International Relations Theory
Nemzetközi Politika Elmélet - 2008. szeptember 16.A mai modern államrendszer kialakulásaGyörgy László
egyetemi tanársegédBME GTK, Pénzügyek Tanszék, Gazdaságpolitika és Gazdaságtörténet Szakcsoport
1. Why study IR?2. What is IR all about?3. Brief historical sketch of the state system.4. Characteristics of statehood5. Do states survive?
1. Why study IR?2. What is IR all about?3. Brief historical sketch of the state system4. Characteristics of statehood5. Do states survive?
1. Why study IR?2. What is IR all about?3. Brief historical sketch of the state system4. Characteristics of statehood5. Do states survive?
What is a THEORY?
Karl Popper: what shall we expect from a theory?
1.Describe the empirical world2.Explain3.Prognose4.Advise decision maker to political action
+1. Only that can be true that is confutable. (Karl Popper)
What if it is not confutable?Then it is not a theory it is an ideology.
Why Not Only One Theory?
Politics is about ensuring and prioritizing social values that we (citizens) think importantSecurityFreedomOrder JusticeWelfare
Policy: contentPolitics: processPolity: rules of political action
Because of politics... because of the human factor...
Politics as the art of power
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2
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Definition
Sovereignity/sovereign state: As applied to a state, sovereignty includes both ultimate internal authority and external recognition. Internally, a state is sovereign when it exercises supreme authority over the affairs and people within its territory; Externally, a state is sovereign when it is recognized as such by the international community, i.e., its territorial integrity and internal sovereignty are respected and upheld. Presently, the greatest threat to sovereignty is the rise in prominence of IGOs, NGOs and the global economy (and globalization in general), all of which increase state interdependence and accountability.
What is IR All About?
State A
Society A
State B
Society B
International Organizations
CitizensNGOsCompanies etc.
UN, WTO, IMF, World Bank, EU, NATO, ASEAN, NGOs etc.
State
State
What is IR All About?
Government
Society
MNC, TNC
International organization, NGO
How Would You Prioritize These Values?
FOCUS
Security
Freedom
Order and justice
Welfare, socioeconomic justice
FOCUS
Security (‘security dilemma’, national security)power politics, conflict and warFreedomcooperation, peace and progress
Order and justiceshared interests, rules and institutions
Welfarewealth, poverty and equality, management of domestic and international economy
IR Values and Theories
THEORIES
Realism
Liberalism
International Society
IPE theories (structuralism)
Definition
Security dilemma: An important paradox inherent in the state system. A fundamental reason for the existence of states is to provide their citizens with security from internal and external threats; however, the existence of these armed states threatens the very security they are expected to maintain.
Definition
National security: The policies employed and the actions undertaken by a state to counter real or potential internal and external threats and to ensure the safety of its citizens. This is one of the fundamental responsibilities of the state to its people, and the fundamental state responsibility according to the Realist view of IR. Before the advent of the state and the state system, security was provided by family, clan, warlord or another locally-based entity; this responsibility, among others, was gradually transferred to the state.
Historical Turning Points, Challenges and Preferences
Turning point Challenge and/or value
World War I peace (international system based on values)
Great Depression welfare
Word War II peace (international system based on values and backed by
force)The Cuban missile crisis (1962) national security
The anti-colonial movements in Asia and Africa (‘50s, ‘60s) and the secessionist movements in the former Soviet Union
freedom, sovereignity, political independence, self-determination
The global inflation of the ‘70s and ‘80s interconnectedness of the global economy and welfare
Conflicts in the Balkans (1992-5, 1999) international order and human rights
Attacks on NYC (2001) security and terrorism
Views of the State
Traditional view Alternative view
States are valuable institutions: they provide security, freedom, order, justice and welfarePeople benefit from state systemThe standards of values have steadily increased and are now higher than ever due to the well-functioning state system
States and the state system create more problem that they solveThe majority of the world’s people suffer more than they benefit from the state system(sub-Saharan Africa etc.)
