First chapter summary of Robert Jackson, Georg Sørensen - Introduction to International Relations Theories and Approaches (2013, Oxford University Press)
Complete summary of the lectures for part II with notes
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˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ International｡˚Relations Notes ˚ ༘♡ ⋆
Jackson et.al. “Intro to IR”
┊͙ ˘͈ᵕ˘͈Chapter 1
IR: International Relation; the study of relationships and interactions between countries, including the
activities and policies of national governments, international organizations (iGOs), nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs).
Most fundamental values for IR: peace, freedom, progressive change
Different approaches to IR:
1. International society theories of IR: IR can be best characterized as a world in which states are
socially responsible actors and have a common interest in preserving international order and
promoting justice
2. Realist theories of IR: relation of states can best be characterized as a world in which armed states
are competing rivals and periodically go to war with each other
3. International Political Economy (IPE): IR can be best characterized as a fundamentally
socioeconomic world and not merely a political and military world
4. Liberalism: state as a way to uphold freedom, cooperation, peace and progress
- Independent nation = sovereign state; an ambiguous and bordered territory with a permanent
population, under the jurisdiction of supreme government that is constitutionally separate from all
foreign governments
- International state system (global in extent): states together form it
- The state system; a distinctive way of organizing political life on earth and has deep historical
roots
- 5 social values that the state is usually expected to uphold: security, freedom, order, justice,
welfare
, - Security dilemma: a paradox because states can both defend and threaten people’s security
- National security: some states can be hostile and aggressive as there is no world government to
constrain them, therefore military power or some kind of armed forces are necessary
- It is necessary to uphold a balance of military power to ensure security
- States are expected to uphold international law, follow expected practices of diplomacy, support
international organizations, uphold human rights
- Economic interdependence is a striking feature of the contemporary state system
- The medieval era was full of conflict, violence and disarray because territorial political
independence as we know it was not present, no clear distinction between civil war and
international war, no clear conception of the nature, of national interest, no exclusively controlled
territory, values were looked after by different organizations operating at different levels of social
life, and there was no sovereignty
- Political change from medieval to modern: provision of the 5 core values within a single
framework (sovereign state). Power and authority were concentrated at one point: the king and his
government. Construction of independent territorial states across Europe, Churches fell under
state control
→ monopoly of the means of warfare & power (international rivalries developed from fear of
being conquered)
Thirty years war (1618-48), first continental war in Europe, Peace of Westphalia
= TRADITIONAL/ CLASSICAL VIEW
Revisionist view suggests that IR specialists used circumstantial evidence to suggest that the
Peace of Westphalia was the beginning of IR as we know it, although it may not be true
State system middle of 17th century:
1. Adjoining states whose legitimacy and independence was mutually recognized
2. Recognition of states did not extend outside of the European state system. Non-European political
systems were not members of the state system, usually regarded as politically inferior,
subordinated to European imperialism.
, 3. The relations of European states were subject to international law and diplomatic practices →
expected to observe the rules of the international game
4. A balance of power between member states which was intended to prevent any one state from
getting out of control and create a hegemony
Western imperial expansion made the formation and operation of a global economy and polity possible
→ trade between the Western and non-Western world started at around the same time the modern state
was emerging in Europe (1500)
→ colonization
→ slave labor
→ expansions of territories (e.g. Russia to Siberia)
State system at the time:
- European states made expedient alliances with non-European political systems (e.g. alliances
between England/France with Indian ‘tribes’)
- European states conquered and colonized those political systems and made them subortinate part
of their empires
- Colonized territories became a basic source of the wealth & power of the European states for
several centuries
→ the development of Europe as we know it was achieved through colonization and control of
territories to a high extent
- New settler states eventually became members of the state system (e.g. USA)
- No desire or interest to incorporate non-Western political systems into the state system on a basis
of equal sovereignty
→ only happened after WW2
Development of globalization of the state system:
1. The incorporation of non-Western states that could not be colonized by the West
(not all non-Western countries could be colonized, but they were obliged to accept the Western
state system) e.g. Turkey/ Ottoman Empire, Japan, China
, 2. Anti-colonialist ideals by the colonial subjects of Western empires inspired by European and
American ideas for self-determination and independence (Revolt against the West)
→ hence, the European and American control beyond Europe eventually led to an expansion of
the state system which became completely global in the second half of the 20th century
3. Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia & Czechoslovakia → end of Cold War
→ expanded UN membership
IR & the Changing Contemporary World of States
- Different perspectives when it comes to the proper scope of IR:
One perspective’s sole focus is on states & interstate relations but the other extreme is that IR
includes almost everything that has to do with human relations across the world
- There is a historical centrality to the study of IR
- Sovereign state is an essentially contested theoretical concept - the conceptualization of it highly
depends on the IR tradition
→ simplify it by thinking of the state by having two dimensions:
1. The state as a government vs. the state as a country
→ as government is an internal aspect of the state: main questions are in regards to the
state-society relations
→ as a country is an external aspect of the state: main questions concern interstate
relations
2. I. State as a formal/ legal institution in its relations with other states
→ juridical statehood: constitutional independence and recognition are crucial, rationed
by existing sovereign states
II. State as a substantial political-economic organization
→ empirical statehood: high level of this includes developed & efficient political
institutions, a solid economic basis and a substantial degree of national unity
Quasi-states: they possess juridical statehood but they are severely deficient in empirical statehood
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