Waltz: Political Structures

Lead-in: information about the author

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Before you read

1.What do you know about the author of the text? What is his contribution to the theory of international relations? Have you read anything by this author before?
2. Skim the text very quickly and say who it is intended for.
3. What is the register of the text?

While you read

I. Read the first four paragraphs carefully, pencil in hand and
1) find the following words in the text; try to guess their meanings using the context 2) find Russian equivalents of the words 3) match the words from the list with their less formal synonyms

elusive	force, urge
impetuous	uncertainty, doubtfulness
attain	vague, obscure
impel	impulsive, hasty
embrace	acquire, achieve
deem	include , enclose
acquiescence	consent, obedience
ambiguity	think, consider

4) match the collocations from the text:

relative	penalties
successive	the rule
ideological	liabilities
levy	asserts
preserve	capabilities
perpetuate	to the needs
party	commitment
national	to the highest post
unresponsive	steps
elevate	the unity
descriptive	sense
concrete	alteration
palpable	agent
system-wide	concept
small-scale	the operation
structural	realities
contradictory	condition
supranational	reason
impede	entities
cogent	matter

II. Read the text again and

1. elucidate on the following notions:

• hierarchy
• restraint
• endurance
• inclination
• distinction
• juxtapose
• attribute
• analogy
• domain
• sequence
• stipulation

2. match the term with its definition:

indicate	to form an idea; think; envision; imagine
infer	to mention or name specifically or definitely; state in detail
conceive	to be or give a sign or symptom of; imply; to state; suggest
specify	to consider thoroughly; think about fully or deeply; to have in view as a purpose; intend
contemplate	to conclude or judge from premises and evidence; to derive by reasoning

After you read

I. Answer the following questions:

1. What is the definition of structure, political structure, domestic political structure?
2. In what way do political structures shape political processes, the country’s leadership?
3. In what way does Waltz apply the definition of domestic political structures to international politics?
4. How can international structures be defined in terms of states?

II. Summarise the ideas of the chapter

• Distinction between systems-level and unit-level causes
• The Need for a Distinct Theory of International Politics
• Concept of Structure in Systems Theory
• Distinction Between Variables at Different Levels
• The Role of Structure in Determining Outcomes

Speak about structures, systems, units in general; ordering principles, the character of the units, the distribution of capabilities.

III. Assess the text critically according to the following criteria:

• novelty (have you learned anything new?)
• relevance (is this information relevant? Will it be of any use in your own research paper?)
• complexity (was it hard to grasp the main ideas of the text?)