1. Why study IR?2. What is IR all about?3. Brief historical sketch of the state system.4. Characteristics of statehood5. Do states survive?
Brief Historical Sketch of the State System
States are not permanent featuresState is a historical institution and a social organization with ever changing advantages and disadvantagesThere where no clearly recognizable sovereign states before the sixteenth century and in the future the world may not be organized into a state system eitherThe era of sovereign state coincides with the modern age of expanding power, prosperity, knowledge, science, technology, literacy, urbanization, citizenship, freedom, equality, rights and so on (the causality in the correlation is not so clear)
Starting Point
First territory-based political communities: 5000 years agoNo frontiers, but so called zone of political proximity which caused group contact that involved from the one hand rivalry from the other mutual respect and cooperationDiplomacy’s ancient roots:
First recorded formal agreements: 1390 BCQuasi-diplomatic activity: 653 BC
Preliminary definition of state system: relations between politically organized human groupings which occupy distinctive territories, are not under any higher authority or power, and enjoy and exercise a measure of independence from each other
City-states and Empires
500 BC - 100 BC Greek city-states Based on shared language and common religion*
200 BC - AD 500 Roman Empire Subordinating occupied political communities
500 - 1500 Catolic Christendom: the Pope in Rome
Two politico-reigious empiresMedieval Christian
world
Orthodox Christendom:
Byzantine Empire, Constantinople
Other historical empires Persia, India, China Islamic civilization and the oldest empire: China
Middle Ages: an era of empires and their relations and conflictsIntermittent contact: slow communication, transportation
The Christian Commonwealth of Medieval Europe
RELIGIOUS HIERARCHY POLITICAL HIERARCHYPope Emperor
Archbishops, bishopsand other leading clergy
Kings and other semi-independent national rulers
Priests and othercommon clergy
Ordinary christians
Barons and other semi-independent local rulers
Common people of numerous local communities
Medieval and Modern AuthorityDispersed medieval authority
(no sovereignity)Centralized modern authorithy
(sovereignity)
Pope Emperor
King
Baron
Knight
People
Priest
Bishop
Archbishop
Government
People
SecurityFreedomOrderJusticeWelfare
Security
Security
Freedom (of feudal rulers and their followers)
Order (limited capacity to enforce)
Justice (highly unequal)
Welfare (is connected to security“we protect you...”)
Sovereignity/Sovereign State (central term of IR)
Ultimate internal authoritySupreme authority over the affairs and people within a territory
External recognitionBy other states and/or international organizations
Monopoly of the means of warfare
The Thirty Years War (1618-48) and the Peace of Vestphalia
Richelieu and the raison d’etat Establishment of the state system1. Adjoining states whose legitimacy and
independence was mutually recognized2. Recognition of states did not extend outside of the
European state system3. The relations of European states were subject to
international law and diplomatic practices4. Balance of power to prevent hegemony
Definition
Hegemony: in IR a concept referring to a state’s power relative to that of other states. A state may be considered a hegemon if it is so powerful economically and militarily that it is a dominant influence on the domestic and foreign policies of other states. Depending on its level of power, a state may be a regional hegemon (e.g., Germany immediately prior to and during World War II) or a global hegemon (e.g., many agree, the United States in the late 20th and early 21st centuries).
Balance of Power in Practice
Hegemonic attempts Balance of power counteractions
Habsburg Empire (1618-48) France and Sweden
King Louis XIV (1661-1714) England and Holland
Napoleon (1795-1815) Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria
1815-1914 The Concert of Europe based on the Vienna Congress
Germany (1939-45) USA, Soviet Union and Britain
United States (1990-) ?
Imperialism
1.Expedient alliances with non-European political systems
2.Conquered and subordinated the non-European political systems where they could
3.Colonies became a basic source of the wealth and power of the European states for several centuries...
