International Relations (IR)

International Relations (IR)

• IR studies interactions among countries and non-state actors in the global arena.
• It examines both formal diplomacy and informal networks influencing global politics like trade, security, and ideology.
• When referring to world politics the term is more expansive and considers organizations and institutions.

History of International Relations

• IR's history is traced back to 1919, with the University of Wales, Aberystwyth establishing the Department of International Politics.
• The department aimed to prevent future wars by understanding their causes and promoting global peace through academic study.
• Some scholars argue IR's roots stem from colonial administration and imperialism studies, citing the Journal of Race Development (1910).
• The Journal of Race Development (later Foreign Affairs) reflected an imperialist mindset, justifying racial supremacy.
• Early IR development oppressed marginalized groups, excluding African-American scholars.
• More recent perspectives see IR's origins as multifaceted, emerging from various global contexts.
• There are ongoing critiques about the marginalization of women thinkers and founders in IR's history.
• Understanding IR's history, reflecting political and historical contexts, is crucial for analyzing world politics today.

Narrow Sense of IR - State-Centered View

• IR focuses on sovereign nation-states with recognized authority and non-interference.
• War and Peace studies how nations interact during conflict and peace, including diplomacy and conflict resolution like UN peacekeeping forces.
• International Law and Treaties are formal agreements governing state behavior to prevent conflict and encourage cooperation through things like United Nations Charter.
• Membership in IGOs and Alliances has states participating in International Governmental Organizations (IGOs) and military alliances to manage conflicts and enhance security.
• Examples of IGOs and alliances:
  • UN
  • NATO
  • African Union (AU)
  • European Uniton (EU)
• Diplomacy uses formal negotiation between states to resolve conflicts, make agreements, and advance national interests for maintaining peace and cooperation.
• The term "diplomacy" originates from the Greek word "diploma," meaning "a document folded twice," symbolizing formal written agreements.

Broad Sense of IR - Non-State Actor Influence

• Focus shifts beyond states to include non-state actors influencing international affairs.
• Multinational Corporations (MNCs) can shape global economic and political relations by influencing trade policies, labor standards, and environmental regulations through their global operations.
• Examples of MNCs:
  • Apple
  • Shell
• Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) include the UN, NATO, EU, and WTO, facilitating cooperation across borders in areas such as peacekeeping, trade, and human rights.
• International Financial Organizations (IFOs) like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) play a key role in providing financial aid and influencing global economic policies during crises.
• Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) operate independently of governments to address humanitarian issues like the Red Cross, Amnesty International, and Doctors Without Borders.
• Transnational Movements and Violent Non-State Actors destabilize regions and include terrorist organizations, insurgent groups, and ideologically driven movements.
• Examples of Transnational Movements and Violent Non-State Actors:
  • ISIS
  • Al-Qaeda
  • Taliban

Case Study: The Democratic Republic of the Congo & Uganda

• Exploitation of natural resources in the DRC fuels conflict in the region.
• Uganda, involved in illicit trade, has been exploiting these resources for economic gain.
• Regional instability is exacerbated and the international community's inability to regulate such exploitation highlight IR's complexities in dealing with non-state actors and resource-driven conflicts.

The Emergence of the Westphalian Order

• The Peace of Westphalia (1648) established state sovereignty
• The Peace of Westphalia ending the Thirty Years' War introduced the idea that each state has sovereignty over its territory, marking the emergence of the modern international system.
• Sovereignty gives states supreme authority over their territory without external interference and is central to the modern international system.
• The Treaty of Westphalia led to the rise of centralized states (France, Britain, Spain, Portugal), each asserting authority without outside interference.
• The Westphalian system formalized diplomatic norms and territorial relations among states for the development of modern international diplomacy and law.

Thomas Hobbes and the Foundation of Sovereignty

• Hobbes' idea that the state of nature where no government or laws exist impacts international relations.
• Hobbes argued that in the absence of a global governing authority, states would act out of self-interest for security and resources, leading to an anarchic system.
• Just as individuals fight for survival in the state of nature, states do the same in the international system.
• This anarchic world order, with states prioritizing security, is a core idea in Realist IR theory.
• The lack of a global authority creates a self-help system where states rely on their own power, leading to competition, insecurity, and conflict.

The Social Contract and Sovereign Authority in Global Politics

• Hobbes' social contract theory applies to the role of the state in international relations.
• Like individuals transferring rights to a sovereign for security, states ensure survival and security through sovereign authority.
• The sovereign state controls territory, resources, and military power to safeguard itself against external threats.
• State sovereignty in the modern international system means each state controls internal affairs without external interference central to international law and global governance.
• However, Hobbes' view implies the international system relies on states prioritizing their own security, even unilaterally, especially in national defense and territorial disputes.

