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Introduction To International Relations

This document provides an overview of key concepts in international relations, including different types of actors and interactions between actors in the international system. It discusses states as the primary actors and how they are defined by sovereignty and territorial control. It also covers non-state actors like international organizations, multinational corporations, and non-governmental organizations. The document analyzes different types of systems that structure relations between states, such as hierarchies, networks, and anarchy. It also summarizes the four main types of interactions—harmony, coordination, cooperation, and conflict.

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34 views

Introduction To International Relations

This document provides an overview of key concepts in international relations, including different types of actors and interactions between actors in the international system. It discusses states as the primary actors and how they are defined by sovereignty and territorial control. It also covers non-state actors like international organizations, multinational corporations, and non-governmental organizations. The document analyzes different types of systems that structure relations between states, such as hierarchies, networks, and anarchy. It also summarizes the four main types of interactions—harmony, coordination, cooperation, and conflict.

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Un PredictabLe
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to

International Relations
Lectures 1 to 4
Actors in the International System
By Muhammad Ilyas Ansari

What is International Relations?


International Relations is the study of conflict and
cooperation by international actors, as furthered
by the development and testing of hypotheses
about international outcomes.

Overview
Types of actors
States
Non-state actors

Types of systems
Hierarchy
Networks
Anarchy

Types of interactions between actors


Harmony, Coordination, Cooperation, Conflict

The central actor: the state


The state is a human community that successfully
claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of
physical force within a given territory.
Max Weber, 1919

States are identified by mutual recognition.


196 members in the United Nations

What is legitimacy?
Legitimacy is the belief that those in power have
the right to rule.
Sources of legitimacy
Traditional
Charismatic
Rational/Legal

Authority is power with legitimacy.

What States Do
Provide public goods
Goods that benefit everyone, whether or not they
contribute (non-excludable)
Creates incentives to free ride
Often requires collecting taxes

Enforce contracts

Examples of States

Sweden
Argentina
Canada
Bangladesh
South Africa
New Zealand
Cuba

Potential States
The Palestinian Authority
Not a state, because Israel retains the ability to use
coercion in all its territory

Failed States
Somalia 1991
No central claim to legitimacy at all

Afghanistan 2005
The monopoly claim on coercive authority is tenuous
at best outside the capital.

Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the defining characteristic of the
state.
An entity is sovereign when it is the highest
political authority in the system.
By definition, no other unit has coercive authority
within a state's territory, so therefore states are
sovereign.
All sovereign states have nominally equal
authority.

Development of Sovereignty
1648 Principle of sovereignty is first articulated
in the Peace of Westphalia
Ended Thirty Years War by giving rulers authority to
determine religion within their own territory

1713 Principle of sovereignty is solidified in the


Treaty of Utrecht
1945 Sovereign equality of members enshrined
in United Nations charter

Alternatives to sovereign states


Sovereign state system is not only possible
system.
Example: Feudalism, which preceded the
sovereign state system
Non-territorial
Overlapping authorities

Alternative to states: Empire


Consists of a metropole and its colonies
Example: Ancient Rome and England, France, etc.
Example: Britain and India, Jamaica, etc.
Example: France and Tahiti, Lebanon, etc.

Different political status for people in metropole


and colonies
Typically, colonies retain some local control, while
metropole controls external affairs
Benefits the metropole economically and militarily

Hierarchy

Hierarchy is a chain of command.


Example - military
Power in hierarchy comes from legitimacy and the
ability to coerce or bribe.

Anarchy
Anarchy means that all the actors have equal
authority, and are in equal relationship to each
other.
- However, they may vary in their capabilities.
Example pure free market
Power in anarchy comes from the ability to coerce
or bribe.

Networks
In a network, each actor is a node, linked to some
but not all of the other nodes. The connections
between actors may be strong or weak.
Example group of friends
Power in networks comes from the number of
other nodes to which an actor is connected.

Sovereignty creates anarchy.


In the international system, there is no higher
authority to provide public goods or enforce
contracts among states.
All agreements among states must be self-enforcing.

