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Samenvatting History of International Relations
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History of International RelationsI NTRODUCTION
HIR - why?
Why is it useful for social scientists to study history?
1. Historical legacies. Habits that have developed over time are di cult to shake o .
Eg: post-communist societies: citizens don’t trust their government, which is a legacy
of the communist time
2. The politics of historical memories,
Eg: Kiev and Russian foreign policy claims: does Kiev belong to the Russian
in uence? Russia has his birthplace in Kiev
Political memories:
- Propagated by memory activists: political activists use history to back up their
actions
- Individual memories: only three generations <-> collective memories: information
continues to grow (libraries, books,…)
- Based on selection and exclusion. It’s top down: elite pushes it through
- For it to have an impact, it depends on the e ciency of political pedagogy
- Show a high degree of homogeneity: memories will have an impact when they’re
homogenous stories
- Relies on symbols and rites that “enhance emotions of empathy and identi cation”
3. The contingency of moral ideas and social arrangements. The moral ideas we hold
dear and the social arrangements we live in could’ve been di erent. We need to
denaturalize the views and social frameworks
Eg: gender equality or natural slavery (Aristotles) or sovereignty
4. The context- specify of scienti c knowledge,
Eg: the balance of power, the democratic peace: democracies don’t ght each other
HIR - what?
International relations as a scholarly discipline is presentist en Eurocentric. Does this
form a problem?
- Non-western powers are re-asserting themselves (historical legacies, historical
memory). They are becoming more powerful and claiming their place in the
international organization.
- What is the logic of the international system?
- Contingency of present arrangements
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, - Context-speci ty of scienti c knowledge
What’s an international system? What’s “the logic” of an international system?
International system = a system which its made up of political entities (we usually call
them states) which act independently of each other at the same time as they are forced to
consider the actions of all other entities in the system. They act on their own, but also
together with, and in relation to, all the others.
Features of an international system:
- Basic unit: state, sovereign state.
Sovereign state = a state that exercises supreme authority within a given territory. It
determines its own a airs in accordance with its own interests and aspirations.
- Social practices: borders, ags, anthems
- Rules and norms: sovereign equality: all states are equal to each other. States
should not interfere in each other’s domestic a airs. Right to self-determination
- Implications: anarchy, security dilemma, violence
Anarchy: no common authority, no one looks after, or takes any responsibility for, the
system as a whole
European international system = anarchical international system
BUT: this is an inadequate portrayal that generalizes too readily from European
experience. Today there is only one international system, originated in Europe around the
sixteenth century and spread to the rest of the world as a result of European colonialism
in the nineteenth century.
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, CHINA AND EAST ASIA
Introduction: what is China?
Metaphor of “a solar system”: China is the sun, around which other and far smaller
political entities are circulating.
“Suzerainty”: a relationship in which a dominant state has control over the international
a airs of a subservient state, while the latter retains domestic autonomy.
China is a political and civilizational space, with a great number of di erent ethnicities.
The most famous and mostly identi ed as the Chinese identity, was the Han.
Since 1994: the People’s Republic of China
What does it mean to identify a Chinese international system?
China was organized around a center. There were other polities, in a way independent
from China: think Vietnam, Korea,… There were independent polities that China
interacted with on the basis of hierarchy. China was the central power and the others
understood themselves to be less powerful.
What China is not: a nationstate, but it is trying to become this.
- Imperial dynasties with presence of being “the middle kingdom” (zhongguo, China
still calls itself this now)
- A civilizational zone sharing in a set of ritual practices, eg: ancestor worship,
seasonal celebrations. The idea that a ruler rules because of a mandate from
Heaven. A succession of international dynasties, each claiming to be the middle
kingdom and claiming authority.
What does not mean to identify a Chinese international system: encompassing,
unchanging, unquestionably Confucian. Confucianism was adopted as an o cial state
religion and played a huge role in shaping.
- Overland system (neighbors to the north and west): not much Confucianism.
- Permanent threats
- Economic and technologic backwardness
- Nomads
- Acces to the most advanced military technology
- Fast horses, skilled archers
- Yuan and King
- Tribute system (neighbors to the south and east): Confucianism played a large role
- Easier to manage
- No military threats
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,The warring states period (475 - 251 BCE)
First rulers:
1. Shang dynasty (1600-1046 BCE): human sacri ce and ancestor worship. Chinese
form of writing
2. Zhou (1050-777 BCE): Sons of Heaven, mandate of Heaven.
After Zhou dynasty, political power fragmented —> seven separate states, constantly at
war. Independent political communities, neither of them recognizing the dominance of the
other. They forged alliances, made treaties and fought battles, they took turns in the
position as the most powerful state in the system.
