User:Ernapst/sandbox

International relations
The scientific discourse in international relations is highly biased towards western academics from first world institutions (/2/). A reason for this may be that the most prestigious IR degrees are provided by western institutions (/2/). Moreover, IR theory lacks a deep understanding of the situation of third world countries (/4/ p. 77). This lack of understanding in combination with the export of western theories to developing countries has negative consequences for these countries since these theories often are not applicable to their situation (/4/, p.60). Realism has dominated IR since the second world war (/11/). It is very prevalent in the US (/4/, p.59), which has a strong influence on the education of political leaders since 19 out of 25 of the most prestigious IR programs were located in the US in 2011 (/2/). Realism assumes a state of anarchy among states with every state trying to survive by accumulating power (/11/). As opposed to idealism, it does not explicitly emphasize that political leaders should not commit immoral actions in favour of national interests (/10/) and classical realists do not believe in the effectiveness of international institutions (/11/). Proponents of realism claim it explains political events and can also be useful in informing policy decisions (/11/). An expression of this individualistic thinking and scepticism of international institutions may be that many western nations have ignored the advice of the WHO in favour of their own strategies, even going as far as obstructing the flow of resources to other countries as, for example, France confiscated millions of masks that were originally ordered by the NHS (/9/). The lack of understanding of third world nations and the prominence of realism in IR clash with the approach of global collaboration within the discipline of global health. An effective global collaborative effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic is hardly achievable with a substantial lack of understanding of the situation of developing countries and the unwillingness to cooperate shown by many countries.