Chapter 4 Self-test questions

. What is the relationship between historical materialism (HM) and discourse?

As a philosophical approach, HM focuses purely on discourse and as such is distinctive from the other major approaches to international relations.

HM is interested in how changes in particular structures and the inequalities of power associated with them are vital to the rise and fall of discourses.

HM regards discourse between states and government actors to be the most important sphere for analysis within the international system.

Under the HM paradigm, the realm of political discourse is considered to be of secondary importance to the examination of practical or lived experiences of political interaction.

. In defining the term 'historical materialism', which of the following statements best defines the term 'materialism'?

Materialism refers to HM's focus on class and the productive basis of societies, as well as the ways in which social structures have the capacity to change and produce change.

Materialism refers to the roots of HM in the postmodern schools of thought.

The term materialism refers to the focus of HM on consumerism and the centrality of economic power in the approach.

In their rejection of class orientated political interaction, HM scholars refer to wealth instead as the accumulation or access to physical resources, coining the term materialism to describe this approach.

. Historical materialism is founded on the ideas and philosophies of which theorists?

Barry Buzan and Ole Waever

Kenneth Waltz and Hans Morgenthau

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Adam Smith and Karl Marx

. What is the relationship between historical materialism and the global justice movement?

Historical materialism as a paradigm is opposed to the broad goals of the global justice movement, which advocates an expansion of neo-liberalism in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

Historical materialism has an established history of supporting global justice and opposing inequality; during the Cold War it was the basis of opposition to repressive communist states.

Historical materialism does not provide any unique perspective on capitalism, and is more concerned with the history of capitalist trade than with exploitation or alienation of populations in the system.

Historical materialism can concern both human rights and economic rights. It has been an important part of anti-globalization and alternative-globalization movements, including the Occupy protests.

. How has HM developed during and since the Cold War?

During the post-Cold War period there has grown an increasingly disparity between the analytical framework of security studies and HM, sidelining the latter and excluding it from mainstream study.

Following the popularity of HM during the Cold War it has enjoyed a gradual inclusion into security dialogue and is now considered one of the main paradigms within security studies.

The negativity attached to HM during the Cold War restricted the prominence of HM at this time, excluding it from mainstream security studies. Following this, the broadening of the security studies agenda has led to increasing inclusion of HM as an area for study.

HM was developed as an approach to security studies following the Cold War and has flourished in the proceeding security environment. It has also enjoyed reputable success thanks to its affiliation with prominent actors during the Cold War.

. What is the relationship between HM and realism?

Both HM and realism are based on the notion that there exist within society certain discernible regularities.

HM has some aspects in common with realism, liberalism, and social constructivism, but it offers something distinctive in having class conflict within capitalism as its central focus.

Whilst HM recognizes the importance of the state as an actor within the international system, it also purports that states prioritize the interests of the ruling-class elite.

All of the above

. The following statements define the conceptualization of 'class' within HM; which is incorrect?

All advocates of HM accept that social class is important.

Within the HM paradigm, the only form of class that matters is social class.

The focus of HM lies predominantly on class and class in relation to capital.

HM regards class as being far more complex than a simple division between a capitalist ruling class and working class.

. How is capitalism defined or regarded within the HM paradigm?

HM regards capitalism as producing extreme insecurity in its disempowerment of the worker or labourer, from whom the ability to control labour or output is removed by the capitalist.

HM regards the assertion by liberalists and realists that the capitalist economic sphere is non-political to be a misrepresentation, serving the interests of the unelected capitalist elite.

HM regards the capitalist's accumulation of surplus value as a by-product of labour to be exploitation of those labourers by which the value was originally produced.

All of the above

. Which of these statements best describes the HM approach to sectoral security analysis?

HM agrees with the idea that security can be viewed using a sectoral framework, and recognizes the depth of analysis that is enabled by such an approach.

HM rejects Buzan et al.'s theory of sectoral security analysis, on the grounds that securitization is a product of a state-centric approach.

HM rejects the assertion by Buzan et al. that there are distinct and separate sectors of security, instead adopting a holistic view of security within which national and transnational class is an important factor.

HM favours the sectoral approach to security analysis, in particular prioritizing the state as a referent object and drawing much of its theoretical foundations from the realist principles that underpin the sectoral approach.

. Which of the following are frequently cited criticisms of HM?

HM pays insufficient attention to the role of the labourer, instead focusing on the capitalist as the source of power and most important actor. HM can also allude to capitalist power structures, to the detriment of supporting the human security of workers.

HM too often accuses capitalism of acting solely in self-serving ways, and explains everything in terms of class struggle, to the detriment of wider analysis. Some versions of HM claim to have uncovered objective laws of history which are widely disputed in their accuracy.

HM is inevitably reductionist and oversimplifies the complexities of capitalism, recognizing only its negative aspects and harmful effects.

All of the above

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