Goldstein & Pevenhouse History PDF

**Goldstein & Pevenhouse** **HISTORY** At the turn of the millennium, the world moved beyond the logic of the two world wars and the Cold War, but new conflicts and crises soon emerged. Despite these changes, history remains crucial for understanding international relations, as its basic structure...

**Goldstein & Pevenhouse** **HISTORY** At the turn of the millennium, the world moved beyond the logic of the two world wars and the Cold War, but new conflicts and crises soon emerged. Despite these changes, history remains crucial for understanding international relations, as its basic structures and principles are deeply rooted in historical developments. The discussion begins with a long-term perspective and gradually focuses on more recent history. **World Civilizations to the Present Day** The current international system originated from Western civilization, particularly in Europe, around 300 to 500 years ago. It was then spread globally and has, in the past century, incorporated nearly all the world's territories into sovereign states. Despite this, other civilizations existed long before European influence and continue to impact international relations through their unique cultural traditions and expectations. North America's indigenous cultures were largely displaced or exterminated by European settlers, resulting in a population primarily descended from immigrants. In contrast, European empires in Africa and Asia integrated indigenous populations, leading to populations that are more deeply rooted in their own cultural traditions and history compared to most Canadians or Americans. European civilization has its roots in the eastern Mediterranean, particularly in Egypt, Mesopotamia (Iraq), and Greece. The classical period of Greek city-states around 400 B.C. is significant for international relations (IR) due to its demonstration of interstate power politics, as described by Thucydides in his account of the *Peloponnesian Wars*. By this time, states engaged in sophisticated trade and warfare from the Mediterranean to East Asia. Greek influence expanded with Alexander the Great's conquests around 300 B.C., followed by the Roman Empire around A.D. 1, and later the Arab caliphate around A.D. 600. Throughout history, China remained an independent civilization. During the "warring states" period, sophisticated states used warfare as a tool of power politics, as described in Sun Tzu's *The Art of War*. By A.D. 800, while Europe was in its "dark ages" and Arab civilization was thriving, China under the T'ang dynasty was highly advanced and independent of Western influence. Japan, influenced by China, developed its own civilization and isolated itself from Western influence until the Meiji restoration in the mid-19th century. Latin America had flourishing civilizations like the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas, which were independent until the Spanish conquest around 1500. In Africa, great kingdoms thrived after A.D. 1000 (and as early as A.D. 600 in Ghana) and were well-developed when European slave traders arrived around 1500. The Arab caliphate (A.D. 600-1200) played a crucial role in Middle Eastern international relations, uniting the region under Islam and repelling European Crusades. From the 16th to 19th centuries, the Ottoman Empire controlled the eastern Mediterranean, allowing local cultures autonomy in exchange for tribute. This imperial history influenced 20th-century Pan-Arabism, which envisioned regional unity, especially strong in the 1950s and 1960s. Saddam Hussein invoked this legacy during the Gulf War. Today, Islamic fundamentalism and the Arab Israeli conflict reflect the enduring impact of the historic Arab empire. Europe's rise to world dominance began around 1500, following the Renaissance. The Italian city-states practiced interstate power politics, as described by Niccolò Machiavelli, an advisor to Renaissance princes. Feudal units merged into large nation-states under monarchs, and the military revolution led to the creation of modern armies. European monarchs equipped ships with cannons and began global exploration. The Industrial Revolution after 1750 accelerated the development of the international system, imperialism, trade, and warfare. Ultimately, European conquest led to a single world civilization with regional variations and subcultures. In recent decades, regions once dominated by Europe have gained independence and now participate in the international system as sovereign states. Independence came earlier in the Americas, around 1800. In Latin America, the 19th century was marked by wars, border changes, the rise and fall of dictatorships and republics, chronic foreign debt, revolutions, and frequent military incursions by European powers and the United States to recover debts. **The Great-Power System, 1500-the Present** The modern state system is often traced back to the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, which established the principles of independent, sovereign states that still influence the international system today. However, these principles began forming in Europe during the sixteenth century. A key aspect of this system was the ability of one state, or a coalition of states, to balance the power of another, preventing the creation of a universal empire. The power-balancing system emphasizes a few great powers with strong military capabilities, global interests, and intense interactions. This system of great-power relations has existed since around A.D. 1500, maintaining a stable structure and rules, though the specific members have changed. The balance of power among the most six or so most powerful states involves forming and breaking alliances, fighting wars, and making peace to prevent any single state from dominating the others. In the sixteenth century, the most