Intro to International Relations PDF

INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS  Why humanity is different? Why are we different? Why do they come from two different worlds? How does the humanity come to be the way it is today? o There are no differences between people, between races of people. We are all the...

INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS  Why humanity is different? Why are we different? Why do they come from two different worlds? How does the humanity come to be the way it is today? o There are no differences between people, between races of people. We are all the same species and all have the same intelligence. Only the evolution of people, biologically and genetically, is different. (Jared Diamond - Guns, Gems and Steel) I. Creation of Universe  How old is the Universe? 11,5 Billion years old and researchers are still modifying it.  How old is the earth? 4,5 Billion years old.  How did it start? At the beginning there was nothing, no atoms and the heat was so intense. Then things started to cool down, sufficiently for our atoms to begin to form, then molecules, dust, gravitational and more dust and more gravitational… creating disks of dust and gas, reaching a density that permitted to collapse on itself, creating again heat and friction to finally get our first start of the universe. Other of these disks did not have the same densities in gases so they became planets. Some of these planets, later, lose their reactivity (ex: Mars) and so lose their protection of their electromagnetic poles and blow away their atmosphere. For the others, they produced heat because they were radioactive permitting the creation of rock rises1, forming volcanoes and earthquakes2. The Earth and continents are still moving today and the subduction is the balance to not have too much rock rises at the surface. The ring of fire is a path along the Pacific Ocean characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes. This is the process that created seven continents, this is the process that changes the surface of our planet. II. Evolution and Adaptation of life The Pangea is a supercontinent that included all the world's landmasses3 in the late Paleozoic and, according to the theory of plate tectonics, subsequently broke apart. All the flora and fauna on Pangea had to adapt to their new location and new climate or die and most of it die.  Why didn’t all the fauna and flora die off? DNA replicates with error, imperfectly. And some of these imperfections became advantages for these fauna and flora to adapt to their new climate. This is the process of how life involved on this planet : natural selection. Some pieces of Pangea had more moderate climate, an environmental condition that permitted to a broader range and diversity of fauna and flora to evolve in these areas (just above the equator) and at the origin of the evolution of the human. There are numbers of phases in the human evolution and humans’ life style and evolution were different because of their locations: in Eurasia, there were horses so the humans started to catch them and domesticate them / in America the horses came much later but they had the llama which is a bit disadvantageous. Also, the climate variations between East and West Eurasia were not as extreme as there 1 Montées de magma 2 Séismes 3 Continents, terres émergées 1 were between North and South America so they could more easily cultivate plants in different places of their continents. III. The phase of life style Revolution We all started as hunter-gatherers4 walking along the surface of our planet looking for food but we decided to change the way we live, to stop walking. The fact of constantly moving need people to have their all life portable, so, there was lot of pressure on nomadic life. And anytime a tribal group encountered another one, they were fighting for the resources and the food. This way of living limited population growth5.  The Solution? The new experiment of “Agriculture” was born out.  How did they all suddenly decide to turn to Agriculture? An observation they made when they were eating seeds6 and pooping at a place, the year later, when they came again, big plants had grown in the meantime. So, humans though they could produce more food just by staying in one place and pulling a lot. Then, we began to produce a surplus of food that enabled us to begin to engage in trade7 and promises. After agriculture, we started the process of domestication of animals.  How do we go about? We brought them into our lives, into our homes. We use them as an additional source of beef. The process of domestication is the process of rearing8 the young of various animals. But it also means that they were constantly exposed to their lives, including their diseases9 which had a number of impacts on life around the world. A majority died of illnesses caught from animals but all of them thanks, again, to the DNA which made, by error, some of us, and the next generations, immune from animals’ illnesses. IV. The Vikings Christopher Columbus was not the first one to discover the North America. The Vikings were the firsts ones.  