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Summary International Relations: Assigned readings part 1 (IR)
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Notes of the assigned readings of Part 1 of the 1st year course International Relations
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INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - ASSIGNED READING NOTESWeek 1:
Chapter 1 (J, S, M) - Why Study IR?
Introduction to the historical and social basis of IR. The aim is to emphasise the practical reality of IR
in our everyday lives and connect the practical reality with the academic study of IR. The chapter
makes this connection by focusing on the core historical subject matter of IR: modern sovereign states
and the international relations of the state system.
Three main topics of chapter:
1. The significance of IR in everyday life and the main values that states exist to foster
2. The historical evolution of the state system and world economy
3. The changing contemporary world of states.
International Relations in Everyday Life
IR can be defined as the study of relationships and interactions between countries, including the
activities and policies of national governments, international organisations (IGOs), nongovernmental
organisations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs).
- Can be both a theoretical subject and practical policy
- Academic approaches to IR can be empirical, normative or both
- IR is often considered a branch of PoliSci (also subject studied by historians and economists,
in legal studies and philosophy)
- From the broader perspective IR clearly is an interdisciplinary inquiry
- Aspects have been scrutinized and remarked upon at least since the time of the ancient Greek
historian Thucydides
- IR only became a proper academic discipline in the 20th century
- Main reason why we should study IR is that the entire population is divided into separate
political communities or independent states, which profoundly affect ways people live
- Independent nation or State = an unambiguous and bordered territory, with a permanent
population, under the jurisdiction
- Together they form an international state system that is global in extent
- At present time – almost 200 independent states
- States are legally independent of each other (they have sovereignty)
- The international state system is the core subject of IR
- States are usually embedded in international markets that affect the policies of their
governments and the wealth and welfare of their citizens
- When states are isolated and cut off from the state system, either by their own government or
by foreign powers, the people usually suffer as a result (e.g. Myanmar, Libya, North Korea,
Iraq, Iran, and Syria)
- State system is a distinctive way of organizing political life on earth and has deep historical
roots
- Study of IR dates to early modern era (16th and 17th centuries) in Europe
, - Ever since the 18th century – relations between independent states started to be labeled as
“international relations”
- State system was initially European, then western
- In the 19th and 20th centuries the state system was expanded to encompass the entire earth
- To understand the significance of IR it is necessary to understand what living in sates involves
There are at least five basic social values that states are expected to uphold:
1. Security
2. Freedom
3. Oder
4. Justice
5. Welfare
- These five values are so fundamental to us that they must be protected in some way
o Through social organizations other than the state
➔ Families
➔ Clans
➔ Ethnic or religious organizations
➔ Villages
➔ Cities
- In the modern era the state has usually been involved as the leading institution in that
regard: it is expected to ensure these basic values
o e.g., people generally assume the state to underwrite the value of security, which
involves the protection of citizens from internal and external threat
- The very existence of independent states affects the value of security
- We live in a world of many states, almost all of which are armed at least to some degree
and some of which are major military powers. Thus, states can both defend and threaten
people’s se-curity, and that paradox of the state system is usually referred to as the
‘security dilemma’. In other words, just like any other human organization, states present
problems as well as provide solutions.
- Military power is usually considered a necessity so that states can coexist
- Many states enter alliances with others to increase their national security
Basic Values of IR
Security:
- One of the most fundamental values
- That approach to the study of world politics is typical of realist theories of IR
- Operates on the assumption that relations between states can be best characterized as a
world in which armed states are competing rivals and periodically go to war with each
other
Freedom:
- Both personal and national freedom or independence
, - A fundamental reason for having states and putting up with the burdens that governments
place on citizens, such as taxes or obligations of military service, is the condition of
national freedom
- We cannot be free unless our country is free too
- Peace fosters freedom and makes progressive international change possible
- That approach to the study of world politics is typical of liberal theories of IR
- Operates on the assumption that IR can be best characterized as a world in which states
cooperate to maintain peace and freedom and to pursue progressive change.
Order and Justice:
- Sates have a common interest in establishing and maintaining international order so that
they can coexist and interact of a basis of stability certainty and predictability.
- States are expected to uphold international law
- States are expected to follow accepted practices of diplomacy
- States are expected to uphold human rights
- International law, diplomatic relations, and international organizations can only exist and
operate successfully if these expectations are generally met by most states most of the
time
- That approach to the study of world politics is typical of International Society theories
of IR
- Operates on the assumption that international relations can best be characterized as a
world in which states are socially responsible actors and have a common interest in
preserving international order and promoting international justice.
Socioeconomic wealth and welfare:
- People expect their government to adopt appropriate policies to encourage high
employment, low inflation, steady investment etc.
- National economies are rarely isolated – people expect that the state will respond to the
international economic system to enhance the national standard of living
- Most states today try to implement economic policies that maintain stability of
international economy upon which they are dependent
- Economic interdependence, meaning a high degree of mutual economic dependence
among countries, is a striking feature of the contemporary state system
o Pro: may increase overall freedom and wealth by expand- ing the global
marketplace, thereby increasing participation, specialization, efficiency, and
productivity.
o Con: may promote overall in- equality by allowing rich and powerful countries, or
countries with financial or technolog- ical advantages, to dominate poor and weak
countries which lack those advantages
- hat approach to the study of world politics is typical of IPE (International Political
Economy) theories of IR
- Operates on the as- sumption that international relations can best be characterized as a
fundamentally socioeco- nomic world and not merely a political and military world.
Moments that heightened awareness for these major values:
- WW1
, - WW2
- Great Depression
Theories Focus
Realism Security
Power politics, conflict, and war
Liberalism Freedom
Cooperation, peace, and progress
International Society Order and Justice
Shared interests, rules and institutions
IPE theories Welfare
Wealth, poverty, and equality
Traditional View Alternative or Revisionist View
States are valuable and necessary institutions: States and the state system are social choices
they provide security, freedom, order, justice, that create more problems than they solve
and welfare
The majority of the world’s people suffer more
People benefit from the state system than they benefit from the state system
Brief Historical Sketch of the State System
- States and state systems are basic features of modern political life
o Makes it easy to assume that they are permanent and always present – which is
false – it is important to emphasize that the state system is a historical institution
- The state can be seen as a social organization – like all social organizations the state
system has pros and cons which change over time
- There is nothing about the state system that is needed for human existence
- Even though world politics is in flux, states and state systems have always managed to
adapt to change
The Roman Empire
- Began as a city state in central Italy
- Over centuries the city expanded into an empire larger than any which had existed in that
area before
- Laid the foundations of European civilizations
- Rome helped shape European and contemporary practice and opinion about the state,
about international law and about empire and the nature of imperial authority
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