Levels of Analysis

What is a level of analysis?

(1) A level of the factors that affect international politics

(2) Levels of causation

(3) places to focus your attention in search of answers

 IR

The Question is: what drives conflict and cooperation in

international relations?
Why did the United States invade Iraq?

(1) because Bush hates Saddam who was taunting him?

(2) because Bush was trying to make a democracy in Iraq?

(3) because as the greatest power on the globe the U.S. has
become world policeman?
1. The First Level/Image: The Individual

Human Beings are the most important actors in international

relations

To understand IR, we must understand Human Nature

Old School Examples:

1. Christian Theology

Greed and selfishness epitomize

human relations, and, therefore,
international relations

Adam and Eve expelled from

paradise
2. Secular Humanism

Potential for good behavior in international

relations if we can get everyone together to sing
We are the World
Strengths/weaknesses of old school first image/level of analysis?

Strengths

Weaknesses
Modern conceptualizations of first image/level of analysis

Perhaps international relations can be explained by the

peculiar nature of certain key leaders (not all humans)

Psychological factors:
Specific features in specific individuals

(a) Kaiser Wilhelm was weak and ineffectual

(b) Hitler was evil incarnate

(c) Bush was trying to overcome a wimp image?

(d) Saddam Hussein was a megalomaniac

(e) Clinton liked to be liked

Psychological factors:
Cognitive traps
Motivated Biases (wishful thinking)

Examples:
Psychological factors:
Cognitive traps
Prejudice

“I don't see much future for the Americans... It's a

decayed country. And they have their racial
problem, and the problem of social inequalities...
My feelings against Americanism are feelings of
hatred and deep repugnance... Everything about
the behavior of American society reveals that it's
Khrushchev v. Dulles half Judaized, and the other half negrified. How
can one expect a State like that to hold
together?” ..A.H.
Psychological factors:

Cognitive traps

Groupthink

peer pressure compels other members

to go along with a decision and ignore
outside evidence that it is a bad one
Strengths/weaknesses of modern first image/level of analysis?

Strengths

Weaknesses
2. The Second Image/Level: The State

1. The special nature of the state

Economic
Government (political system)

2. Domestic factors
3. The Third Image/Level: The International System

What is it?

The arrangement of states

Two aspects:
Structure:

Process:
According to this level of analysis, the nature of the system affects how
states behave.
 Explanations for the United States’
Invasion of Iraq in 2003
by Level of Analysis

• Individual Level
– Saddam was evil leader who committed atrocities
– Saddam was irrational, otherwise he would have
capitulated to superior capability of the U.S. and
British coalition
– G.W. Bush and his advisers have targeted Saddam
since the late 1990s
 Explanations for the United States’
Invasion of Iraq in 2003
by Level of Analysis (cont.)
• State Level
– U.S. must protect its national security; Iraq’s weapons
threaten U.S. security
– Ousting Taliban from Afghanistan was first step in war on
terrorism; Iraq is the second
– U.S. must be assured of stable oil supply; Iraq has second
largest oil reserves
– U.S. must not permit terrorist states access to weapons
– U.S. national interest to build progressive Arab regime
 Explanations for the United States’
Invasion of Iraq in 2003
by Level of Analysis (cont.)

• International Level
– UN resolutions condemning Iraq had to be
enforced to maintain UN legitimacy
– Unipolar international system is uniquely capable
of responding to threats to stability
– There is international moral imperative for
humanitarian intervention to oust evil leaders and
install democratic regimes