Violations of Sovereignty
System is anarchic, but hierarchy exists between
some states.
Empire - Example: United States and Guam
Protectorates - Example: France and Monaco
Intervention Example: United Nations and Liberia

The International System


Includes all actors who have regular interactions
Scope depends on transportation and
communications technology
Examples:
Ancient Greece
Global today

Power in the System


Power is the ability of A to get B to do what A wants
B to do.
Inherently relational
Sources of power
Land
Natural Resources
Population

Types of Power
Military power
Market power
Cultural power

Defining the System by Power


Great Power state that can project power across
the system
System defined by number of great powers:
many, two, or one

Multipolarity
Three or more Great Powers
Example Europe at the beginning of the 20th
century

Attempts to balance power make system war-prone

Bipolarity
Two great powers
Examples
Athens and Sparta in Ancient Greece
USA and USSR during Cold War

Relatively stable

Unipolarity
One great power
Example the US right now
Militarity Expenditures

United States
Russia*
China*
United Kingdom
Japan
France
Germany
Saudi Arabia
India
Italy
South Korea
Australia
Turkey*
Israel*
Canada
Spain*
Brazil
Netherlands
Taiwan
Greece*
Indonesia*

May encourage other states to align against the


superpower

Defining the System by


Globalization
Can also characterize the system by level of
international flows of goods, labor, and capital
Actors defined by level of openness
Highly globalized at beginning of 20th century
Retrenchment of globalization in 1930s
Significant growth in globalization during current
era

Non-state Actors
Debate about significance
Importance varies by issue area

Nations
International Organizations
Multinational Corporations
Non-governmental Organizations

The Nation
Common identity
Ethno-linguistic, religious, ideological

Common history or origin


Real or mythical

Claim on homeland
Desire for self-rule
Identity can be created through common symbols
and education.

Nationalism
Political ideology advocating national selfdetermination
First developed in 19th Century in Europe, but
spread world-wide
Nationalism is one way to legitimate states and/or
separatist movements.
Particularly dangerous to empires

The Nation-State
In a nation-state, the boundaries of the state
territory and the membership of the nation are coterminus.
Ideal-type for the post-WW II era
In practice, rare
Diaspora
Separatist movements
Irredentism

Examples of Nations
Nation-states
Japan
Denmark

Multi-national states
China (Tibet)

Stateless nations
Kurds (in Iraq, Turkey, Iran)
Basques (in Spain, France)

Divided nations
Korea (North and South)

International Organizations
Institutions with formal membership and
procedures
Only states are members
Membership can be limited or universal
Purpose may be broad or narrow

Examples of IOs
Limited Membership, Narrow
Purpose: Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries
Limited Membership, Broad Purpose:
African Union
Universal Membership, Narrow
Purpose: Universal Postal Union
Universal Membership, Broad
Purpose: United Nations

Multinational Corporations
MNCs are organizations that seek to make a profit
by engaging in foreign production, marketing,
finance, and staffing through directly controlled
affiliates located in several states.

Examples of MNCs
Coca-Cola

Sony

LVMH

Non-Governmental Organizations
Broad category - Not states and non-profit
Includes religions, charities, political activists,
academic research communities, and even
terrorist groups.

Examples of NGOs
Roman Catholic Church

International Red Cross

Greenpeace

Doctors Without Borders

Types of Interaction among


Actors
All types of actors interact.
Harmony
Coordination
Cooperation
Conflict

Types of Interaction: Harmony


Harmony is when actors' interests coincide.
Independent pursuit of own interests returns
maximum output.
More common than often considered.
Example Taliban wipes out heroin production in
Afghanistan; availability of heroin decreases in US.

Types of Interaction:
Coordination
Actors more interested in choosing the same
strategy than in choosing any given strategy.
Example Universal Postal Union
Two possibilities
Pure coordination easier
Coordination after investment - harder

Types of Interaction: Cooperation


Cooperation is mutual adjustment of policy.
Benefits both actors, but not always equally.
Example WHO eradication of smallpox

Types of Interaction: Conflict


Results from mutually incompatible preferences.
Not always violent.
Example 2004 US steel tariffs, EU retaliates on
Florida oranges.

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