Sunzi - The Art of War
Sunzi was a militair commander and advisor for one of these warring state. He wrote this
book in which he underlined the importance of intelligence (gathering information,
secretly) of subterfuge and dissimulation. He developed a particular way of thinking about
war. Textbook was used in military academies.
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,The warring states period was a period of intense and often violent political-military
competition, and yet it was a period in which China ourished. How is this possible?
- Political competition spurred economic development. Military technology, farming
techniques, economic markets
- Political competition spurred intellectual creativity.
“The age of Hundred Schools”: philosophical schools developed. Rulers wondered
how to organize the states.
One of those traveling teachers was Kongzi (Confucius), traveling from court to court
giving advice. His philosophy was to focus on propaganda. People had to submit
themselves to the authority of the rules; the ruler had to engage in proper conduct and
take care of his people.
Daoism (Laozi): less on the moral nature, more spiritual. How to live a successful life.
Fajia/ Legalism: another political philosophy that advised there should be clear, legal
obligations and laws and punishment should be severe. It assumed that everyone acts in
their self-interest. Result: a stable social order. The ruler standing above the law, not
bound to legal obligations.
The warring states period ultimately came to an end because the Qin came to dominate.
They managed to establish themselves as the dominant power, the new empirical
dynasty, thanks to economical development, that led to military resources and defeating
the others. The other polities had to respond and a balance of power arose. Legalism was
adopted by the Qin dynasty (Qin Shi Huang: rst emperor 220-210 BCE). This dynasty
only existed for about 15 years.
Chairman Mao and the Legalists
After the Qin dynasty came the Han dynasty and they used Confucians as advisers: role
of virtue and importance of ful lling social obligations.
At the turn of the 20th century, Confucianism symbolized everything that was wrong with
the country: blocked economic development, sti e creativity and entrepreneurship. Under
Mao Zedong, Confucianism became a state enemy. Mao declared his admiration for
methodes employed by Legalists and modeled himself on Qin Shi Huang.
Terracotta Army China: when the rst emperor of the Qin dynasty died, he had himself
buried surrounded by this terracotta army, to protect him.
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,The development of the Chinese state
China was ruled over by a succession of imperial dynasties.
- Plenty of struggle and competition
- Not every dynasty was of Chinese origin
- Yet also myriad elements to continuity:
- In cultural terms (Confucianism as state ideology)
- In terms of political organization
Han dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE)
First establishment of professional administration. Bureaucracy was professionalized,
paid by taxing people.
Adoption of Confucianism as state philosophy
Organization of society and economy (roads, canals, coins). Coins important: helped
expand trade and made it possible to pay taxes
Subject to occasional military attack. The main threat the Han faces was Xiongnu
Federation: a federation of Mongolic tribes: unsettled, uncivilized and nomadic. Main
security concern, remained so up until European colonialism. Tried to pacify them by
means of lavish gifts of silk, liquor and rice. Treaties were made, but Xiongnu kept on
demanding more and more and this was humiliating, ine ective and expensive.
Eventually, the power of Xiongnu declined.
The Silk Road(s): roads running from the east of China to the south of Europe
- Luxury goods, eg: silk from Rome
- Goods travel widely, but people mostly don’t
- As goods traveled, ideas did too, eg: Buddhism reached China
- Silk Roads developed spontaneously. The Han dynasty didn’t install nor control it.
Sogdian letter. Sogdia = small kingdom with speci c role: organizing those trade roads,
eg: the resting stations, keeping it safe. The language used by people using the roads
was Sogdian.
Tang dynasty (681 - 907)
Cultural achievements: China spreads its cultural in uence: calligraphy, landscape
painting, poems. It was fashionable to be Chinese.
Economically thriving: China-wide markets in land, labor and natural resources, technical
innovations.
Population grew quickly
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,Entrance examinations (meritocracy): in order to get a job as government o cial, you
were required to pass a demanding test on Confucian philosophy and on the classics of
Chinese literature.
Cosmopolitan empire where people from all over the world would mingle.
China shows itself open to foreign in uences.
Journey to the West
Xuanzang (buddhist monk), send on an expedition to India to collect original Buddhist
manuscripts. When he returned, he took all the knowledge and manuscripts with him and
got permission from the authorities to set up a library dedicated to Buddhist learners.
Song dynasty (960 - 1279)
Economic prosperity and cultural ourishing
Era of major technological achievement:
- Invention of gun powder, compass, paper (money).
- Urban culture development
- Promotion of science
- Literacy increased
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,Era of great military challenges, especially from nomadic polities. Capital had to be
relocated. Not so successful, attacked by tribes from the north.
Population doubled in size
Strengthened navy and built ships
Yuan dynasty (1271 - 1368)
Of Mongolic origin (Kublai Khan), adopting Chinese practices. Assumes the mandate of
Heaven and establishes itself as Chinese imperial dynasty.