powerful European states were Britain (England), France, Austria-Hungary, and Spain. The Ottoman Empire (Turkey) frequently clashed with European powers, particularly Austria-Hungary. This historic conflict between the Islamic Ottoman Empire and Christian Austria-Hungary contributes to ethnic tensions in the former Yugoslavia today. In Europe, Austria-Hungary and Spain, controlled by the Hapsburg family, were allied and owned the Netherlands. The Hapsburg countries (Catholic) were defeated by mostly Protestant countries in northern Europe---France, Britain, Sweden, and the newly independent Netherlands---in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). The 1648 Treaty of Westphalia established the principles of state sovereignty and territorial integrity, defining the international system. Since then, defeated states might lose some territories but generally remain independent rather than being absorbed by the victors. In the eighteenth century, Britain's power increased with industrialization, making France its main rival. Sweden, the Netherlands, and the Ottoman Empire declined, while Russia and Prussia (modern-day Germany) rose. During the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), France was defeated by a coalition of Britain, the Netherlands, Austria-Hungary, Spain, Russia, and Prussia. The Congress of Vienna (1815) reasserted state sovereignty principles. The Concert of Europe, led by the five most powerful states, aimed to prevent war, setting a precedent for the UN Security Council. Britain acted as a balancer, joining alliances against the most powerful European state. By the early twentieth century, three new rising powers emerged: the United States (the world's largest economy), Japan, and Italy. The great-power system became global, with industrializing states expanding their global activities and military might. After Prussia's victories over Austria and France, a larger Germany challenged Britain's position. In World War I (1914-1918), Germany and Austria-Hungary were defeated by a coalition including Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and the United States. In World War II (1939-1945), Germany, Italy, and Japan were defeated by a coalition including the United States, Britain, France, Russia (the Soviet Union), and China. These five great powers became the permanent members of the UN Security Council. Other active coalition partners, like Canada, did not gain UN Security Council membership despite its active role in WWII. After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union, former allies, became adversaries in the Cold War, dividing Europe into East and West blocs and splitting Germany into two states. The rest of the world became a battleground for influence, with each bloc supporting opposing sides in regional and civil wars. The Cold War ended with the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, leading to a more cooperative international system among great powers, like the 19th-century Concert of Europe. However, new tensions arose among European-American Japanese allies, especially when the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003 with support from some allies (U.K. and Japan) but not others (Canada and France). **Imperialism, 1500-the Present** European imperialism began in the fifteenth century with the development of oceangoing sailing ships, allowing small crews to transport large cargoes over long distances. Portugal led the first explorations beyond Europe, followed by Spain, France, and Britain. With superior military technology, Europeans gained control of coastal cities and supply outposts along major trade routes, gradually extending their control inland, first in Latin America, then North America, and later throughout Asia and Africa. In the sixteenth century, Spain and Portugal had empires in Central America and Brazil, respectively. Britain and France had colonies in North America and the Caribbean. Slaves were brough from Africa and shipped to Mexico and Brazil, working in tropical agriculture and mining silver and gold. The wealth was exported to Europe for monarchs to buy armies and create states. Imperialism had a detrimental effect on Indigenous people. While the economies developed through advanced transportation, communication infrastructure, factories, etc., they suited the interests of the colonizers. Decolonization started in 1776 in the United States, which declared independence. Much of Latin America followed in the next few decades. However, these new states continued to be run by colonialists. In the late nineteenth century, European powers continued to acquire new colonies, leading to a scramble for territories in Africa in the 1890s. This resulted in arbitrary territorial divisions as European armies competed for land. India became Britain's largest and most important colony during this period. Germany and Italy, being latecomers, found few attractive territories left for their empires. Only a few non-European regions, such as Japan, most of China, Iran, and Turkey, retained their independence. Japan and the United States also began building their own empires at the end of the century. China, however, became weaker and its coastal regions fell under European domination. After World War I, decolonization saw indigenous populations in Asia and Africa gaining independence, unlike the Americas where local colonists led the charge. This process continued until the mid-1970s, leaving almost no European colonies. Newly independent states faced significant challenges in the postcolonial era, with persistent economic patterns leading some to describe this period as neocolonial. While the global North no longer imports slave labor, it still relies on the South for cheap labor, energy, minerals, and tropical agricultural products. In return, the North provides capital