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History of International Relations
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Elaborate class notes of History of International Relations (which is also a summary of the handbook by Ringmar). Obtained 18/20.
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History of International Relations - Timeline
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History of international relations1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 3
1.1 WHY IS IT USEFUL FOR SOCIAL SCIENTISTS TO STUDY HISTORY? ...................................................................3
1.2 WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO LEARN IN THIS CLASS? WHAT PEOPLE, EVENTS, CONCEPTS OR PROCESSES DO
YOU EXPECT TO LEARN (MORE) ABOUT?.............................................................................................................6
1.3 HIR: HOW? .....................................................................................................................................................8
2. CHINA AND EAST ASIA ............................................................................................................................ 9
2.1 INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS CHINA? .................................................................................................................9
2.2 THE ‘WARRING STATES PERIOD’ ..................................................................................................................10
2.3 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHINESE STATE ...............................................................................................12
2.3.1 Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE)..........................................................................................................13
2.3.2 Tang dynasty (618-907 CE) ..................................................................................................................14
2.3.3 Song dynasty (960-1279) .....................................................................................................................14
2.3.4 Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) ...................................................................................................................15
2.3.5 Ming dynasty (1368-1644) ..................................................................................................................15
2.3.6 Qing dynasty (1644-1912) ...................................................................................................................16
2.4 THE OVERLAND SYSTEM ..............................................................................................................................17
2.5 THE TRIBUTE SYSTEM...................................................................................................................................18
3. INDIA AND INDIANIZATION................................................................................................................... 20
3.1 INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS INDIA? ................................................................................................................20
3.2 VEDIC INDIA .................................................................................................................................................21
3.3 CLASSICAL INDIA ..........................................................................................................................................24
3.3.1 The Mauryan empire ...........................................................................................................................24
3.3.2 The Gupta dynasty ...............................................................................................................................25
3.3.3 The Pala empire ...................................................................................................................................26
3.3.4 The Chola empire .................................................................................................................................26
3.4 INDIANIZATION ............................................................................................................................................27
3.5 THE MUGHAL EMPIRE ..................................................................................................................................28
3.6 INDIA AS AN INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM ........................................................................................................30
4. THE MUSLIM CALIPHATES ..................................................................................................................... 31
4.1 INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................................31
4.2 THE ARAB EXPANSION .................................................................................................................................32
4.3 THE UMAYYADS AND THE ABBASIDS ...........................................................................................................35
4.4 THE ARABS IN SPAIN ....................................................................................................................................37
4.5 AN INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF CALIPHATES .............................................................................................39
4.6 THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE ...............................................................................................................................40
5. THE MONGOL KHANATES ..................................................................................................................... 42
5.1 INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................................42
5.2 FROM TEMÜJIN TO GENGHIS KHAN ............................................................................................................43
5.3 A NOMADIC STATE .......................................................................................................................................44
5.4 HOW TO CONQUER THE WORLD .................................................................................................................46
5.5 DIVIDING IT ALL UP ......................................................................................................................................47
5.6 AN INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF KHANATES................................................................................................48
6. AFRICA ................................................................................................................................................. 51
6.1 INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................................51
6.2 THE NILE RIVER VALLEY ................................................................................................................................53
6.2.1 Pharaonic Egypt...................................................................................................................................53
6.2.2 The Kingdom of Nubia .........................................................................................................................54
6.2.3 The Aksumite Kingdom ........................................................................................................................54
6.3 THE KINGDOMS OF WEST AFRICA ................................................................................................................55
6.3.1 The Empire of Mali...............................................................................................................................55
6.3.2 The Yoruba people ...............................................................................................................................57
6.3.3 The Akan people ..................................................................................................................................57
