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Criticism of realist theory of international relations
International relations theory
International relations theory
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Theories of International Politics and Zombies by Daniel W. Drezner, answers many questions about international relations. Drezner essentially looks at how the IR theories that we learned in class could potentially be applied to a war with zombies. Throughout the book, Drezner looks at realism, liberalism, constructivism, feminism, neoconservatism, domestic policy, bureaucratic politics, and psychological responses. How Drezner compares these international relations theories to zombies is really quite incredible. I believe that there are four international relations theories that stand out the most in this book that best describe the understanding of the “zombie threat.” They are realism, liberalism, social constructivism, and psychological …show more content…
responses. Drezner believes that all realists start with a common assumption; that “anarchy is the overarching constraint of world politics.” It is not chaos, but rather the absence of a centralized legitimate authority.
Drezner believes that realism is perfectly comfortable in the zombie world. The threats that come from anarchy are much greater the threats of the living dead. Realists survive on power. As Thucydides was paraphrased in the book, “the weak get taken.” Regardless if it is zombies doing the capturing, the strong surpass the weak. I believe that Realism uses a good description and understanding of the zombie threat because they don’t believe that there is a considerable threat. Realists, according to Drezner, would not think that international relations would be immensely affected. He even went as far as saying that the anarchy within the international system very well may lead to a peace agreement between the zombies and some states. As frightening as conversating foreign affairs with the living dead sounds, I can still see Denzer’s assessment of …show more content…
realism. On the Liberalist side of the spectrum, they believe that cooperation is still possible in a world of anarchy. They also believe that cooperative outcomes don’t always happen in world politics, so why should it be possible with the living dead? The liberal paradigm does offer some predictions for how a global zombie outbreak could affect world politics. As Drezner states in the book, zombies always fail to attack one another. Liberalism would predict an “imperfect and vulnerable” paradigm. This would lead to management and containment policies instead of an entire zombie apocalypse. The Liberals would try to manage the zombie threat just as they try to manage their international relationships. Constructivism is the most recent international relations paradigm to achieve recognition. The Constructivist assumptions revolve around the social construction of reality and the importance of identity in explaining behavior on the world stage. Drezner states, “Constructivists argue that transnational norms are a powerful constraint on action in world politics.” Essentially, Constructivists would argue that zombies are what humans make of them. Drezner describes zombies as an “average college kid,” not showering, changing their clothing, and only eating organic food. Constructivists believe that remaining survivors would eventually internalize all zombie norms. Both humans and zombies would crave flesh, meaning that zombies would not be limited to walking corpses; it would also be a social construct. The psychological impact of zombie outbreaks is my last international relations theory.
Zombies interfere with human emotions. The response that humans have for zombies is obviously negative. Drezner says, “Zombies are often assumed to lack intelligence, but it should be noted that humans frequently respond to new undead situations with confusion and ignorance.” Drezner mentions a psychological attribute known as “hawk bias.” Hawk bias means that people have the tendency be more aggressive with their actions when faced with confrontation. When policymakers are threatened with a possible loss, they would be willing to take riskier actions to “preserve the status quo.” Hawk bias would be bad for human international relations, but possibly very successful for zombies. Drezner suggests that a policy option would be for human governments to use psychological treatments to treat the zombies. While that does sound intriguing and risky, the hope is that the zombies will not devour the humans before they are successfully
helped.
No book has captivated the zombie apocalypse better than World War Z. Max Brooks creatively presents “a worldwide zombie pandemic from outbreak to aftermath” (Boyd, Tristan). His book encompasses many social and political themes in the world today. The book reveals true fear and shows the strength of the human race.
Max Brooks is a famous author who wrote two very popular zombie books, Zombie survival guide and World War Z, which one was turned into a motion picture due to its large popularity. Colson Whitehead who wrote Zone one is a distinguished writer and has received numerous awards, one of which was New York Times best selling book of the year, given to him in 2001. These two authors give more weight towards Boschs argument as those who are zombie fans know who these writers are and read at least one of their books. Her appeal to multiple types of workers give her a wider reading base in which there are both positives and negatives to each argument given, having a good balance between the two classes. She refers to the white-collar workers as being zombie food, their skills are not needed in the zombie apocalypse.