Who are the Vikings? They come from Scandinavia in the Northern part of Europe. They began exploring the North Atlantic, in very advanced boats, because of climate change which was at first warm in Scandinavia. They had a dramatic increase in the production of food and in the population density. But the climate became cooler and cooler over the years, close to what it is today, and this put a pressure on Scandinavian with feeding problems10. So, it pushed them to move to South and Western and they colonized Iceland (Greenland at the time) and North America (the Newfoundland). But they abandoned North America because of the health and the strength of the Native Americans at the time. Their aggressivity pushed them back. V. Establishment of legal systems Today, United States of American laws are inspired from Vikings laws because the Great Britain exported his laws (Vikings inspired) with them when they colonized America (ex: The trial by battle is a legal practice of a personal fight between the two parties involved or, in some circumstances, their permitted champions, in the presence of a judge. It was introduced to England after the Norman Conquest and abolished in 1819) 4 Chasseur-cueilleurs 5 Croissance démographique / de la population 6 Graines, semences 7 Commerce 8 Élevage 9 Maladies (=illnesses) 10 Problèmes d’alimentation, famine 2   How did this Viking influence reach Great Britain? It occurred during the Norman Conquest in 1066 by William the Conqueror. Compared to the France, the civil law was very different to the Vikings’ law as the French law is Roman and Vikings’ law is Germanic. The roman law, over the years in Europe, moved to a Roman law mixed with local custom and traditional laws until the 18th century. The French law variated a lot and made this law very difficult to apply. However, law is very important in society as it defines the rules and social policy that regulates behavior in society. They made efforts to unify the law system in France but it had been unsuccessful until Napoleon who codified the Roman tradition law and putting this law in a structure to make it easier to apply. For Great Britain, later, the Trial by battle became the “Trial by ordeal”11 because King William was sending his members of the royal court out into the countryside and ask people what are their problems and try to solve them with divine intervention. But people disagree with this method so they changed it for the method of putting them on trial at the court. VI. Christopher Columbus 1492: Christopher Columbus discovered the America.  Who is Christopher Columbus? He was a pioneer. He was believing that the earth was a sphere, round in contrary to what they were thinking and observing at his time. He believed that because of two observations he made: the wind changes directions every six months (we call this discovery “the trade winds”) and, also, when you look at a boat in the far distance, it disappears from the horizon. If the earth was flat, with telescopic glasses we could see the boat, but this is not the case, the boat is not in our field of vision. It means that the earth has curves.  What did he discover? Columbus had plan to go to India but he reached America instead. A mistake that saved his life because if America was not there, he would have doomed him to death at sea12. It took three months to go to America and they were worried about their dwindling food supply13. They almost decided to abandoned and go back to Lisbon. As they landed, globalization was born. Globalization can have different definitions as it can be an improvement in communication or an improvement in transportations.  What happened when Europeans had contact with the people of Americas? They colonized the “New World” and imposed to the American Indians Spanish culture, language and religion/ Portuguese culture as well in other parts. Then they started to do agriculture, domestication, trade… But, over 90% of the population of Americas died as a result of exposure to these European illnesses which were the product of domestication and to which Americans were not exposed to (because they don’t have same animals). VII. European colonization of America 11 L’Ordalie qui consistait à soumettre un suspect à une épreuve, douloureuse voire potentiellement mortelle, dont l'issue, théoriquement déterminée par une divinité ou Dieu lui-même, permettait de conclure à la culpabilité ou à l’innocence dudit suspect. 12 Condamner à mourir en mer 13 Diminution des stocks de nourriture 3  The New World attracts the interest of Europeans and so, they went around it to colonized (thanks to good natural resources and a growing community that permitted to improve the technology of travelling). But actually, colonization went pretty easy because most of the American population died of European diseases just before. New Spain had the biggest territory. For British Empire, they had economic power hopes but they didn’t expect the managing problems of residents. VIII. Independence of America First of all, there is the demographic growth which is a long-term cause throughout the 18th century due to immigration, with the territory of the United States increasing from 300,000 inhabitants in 1700 to 2.5 million in 1770. Moreover, there