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Here’s a taste of what we’re serving today:
Clash of Civilisations: Are Geopolitical Actors Rational? 🌎
PLUS: How Proust Can Change Your Life, Why Victorian Houses Stay Cooler, and AI's Thirsty Reality 💧
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Clash of Civilisations: Are Geopolitical Actors Rational? 🌎
Credit: Hal Gatewood, Unsplash
The field of International Relations has traditionally agreed upon one core principle. Realists and liberals (the two main schools of thought in IR scholarship) may disagree on the likelihood of inter-state cooperation or inter-state conflict, but they do typically agree on one thing: all states are rational actors driven firmly by self-interest and the need for survival. Such a worldview would suggest that, when push comes to shove, little separates strategists in Beijing or Washington. They may have different resources and challenges, yet each views geopolitics through the same fundamental lens. In other words, the world of geopolitics resembles a chess game in which the players are cold-blooded strategists unblinded by sentimentality or cultural perspectives.
Is this really the case? Recent decades have seen a rise in the constructivist school of thought, which argues that state actors are shaped fundamentally by behavioural factors, both internally and externally. In other words, states are not entirely rational – rather, they can be influenced by all manner of cultural factors and behave in seemingly irrational ways. Take the growing rivalry between China and the US. A constructivist would argue that each state's foreign policy is shaped not just by material resources and strategic realities, but also by fundamental cultural differences. For example, scholars have suggested that each nation has a cultural 'superiority complex' stemming from their national histories, be that American exceptionalism or the 'Mandate of Heaven'. By extension, Chinese expansion into the South China Sea is just as much a product of cultural perspectives as strategic realities. Whichever side is correct, the debate over the rationality of geopolitical actors is not going away any time soon…
American exceptionalism: The belief that the United States is distinctive, unique, or exemplary compared to other nations.
💡 Things to consider
Clash of Civilisations: One of the more famous expressions of the impact of cultural factors on world politics was articulated by Samuel P. Huntington in The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. Huntington argues that cultural and religious differences will be the primary cause of future international conflict, a thesis which suggests that states are not as rational as one might think. Consider exploring this particularly influential and controversial work.
Samuel P. Huntington (www.weforum.org)
Realism and liberalism: Constructivism is a relatively new school of thought, directly inspired by social sciences such as anthropology and sociology. Realism and liberalism, however, are as old as the discipline of International Relations itself. Research the main points of disagreement between realists and liberals, and consider which you find more convincing in explaining international politics.
The UK voted to leave the EU by 52% to 48% in 2016.
Global Britain: Consider British foreign policy since the Brexit referendum of 2016. To what extent have policies towards Europe been influenced by cultural factors?
🔎 Find out more
Huntingdon, E. (1996). The Clash Of Civilizations: And The Remaking Of World Order.
🍒 The cherry on top
📚 How Proust Can Change Your Life: This documentary explores the life and ideas of French author Marcel Proust, showing how his writing can help us pay closer attention to everyday experiences, appreciate beauty in the ordinary, and understand why memory, art, love, and even suffering matter. A great watch if you’re interested in French or Literature.
🏠 Why Victorian Houses Stay Cooler: There are over four million homes that were built in the UK during the Victorian period. Despite being built over 100 years ago, they somehow manage to stay cooler in summer than more modern houses. Find out why in this article if you’re interested in Architecture, Engineering, or History.
💧 AI's Thirsty Reality: You've probably heard that a single ChatGPT prompt guzzles a whole bottle of water, but the real story behind AI data centres and their water use is far more complicated, and surprisingly controversial. This article dives into the messy debate, breaking down how cooling systems actually work and why location and design matters. A fascinating read for anyone interested in Computer Science, AI Ethics, and the Environment!
👀 Keep your eyes peeled for…
Throughout the Week…
Tuesday 23rd June
Wednesday 24th June
Thursday 25th June
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That’s it for this week! We’d like to thank this week’s writer: Oliver Law.
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