NATIONAL AND

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
GHNI 401 Section C

Dr. Annie Ali

(Dr.Altantuya Dashnyam)
 LECTURE 1

06.10.2020

Tuesday 6pm-8pm
 Requirements
 100% class attendance is mandatory for the students to enable them to
appear in the final examination.
 All students on Zoom meeting must remain switched off microphone
(unless teacher asks to speak) the entire duration of a class.
 Students are responsible to ensure their device, internet, electric backup
as well as to secure comfortable environment for online class.
 Students must log in with their full name registered at uni, students
shouldn’t share the Zoom link with others.
 Students must be punctual, once 50% and above students are online
teacher would start lecture without a delay.
 Academic Calendar

Commencement of Classes October 05, 2020

Midterm Examination November 23, 2020

Final Examination January 25, 2021

 Grading
Quiz/ Assignments – 30%
- 1 written assignment
- 1 oral presentation
Mid Term Examination – 30%

- Consists of multi choice questions and written tasks

Final examination – 40%

- Case analysis and essay writing

 Course Texts

- Pakistan’s Foreign Policy 1947–2019 / 5th Edition

(A Concise History by Abdul Sattar)

- John Baylis and Steve Smith, The Globalization of World

Politics: An Introduction to International Relations (London:
Oxford University Press, 2017).
dr. [email protected]
 Goals, Requirements, and Expectations
The goals of this course are three-fold:
Give you a solid grounding in historically informed
International Relations
Introduce the concepts, vocabulary, and theories of
International Relations
Use these concepts, vocabulary, and theories to analyze
issues facing political leaders and societies. This is a
heavily analytical course; critical thinking is required
equipment.
 Objectives for Students
 Analyze and understand the major themes of international relations
and national affairs
 Develop an appreciation of theory and its utility in the study and
practice of International Relations
 Improve critical thinking and writing skills
 Demonstrate the ability to describe the social, political, and
economic forces that influence social behavior and the global
system
 Use knowledge of international affairs in a practical problem-
solving way to address issues of immediate international and
national concern
 Part I:
Introduction to International
Relations
 Contents

1. What is IR? General Introduction

2. Why study IR?
3. IR history
International relations is an academic discipline that focuses on
the study of the interaction of the actors in international politics,
including states and non-state actors, such as the United Nations
(UN), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank,
and Amnesty International.

International Relations (IR) deals with issues like sovereignty,

environmentalism, development and human rights in the context
of global affairs and is also concerned with the policies of
individual states as far as they impact on the affairs of other
states.
 International Politics vs. International Relations
IR is wider in scope than international politics. International
politics focuses on various styles of politics: the politics of
violence, the politics of persuasion, hierarchical policies and
pluralistic politics. Yet IR embraces the totality of relations
among people and groups of people in global society, which go
beyond looking at political forces to an examination of socio-
cultural and economic processes as well.
 1.Why Study IR?
 IRteaches you how to unravel the complex and often invisible
network of factors that means events in one part of the globe
can have unlikely consequences in another. International
Relations will help you develop highly sought-after skills that
can be applied to any career, including:
Research and Administrative skills
Critical analysis skills
Scientific method
Cross-cultural awareness
 IR in everyday life
 Facts: National States (200 independent states )-
what is national state? (the basic elements: territory,
population, government)
 States and states system affects the way people live;
 5 basic social values:

security, freedom, order, justice and welfare

Elements of IR:
Globalization, diplomatic relations, state sovereignty,
international security, ecological sustainability, nuclear
proliferation, nationalism, economic development, international
law, global finance, terrorism and human rights.
Principles of IR:
The 5 principles of IR are mutual respect for sovereignty and
territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in
each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefits and
peaceful coexistence.
 International Relations career options
 1. Diplomat - Maintaining good relations between countries
As a diplomat, you will represent and protect a nation's interests
abroad in terms of politics, trade and consular services.
 2. Intelligence Specialist - Gathering state-critical
information
As an intelligence specialist, you can work in the military, the
navy, national security departments, or almost any state
department of one of the national government agencies.
 3. Political Analyst - Explaining the political climate
Generally, you’ll be employed by the government, but you can also find
work opportunities within media companies or research institutes.
 4. Lobbyist - Promoting ideas to those who can make them a reality
Lobbyists are usually hired by an association, corporation, or non-profit
organization to convince government members to make a decision that would
benefit the organization or company they are representing.
 5. Communication Specialist in a non-profit
 A degree in International Relations can land you a job in a non-profit
organization that operates on an international level. As a
Communications Specialist, you’ll have the chance to develop your career in a
local office that has a global reach. Non-profit agencies like World Vision and
Red Cross provide such global service, but there are many other options, too.
 6. Academic