Both White Zombie and “Dead Men Walking in the Cane Fields” represent the early zombie and both of them embody Cohen’s first thesis “The Monster is a Cultural Body” Both the story and the film have zombies and both of these works make their zombies appear scary with dead like characteristics, however the real reason why they are scary is that, at the time, they tried to change society and that scared people. The people that liked society the way it was didn’t want another group to gain power or righ...
James Parker essay “Our Zombies, Ourselves,” informs readers that the zombie has almost outranked the vampire, and why they’re so popular. This undead monster originated from a Caribbean folk nightmare and was adapted over time by, the Halperin brothers, William Seabrook and George Romero and numerous others. Much like the vampire, zombies owe their fame to the progressiveness of technology, allowing them to consistently invade various media forms. The zombie has infested countless tv shows, movies, video games, and books, throughout the 21st century. Zombies themselves are soulless corpses who were regurgitated back into the world of the living. This making them rejects from the underworld, this presents the zombie as rejected yet inexpungable. What makes the zombie so popular, however, is that symbolizes everything that is rejected by humanity. “Much can be made of him, because he makes so little of himself. He comes back, He comes back, feebly but unstoppably” (Parker). The zombie represents humanity itself as well as what is rejected by humanity. Much like individuals today, the zombie is burdened by life’s demands, converting to nothing but a rotting, groaning human shell that stumbles through life without a purpose. The zombie is symbolizer of the real world, and all things irrepressible, whereas the vampire is a symbol of an alternate world and all things
As said in the previous discussion regarding the second chapter of Better Off Dead: The Evolution of the Zombie as Post-Human, zombies and their culture are examined and broke down in order to understand their motives for the progression of zombies globally. Through different perspectives from individuals based around the world, the discussion of the zombie culture debates over the idea that zombies have not just evolved within the narratives that have brought them to life, but they have evolved in such a way that ultimately transforms the narrative itself. However, in this specific chapter, “They are not men…they are dead bodies!”: From Cannibal to Zombie and Back Again, Chera Kee breaks down the introduction of zombies into mainstream consciousness,
The zombie race is very different. It doesn't not have many abilities and is not advanced like humans. Their behavior patterns are different. They cannot stand cold or winter weather. Their behavior is very different and difficult to calculate. They usually stand around lingering and waiting to attack when they hear something. They follow noises.Some abilities that they do have is that they have excellent hearing and can walk but aren't blind.The also can smell human blood. Zombies are generally weak but don’t underestimate what they can do to a human.
As the infection spreads, only Israel initiates a nationwide quarantine program and closes its borders. Pakistan and Iran destroy one another in a nuclear war, after Iran attempts to stem the flow of refugees from Pakistan. The United States does little to prepare, as it is sapped of political will by several "brushfire wars" and lulled into a false sense of security by an ineffective and fraudulently marketed vaccine. When the world recognizes the true scope of the problem, a period known as the "Great Panic" begins. The United States Army sends a task force to Yonkers, New York, in a high-profile military campaign intended to restore American morale. Instead, the troops are overwhelmed and routed by the zombies, due to reliance on tactics designed for human enemies, who can be demoralized into retreat...
“Zombie killings are similar to reading and deleting 400 work e-mails on a Monday morning or filling out paperwork that only generates more paperwork, or following Twitter gossip out of obligation, or performing tedious tasks in which the only true risk is being consumed by avalanche” (41). These are all similar to zombie killings because zombies will never go away unless you turn to really harsh tactics like aiming for one’s brain with a shot gun and repeating this for every zombie you come in contact with. In order to clear those 400 emails after reading them you must repeat the steps for each and every one, which is time consuming and can be very frustrating. Completing paperwork is very tedious, and can sometimes become overwhelming you may begin to feel as if it will never end which is common well it can feel similar to that when it comes to zombie killings as well because there will be one zombie followed by another one and many more to come. “Battling zombies is like battling anything….. Or everything” (42). Never assume the war is over because it is not, there will be one or more zombies hiding out, the war is never over. “The zombies you kill today will merely be replaced by the zombies of tomorrow” (44). Zombies are a “live-stock” they are brain dead but they travel in packs and have no limit as to how far they will go. In the movie Dawn of the Dead the zombies actually
In Night of the Living Dead, the zombies were eventually eliminated. Or were they? Theorists argue that the monster’s elusiveness is due to its physical, psychological and social characteristics that cross the lines of classification. Human’s innate fear of the unknown is due to their inability to make a distinction or draw a clear conclusion. This is explained further in Jeffrey Cohen’s second thesis in “Monster Theory” that claims that; “the monster never escapes” (Cohen, 14). The zombie as a monster can never be destroyed completely and if it is, it leaves a remnant the make people feel uncertain of its destruction. Base on Cohen’s theory, the zombie’s different interpretation allows it to emerge in other forms (a faster, smarter zombie?)
