Power Politics Vs World Order

Rapid changes in technology have altered the social and cultural spheres of the world. As globalization increases, so does interest in international affairs. The power politics paradigm and the world order paradigm are the two main frameworks associated with conflict and peace studies. While power politics regards conflict as natural and expected, world order advocates argued that conflict could be overcome under appropriate conditions. The maintenance of negative peace is a focus of power politics whereas world order concentrates on positive peace. While the stabilization of international relations in relation to conflict & peace is the focus of both paradigms, there are several ways power politics differs from world order.

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It follows that, under this paradigm, states are justified in using violence or the threat of violence to deter violence from being using against them (Reist, Module Three: The Power Politics Paradigm, 2018). Until all states reject war as an acceptable option, there will always be the possibility of aggressive countries using war to dominate other countries (Howard, 2018). Another cause for conflicts is competition on an international level between states. Each state seeks to maintain or grow its level of resources, luxuries and security (Reist, Module Three: The Power Politics Paradigm, 2018). A naval race began when Britain perceived the growth of the German navy as a challenge to its national security (Howard, 2018). By assuming competition leads to conflict, power politics implies that states are selfish and only collaborate when it fulfills their own national interest. Meanwhile, world order developed different assumptions about the origins of conflict. It seeks to identify the underlying causes of conflict. Conflict is created when states focus on their own interests and security to the detriment of other states. Despite peace, inequality and distrust will eventually lead to conflict and violence (Reist, Module Four: World Order Perspectives, 2018). Another assumption made by the world order paradigm is that the measures taken by states to ensure security contribute to conflict and violence since valuable resources are used instead of diverting attention to the development of cooperation and reconciliation (Reist, Module Four: World Order Perspectives, 2018). This implies that countries cannot do both. Another source of conflict is the lack of fair distribution of world goods as defined by the paradigm such as human rights and environmental health. There is a recognition of the