Economic succes, China-wide market for consumer goods
Did not last long: not legitimate in the eyes of the elite, because it was of Mongolic origin.
Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644)
Hang Chinese ethnicity
Porcelain vases and luxurious gardens
Started building the Great Wall of China: walls scattered across the northern and western
frontier of the Chinese empire, defensive purpose: to keep nomadic tribes out.
The Zheng He voyages
Zheng He was an admiral that travelled around the Indian Ocean. He brought a gira e to
Beijing (gift from Indonesian ruler): major event.
His expeditions came to an abrupt and because 1) the eets were very costly: the trade
was very costly and 2) within the court, there was disagreement on international a airs.
On the one hand, there were Confucian schools, sceptical on trade (farmers > traders).
On the other hand, there was another group led by eunuchs, people who had been
enslaved to become bureaucrats and military commanders, who were not Chinese in
origin and formed a larger group. They advised the Ming regime that they needed to be
open to the outside world. They started a eet to the outside world. There were a total of
7 missions.
The ruler died and the Confucian party took over and people insisted on ending the
voyages
It was a subject of historiographical controversy:
- “Journeys of exploration and trade” (E. Ringer)
- <-> “Colonialism” (G. Wade)
No more in uences of other religions
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,Qing dynasty (1644 - 1912)
Established by Manchu tribe: region to the north of China, nomadic people. Defeated the
Ming dynasty, a couple of Ming rulers escaped to Taiwan.
Hybridyzation: combination of Chinese and Manchu practices + receptive to (Tibetan)
Buddhism. On the one hand, adoption of Confucianism (bureaucracy, entrance
examinations), but also continues to embrace nomadic identity, eg: horse riding, bow and
arrow
Two important and successful rulers (Kong (1661 - 1722) and Qianlong (1735 - 1795)
- Incorporation of Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang
- Wars in Vietnam and Burma
- Defensive war against Russia: Russia came close to Manchu heartlands. It was
impossible for Russia to defend a territory this war away from Moscow. China forced
them to back o . Treaty of Nerchinsk, 1689: common border: in exchange for
territorial concessions, the Russians obtained acces to Chinese markets and the
right to establish a Russian Church in Beijing.
- Limitations on foreign trade, copied from Ming dynasty. There was one place where
foreign traders could come to trade goods: Kanton, organized by the state.
- Much more willing to adopt foreign elements in their identity. To be accepted as
legitimate rulers in eg Tibet and Taiwan, they had to learn their vocabulary and
practices.
The Macartny Embassy (1792/1793)
Chinese were reluctant to grant Europeans access to their market. They worried about the
social and cultural consequences of a foreign presence in the country. Eventually, trade
was allowed in Kanton. British regarded this as unacceptable and tried to convince the
emperor to open up their country. Macartney went to the empire with British-made goods
and presents. The British were required to go through a ceremony (ketou: traditional way
to show submission to the imperial throne). Macartney refused.
Result: no trade deal.
Clash of two international systems
The overland system
Chinese government organized foreign relations in two distinct ways, depending on the
degree of threat posed by the foreigners.
China held particular attraction for pastoralists/nomads who lived there. They didn’t have
homes and were intrigued by China.
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, Why did China hold a particular attraction for these nomadic polities? Why did they
pose such challenge for China?
Attraction: Chinese produce goods that nomads could not, eg: jewelry
Challenge: the setting of the steppe (di cult for Chinese to cross) and military skill (horse
riding, bow and arrow)
The overland system was a response to the challenges that the nomads posed
- Defensive strategy: walls
- O ensive strategy (the better option): frontier towns: no mans land: the Chinese
would set up posts to try to stop the tribes = non solution: frontier towns became
settlements themselves
- Common institutions
- Treaties, eg: treaty with the Russian
- Incorporate foreign elements, eg: Buddhism
- Exchange wives and other gifts, eg: Chinese princess and nomadic prince or ruler
—> creating bonds
- Express subordination
The tribute system
To organize relations with polities to the South and East (eg: Korea, Japan). All sedentary
communities, no threat to China. These polities wished foremost to trade with China, but
China reinterpreted their request in cultural terms. China didn’t see them as equal and
trading goes against the Confucian concept. Solution: they had to submit theirselves to
China.
Detailed protocol: Chinese emperor will sit on his throne, gifts will be handed over (in
return of higher economical value), economically losing proposition for the Chinese, but
culturally they won: superiority was recognized.
123 states, but a core group
The closer in space, the more often
Why would foreigners agree to submit?
- They wanted to trade (on the sly and markets in frontier towns)
- Imperial seals in return: Chinese emperor recognized you as the ruler of your polity
- Obligations on both sides, eg: if Korea experienced nomadic attack, Korea made a
trade deal with China en China would come to assistance (security bene ts)
- Control of periphery in the loosest possible sense
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