You can teach IR in higher educational institutions at the same conducting

research.
 Development trend and characteristics
 1. The more international relations develop in breadth and depth, the
more profound and comprehensive their influence will be on every
country.
 2. The interdependence and dependence between countries are
increasing.
 3. With the increasing number of independent countries, nationalism is
on the rise.
 4. There are more and more international organizations.
 5. With the development of science and technology, international
relations also involve environment, ocean, space and other fields.
 Historical sketch
 The state system of Hellas (500 BC – 100 BC) the system is based on a shared
language and a common religion more than anything else;
 The Roman Empire (200 BC- 500 AD) there are many political communities by
conquering, occupying and ruling;
 Christian Europe (the European medieval Christian world (500-1500) states existed,
but not independent or sovereign in the modern meaning of these worlds; no clearly
defined territories with borders; power and authority were organized on both a
religious and a political basis;
 The Peace of Westphalia (1848)
 The Westphalian settlement legitimized a commonwealth of
sovereign states;
 The settlement was held to provide a fundamental and
comprehensive charter of all Europe;
 The history of modern Europe is a history of political and
economic conflict and war between its sovereign states.
 Global expansion of the state system

1600s Europe (European system)

1700s +North America (Western System)

1800s + South America, Japan (Globalizing System )

1900s + Asia, Africa, Caribbean, Pacific (Global system)

 Part II:
Theories and approaches
 Contents
1. Theories of International Relations
- Realism
- Liberalism
- Idealism (Constructivism)
 1. Realism
1. States are the principal actors, and the study of international
relations focuses on these units (states and interstate relations).
Nonstates actors are less important.
2. The realist views the state as both unitary and rational;
The state is a form of human association distinguished from other
social groups by its purpose, the establishment of order and
security; its methods, the laws and their enforcement; its territory,
the area of jurisdiction or geographic boundaries; and finally by its
sovereignty.
3. Conviction that International relations are necessarily
conflictual and the international conflicts are ultimately
resolved by war;
4. Among the array of world issues, National security and
national survival tops the list for states; (military and
political issues dominate the agenda and referred to as
high politics)
5. Pessimistic view of human nature;
 WHAT IS REALISM?
 Realism is considered the most dominant
school of thought in international relations.

 It is the exercise of power by states towards each

and is also known as “power politics” or “real
politik”.
 All Realists share a belief that states are unitary
rational actors that are motivated by the desire
for military power and security rather than ideals
or ethics.
 Realists view human nature as selfish, conflictual
and competitive and believe that states are
inherently aggressive (offensive realism) and
obsessed with security (defensive realism)
 Realism values order and does not welcome
change (it is status quo oriented)
 HISTORY OF REALISM

The theory of the realism in IR has been
developed throughout the history by famous
political philosophers such as Thucydides
(the founder of the school) , Sun Tzu,
Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes and closer to our
times, in the late 1930s, E.H. Carr.
 THEORISTS OF REALISM
1.Thucydide
s:
 Is portrayed as the
founder of the school.
 In his book “History of
the Peloponnesian
war” he mentioned
that the main reason
for this war was the
growth of Athenian
power and the fear
this caused in Sparta.
(security dilemma)
2. Machiavelli
 Realism of
became
Thucydidesso popular
until early 1500s
that
person
no could share
status
the of
 In those
Thucydides.
Machiavelli
times was
condemned
widely for
cynical
his advice on
way
the government
be
should
 He wrote a book
conducted.
Prince”
“The in which
introduced
he many
of
policies
realism
3.Thomas Hobbes

 A famous
philosopher who
promoted Realism
through his
writings and
introduced realist
 terms like Balance
of power, real
politik.
His book “Hobbes
Leviathan”
helped in
establishing the
modern system of
4. E.H.Carr

 Famous historian who launched

an attack on liberal principles
right after world war 1.
 He gave a systematic
approach to realist school of
thought and criticized the
 liberalist approach.
In his book “twenty years
crisis” he introduced a critical
and cynical concept, realism
and placed emphasis on the
acceptance of facts and the
analysis of their causes and
consequences
 Hans Morgenthau

 Hans Morgenthau is considered one of the "founding

fathers" of the realist school in the 20th century. Hans J.
Morgenthau (1904–1980) developed realism into a
comprehensive international relations theory. This school
of thought holds that nation-states are the main actors in
international relations and that the main concern of the
field is the study of power.
 Influenced by the Protestant theologian and political writer
Reinhold Niebuhr, as well as by Hobbes, he places
selfishness and power-lust at the center of his picture of
human existence.
 BRANCHES OF REALISM