investment, technology transfer, and foreign assistance. The collapse of the Soviet Union and its bloc, which reduced Russia to its size from a century earlier, can be viewed as an extension of the post-World War II wave of decolonization and self-determination. Like the global South, imperialism left behind ethnic conflicts as new political units grappled with territorial divisions created by distant imperial capitals. **Nationalism, 1500-the Present** **Nationalism**, or devotion to the interests of one's nation over others, is considered by many to be the most significant force in world politics over the last two centuries. A nation is typically defined as a population sharing a common identity, including language and culture. For example, most of France's 62 million inhabitants speak French, enjoy French cuisine, learn French history, and are represented by the national government in Paris. However, defining nationality precisely is challenging. The extension of political control over large territories, like France, helped create a commonality necessary for nationhood, suggesting that states create nations. Conversely, the perceived existence of a nation has often led to the creation of a corresponding state, as populations seek sovereignty over their own affairs, indicating that nations create states. **Nationalism**: The identification with and devotion to the interests of one\'s nation. It usually involves a large group of people who share a national identity and often a language, culture or ancestry. Around A.D. 1500, countries like France and Austria began uniting entire nations into single, powerful states, which then overran smaller neighbors. Over time, many small territorial units were conquered and incorporated into these nation-states. The idea of nationalism eventually became a powerful force, contributing to the disintegration of large, multinational states such as Austria-Hungary (during World War I), the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia. The principle of self-determination suggests that people who identify as a nation should have the right to form a state and govern themselves. While widely praised today, it often conflicts with the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Self-determination does not allow groups to change international borders, even those set by colonialism, to unify a nation. It is often achieved through violence. Conflicts arise when the borders of nations do not align with state borders, and such conflicts are common in places like Northern Ireland, Québec, Israel-Palestine, India-Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tibet, and Sudan. Therefore, while self-determination is an ideal, its practical application can be quite complex and contentious. The Netherlands established the principle of self-determination by breaking free from Spanish control around 1600 and forming a self-governing Dutch republic. The struggle for control of the Netherlands was a major cause of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), during which states mobilized their populations in new ways. For example, Sweden drafted one out of every ten men for long-term military service, while the Netherlands used wealth from global trade to finance a professional army. During the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, the process of popular mobilization intensified significantly. France introduced a universal draft and a centrally managed economy. For the first time, its armies were made up of motivated citizens rather than mercenaries, allowing them to march longer and faster. People participated out of patriotism, as their nation-state embodied their aspirations and united them under a common national identity. The United States declared independence from Britain in 1776, following the example of the Netherlands. Despite its size and diversity, the U.S. developed a strong sense of nationalism, especially after holding together through the Civil War in the 1860s. Latin American states gained independence in the early nineteenth century, while Germany and Italy unified their nations through war later in the century. As a British Dominion, Canada was expected to follow the British government, particularly in foreign affairs, until the Statute of Westminster in 1931 allowed Canada to sign its own treaties and act independently of the British House of Lords. Before World War I, socialist workers from various European countries united to fight for their rights. However, during the war, most abandoned this solidarity to fight for their own nations, showing that nationalism was a stronger force than socialism. Before World War II, nationalism helped Germany, Italy, and Japan build political orders based on fascism, an extreme form of authoritarianism supported by national chauvinism. In World War II, it was nationalism and patriotism, rather than communism, that motivated the Soviet people to sacrifice millions to repel Germany's invasion. In the past 50 years, many nations have gained independence and statehood. Jews worked persistently in the first half of the twentieth century to create the state of Israel, while Palestinians have aspired to create a Palestinian state in the second half. Multinational states like the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia have fragmented, leading to the emergence of independent nation-states such as Ukraine, Slovenia, and East Timor. Other regions, like Kosovo and Kurdistan, are also seeking to establish themselves as independent nation-states. National identity is reinforced daily through symbols like national flags and rituals such as singing national anthems, helping people identify with their nation and government. Despite having multiple identities and belonging to various groups, nationalism has successfully established national identity as a primary affiliation for