System-level analysis is a "top-down" approach to studying world politics. It begins with the view that countries and other international actors operate in a global social-economic-political-geographic environment and that the specific characteristics of the system help determine the pattern of interaction among the actors. Systems analysts believe that any system operates in somewhat predictable ways--that there are behavioral tendencies that the actor countries usually follow. Political systems are an ever-present part of our lives. Although each of us has free will, each of us is also part of many overlapping systems that influence our behavior and make it reasonably, although far from perfectly, predictable. These systems range from very local ones, such as your family and school, to much larger systems, such as your country and the world. Whatever its size, though, how a political system operates is based on four factors: structural characteristics, power relationships, economic realities, and norms.
The following exercises will give you practice in analyzing political systems.
Explain how power assets, norms of behavior, and geographic characteristics affect the distribution and exercise of power in the system. See how changes in the number or power of major actors can alter the international system by playing a game in which you select actors in order to maintain balance of power. |
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Compare the Greek standards of justice in military outcomes to current ones by reviewing Web sites that discuss the Peloponnesian Wars and respond to questions in a brief essay. |
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Identify your level of agreement or disagreement with international systems of behavior. |
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Understand the international system’s scope and level of interaction by reviewing a table of Intergovernmental Organizations. |
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Review the changing global power equation by comparing maps that show how the European geographical and political boundaries have changed in recent years. |
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Learn more about system-level analysis by visiting some selected Web sites. |