{"id":3549,"date":"2026-08-11T22:11:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T16:41:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/notes\/marxist-approach\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T02:57:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T21:27:35","slug":"marxist-approach","status":"publish","type":"psir_note","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/notes\/marxist-approach\/","title":{"rendered":"Marxist approach"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"n-wrap\">\n<div class=\"n-shell\">\n<div class=\"n-crumb\"><a href=\"\/psir\/psir-notes\/\">PSIR Notes<\/a><span class=\"sep\">\u203a<\/span><a href=\"\/psir\/psir-notes\/#ii-a\">II-A Comparative Political Analysis and International Politics<\/a><span class=\"sep\">\u203a<\/span><span>Marxist approach<\/span><\/div>\n<header class=\"n-head\">\n<div class=\"n-eyebrow\">Paper I \u00b7 Comparative Political Analysis and International Politics<\/div>\n<h1 class=\"n-title\">Marxist approach<\/h1>\n<div class=\"n-syl\"><b>Syllabus \u00b7 Paper II-A \u00b7 5<\/b> \u2014 Approaches to the Study of International Relations : Idealist, Realist, Marxist, Functionalist and Systems theory.<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"n-grid\">\n  <main class=\"n-body\"><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"marxist-approaches-assumptions-and-imperialism\">Marxist Approaches \u2014 assumptions and imperialism<\/h3>\n<p>Marxism offers a critical framework centred on <span class=\"n-term\">economic structures<\/span> and <span class=\"n-term\">class relations<\/span>. It draws not from Marx\u2019s diplomacy but from later interpretations, and is often called a \u201cCritical Theory\u201d for its commitment to radical change; from <span class=\"n-sch\">Karl Marx<\/span> and <span class=\"n-sch\">Friedrich Engels<\/span>, it shifts attention from international politics to <span class=\"n-term\">international political economy<\/span>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"n-quote\">\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">Basic assumptions<\/span> Society and culture cannot be separated from the economic system \u00b7 classes (bourgeoisie and proletariat), not states, are the primary actors \u00b7 world politics operates within a capitalist world-system with a <span class=\"n-term\">core\u2013periphery<\/span> structure \u00b7 the system is inherently conflictual \u00b7 <span class=\"n-term\">historical materialism<\/span><\/p>\n<p><cite>material conditions shape social and political structures.<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Three traditions: the Instrumentalist \/ Dependency \/ Orthodox school, the Critical \/ Frankfurt school, and the Gramscian school.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"n-sch\">Marx<\/span> and <span class=\"n-sch\">Engels<\/span> \u2014 proletarian internationalism; bourgeois greed drives capitalism\u2019s global expansion.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"n-sch\">Vladimir Lenin<\/span> \u2014 <em>Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism<\/em> (1916): mature capitalism produces monopolies; the export of capital yields imperialism, dividing the world into wealthy and exploited nations; imperialism is capitalism\u2019s final stage, ending in revolution.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"n-sch\">J. A. Hobson<\/span> \u2014 <em>Imperialism: A Study<\/em>; tied imperialism to the malfunctioning of capitalism. <span class=\"n-sch\">Kenneth Waltz<\/span> called Lenin\u2019s theory \u201celegant and powerful.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 id=\"dependency-and-world-systems-theory\">Dependency and World-Systems Theory<\/h3>\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">The Dependency School (1960s\u201370s)<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A counter to modernisation theory. Scholars: <span class=\"n-sch\">Andre Gunder Frank<\/span>, <span class=\"n-term\">Fernando Henrique Cardoso<\/span>, <span class=\"n-sch\">Samir Amin<\/span>, <span class=\"n-sch\">Raul Prebisch<\/span>, <span class=\"n-sch\">Immanuel Wallerstein<\/span>. The <span class=\"n-term\">development of underdevelopment<\/span> \u2014 integration into global capitalism produces underdevelopment in the periphery; unequal exchange reinforces dependency. <span class=\"n-sch\">Prebisch<\/span>: the centre\u2013periphery model; protection and industrialisation. Criticism: over-external; ignores internal governance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">World-Systems Theory \u00b7 Immanuel Wallerstein<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"n-quote\">\n<p><span class=\"n-lab\">Definition<\/span> \u201cA world-system is a social system, one that has boundaries, structures, member groups, rules of legitimation, and coherence\u201d \u2014 a multicultural territorial division of labour, integrated through the market since the sixteenth century.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">One capitalist world-economy, three structural positions.<\/span> <span class=\"n-term\">Periphery<\/span> (Labour-intensive production \u00b7 raw-material export \u00b7 weak states) \u2192 <span class=\"n-term\">Semi-periphery<\/span> (A shock-absorbing buffer \u00b7 larger political than economic role) \u2192 <span class=\"n-term\">Core<\/span> (Capital-intensive, high-technology production \u00b7 strong institutions). <em>Unequal exchange \u2014 surplus flows periphery to core (Wallerstein: perpetual).<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Nation-states are variables; imperialism is the domination of the periphery by core states; hegemony is one core state temporarily outstripping the rest, and is temporary. Criticism: <span class=\"n-sch\">Arrighi<\/span> and <span class=\"n-sch\">Drangel<\/span> (generalisation, not falsifiable), <span class=\"n-sch\">Robert Brenner<\/span> (neglects social class), <span class=\"n-sch\">Theda Skocpol<\/span> (blurs state and business), <span class=\"n-sch\">Ramon Grosfoguel<\/span> (economy over culture), and Eurocentrism; China does not fit neatly. It still explains persistent impoverishment in Africa and Latin America.