many people worldwide. This influence of nationalism remains strong today, playing a significant role in international conflict and war. **The World Economy, 1750-the Present** In 1750, Britain, the world's most advanced economy, had a GDP of about \$1200 per capita (in today's U.S. dollars), which is less than the current level of most of the global South. Today, Britain produces over ten times as much per person, with a much larger population. This growth is attributed to **industrialization**, which involves using energy to drive machinery and accumulating such machinery along with its products. The Industrial Revolution began in Britain in the eighteenth century, marked by inventions like the steam engine (1769), mechanized thread-spinner (1770), and the cotton gin in America (1794). This revolution was linked to Britain's emerging leadership in the world economy and eventually spread to other advanced economies. **Industrialization**: The use of fossil-fuel energy to drive machinery and the accumulation of such machinery along with the products created by it. By around 1850, wooden sailing ships were replaced by larger and faster coal-powered iron steamships. Coal-fueled steam engines also powered factories producing textiles and other goods. This period saw the rise of railroad building, which increased world production and trade while economically connecting distant locations. For example, a day trip across France by railroad contrasted sharply with the three-week journey a century earlier. However, factory conditions during this mechanization period were extremely harsh, especially for women and children operating machines. During this period, Britain dominated world trade due to its technologically advanced economy, making its products competitive globally. British policy favored **free trade**, and the country also served as the financial capital of the world, managing a complex global market in goods and services. The British currency, pounds sterling (silver), became the world standard. International monetary relations were still based on the value of precious metals, like the sixteenth century when Spain financed its armies with Mexican silver and gold. **free trade**: The flow of goods and services across national boundaries unimpeded by tariffs or other restrictions; in principle (if not always in practice), free trade was a key aspect of Britain\'s policy after 1846 and of U.S. and Canadian policy after 1945. By the early twentieth century, the United States had surpassed Britain as the world's largest and most advanced economy. This industrialization was driven by territorial expansion throughout the nineteenth century, which added vast natural resources. The U.S. economy attracted large numbers of immigrant laborers from Europe's poorer regions. The United States led the transition from coal to oil and from horse-drawn transportation to motor vehicles. Technological innovations, such as electricity and airplanes, also propelled the U.S. economy into a dominant global position. In the 1930s, the Great Depression severely impacted Canadian and global economies. The United States' adoption of the protectionist Hawley-Smoot Act in 1930, which imposed tariffs on imports, worsened the depression by provoking retaliatory measures and reducing world trade. After World War II, the capitalist world economy was restructured under U.S. leadership. This period saw the establishment of key international economic institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The United States provided significant assistance to revive Western European economies through the Marshall Plan, as well as to Japan. World trade expanded greatly, and the global market became more interconnected through advancements in air transportation and telecommunications. Electronics emerged as a leading sector, and technological progress accelerated throughout the twentieth century. After World War II, the economies of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, based on communist principles of central planning and state ownership, remained separate from the global capitalist economy until the late 1990s. Among the advanced industrialized economies, the G7 is considered the world's strongest, comprising France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. When Russia joins the G7, it becomes the G8. The G20, which includes both developed and developing economies, provides oversight and advice on major economic issues and is considered more effective than the G7 due to its broader representation. By the early 2000s, emerging economies like Brazil, Russia, India, and China, collectively known as the BRIC countries, were recognized as some of the world's fastest-growing economies. This shift indicated a growing importance of developing economies over advanced industrialized countries. In late 2010, South Africa joined the group, making it BRICS. These five countries contain 40% of the world's population and accounted for 18% of global economic activity in 2010. They are expected to surpass the economic output of the G7 countries by 2035. Today, there is a single integrated world economy that almost no country can resist joining. However, this global economy has imperfections and problems, evident in periodic crises and recessions, and increasing disparities between the richest and poorest regions. These issues were most glaring during the global financial crisis and recession that began in 2007-2008. The crisis started with the subprime mortgage collapse in the United States and quickly spread to Europe and beyond, causing major banks and investment companies to lose hundreds of billions of dollars. While Canadian banks were relatively protected due to Canada's regulatory regime, the global slowdown in consumer spending and production led to a decline in global trade and job losses worldwide.