was the victory of the Seven Years' War by the English (1756 - 1763), to whom the French had to cede most of their territories. In addition, England forced Spain, which had been allied with France, to cede Florida, which then extended to the Mississippi, and France to cede Louisiana. All these changes in colonization were at the expense of the Amerindian nations, which were very weakened14. England came out of the war very much in debt, for the monarch it was the colonists who had benefited most from the war, which is why it was the colonists who had to pay part of this debt through a new tax and stronger customs15 regulations. It was the expansion of the “Stamp Act” that particularly angered the colonists. (=a tax on mail that impact their literate culture). This new tax, not decided by the colonial assemblies, was against economic progress and the freedom of the colonies; some cried conspiracy against the well-being of the colonies. Little by little, the colonial opposition was to organize itself within the framework of Continental Congresses bringing together deputies from the 13 colonies and the idea of independence was to emerge. The American War of Independence broke out from 1775 to 1783 and from 1777 onwards involved other European powers including France. The colonists petitioned and refused to obey; they also launched boycotts of taxed goods, even resorting to violence against British officers. The first major episode in this escalation of violence was the 'Boston Massacre' in 1770, in which English soldiers killed five demonstrators16. The other major event was the "Tea Party" which also took place in December 1773 in Boston, where Bostonians curiously disguised as Indians boarded an English ship bringing back tea from the East India Company and threw the cargo of tea into the sea because it was unfair competition for American importers. The Treaty of Paris of 1783 recognized the independence of the United States of America, which had been declared on 4 July 1776 by the Continental Congress by Thomas Jefferson. American revolution served as a model for much of the world’s revolutions. The next one to break out is the French Revolution. Indeed, Jefferson’s declaration has an immediate impact on the French declaration of the rights of man and the citizen of 1789. Americans were not only thinking about gaining their independence, they were also thinking about being a nation stretching from Easter Seaboard of North America to the 14 Affaibli 15 Traditions, coutumes 16 Manifestants 4 Western seaboard, from sea to shining sea. They were planning on creating a continent size nation. This idea is for them a unique divine opportunity they don’t want to miss to show to the world that they can do self- governance. IX. Thomas Paine and the 13 colonies The British Thomas Paine practiced several trades before emigrating to America in 1774 on the advice of Benjamin Franklin whom he met in London. In 1775, Thomas Paine wrote his pamphlet "Common Sense" in which he defended the insurgent colonists and the idea of a democratic republic based on reason and the laws of nature. His book, which was a call for independence, helped convince George Washington and John Adams. It was Thomas Paine who proposed the name of the United States of America for the new republic. Thomas Paine was a friend and advisor to President Thomas Jefferson. He was an ardent defender of the republic and individual liberties and condemned slavery. He returned to England in 1787 and enthusiastically followed the French Revolution and defended it in 1791 in "The Rights of Man" where he made the apology. Thomas Paine said in his book that the 13 colonies had an excellent communication among themselves with a good trade with Great Britain and they had one of the highest literacy rates of the world at the time as they read a lot. These two particularities made the American Revolution successful. The good communication system: - The Pony express = They used horseback riders with horses waiting at especially the determined and established stations up and down the eastern seaboard of North America to make the movement of mail from one colony to the next very efficiently. A B C “Common Sense” main ideas: 1) It is ridiculous and against natural law for an island to rule over a continent. 2) It is unlikely that Europe will long be at peace... and whenever England is at war, America's economic ties with England will lead to the ruin of her trade17. 3) America is no longer 'a British nation': it is made up of influences from all the countries of Europe. 4) Even if Britain were America's original "mother country", its present actions are all the more dreadful, because no true mother would so deplorably harm18 her children. 5) Remaining British will drag19 America into unnecessary European wars and keep her out of the international trade in which she excels. 