Systems Analysis of International Relations: Theoretical and Methodological Criteria and Principles

Abstract

The article presents a review of general criteria and principles of systems analysis in international relations theory. The prerequisite for the emergence of the systems analysis methodology was the general system theory the purpose of which was to identify the general principles of system modeling in different areas of scientific research. In the 1950s and 1960s the systems analysis was frequently interpreted as an interdisciplinary or even a ‘supradisciplinary’ approach generalizing the methodology of studying complex technical and social systems.

In the international relations science the use of systems analysis led to the emergence of a universal explanatory theory allowing the interpretation of various stages and structural configurations in the sphere of multilateral interstate interaction. Following the rationalistic scientific tradition, the systemic approach opened wide opportunities for the conceptualization of international interaction, including the identification of logical conditioning, typological regularities of international relations and their verification with the help of empirical data.

The concept of an international system which was formulated within the framework of the structural-functional approach means a set of actors who are situated in a configuration of power (structure), and are involved in regular patterns of interaction (processes). In practice, the international system is implemented as a self-sufficient and self-regulating complex of interaction between the subjects of international relations at the level of states, international organizations, and non-state actors within the limits of the corresponding historically determined structure. The role of the main system-forming factor is performed by dominant and politically determined types of relations between the actors of the international system. The type of international system including multipolar, bipolar or unipolar has a significant impact on the modality and rules of interstate interaction, which form the basis of the relevant international order.

In the socio-political context the phenomenon of the international system is appropriately considered as a broad external framework within which the coexistence of different societies occurs and, accordingly, as a sphere of competition of relevant models and dimensions of social development.

At the same time the systems theory does not pay priority attention to ideological and values characteristics, in particular, dependence of political and foreign policy decisions on ideas, cultural preferences, and specifics of decision-making by the representatives of political elites of different state actors. The explication of impact of these aspects on international relations requires the application of interdisciplinary methods within the framework of political and sociological analysis.