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Unit-Level Concepts In International Relations

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2.3.1.1 Unit-level concepts in international relations

As a level of analysis the unit level is often referred to as the state level, as it locates its explanation at the level of the state, rather than the international system

i) Regime type

It is often considered that a state 's form of government can dictate the way that a state interacts with others in the international system. Democratic peace theory is a theory that suggests that the nature of democracy means that democratic countries will not go to war with each other. The justifications for this are that democracies externalise their norms and only go to war for just causes, and that democracy encourages mutual trust and respect. Communism justifies a world revolution, which …show more content…

Psychological factors in international relations – Evaluating psychological factors in international relations comes from the understanding that a state is not a “black box” as proposed by realism, and that there may be other influences on foreign policy decisions. Examining the role of personalities in the decision making process can have some explanatory power, as can the role of misperception between various actors. A prominent application of sub-unit level psychological factors in international relations is the concept of Groupthink; another is the propensity of policy-makers to think in terms of analogies.

Bureaucratic politics – Looks at the role of the bureaucracy in decision making, and sees decisions as a result of bureaucratic in-fighting, and as having been shaped by various …show more content…

Examples include the Commission Communication on the proposal for a Euro-Mediterranean Partnership adopted in March 1995, the CFSP Common Position of 17 May 1999 for the Stability Pact for south eastern Europe and the complementary proposal by the European Commission for the creation of a new kind of contractual relationship, the Stabilisation and Association Agreements, with countries as a component of the Stability Pact for South Eastern

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