Absolute Sovereignty and the State's Power

• Hobbes advocated unchecked power for rulers/states to maintain order mirrored in the right to control territory, military, and policy without interference.
• This impacts state interactions with international organizations when states may act independently, prioritizing national interest and security per Hobbes' view that the sovereign must have ultimate authority and autonomy.

Sovereignty and Security in the International System

• Hobbes' theory is relevant in international relations through alliences, diplomacy, and military power ensure security in system of potential conflict.
• States operate in a self-help system, maximizing security, is a foundational concept in Realist IR theory.
• Hobbes' focus on sovereignty indicates states protect their position in the international order and pursue military power, form alliances (NATO), or act unilaterally (invasion of Iraq in 2003) to secure interests.

Liberal Internationalism (Liberalism & Neoliberalism)

• Liberalism emphasizes cooperation, institutions, and economic interdependence for global peace.
• International relations are managed through collaboration and international frameworks, rather than conflict.

Historical Background of Liberal Internationalism

• The roots of liberalism are in Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke and Immanuel Kant, advocating individual freedom, democracy, and peace.
• Liberalism, evolving into a political ideology, influenced governance and international policies.
• Liberal internationalism developed after World War I in unstable empires, class conflict, women’s suffrage, and experiments in international organization.
• The decline in inter-state wars post-1945 is attributed to institutional frameworks like the UN and the EU.

Core Concepts of Liberalism

• Belief in human and societal improvements.
• Capitalism as the best economic structure.
• Representative democracy for liberal improvement.
• Ideas, not just material power, are fundamental in international politics.
• Belief in progress is modeled after achievements of liberal capitalist societies in the West.

Strengths of Liberalism

• Explains the formation of IGOs and international cooperation.
• Predicts a decline in wars between democratic states (Democratic Peace Theory).

Weaknesses of Liberalism

• Overestimates the potential for collective action.
• Underestimates state self-interest and power dynamics.

Key Principles of Liberal Internationalism

• Collective Security through International Cooperation fosters peace through thing slike UN, EU, NATO, World Bank.
• Harmony of Interests has economic interdependence cuts the likelihood of war and decreases the likelihood of war.
• Democratic Peace Theory explains that democracies rarely go to war because their leaders are accountable to citizens.
• Transnational Actors influence global politics through soft power.

Critique of Realist Views by Liberals:

• Liberals reject realism's natural war idea.
• They question the state as the main actor, recognizing individuals, multinational corporations, transnational actors, and international organizations.

Liberal Perspective on the State

• The state is not a unitary actor but is made up of bureaucracy, individual, and collective preferences.
• It represents societal preferences or bureaucracies and Liberals don't think sovereignty is as important as realists believe.
• States negotiate with public and private actors, limiting their freedom and states Interdependence a key feature.

The Liberal View of World Politics

• World politics involves complex bargaining among different actor types.
• Military force is important and the liberal agenda is broadened with economic , technological, and environmental views.
• World order emerges from laws, agreed norms, international regimes, and institutional rules to manage capitalism.

Neoliberalism

• Neoliberalism is a practical, modern form of liberalism that emphasizes the importance of international institutions (UN, WTO) in promoting global peace and stability.
• It acknowledges states as primary actors, with institutions and norms playing a central and expanded role in governance and conflict resolution.
• Commercial Liberals argue that free markets contribute to peace.
• Neoliberal Institutionalists believe international organizations can help states cooperate, providing platforms for negotiation, creating rules, and reducing uncertainty by use of IGOs.

Case Study: The ICC and Trump Administration

• The ICC prosecutes individuals for war crimes and genocide and its effectiveness is often limited by state sovereignty.
• The example is the Trump administration reluctant to engage due to sovereignty concerns, thus international law is limited due to a state's self-interest.

Liberal View on Globalization

• Globalization results from progressive transformation that has revolutions in tech, communication, and economics.
• As the patterns of world political relations are changed, states aren't as central and other actors emerge.
• Globalization signifies a shift from a state-centric world to an interconnected and interdependent system, which facilitates political and economic integration.

Realism

• Realism states international relations are primarily are driven by the pursuit of power and security.
• It international system is anarchic, with no central authority to regulate state actions.