6) Society represents all that is good about humanity, government represents all that is bad about it. 17 Entraîner la ruine de son commerce 18 Nuire 19 Entrainer 5  7) The distance between the two nations creates a communication time lag20 of about a year for a round trip. If something went wrong with the government, one would have to wait a year for the solution from the metropolis. X. American mercantilism and trade The dominant school of economic thought is that the colonies supplied the mother country of agricultural products and purchased its manufactured goods. But the America broke from the purpose; from the prescripted three patterns, New England and New York developed an extensive illicit commerce with French Canada. They also opened a lucrative commerce with Dutch and French colonies in the West Indies selling food and other necessities and buying sugar more cheaply. They became champion of free trade.  How did that happen? How was it accomplished? Illicitly was made possible because Great Britain mercantilist policy had one exception with a the bacalao / cod fish. The cod was discovered off the coast of North America, in the Newfoundland where it is the greatest cod nursery with cold deep clear waters and discovered by the Basques. But because there was too much cod to sell to Britain, they ask to Americans to sell the rest wherever they could => This is the exception that permitted to trade illegally. XI. Independence for a new American philosophy First with eloquent debate over the US support for the Greek rebellion against Turkey in 1821. They have often disputed, wherever that mission could be, for the right of liberty and independence. “Create a society at home worthy of emulation or by active intervention” This is the origin of American foreign policy21. This time, the world history was special. Depending on the states of the nation, America’s position in the world and the proclivities of America’s leaders, the world has varied in their zeal, to spread the blessings of liberty. They have retained the sense of special virtue and unique destiny. The ideal of a providential mission has spurred a drive to do good in the world. It also undergirded the “Wilsonian dream of United States” as a world leader and a world reformed according to his principles at the end of the Second World War. And in the 21st century, the extension of freedom has even declared a US security for the survival of liberty. “The Best Hope for Peace in Our World Is the Expansion of Freedom in All the World” George W. Bush - 2005 But it also spawned22 arrogance and a sense of social superiority: the Mexicans who lost the third of their territories, the imposition of colonial rules on Filipinos and Puerto Ricans or the establishment of protectors throughout much of the Caribbean from an ill-fated23 with the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. XII. The US Constitution 20 Décalage horaire 21 Politique Étrangère 22 A engendré 23 Maudit, au destin tragique 6  The first one has been created at the same time as the declaration of independence. Each of the 13 colonies had separate charters and they had no relationship to one another. But to fight against the British crown, they decided to move from “Independent States of America” to “United States of America”. This first form of government was under a document referred to as the articles of Confederation. The reasons why this first government failed were the articles of the Confederation, there was no president, the legislature was of a single chamber, the fledging24 national government had no power to directly tax and no power to directly raise a military. The US Constitution was the second government of the United States of America. It has 3 branches of government: 1) Legislative branch with the Parliament and the American Congress which is the law-making branch 2) Executive branch with the President 3) Judicial branch at the Court It is also composed of 7 articles: 1) Article 1 describes the legislature 2) Article 2 describes the executive branch 3) Article 3 describes the judicial branch 4) Article 4 outlines the relations among the states and between each state and the federal government and it provides for such matters as admitting new states and border changes between the states. 5) Article 5 outlines the process for amending the Constitution. 6) Article 6 establishes the Constitution, and all federal laws and treaties of the United States made according to it, to be the supreme law of the land. 7) Article 7 describes the process for establishing the proposed new frame of government. XIII. The Right and his impact on world affairs, on international relations The impact of American revolution on the world is that it influences other countries / colonies to revolt as well. The American Revolution was the first one of the age of colonies to push back.  