ISA's 43rd Annual Convention - New Orleans 2002

Theme: Dissolving Boundaries: The Nexus Between Comparative Politics and International Relations
March 24th-27th, 2002, at the New Orleans Marriott; New Orleans, Louisana, USA
  BRUCE BUENO DE MESQUITA, President  -   DAVID DAVIS & SUZANNE WERNER, Program Chairs

Dissolving Boundaries: The Nexus Between Comparative Politics and International Relations

International relations researchers often downplay the importance of domestic political factors in choosing foreign policy leaders and in shaping international political and economic relations. Similarly, comparative politics researchers center their attention on domestic political processes while overlooking the influence of international actors, institutions and the international environment on these processes. Yet, the interplay between the two may be fundamental to understanding either. With this interdependence between domestic and international politics in mind, we encourage the submission of papers and panels that explore the nexus between comparative politics and international affairs.

The end of the Cold War and the expanding globalization of political and economic activities, including finance, production and consumption, draw our attention to the dramatic interplay between domestic and international affairs in a world in which grand strategy seems to have diminished as a shaper of foreign affairs. On the one hand, domestic interests can be created and existing interests threatened by international phenomena like democratization or globalization, potentially exacerbating domestic conflict and altering domestic political behavior. Instances of violent domestic political conflict and its human consequences have been the subject of international intervention. The creation of new international institutions, such as the WTO, and the expansion of the power and influence of existing international institutions, such as the IMF or NATO, can pressure leaders to adopt policies that may prove controversial or unpopular at home. On the other hand, changing domestic circumstances, such as the collapse or diminution in the authority of East European Communist parties fundamentally alters leadership perspectives on international alignments, trade, investment and the like. Additionally, the growth of fundamentalist religious movements in some polities raises questions about regional security in ways perhaps not seen since the Middle Ages. These and many other linkages illustrate the interrelationship among comparative and international politics. We encourage the submission of paper and panel proposals that explore whether or how interdependencies between domestic and international relations are growing in importance in the post Cold War period.

When international interactions depend in large part on the decisions made by national leaders, then the power, preferences, and perceptions of those leaders matter. The comparative study of domestic politics is thus central to the study of international relations. While we do not want to ignore the important role that structural features of the international system can have on international interactions and domestic decisions, we believe that it is vital also to consider carefully the impact of domestic politics on external relations. Recently, international scholars have begun to pay closer attention to domestic politics. Our understanding of the variety and complexities of domestic political institutions, however, remains fairly superficial. We often address, for instance, a simple dichotomy between democratic and authoritarian regimes despite the potentially important differences within each category. A marriage of the best of international relations research and the best of comparative politics research would significantly improve our understanding of both fields. To that end, we encourage the submission of papers and panels that address topics of concern to international relations scholars but incorporate the comparative analysis of domestic political factors.

We are particularly interested in submissions that evaluate the impact of domestic politics on the power, preferences, and perceptions of states and national leaders. Domestic politics, for instance, is central to our understanding of state power or influence. While tangible resources like a state’s population, gross domestic product, and military equipment clearly influence a state’s ability to influence others in the international system, we also need to understand a leader’s capacity to mobilize those resources. The institutional structure of the state may impact that capacity. In addition, a leader’s own hold on power probably influences her willingness to mobilize any available resources. If state leaders want to remain in power, they must consider how their decisions about the allocation of resources influence and effect their constituents. A state is likely to have little power in the international system even if its resources are substantial if it is clear that the state’s leader is incapable or unwilling to use those resources. We encourage the submission of papers that analyze how different domestic political structures or conditions shape a state’s ability to influence other states in the international system.

Domestic politics is also central to our understanding of the preferences and motives of different national leaders. While we have often assumed for convenience that states are all motivated similarly by the desire for more power, such an assumption may often result in misleading implications. First, national leaders may be more concerned about their own tenure than about the interests of the state. As a result, a leader may pursue different goals than those which best serve the interests of the state. Second, in most instances, decisions are not made by a single individual but are instead a result of an often complicated domestic political process. To understand which goals a state or its leaders pursue may require an appreciation of the many, perhaps competing, interests of domestic political, economic or social groups and an understanding of the domestic decision making process. Papers that examine international affairs through a consideration of the interests of state leaders as well as the domestic decision making process are particularly encouraged.

The perceptions or beliefs of national leaders are also central to the decisions that ultimately influence international interactions. These too depend significantly on domestic politics. Domestic political factors can impact what information is available and also influence the way that new information is perceived. States that share similar historical circumstances or similar domestic institutions, for instance, may formulate a shared understanding about the way each other is likely to act or react. It is also possible that leaders of states with open political systems are the beneficiaries of superior information than states with closed systems and are more likely to change their beliefs accurately when new information becomes available. Similarly, the transparency of a state’s decision making process may affect how confident other state’s are about its motives and likely actions. We encourage papers that focus on the role of perceptions in international interactions and the impact of domestic politics on those perceptions.