governing internal affairs.

• International System: A global political environment characterized by anarchy, where no central authority oversees states’ interactions, leading to challenges in cooperation.
  Example: No overarching global government regulating state behavior.

• Hierarchy vs Anarchy:

  • Hierarchy: A system with a clear authority or central power (domestic).
  • Anarchy: Absence of a central authority, typical in international relations.

• Cooperation: Collaborative behavior among actors (states or domestic entities) aimed at mutual benefit without making others worse off.
  Example: International trade agreements.

• Commitment Problems: Difficulties in ensuring that states or actors stick to agreements or commitments due to lack of enforceable authority in the international system.
  Example: Trust issues in international treaties.

• Institutional Frameworks: Rules, norms, and organizations that structure interactions and reduce uncertainty, especially crucial in international relations.
  Example: United Nations Security Council.

📝 Essential Points

• Domestic systems are hierarchical, with a central authority enforcing laws and contracts; international systems are anarchic, lacking a central authority, which complicates cooperation.
• Cooperation in international relations is hindered by commitment problems, unlike in domestic settings where enforcement is more straightforward.
• International institutions and norms help mitigate issues of anarchy by setting standards, verifying compliance, and resolving disputes.
• The nature of actors’ interests, interactions, and institutions influences the likelihood of cooperation or conflict at both levels.
• Understanding the differences between domestic and international systems is essential for analyzing political and economic behaviors across borders.

💡 Key Takeaway

Domestic and international political systems differ fundamentally in structure—hierarchic versus anarchic—which shapes how actors cooperate, enforce rules, and address conflicts. Recognizing these differences is crucial for analyzing global political and economic phenomena.

📊 Synthesis Tables

⚠️ Common Pitfalls & Confusions

1. Confusing normative what ought to be with empirical what is—treating normative statements as factual.
2. Assuming all political science is purely normative or purely empirical—many studies combine both.
3. Overgeneralizing from case studies without considering context—leads to false conclusions.
4. Misinterpreting game theory as only descriptive—it's a formal modeling tool, not a predictor.
5. Ignoring the normative implications of empirical findings—data can inform but not dictate moral judgments.
6. Confusing sovereignty with independence—sovereignty refers to legal authority, not necessarily practical independence.
7. Overlooking the role of non-state actors in international relations—states are not the only influential entities.

✅ Exam Checklist

• Define politics, policy, normative theory, and empirical theory.
• Differentiate normative and empirical approaches with examples.
• Identify the main subfields of political science and their focus.
• Explain the role of game theory in political analysis.
• Describe the key concepts of international relations: state, sovereignty, anarchy.
• Distinguish between normative questions (how should things be) and empirical questions (how are things).
• Recognize the main areas of international relations: conflict/security, cooperation/organizations, political economy.
• Understand the significance of institutions and rules in shaping political outcomes.
• Compare domestic and international political processes.
• Recall the systematic scientific approach used in political science research.
• Identify common pitfalls in interpreting political science data and theories.
• Master vocabulary related to foreign language (if applicable): word | translation.
• Review key concepts and definitions for clarity and accuracy.