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Summary INTR1012A Introduction To International Relations
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An in depth summary of the first few hundred pages of the textbook “International Relations: An Introduction to the Discipline”
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Summarising the Text Book:How does International Relations Affect us?
- iPhones are produced globally with components made in various countries and
assembled in Taiwan; the global network of trade benefits consumers with more
affordable phones and jobs for workers.
- The events of September 11, 2001, led to a US-led war against terrorism and special
forces operations against Al Qaeda in various countries, including Pakistan.
- Americans have been among the peoples of the world least affected by foreign wars; in
the Vietnam War, 58,000 Americans were killed, while about 2 million civilians in the
North and another 2 million in the South also died during the war.
- The French and German governments have cooperated politically and economically
since 1945 in the European Union (EU) and militarily in an alliance called the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); war between France and Germany is almost
unthinkable today.
- Members of the European Union share a common currency called the euro; they worry
about economic instability as they struggle to recover from a financial crisis that
threatens their prosperity and that of the global economy.
- Visiting different countries often requires permission in the form of a visa from the
respective governments of those countries.
Who is involved in International Relations?
Three important classes of key actors in international relations are identified:
- National leaders: individuals who hold executive offices and are entitled to make foreign
policy and military decisions on behalf of their countries.
- States: political entities with defined territories and authorities who enjoy sovereignty, or
the effective and recognized capacity to govern residents within a given territory and
establish relationships with other governments.
, - Non-state actors: actors other than states that operate within or across state borders and
have important consequences for international relations.
Non-state actors include:
- Multinational enterprises, such as Coca-Cola, Philips, and Mitsubishi.
- Organisations such as the Catholic Church, the Muslim Brotherhood, criminal groups,
and terrorist organisations like ETA, Boko Haram, and ISIS.
The concept of nation is also discussed.
- Nations are collections of people who share a common culture, history, or language,
while states are political units.
- The text notes that nation-states, which are political units inhabited by people sharing
common culture, history, or language, are rare.
- The text also highlights that many states contain more than one nation, and many
nations transcend the boundary of any single state.
Examples of non-state actors and the consequences of their actions are provided, such as ISIS
and their capture of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
Levels of Analysis:
1. Individual Level
2. State Level
3. International Level
- International level of analysis emphasises the interaction and coexistence of states and
non-state actors in the international system.
- The international system is characterised by anarchy, which means there is no
centralised governing authority, and states have to rely on themselves to defend their
territory and political autonomy.
- The cause of war is explained differently at each level of analysis. At the individual level,
it is caused by overly aggressive or ambitious leaders. At the state level, it is caused by
certain types of states or powerful groups within states. At the international level, it is
caused by the international situation in which states find themselves.
- The levels of analysis are not isolated from each other, and a good explanation may
combine or integrate ideas from different levels.
- Scholars sometimes make finer distinctions that incorporate additional levels, such as
the regional level situated analytically between the state level and the international level.
, - The levels-of-analysis framework is a useful analytical tool and a starting point for
making sense of the complexity of international relations.
The Emergence of the Global System of States:
The historical development of the international system:
- The international system of states is a product of historical change that has taken place
over centuries and recent times.
- China was the most advanced state in the 1500s, experienced decline and subjugation,
and has once again become a global powerhouse.
- The chapter addresses how we came to live in a system of states and the historical
issue of international order.
- International order can be fragile, and war is an ever-present threat to it.
- Understanding international history is important for understanding its consequences and
testing theories of international relations.
- The chapter is divided into sections, starting from approximately the year 1500 CE to the
present day.
- The sections include a snapshot view of the main political entities in 1500 in different
parts of the world, the emergence of European states and the formation of a regional
state system from 1500 to 1900, the years from 1900 to 1945, the struggle between the
Soviet Union and the United States from 1945 to 1990, and the postwar world from the
perspective of new and developing countries in the international system.
- Leaders, officials, and media commentators often invoke historical analogies in support
of their policy positions.
- Knowledge of international history is essential to assess the utility of such analogies that
draw from the past in dealing with issues in the present.
Starting Point: The World in 1500:
- The world in 1500 was fragmented into relatively discrete regions characterised by
empires or dynastic states, city-states, or small duchies.
, - Empires are political entities that contain a substantial geographical space, often many
different peoples, and over which a single powerful ruler governs.
- In 1500, much of the Eastern hemisphere, such as in China as well as in Africa,
consisted of large empires; in Western Europe, a nascent system of independent states
was forming.
- China had a relatively coherent empire by 1500, and had been ruled for some time by a
succession of imperial dynasties.
- Japan in 1500 was fragmented into small political entities, led by local military leaders,
but was later governed by the Tokugawa Shogunate.
- India in 1500 was home to a culturally and economically advanced population of about
110 million, which was politically unified by the Mughal dynasty.
- The Ottoman Empire included all of Asia Minor, the Balkans region, a good part of
central Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.
- Sub-Saharan Africa in 1500 was home to perhaps 38 million people, and enjoyed
substantial economic activity.
- Europe in 1500 consisted of dynastic states such as the Valois in France, the Tudors in
England, and the Habsburgs in a territory from Austria to Belgium and even Spain.
- Italian city-states remained independent of one another, and some 300 independent
political entities, such as duchies, populated German-speaking lands in central Europe.
- The Americas in 1500 were most populated in today’s Mexico, Peru, and Brazil, with two
main empires: the Aztec Empire and the Incan Empire.
Note: Empires are characterised by large geographical spaces, many different peoples, and a
single powerful ruler. Dynastic states are states ruled by imperial dynasties or dynastic families.
Formation of the International Political System, 1500-1900:
Introduction:
- European states created the modern system of states.
- Examining the emergence of the state system in Europe between 1500 and 1815.
- Exploring how European states controlled regions such as the Americas, sub-Saharan
Africa, and the Indian subcontinent, and how they made similar inroads in China and the
Ottoman Empire but not Japan.
- A State System Emerges in Western Europe
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