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, 6.4 EAST AFRICA AND THE INDIAN OCEAN ........................................................................................................58
6.5 AN AFRICAN INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM? ......................................................................................................59
7. EUROPEAN EXPANSION ........................................................................................................................ 60
7.1 INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................................60
7.1.1 Endogenous .........................................................................................................................................61
7.1.2 Exogenous ............................................................................................................................................62
7.2 A SEA ROUTE TO INDIA.................................................................................................................................62
7.3 EUROPEANS IN THE “NEW WORLD” ............................................................................................................63
7.4 A COMMERCIAL WORLD ECONOMY ............................................................................................................65
7.4.1 The Portuguese ....................................................................................................................................65
7.4.2 The Spaniards ......................................................................................................................................65
7.4.3 The Dutch .............................................................................................................................................65
7.4.4 Early bout of decolonization ................................................................................................................66
7.5 AN INDUSTRIAL WORLD ECONOMY.............................................................................................................66
7.6 THE APOTHEOSIS OF COLONIALISM ............................................................................................................68
8. BELGIAN COLONIALISM ........................................................................................................................ 70
8.1 CONCEPTUALIZING COLONIALISM ..............................................................................................................70
8.1.1 General understanding of colonialism.................................................................................................70
8.1.2 Modern European colonialism.............................................................................................................70
8.2 PROLOGUE ...................................................................................................................................................71
8.3 CONGO FREE STATE (1884-1908) .................................................................................................................73
8.3.1 Introduction to CFS ..............................................................................................................................73
8.3.2 CFS as a colony ....................................................................................................................................75
8.3.3 Economic exploitation .........................................................................................................................76
8.4 BELGIAN CONGO (1908-1960) .....................................................................................................................79
8.5 RUANDA-URUNDI (1916-1962)....................................................................................................................81
8.6 EPILOGUE .....................................................................................................................................................81
9. GLOBAL GOVERNANCE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY ........................................................................... 84
9.1 THE ‘SYSTEM OF SOVEREIGN STATES’..........................................................................................................84
9.2 19TH CENTURY.............................................................................................................................................87
9.1.1 Revolutionary upheaval and diplomatic restoration ...........................................................................87
9.1.2 The disintegration of the Concert system ............................................................................................90
10. THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS AND ITS ‘FAILURE’ ....................................................................................... 92
10.1 THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS: ORIGINS...........................................................................................................93
10.2 THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS: ORGANIZATIONAL FORM ................................................................................96
10.3 THE ‘FAILURE’ OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS..............................................................................................97
11. THE UNITED NATIONS AND DECOLONIZATION ................................................................................... 100
11.1 INTRODUCTION: THE SECOND WORLD WAR ...........................................................................................100
11.2 THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE UNITED NATIONS......................................................................................101
11.3 HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE U.N. CHARTER ....................................................................................................105
11.4 DECOLONIZATION AND THE BANDUNG CONFERENCE ............................................................................106
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, 1. INTRODUCTION
Questions that are going to be answered:
- Why are we studying HIR (especially in a social science program including a history class)?
- What will we be studying in HIR? The HIR extends way back in time, about 10 000 years and
we have little time to cover it all (36 hours).
How are we going to organize HIR? Diplomatic history? Particularly events and why these
came about, how they unfolded… Influence of different acts, politicians, diplomats on these
different events, in a historic setting? This is one option, but not what we are going to do. We
are going to look at a comparative history of international society/systems.
- How will these classes look like? What does the course material imply? How will we be
evaluated?
1.1 WHY IS IT USEFUL FOR SOCIAL SCIENTISTS TO STUDY HISTORY?
One obvious answer that is not the answer prof is looking for: if you want to be a rounded person, a
grown up with an intellectual identity, you should simply be acquainted with various aspects of history.
There was a famous German philosopher, Karl Jaspers, and he wrote a book in the 1950-60 about the
unity and structure of world history. One of the observations was that if you want to claim to the
outside world that you’re an intellectual of kinds, a well-educated person, you should be familiar with
at least 3000 years of world history. You should know what is particular about the situation you find
yourself in and what is universal. What is new and what is recuring.
Prof is looking for a more pragmatic answer. (input of students)
- History repeats itself for a certain extent, there are patterns, and it is good to be prepared for
what will unfold. This is a well-known argument, but it is also an argument that has been
debated a lot. Some say that history does not repeat itself, because circumstances are never
the same, so it always differs.
- Through time people, societies develop habits. The notion of habits imply the idea of history.