Realist Perspective

• Realists emphasize the importance of human nature in driving international relation and states operate independently as no authority compel them to act.
• Non-state actors must work within the framework of state relations set by these dominant powers.
• The balance of power-ensuring to single can dominate and is key.
• Military power achieves a state's foreign policy objectives.

Key Concepts of Realism

• Anarchy means no overarching rule or order, states must use military and resources to ensure security/survival
• State-Centrism means acting to secure their survival, as realists see states as primary. Non-state factors like NGO are secondary.
• Survival and self-help means states rely to their own power, as there's no other alternative in anarchic systems.
• National interest revolves around power, safeguarding their survival. The idea of "national interest" synonymous.
• Humans are self-interested, leading to competing world driven by.
• States act to maximize power, ensuring survival + constant struggle for dominance
• Security dilemma leads one states security measures to insecurity in other states, leading to arms and competition race and mistrust cycle.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Realism

• Highlights military and self-interest as strengths
• Ignores non-state characters and ethics and norms
• The SSS ("Core Concepts") emphasizes that the state, survival, and self-help are important in IR.

Historical Realists

• Otto Von Bismarck
• Henry Kissinger
• Thucydides
• Machiavelli
• Thomas Hobbes

Thucydides

• Thucydides described the power struggles between Athens and Sparta in his history of the Peloponnesian War.
• His history describes motives of fear, honor, and self-interest are reflected in international politics.

Machiavelli

• Machiavelli argued rulers must prioritize state security and power in his novel The Prince.
• His ideas have influenced realist view as it portrays power as greater importance than ethical relations.

Thomas Hobbes

• Hobbes argued in Leviathan that without a sovereign society would descend into chaos.
• He expresses that without a governing authority all states must rely on each other to prevent anarchy.

Before Realism

• Realists ideas come historical figures in the international field as the formal establishment.
• Historicals like Kautilya, Ibn, Hobbes are associated to realist ideas because of views on humans and power politics.
• A common belief natural incilnation of humans go to conflict, and this is called politicals as its conflict.

The 20th Century

• Scholars understand large scale affects, leading to the birth to IR.
• The developed framework, emphasized power as a struggle from human nature.
• Power concept in the political affairs that are all saw system as anarchist.
• There was increase among international relations that scholar thought balance could prevent war and Morgenthau advocated replace that to government.

Neoclassical Realism

• Neoclassical realism integrates internal factors combining structural of neorealism and is shaped upon how it is in state behavior.
• Neoclassical realists say states respond external pressures as internal factors and in foreign policy.

Types of Neoclassical Realism

• It is explained in structural analysis foreign policy that it combines state actors + international state structure.
• Emphasized on leadership that calculates of state politics and focusing broader on foreign policy.
• Comprehensive assumes its theory that realist is a challange

Neorealism

• Kenneth Waltz attributes anarchic state behavior and systems and states to act in survival ways to ensure those.
• To change nature and it influences behavior is the structure of the state.
• That this theory by Waltz expanding individual state actions.

The 1970s

• Waltz argued that state wasn't natural cause conflict because ways where it compulsated and they have to ensure that they are acting to secure that.
• Maximizing their power to survive through competitive uncertainty and expansion on hegemonic ambitions as these states pursue aggressively.
• States only want enough power for expansion into hegemonic, and the way they survive it is to restrain and moderate because this aggressive has been maximized.

Globalization

• From territorial division and sovereign nations global features that can come fundamental particularly of politics and interconnected in that state.
• Balancing power, threat of force + sovereign has the power as relations with the British evidence state.

Social Constructivism

• Constructivsm theory is new in IR that became a more significant role because because agency shapes contrasting these that determine views and this started in the 80's.

Constructivisim

• Construct theory emerged as new that realism has that state interests were Neorealism like before.
• Unlike predecors that shape state interested , identities and global landscape this theory culture, norms and not only behavior with state's but defined instead.

War

• This shift for perspectives that traditional changed to explain the order.
• Factored due to individualism focus that unexpected focus limits realism.

Key Theoretical

• Constructivisim has view world as challenge.
• Realism suggests interaction and agency more over predetermined this creates room agency relationships.

Human Agency

• Constructivist in passive world not underestimates instead that this is driven for to show how humans shape actions.
• Role of identity and interests as constructed pre-given not that, they based that new understandings, norms, not based over natural and set time over.

Key Concepts of Social Constructivism

• shared norms or expectation that norms start with actors. influence like government for to spread behaviors to protect.
• Ideas has an affect through actions and ideas. For and change a system. (sovereign, peace, state).