Ideas and Interests: Worlds Apart?

I have to admit that even though I read through the assigned literature I feel as though I have not grasped the significance the contrasting studies have on identifying how policies are formed. So far, I have understood that Goldstein and Keohane believe that interests and ideas compete to influence our ideas. They also suggest that “ideas have their broadest impact on human action when they take the form of world views. (Goldstein 8)” Similarly, Weber asserts that deep seeded beliefs like religion influence how we organize our lives. In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, he states that “the capacity and disposition of persons to organize their lives in a practical-rational manner” is due to religious powers that are “the most formative influences upon the way life has been organized” (Weber 160). Goldstein and Keohane seem to endorse Weber's view by acknowledging that “the world's major religions...have deeply affected human social life in a variety of way across millennial. (Goldstein 8)” Laffey and Weldes also believe that ideas impact human action. However, the framework of their study is different than G&K’s in that they view beliefs to be something shared by a group whereas G&K think beliefs are non-material things that occur in one’s mind. I think the different methods used by the competing authors demonstrated the difficulty in assessing things that are non-quantifiable such as beliefs and values.
After our lecture, it became apparent to me that neither rationalist nor reflectivist views are persuasive enough to move me in one direction, and neither do any of the claims made in Ideas and Foreign Policy and Beyond Belief, at least so far. This may be a narrow-minded thing to say perhaps because I do not yet comprehend the value of their works, but I don't think either of the studies help answer how ideas or interest influence man’s action more than the other. And to be honest I’m not sure that such a thing can be done. Firstly, there are so many factors that affect one's decision making that it seems almost impossible to know whether someone does something for pure interest or belief. Also, how can you distinguish the two apart and make sure that one does not stem from the other? Secondly, I personally think that interests and ideas, in the way that I have understood it, shouldn’t even be compared to each other because they are both independent things. I do not necessarily think they are related or exist on the same plane. For example, I think someone can exercise their beliefs and interests simultaneously without the two linking , or they can but it does not always mean that the intentions are related or connected. Furthermore, I think situational factors need to be examined more closely because they play a big role in the outcomes of decision. For example, country X has generally strong beliefs about peace yet when it concerns neighboring country Y they do not hesitate to use force because of history’s wounds. In another example, country X can be a strong believer in peace and even when threatened by their neighbor Y they stand down because their belief in peace also serves their best interest. Thus, depending on the situation one finds himself in, one can appeal more to their beliefs or interest.


In conclusion, I do think that sometimes actors are influenced by either beliefs or interest, or both. I think that the readings help us keep an open mind about the frameworks we use to evaluate people's decision-making process and to explore ways we can improve the study about what propels man to behave the way he does. While I dont agree, or don't fully understand that significance of their works just yet, I applaud the authors for taking a plunge into a subject matter, which I find somewhat complex, in order to help mankind better understand his actions and his roots.
References
Goldstein, Judith, and Robert Keohane. "Ideas and Foreign Policy: Beliefs, Institutions, and Political Change." Cornell University Press. doi:10.1163/2468-1733_shafr_sim290020020.
Laffey, Mark, and Jutta Weldes. "Beyond Belief:." European Journal of International Relations3, no. 2 (1997): 193-237. doi:10.1177/1354066197003002003.
Weber, Max. "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism." The Cambridge Companion to Weber: 149-71. doi:10.1017/ccol9780521561495.010.

Comments

  1. EHMay 24, 2018 at 9:41 PM

    I noticed you pulled a quote about the influence of religion. We've seen that in Hobbes as well. Would you classify religion as an idea or an interest?

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMay 30, 2018 at 6:18 PM

    I would agree that I was confused from the readings as well and had to look up other articles to get a better understanding of these concepts and there influence on human action and subsequent relevance to international relations. I would also agree that finding empirical data to support action influenced by beliefs, values, or such would be extremely difficult to discern. Like you mentioned, how do we really know what affected an individual or state's action. The possibility for a spurious relationship between the two concepts occurred to me as well, and I think it could only be tested on a case by case basis.

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