This course helps you understand the underlying assumptions that shape foreign policy and statecraft more broadly,
assumptions about how the world functions, about the role of the state, about how states are ought to respond to changes in
the international order, and about how the behaviour of the states might be conditioned by trade, institutions, values, and so
forth. You will be challenged to identify theoretical arguments in important publications, to test them and to embed them
into your own thinking. Because that is the end goal: to use theory to enrich your thinking about world politics.
As a student with the ambition to lead or to study leadership, you must be conscious that even your thinking is and will be
shaped by implicit assumptions, to continue to reflect upon them, and to continuously ask yourself the question: Am I right
in thinking this or are their other ways to look at the problem? This should not lead to indecision, but to strengthen your
capacity to judge. Furthermore, it will help you understand the opinions and the behaviour of others.
This course challenges you to discover theory, to learn to understand it, to discuss it, and, most importantly, to use it.
Building on history of international relations, you will have to work more independently in reading and interpreting different
texts. We will continue to pursue interaction
▪ The students have a thorough knowledge of the key concepts and theories of international relations and statecraft.
▪ They can illustrate the key assumptions and arguments in the discipline through historical and contemporary
examples of international political events and processes.
▪ They are familiar with the major world political issues.
▪ They have the capacity to critically analyse and evaluate publications in the field of international relations.
▪ They have the theoretical knowledge which offers them a fundamental insight into the mechanisms and dynamics
of international politics and statecraft and as such offers them the analytical tools for the further study of
international relations and/or dealing with international politics in their professional lives
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,We benefit from the concentration of power (in the West) → no one could really challenge it, but now a lot of fragmentation
▪ Multipolarity would lead to greater interest and this leads to institutions like the UN
▪ World history teaches us that cooperation is not the main instinct, they would be more inclined to build regional
spheres of influence
► E.g. Ukraine → never thought that this would happen
► E.g. Gaza (Palestine): displeasure shown by the people, does not change anything in Israel
▪ We want to go back to the time where soft power and relations could make the world a better place, but also the
fact that it isn’t possible
▪ We must enable this stability in this course, the capacity to play a role in more practical terms
▪ State = main polity
▪ Even international organisations use strong states
▪ States will remain important → phenomenon transpires itself throughout history, although there are different
manifestations
► The state as an organising unit will always exist, and has always existed
▪ History gives a lot of examples and patterns of societies
▪ Bad governance, neglect of the economy of the state, imperial ignorance, war on terror…
▪ Reading history is like a treasure of examples, experiences, that allows us to better understand the world of today
and avoid mistakes from the past
▪ Prehistoric sources: rock carvings show their ideals (harmony, peace, farmer, mother, and child …), but also conflict
and violence
► The deeper we go back in history, the more straightforward society becomes
▪ The ideals throughout history have been consistent: harmony, prosperity, but also violence → there exists balance
▪ Egyptian house: the way people conceptualise their view about society → why? Private sphere, to protect,
affirmation of the world view of a competitive world, they are fearful
► People want to have liberty and converse with others, but they also want security for their private sphere
▪ Manifestations that want the same things: Mahabharata, Epic of Gilgamesh …
The last 30 years we saw in the West, globalisation
▪ Globalisation: trade broadening, states surrendering to trade (capital) → they broke down the “walls”
▪ Today we see it blackening like protectionism (Trump) → they want a correction
▪ Age of opening to an Age of Closing → Age of Globalisation to an Age of Deglobalisation
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,Epic of Gilgamesh: the recklessness of power
▪ The quality of a good king takes care of agriculture, digs wells…
▪ “There is no rival who can raise his weapon against him.” “He builds walls that gleam like copper.”
▪ Gilgamesh is a prince, who gets along with Ankido, but he dies and the prince feels remorse and starts thinking and
contemplating → starts to build walls, reservoirs, agriculture
The Old Testament:
▪ Patriotism: “Israelites as chosen people.”
