Nye-Keohane: Transnational Relations and World Politics

Lead-in: information about the authors

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Before you read

1. What do you know about the authors of the text? What is their contribution to the theory of international relations? Have you read anything by these authors before?
2. Skim the text very quickly and say who it is intended for.
3. What is the register of the text?
4. Do some Internet research and look up the information on the following:

• global interactions

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

tangible	predecessor
concomitant	encourage
precursor	counterbalance
impinge	material
foster	include
countervail	appear
encompass	intrude
emerge	accompanying

4) match the collocations from the text:

divergent	force
countervailing	state policies
concomitant	benefit
distinctive	items
to facilitate	types
to encompass	trend
to impinge on	relations
precursor of	the phenomenon
tangible	effect
to distinguish	funds

II. Read the text again and elucidate on the following notions:

• paradigm
• ascribe
• arbitrary
• approximation
• reintroduce
• dimension
• contention
• domain
• intercourse
• expertise

After you read

I. Answer the following question:

1. What four major types of global interaction are mentioned in the chapter?
2. What are the main arguments presented by Nye and Keohane regarding state-centric views in international relations?
3. How do geography and other factors influence the interactions between diplomats and soldiers, according to the authors?
4. What roles do non-state actors play in the context of transnational relations as discussed in the chapter?

II. Summarise the ideas of the chapter

• The impact of transnational relations on government control
• Evaluation of the state-centric paradigm
• Effects on value allocation and inequalities between states
• Opportunities and challenges presented by transnational activities
• The State-Centric View of World Politics
• The Role of Non-State Actors

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?)