Classical Offensviv
Neorealism Defensive
realism e
A theory developed those who argue
realism realism
A conservative by Kenneth states are security those
that Waltz in maximize that states are
theory that
which states whorsargue power
considers
seek to maximizers
states the
only actors survive
and give within an
imp. to anarchical
military system,
power and international
maximizatio structure.
The three ‘S’ of
Realism
 Statism is the centrepiece of realism. This involves
two claims. First, for the theorist, the state is the
pre-eminent actor and all other actors in world
politics are of lesser significance. Second, state
‘sovereignty’ signifies the existence of an
independent political community, one that has
juridical authority over its territory.
 Key criticism: statism is flawed on both empirical
(challenges to state power from ‘above’ and
‘below’) and normative grounds (the inability of
sovereign states to respond to collective global
problems such as famine, environmental
degradation, and human rights abuses).
The three ‘S’ of
Realism
 Survival: the primary objective of all
states is survival; this is the supreme
national interest to which all political
leaders must adhere.
 Key criticism: are there no limits to what
actions a state can take in the name of
necessity?
The three ‘S’ of
Realism
 Self-help: no other state or institution can
be relied upon to guarantee your survival.
 Key criticism: self-help is not an inevitable
consequence of the absence of a world
government; it is a logic that states have
selected. Moreover, there are historical and
contemporary examples where states
have preferred collective security systems,
or forms of regional security communities,
in preference to self-help.
CONCLUSION
Despite the opinion of its critics, realism is
the most dominant theory used to explain
the nature of the International Relations.
It is widely accepted because:
a. It gives a more realistic and practical
approach as compared to liberalism to
understand IR.
b. It gives complete description and
explanation of international events
unlike liberalism which is restricted to
only morals and ethics.
c. It helps in predicting human nature
and behaviour which helps in
predicting possible outcomes of
cooperation among states.
 Liberalism
 Stanley Hoffman describes it as “self-restraint, moderation,
compromise, and peace.”
• Liberalism is intimately connected to Enlightenment thinking.
• Liberal thinking played a strong role between WWI and WWII
and immediately after WWII
 Liberalism
Liberalism is one of the theories in international relations; it focuses on democracy and
cooperation. Liberalists belief that individuals share many interests and can thus engage
in cooperation.

Basic liberal assumptions:

• A positive view of human nature
• A conviction that international relations can be cooperative rather than conflictual
• A belief in progress.

Liberal theory after the Second World War was divided into four main standards of
thinking:
• Sociological Liberalism
• Interdependence Liberalism
• Institutional Liberalism
• Republican Liberalism
Four core elements of liberalism, can be divided into
political elements and economic elements.
• Political Elements
 • Citizens are juridically equal and possess certain basic rights
 • Legislative assembly possesses only the authority invested in
it by the people (democracy)
 • Economic elements
 • Right to own property (liberty)
 • Market economy and free trade
• Liberalism was developed in the 1970s as many experts began to
argue that realism was an old concept

• Due to globalization, the rise of global communications and an

increase in international trade meant that states could no longer rely
on simple power politics to decide matters

• Cosmopolitan morality rather than balance of power

• Humanity benefits from a peaceful international order – nations can

develop and trade which leads to progress
 Constructivism
 Constructivists attempt to recover social systems of meaning
and in turn the meaning actors give to their practices and the
objects they construct.
 Adds ideational power to material power Legitimacy,
reputation Power also includes how knowledge, the fixings of
meanings, and the construction of identities allocate differential
regards and capacities.
 In sum, constructivism is about keep open a space in IR for the
social rather than the material
2. Approaches to International Relations
- Traditional Approach
- Scientific Approach
- Behavioural Approach
- Post-Behaviouralist Approach
- Systems Approach
 Traditional Approach:
1. Historical approach
- This is the principal traditional approach dealing with chronological account of events
- -At the early stage of development of international relations, emphasis was on diplomatic history. The
19th century was dominated by wars and empire building. Therefore historians interested in knowing
the causes of the wars and how peace was made.
- Diplomatic history serves as a useful guide for the study of the evolution of international relations.
-The views and precedents of the past help to us to discover how decisions were reached by looking
at the inputs and outputs in the decision-making process.
- Historical method describes event in a narrative style
2. Descriptive /institutional approach
 Describes facts accurately and establish the relationship between the facts
 Explains unfolding events rather than attempting to explain the time events occurred.
 The difference between historical and descriptive approach is that historical is concerned with time frame while
the overall description of events is the major preoccupation of the descriptive approach.
 The approach places emphasis on understanding the structure, the role of actors and international politics.