1610905619

SUBJECT: POLITICAL SCIENCE III
COURSE: BA LLB SEMESTER III

TEACHER: MS. DEEPIKA GAHATRAJ
MODULE: MODULE I, ORIGIN OF INTERNATIONAL RELATION AS
A DISCIPLINE; NATURE AND SCOPE; APPROACHES TO STUDY
The Game Theory

The approach suggested by the theory of game has also been used in the study of
international politics. The theory of game has been developed mainly by mathematicians
and economists. Martin Shubik, Oskar Morgenstern and Karl Deutsch were among the
first to recognize the importance of game theory. It is a method of analysis and also of
selecting the best course of action.
The theory has been defined as body of thought dealing with rational decision strategies in
situations of conflicts and competition when each participant or player seeks to maximise
gains and minimise losses. It is a mathematical model in which the player is placed in a
certain fixed situation and tries to make maximum gains from his opponents.
Three principal kinds of game have been identified in the frame work of game theory. The
first is called games with identical interests, the second games with opposite interests and
the third games with mixed interests. The model which the game theory employs is that of a
game strategy and not the game of chance. Game theory envisages several types of games
(1) Zero-sum Two persons games: the gain of one is equal to the loss of another.
(2) Non-zero sum two persons games: the outcome is shared and the losses of one are not
necessarily equal to the gain of another.
(3) Zero-sum persons games: the outcome is shared and the losses of one are not necessarily
equal to the gain of another.
(4) non-zero-sum n persons games: the situation is extremely complex and gains and losses
are shared by both sides to some extent.
The game theory has five important concepts. They are strategy, opponent, pay-off, rules
and information. The strategy takes into account the potential behaviour of opponents. The
Game theory assumes as opponent and this is the second important concept of game theory.
The Third is pay off which refers what the game is worth at the end. The fourth is rules that
govern a game. The fifth significant concept in Game theory is information.
The theory is highly abstract and works only under assumed conditions. The players are
rarely as rational as presented by this theory. It can be applied with some success only to
cases of two person Zero sum games; but as Morton Kaplan has pointed out, there are few
such situations in reality and the theory has only limited applicability to most problems of
international politics.
1
Communication Theory
Communication Theory has been developed mainly by Karl W Deutsch for understanding
the national scene and has been applied to international politics by Charles. A McClelland
and others. Deutsch’s concern was to reduce the importance of the notion of power in
Politics and highlight the importance of the flow of information in government decisions.
The communications theory treats the Government as decision making system based on
various information flows. The theory is equally important in international politics.
Communications has indeed transformed human relation as well as relations between states
to much greater extent than any other development. It has increased peoples exposition to
official and non-official and non-official propaganda and strengthened both totalitarian and
regimes and democracies. The communication system has undoubtedly increased
interdependence of international community. It has made functioning or an international
agency like the U.N much easier.
Decision Making Theory

This is another important approach that has been emphasised in the study of international
politics during the last decades. The first major attempt at introducing the decision making
analysis in the study of foreign policy was made by Richard Snyder and others after the II
World war and is specially developed in the area of foreign policy making.
The decision making approach has two fundamental purpose. The first is the identification,
crucial structure in the political realm where change takes place, decisions are taken and
actions are indicated and carried out. The second is the systematic analysis of the decision
making behaviour which leads to action. This approach focuses in query on action called
decision makers and on the state defined as decisional units. The action of the state are seen
through the action of decision makers.
Analysing the factor that operate on decision makers, Snyder divides them into three main
sets of stimuli, the internal setting, the external setting and the decision making process. He
studies the personality factor of the decision maker and the various agencies and processes
involved in decision making. The theory takes the study of international politics to the real
actor from the abstract states and collective situation.
The decision making theory has contributed a great deal to the understanding of the process
of foreign policy making which all other theories has rejected. Snyder’s scheme is most
impressive as a detailed approach to the whole of international relations.
Integration Theory
The theory is associated with the names of Charles Kegley and Wittkopf. In an essay
published in 1993, they rejected the realist view of human nature. They argue that human
beings have diverse make-ups, and that human action is based on voluntary choice
2
influenced by environment. The liberals reject the view that international relations are
anarchic. They argue that the international system today is based on transnational
interactions which create areas of interdependence. Societies and government sare being
knit together by growing cultural homogeneity and economic and social interdependence.
Various international agencies and regimes like the World Trade Organisation promote
integration: The Liberals emphasise the growing role of non-State actors like NGOs,
regional organisations etc, in promoting regional and global interdependence.
The liberals do not accept the view that the world has become unipolar. They feel that in the
post-cold war years the world is moving in the direction of multi-polarity. At this same time
there is increasing inter-state cooperation to reduce mistrust and tension in order to promote
peace. Global interdependence has led to a growing concern among all governments about
nuclear proliferation, global recession, ozone depletion, climatic changes and AIDS. These
common concerns indicate interdependence and need for the scholars to examine these
problems in the context of integration. The liberals, therefore, insist on the study of these
and other organisations. They believe that expanding the U.N System promotes
interdependence. To sum up the liberal concern for interdependence is related to
multipolarity in the post-cold war period, increasing role of U.N and other non-
governmental and regional organisations, and consequent integration under the influence of
western industrialised countries.
REFERENCES:
https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/275684/7/07_chapter%201.pdf
https://www.politicalscienceview.com/nature-purpose-and-scope-of-international-relations/
http://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/20750/1/Unit-1.pdf
http://www.universityofcalicut.info/cuonline/exnotif/ex4270.pdf

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SUBJECT: POLITICAL SCIENCE III

COURSE: BA LLB SEMESTER III

The Game Theory

Decision Making Theory

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