4.“Settler states” became a member of the state system5.There were no interest to incorporate non-European
political systems into the European state system based on equal sovereignity
Global Expansion of the State System
1600s Europe (European system)
1700s + North America (Western System)
1800s + South America, Japan (globalizing system)
1900s + Asia, Africa, Caribbean, Pacific (global system)
End of 1900s End of the Cold War, dissolution of the Soviet Union
UN enlargement21st century: a global system that has never been so diverse before
1. Why study IR?2. What is IR all about?3. Brief historical sketch of the state system4. Characteristics of statehood5. Do states survive?
How to Describe State?
The state is a multifaceted and somewhat confusing entityEach theoretical approach emphasizes different featuresInternal aspect and external aspect of statehood
Internal and External Aspect of State
Internal aspect (state as government)
External aspect(state as country)
State-society relations:how the government rules the domestic society*the means of its power and the sources of its legitimacy**how it deals with the demands and concerns of individuals and groups which compose the domestic society***how it manages the national economy****what its domestic policies are
Interstate relations:how the governments and societies of states relate to each other*what the basis of those interstate relations are**what the foreign policies of particular states arewhat the international organizations of the states arehow people from different states interact with each other and engage in transactions with each other
External Dimension of StatehoodState as a country
Territory, government, societyLegal, juridical statehood
Recognition by othersConstitutional independence
Actual empirical statehood Political institutions, economic basis,
national unity
Definition
Empirical statehood: Part of the external basis of a state's sovereignty; the extent to which a state fulfills its role as a substantial political-economic organization. A successful state in terms of empirical statehood has developed efficient political institutions, a solid economic basis, and a substantial degree of national unity (internal popular support for the state).
State Types in the Global State System
Legal, juridical statehood?
Actual empirical
statehood?
Strong states: US, Denmark, Japan, France,
etc.
Taiwan, Chechyna,
Quebec, etc.
Quasi-states: Somalia, Liberia,
Sudan, etc.
Definition
Quasi-state: A state that possesses juridical statehood but is severely deficient in empirical statehood. A large number of states in the Third World can be defined this way: they are recognized as states and participate in the state system, but they have weak or corrupt political institutions, underdeveloped economies, and little or no national unity (E.g. Somalia, Liberia, Sudan)
Power/strongness Matrix
STRONG POWER WEAK POWER
STRONG STATE USA, France, UK, Japan Denmark, Switzerland, New Zealand, Singapore
WEAK STATE Russia, Pakistan, India Somalia, Liberia, Chad
The Global State System
5 great powers: US, Russia, China, Britain, France
Approx. 30 highly substantial states: Europe, N. America, Japan
Approx. 75 moderately substantial states: Europe, Asia and Latin America
Approx. 90 less substantial quasi-states: Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Pacific
Numerous unrecognized territorial political systems submerged in exsisting states
How Do Scolars View the State System?
Realist Focus on major powers, great powers
LiberalFocus on the adverse conditions of quasi-states as a serious problem which raises issues of international
order, freedom and justiceInternational Society
IPE (Structuralist)
Focus on the international linkages between the poverty of the Third World and the enrichment of America and
EuropeUnequal relations between the centre and the periphery
Does it Make Difference Being a Colony or a Weak State?
Previous state system Present state system
Small core of insiders, all strong statesMany outsiders: colonies, dependencies, etc.
Virtually all states are recognized insiders, possessing formal or juridicial statehoodBig differences between insiders: some strong states, some weak quasi-states
Future of the State System
Pros Contras
State system survived through:Scientific revolution of 17th centuryEnlightenmentencounter of Western and non-Western civilizationsimperialism, colonialismIndustrial Revolutionrise and spread of nationalismdecolonizationmass public educationgrowth of welfare state
State system is facing the following challenges:ever increasing international trade and investmentexpanding multinational business activitycontinuous downsizing of governmentsincreased privatizationNGOs activitiesincreasing communications (growth of Internet)cumulative environmental pollutionregional integrationscience and technology development