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"n-pyq\"><span class=\"n-pyq-chip\">UPSC 2024 \u00b7 10m<\/span><span class=\"n-pyq-q\">Explain the central tenets of the World-Systems Theory.<\/span><a class=\"n-pyq-a\" href=\"\/psir\/psir-pyq\/explain-the-central-tenets-of-the-world-systems-theory-upsc-psir-2024-3108\/\">Answer<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"n-pyq\"><span class=\"n-pyq-chip\">UPSC 2017 \u00b7 15m<\/span><span class=\"n-pyq-q\">Examine the World-Systems approach as developed by Immanuel Wallerstein.<\/span><\/div>\n<h3 id=\"gramsci-and-cox-critical-theory-new-marxism\">Gramsci and Cox \u00b7 Critical Theory \u00b7 New Marxism<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"n-sch\">Antonio Gramsci<\/span> \u2014 <span class=\"n-term\">hegemony<\/span> as consent plus coercion: political society (coercion) and civil society (consent, which manufactures agreement); the superstructure stresses culture and ideology over the purely economic.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"n-sch\">Robert Cox<\/span> \u2014 <em>Social Forces, States and World Orders<\/em>; integrates ideas, institutions and material capabilities. Structural realism is \u201cproblem-solving theory\u201d that accepts the prevailing order, against critical theory that contemplates alternatives; international organisations spread the hegemon\u2019s norms by co-opting peripheral elites.<\/li>\n<li>Critical Theory \u2014 <span class=\"n-sch\">Max Horkheimer<\/span> and the Frankfurt School (knowledge is socially situated; the goal is human emancipation); <span class=\"n-sch\">Jurgen Habermas<\/span> (communicative action, discourse ethics; a dual moral identity); <span class=\"n-sch\">Andrew Linklater<\/span> (the state is inclusionary and exclusionary; cosmopolitan citizenship).<\/li>\n<li>New Marxism \u2014 <span class=\"n-sch\">Justin Rosenberg<\/span> (<em>The Empire of Civil Society<\/em>); globalisation is not recent but intrinsic to capitalism; <span class=\"n-term\">uneven and combined development<\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">Criticism and relevance<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"n-sch\">Edward Said<\/span> \u2014 Marx as \u201corientalist\u201d; <span class=\"n-sch\">John M. Hobson<\/span> \u2014 Eurocentric; realists \u2014 a reductionist view of the state. Relevance: <span class=\"n-sch\">David Harvey<\/span> (\u201caccumulation by dispossession\u201d; the \u201crace to the bottom\u201d in labour standards); <span class=\"n-sch\">Thomas Piketty<\/span> (a world of haves and have-nots); against <span class=\"n-sch\">Francis Fukuyama<\/span>\u2019s <em>End of History<\/em>, rising inequality keeps the critique alive. The point is not merely to interpret the world but to change it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote class=\"n-quote\">\n<p>\u201cTheory is always for someone and for some purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><cite>Robert Cox<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"n-pyq\"><span class=\"n-pyq-chip\">UPSC 2022 \u00b7 10m<\/span><span class=\"n-pyq-q\">Discuss the commonalities between the Marxist and Realist approaches to the study of International Politics.<\/span><a class=\"n-pyq-a\" href=\"\/psir\/psir-pyq\/discuss-the-commonalities-between-the-marxist-and-realist-upsc-psir-2022-3105\/\">Answer<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"n-pyq\"><span class=\"n-pyq-chip\">UPSC 2021 \u00b7 10m<\/span><span class=\"n-pyq-q\">\u201cMarxist approach to the study of international relations has lost its relevance in the post-Cold War era.\u201d Comment.<\/span><a class=\"n-pyq-a\" href=\"\/psir\/psir-pyq\/marxist-approach-to-the-study-of-international-relations-has-lost-upsc-psir-2021-3104\/\">Answer<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"n-next\"><a href=\"\/psir\/notes\/realist-approach\/\"><em>Previous<\/em><b>Realist approach<\/b><\/a><a class=\"r\" href=\"\/psir\/notes\/functionalist-approach\/\"><em>Next<\/em><b>Functionalist approach<\/b><\/a><\/div>\n<p><\/main><\/p>\n<aside class=\"n-rail\">\n<h4>On this page<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"#marxist-approaches-assumptions-and-imperialism\">Marxist Approaches \u2014 assumptions and imperialism<\/a><a href=\"#dependency-and-world-systems-theory\">Dependency and World-Systems Theory<\/a><a href=\"#gramsci-and-cox-critical-theory-new-marxism\">Gramsci and Cox \u00b7 Critical Theory \u00b7 New Marxism<\/a><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marxist approach for the UPSC PSIR optional \u2014 PSIR Notes \u203a II-A Comparative Political Analysis and International Politics \u203a Marxist approach Paper I \u00b7 Comparative Political Analysi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"fx_note_key":"II-A.5.3","fx_note_sec":"II-A","fx_note_point":"5","fx_note_desc":"Marxist approach for the UPSC PSIR optional \u2014 PSIR Notes \u203a II-A Comparative Political Analysis and International Politics \u203a Marxist approach Paper I \u00b7 Comparative Political Analysi","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3549","psir_note","type-psir_note","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_note\/3549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_note"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/psir_note"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_note\/3549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3818,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_note\/3549\/revisions\/3818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}