A disposition developed over time. Once it has been developed it is difficult to shake it off. You
could say it is similar with how political decisions are being made. If particular societies are in
the habit to take recourse to the use of force, it will likely happen again, because it is part of
their identity. Isn’t it overly deterministic? Are political communities really comparable to
individuals? Does the notion of a collective habit really have a determining influence on
collectivities like an individual habit does on indis? It is something to be aware about. Typically
these arguments apply to particular actors eg. Russia.
- Understanding where things come from. If you want to understand why in the security council
there is the permanent 5 who can veto actions, why we ended up with this institution, who
has a lot of influence on how the UN works, you have to understand the historical genesis of
the institution. Why this was the outcome of negotiation in 1945 about the form of the UN.
It’s important so you wouldn’t be naïve about the world you are in. So you have some
understanding.
- Students of social science have political awareness, convinced by certain political programs.
HIR can help you take a step back from your preconceptions. One of the ways to question your
preconceptions is by learning about history. Often we are quite convinced about the ideas we
hold, studying history can help you to develop a more round understanding of those ideas.
3
, There are at least 4 reasons.
1. Historical legacies
The idea of a habit or a predisposition that has developed overtime. Particular societies, because
of the sum of the particular experienced they had, developed particular identities. It is sometimes
called habitus. The difference between a habit and a habitus: a habitus is more deterministic (hard
to shake it off), a habitus is more a disposition. Ppl make this argument, that communities have
this habitus.
Eg. Post-communist societies. What does this notion entail? Not just societies that have left
behind communism. No the idea is that because they were once communist societies, this lingers
in present day. They are affected by that past, it ways on them as a burden. If you go to these
societies and you observe the relation between government and citizens, there is a big element
of distrust. This is a clear legacy of the post-communism.
Eg. Post-colonial (diplomatic) relations. There is a temporal component. Once upon a time one
country colonized the other like Belgium-Congo. However, when you designate that relationship,
you imply that their shared colonial history still has an impact on their diplomatic relationship.
Typically one of the arguments is that the attitudes developed in colonial times linger in the
present day.
You cannot understand the present day if you do not know that history.
2. The politics of historical memories
People today remember history. When you speak about historical legacies whether people
remember that past or not, because it simply weighs down on them, whether they know it or not.
It is different with historical memories, because these are deliberate. Deliberate
engagement/appropriation of stuff that happened in the past. These kinds of memories are often
politicized. Used in political projects.
Eg. In Russian policy claims vis a vis Kiev, Russian foreign policy elites/historians invoke history a
lot. They argue that Kiev belongs naturally to a Russian sphere of influence, because once upon a
time Kiev was the birthplace of Russian polity. Russia has its birthplace in Kiev. It is a fact that is
being singled out and used as a justification for the behavior Russia shows in Ukraine. Very often
political actors will make use of history and manipulate it.
Eg. Same thing with Bulgaria and Northern Macedonia. Bulgaria is blocking the potential access of
NM to the EU. They claim that the Northern Macedonian language is the same as Bulgarian and
NM’s claim it is different. They put out documents by both B and NM academy of science and both
have historical analyses about language. Both sides are saying the other side is manipulating
history, it is false or at least incomplete. They ue history to back up their political projects.
→ Cf. Text Asmann: one of the observations made in the text is that there is a fundamental difference
between individual memories and collective memories. Political memories are a form of collective
memories. The difference between indi-coll trace back to no longer than 3 generations. As an indi you
cannot remember things directly further back than your age, but still you share in the memory of 3
generations. It is different with collective memories, esp political. These can go back into the past
much further. Typically brave moments have to be available. There has to be knowledge of that event
somewhere.
Cultural memory, another form of collective memory, is very diffused, but is in our current time and
state of technology almost endless. We can potentially remember everything. There is information
about the whole of human history and it continues to grow in our museums, libraries, etc. Not all of
that info is politically relevant. The pool of potential political memories has to be activated. Memory
activists don’t have to be politicians or diplomats, but have to be politically involved. Eg. Decononial-
activist: you’ll read up ab colonial history, the fight against it, you start activating it. It doesn’t mean
that you push for a certain memory, but it also means that you try to make them relevant.
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