They use a lot of information that is overwhelming, and does not add a lot of validity to the point they were trying to make. Throughout the article, the authors take from various other zombie pieces, such as movies, books, and TV shows and use them to add to their ideas. In some cases, they also use other pieces and discredit them as a way to prove their own point. For example, they talk about the “Cyborg Manifesto” by Donna Haraway. This essay presents the idea of the cyborg, which is an organism that is part human and part machine. Throughout the essay, Haraway gives examples of where we see the cyborg throughout media, and how humans might be connected to it. The authors in “A Zombie Manifesto” stated how they were influenced to title their piece after her, but they go on throughout the essay constantly trying to prove the piece wrong. They argue that the idea Haraway is presenting is not truly what humans connect to, and the authors think their ideas are more relatable. They believe their zombie interpretation is more relatable than Haraway’s cyborg interpretation. The authors are trying to make their interpretation more valid by invalidating another interpretation. This makes the piece hard to agree with, for an interpretation is relative to each person, and tearing apart another interpretation is an unproductive way to persuade readers to agree with you and your ideas. Another reason the article is difficult to agree with, is the fact that it is very difficult to understand. With the piece being as persuasive as it is, the authors did not take the time to ensure the writing would be easy to understand for all. In reading the article, it felt as though the authors had a specific group of readers in mind and didn’t accommodate to others who might find interest in zombies. The article is written in such a way
In the article, "My Zombie, Myself: Why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead," by Chuck Klosterman, he explains to us how zombies have become popularized and why we're so appealed to them. He said, "Mainstream interest in zombies has steadily risen over the past 40 years," (Klosterman 423) and "Roughly 5.3 million people watched the first episode of The Walking Dead on AMC," (Klosterman 422). Klosterman also said, "When we think critically about monsters, we tend to classify them as personifications of what we fear," (Klosterman 423). Basically, he states that monsters have served to express our fears and zombies are used metaphorically. For example, we have a fear of being consumed (Klosterman 425). He compared zombies to the world but instead of being consumed by actual zombies, it's the world that's consuming us. He implies that dealing with life feels like dealing with zombies.
Avery Wells Professor Wilkenfeld English 102 02/08/14 “All Men and Women Are Created Equal” On July 4, 1776 it was said that all men are created equal. What the Declaration of Independence failed to mention was women. This seemed to be a common theme throughout the history of America and is still a problem to this day. Men are constantly being held up on a pedestal, while women are forced to assume the position of looking up to them. Zombieland (2009) tends to take these “old school” ways and sheds a new light on the fact that women too can be equal, if not better than some men.
Mass amounts of people will die, families will be separated, and peaceful ways of life will be long gone. Guard your loved ones, board up your windows and keep your gun under your pillow because you’re gonna need it. I have taught the facts, the opinions, and the theories on the possibility of a zombie apocalypse. I have explained with facts and statistics the ramifications of it if it was to happen, the way and speed at which it can spread, and the cruelty that will follow. You can protect yourself and the ones closest to you, but first you have to believe it.
Now a high-school senior, I still remember my freshman year with a shudder; it was the year my friends and I joked about as the "Year of the Zombie." It wasn't that I had contracted a rare medical disorder that transformed me into one of the walking dead. I had done what many diligent students do: sacrifice most of my sleep time for the sake of academic success.
Almost everywhere you go you will hear someone talking about the end of the world, zombies usually comes up in that discussion. Scientist have put zombies on the top ten list of ways the world is going to end, because of various reasons. One is that viruses are always changing and mutating. Two is that countries have started working with nuclear stuff more and more.