▪ Fear: small states vs Empires (Egypt/ Assyria)
▪ Book of Deuteronomy Prosperity through farming and trade
▪ Book of Judges: difficulties of preserving internal strength. Chaos > strong kings > chaos
"When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall offer it terms of peace. If it agrees to make peace with you and
opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labour and shall serve you.”
Numerical Discourses of the Buddha:” He is rich, with great wealth and property, with full treasuries and storerooms. He
is powerful, possessing an army of four divisions that is obedient and compliant to his commands. His counsellor is wise,
competent, and intelligent, able to consider benefits pertaining to the past, future, and present.”
▪ The Quran: Inside the Umma: justice should prevail: “Do not wrongfully consume each other’s wealth . . . Do not
kill each other . . . If any of you does these things, out of hostility and injustice, We shall make him suffer Fire.”
▪ Outside the Umma: “So if they neither withdraw, nor offer your peace, nor restrain themselves from fighting you,
seize and kill them wherever you encounter them.”
al-Shaybani: Introduction to the Law of Nations. Those refusing to accept the teachings of Islam should be fought by
any means, and killed, pillaged, or enslaved, But al-Shaybani also showed a degree of pragmatism, accepting that in certain
circumstances peace treaties could be negotiated with the peoples of the Dar al-Harb, their merchants and envoys granted
safe conduct, and trade conducted with them.
al-Mawardi: Ordinances of Government:
▪ Priority is defence: caliph’s primary duty is to protect the lands of the believers
▪ “There is no benefit to a leaderless people when disorder reigns, and they will never have a leader if the ignorant
amongst them leads.”
▪ Cross pollination: when the ignorant rule you have a problem
Once order has been achieved > obligations of jihad > Opponents could sue for peace: Their lands would then become part
of the house of conciliation or Dar al-Sulh. “It is not permitted to resume the jihad against them as long as they make the
payments.”
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, King Cheng of Zhou: Heavenly Mandate (Tian Ming) → prosperity and harmony
▪ Tranquillizing king: “Make pliable (plooibaar) those distant and make capable those nearby. Pacify and encourage
the many countries, small and large.”
▪ China as the Middle Kingdom
Spring and Autumn Annals: “Envoys rush along the roads in such haste that the hubs of their carriage wheels bumped
against each other. Bound by each other by means of conversations, they form alliances, specious ministers in collusion
cleverly gloss their artful schemes. The code of laws is in order, but the many people act falsely. The official documents are
numerous but obscure. The hundred families are in want. There are arguments by scholars in their strange dress, but wars
do not cease.”
“And thus, the states are kept quiet and do service to the great powers, securing their own preservation and escaping ruin.
The lawless are kept in awe and accomplished virtue is displayed.”
→ Strong states do as they wish (survival of the fittest)
Sun Tzu: “The art of war”
▪ The art of war is of vital importance to the State
▪ Five constant factors: Moral law, heaven, earth, leadership, organization, and discipline.
▪ All warfare is based on deception.
▪ Contributing to maintain an army at a distance causes the people to be impoverished
Confucius:” Analects”
▪ Harmony through hierarchy
Lao Tzu
▪ ” Where armies are, thorns and brambles grow.”
Guan Zhong: “When talk of universal love prevails, the troops will not fight . . . knights who are skilled in archery and
charioteering and who possess courage and strength will go abroad. How will we be able to avoid attacks from others?...
The preservation of territory depends on walls; the preservation of walls depends on arms. The preservation of arms depends
on men, and the preservation of men depends on grain.’
Shang Yang: wants the male population to be fighters
▪ Statecraft: “promoting farming and confining trade”
▪ Military power: “He who succeeds in making people delight in war, attains supremacy.” … vs.
▪ Confucian thinkers: “Generally, war is a thing that people hate: The north sea has running horses and barking dogs.
The south sea has feathers, plumes, elephant tusks, rhinoceros hides, copper, and cinnabar . . . The eastern sea has
purple-dye plants, white silks, fish, and salt . . . The western sea has skins, hides, and patterned yak tails
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