How was colonization possible? How one group of people dominated another one economically and militarily? The idea that skin color difference is a symbol of superiority or inferiority come from Europe and dominated world affairs, thinking that we had to bring civilization to these lesser developed people => It made so much damaged. There was a lot of remarkable figures in worlds affairs but usually they were racists. For example, the president Woodrow Wilson who his racist opinion influenced on his foreign policy25: An idealistic democrat, Thomas Woodrow Wilson broke with the American isolationist tradition. By intervening on the side of the Allies in 1917, the 28th president of the United States changed the course of the First World War, before becoming the promoter of a universal peace project. At the Peace Conference (January 1919), he imposed his "fourteen-point" program, based on the right of peoples to self-determination and collective security. But, if he was the creator of the League of Nations (SDN), he could not obtain the adhesion of his fellow citizens 24 Naissant 25 Politique étrangère 7 to it. He is also known because he minimized the Spanish flu and continued to send American soldier in France with this virus. Few months later he caught the Spanish flu. The reason why some populations are not at the same level of technology advance is because we don’t have the same resources and so evolve differently. The Spanish-American war (1898) was an armed conflict between Spain and the United States. Hostilities began in the aftermath26 of the internal explosion of USS Maine in Havana Harbor in Cuba, leading27 to U.S. intervention in the Cuban War of Independence. The war led to the U.S. emerging predominant in the Caribbean region, and resulted in U.S. acquisition of Spain's Pacific possessions. It led to U.S. involvement in the Philippine Revolution and later to the Philippine–American War. This war had a big impact on foreign policy for the United States. The USA didn’t like the idea of colonialism as they had been a victim of Great Britain but with this first war, they entered into the international arena and end up with colonies. This acquisition of colonies has often been viewed as accidents of history. She created a policy statement called the Monroe Doctrine that said to European powers to stay away from Latin-America. So, one by one, nations in Latin-America followed the American revolution model and began to fight for their independence. The Treaty of Paris ended the Spanish-American war and gave Cuba, Puerto Rico and Philippines to the USA. A new century in which America’s role will grow dramatically. Americans took greater notice of events abroad and more vigorously assertive28 themselves in the defense of perceived interests with the creation of ambassadors. XIV. The American Civil War The American Civil War had his origins in the very formation of United States of America itself because each of the 13 colonies were individuals, they were investments created by groups of investors in Great Britain. However, these colonies grew so much that the investors could not afford29 it anymore and became later individual entities. It is a civil war between 1861 and 1865 between the United States of America ("the Union"), led by Abraham Lincoln, and the Confederate States of America ("the Confederacy"), led by Jefferson Davis and comprising eleven southern states. The Union included all the abolitionist states and five slave "border" states and was led by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party. Lincoln was deeply opposed to slavery and wanted it abolished in U.S.-held territories30. XV. The American culture The Colombian exhibition in Chicago (1893) both symbolised and celebrated the nation’s coming of age, organised to commemorate the 400th anniversary from Columbus’s discovery of America, used to promote trade with South America and highlighted American technology and the mass American culture that would be the nation’s major export for the next century above all. It was a patriotic celebration of US achievements. The American culture come from all over the world as it is a nation of immigrants. The American culture is very different from other countries: they work more and harder but own a high salary. The cost of living is 26 Conséquences, séquelles 27 Leading / Led = mener, conduire à 28 S’affirmer 29 Assumer 30 Territoires occupés / tenus par 8 relatively high and do not have lot of vacations. Americans work for money and then spend it on shopping and mass consumption. It is a consumer culture. XVI. Colonization of Africa At first, Europeans couldn’t colonize Africa because they didn’t have the immunity of malaria. But in the 1820’s, they discovered a treatment against malaria with chemicals of tonic waters; so that made the colonization of Africa possible. The Scramble for Africa, also called the Partition of Africa, or the Conquest of Africa, was the invasion, occupation, division, and colonization of most of Africa by seven Western European powers during a short period known to historians as the New Imperialism (between 1881 and 1914). The Berlin Conference of 1884, which regulated European colonization and trade in Africa, is usually referred to as the starting point of the Scramble for Africa. There were considerable political rivalries31 among the European empires in the last quarter of the 19th century. Partitioning Africa was done without wars between European nations. The Scramble ended in 1914, it was this effort to revitalize their economies through this colonial effort that increased the tension among them. In order to legitimize the colonial enterprise, these tensions between the imperial powers led to a succession of crises which finally exploded in August 1914, in Sarajevo with the assassination of the archduke. 31 Rivalités 9