1

CONCEPTS AND APPROACHES

Unit Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction: What is International Relations?
1.2 Definition, Scope and Relevance
1.3 Approaches to International Relations- Liberalism and Realism
1.4 Concepts : Power, National Interest and Balance of power.
1.5 Summary/Conclusion
1.6 References

1.0 OBJECTIVES

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The aim of this unit is to familiarize you with the meaning, significance,
approaches and concepts in International Relations. After studying this unit,
you should be able to:
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• Explain what International Relations is and how it can be used to
observe, understand, explain and prescribe things about Global
politics that all of us are a part of. This module will also make you
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familiar with the most important approaches of International

Relations.
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• Understand the basic concepts in International Relations like Power,

National Interest and Balance of Power.

1.1 INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL

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RELATIONS ?

The study and practice of international relations is interdisciplinary in

nature, blending the fields of economics, history, and political science to
examine topics such as human rights, global poverty, the environment,
economics, globalization, security, global ethics, and the political
environment.
Exceptional economic integration, unprecedented threats to peace and
security, and an international focus on human rights and environmental
protection all speak to the complexity of international relations in the
twenty-first century. This means the study of international relations must
focus on interdisciplinary research that addresses, anticipates, and
ultimately solves public policy problems.
International relations (often referred to international affairs) has a broad
purpose in contemporary society, as it seeks to understand:
World Politics • The origins of war and the maintenance of peace

• The nature and exercise of power within the global system

• The changing character of state and non-state actors who participate

in international decision-making
For example, some institutions may study the psychological and social-
psychological reasoning behind the actions of foreign policymakers, while
others may focus their international studies on the institutional processes
that contribute to the goals and behaviors of states. Ultimately, the area of
international relations studied depends on the goals or objectives of the
organization.
The Value of International Relations in a Globalized Society
Although international relations has taken on a new significance because of
our increasingly interconnected world, it is certainly not a new concept.
Historically, the establishment of treaties between nations served as the
earliest form of international relations.

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The study and practice of international relations in today’s world is valuable
for many reasons:
•
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International relations promotes successful trade policies between
nations.
• International relations encourages travel related to business, tourism,
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and immigration, providing people with opportunities to enhance their

lives.
• International relations allows nations to cooperate with one another,
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pool resources, and share information as a way to face global issues

that go beyond any particular country or region. Contemporary global
issues include pandemics, terrorism, and the environment.
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• International relations advances human culture through cultural

exchanges, diplomacy and policy development.

1.2 DEFINITION, SCOPE AND RELEVANCE :

Palmer and Perkins are the most important name in international relations
because of their relevance in terms of definition and subject matter In
International relations.
According to them, International relations discusses the forces, pressures,
and processes that control the nature of human life, activities, and thought
in all human and group relations in the world community. That is, the
discussion of international relations involves both political and non-political
issues.
Many scholars define International relations differently. Here I have
mentioned most important definitions of IR (International Relations) given
by three eminent scholars.
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Hans J Morgenthau Concepts and Approaches

Hans J Morgenthau used the term International Politics and defined it as

“International Politics include analysis of political relations and problems
of peace among nations…it “is struggle for and use of power among
nations”.
Quincy Wright
According to Quincy Wright, International Relations includes “relations
between many entities of uncertain sovereignties” and that “it is not only
the nations which international relations seek to relate. Varied types of
groups-nations, states, government, people, regions, alliances,
confederations, international organizations, even industrial organizations,
cultural organizations, religious organizations-must be dealt with in the
study of international relations, if the treatment is to be realistic”
Jackson and Sorensen
Jackson and Sorensen said that “at one extreme the scholarly focus is

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exclusively on states and inter-state relations; but at another extreme IR
includes almost everything that has to do with human relations across the
world. Therefore, IR seeks to understand how people are provided or not
provided, with the basic values of security, freedom, order, justice and
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welfare”.
Goldstein
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He opines that International Relations basically “concerns the relationship

among the world’s governments”. But he also argues that IR is not just a
relationship between governments. IR needs to be understood in terms of
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activities of Non-state actors also.

Scope of International Relations :
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The international community is the instrument of international relations.

The unimaginable changes in the international community over the past
seventy years have drastically changed inter-state relations. International
relations as a distinct curriculum has followed that trend in international
society since the 1930s. For this reason, it is not possible to draw a
permanent line on the scope of international relations. The scope of
international relations are mentioned below-
a) Study of the behavior of States in International Politics
Just as when a nation builds good relations for the sake of its overall
development, it becomes the subject of international relations, just as
when there is a conflict of interest, bitterness develops among itself
and that too becomes part of international relations.
Thus international relations consist of both cooperation and conflict.
International relations are also a matter of forming alliances and
dealing with the crisis.
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World Politics b) Role of Non-State Actors in International Field
The content of international relations does not revolve only around
the activities of the state and its formal institutions. The state is not
the only active actor in the international community. There are many
non-state actors whose activities affect international relations.
Multinational Corporations (MNCs), European Economic
Community, Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, NATO,
SEATO, WARSAW PACT, ASEAN, Organization of American
States, different terrorist organizations, Religious Organizations are
the examples of the non-state elements in international relations.
c) Question of War and Peace
Today, international relations are not free from the discussion of the
determination to save mankind from war. What was utopian in the
past is becoming more and more realistic today.
The main purpose of establishing the United Nations is to ensure

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world peace and security. Large, and regional powers are often
exchanging views to create an atmosphere of peace and security. All
kinds of contacts for the welfare of various exchanges and
globalization process in cultural and other fields are Gradually
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increasing. All this has become the subject of international relations.
d) Study of Foreign Policy
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Another important issue in international relations is foreign policy. In

the past, kings or prime ministers or a few individuals played an active
role in determining foreign policy.
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Today, not only statesmen but also the legislature and many citizens
are involved in the formulation of foreign policy. The state of affairs
or ideology in foreign policy and the ideological issues of the
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respective regimes are important parts of international relations.

e) Study of Nation States
The ethnic composition, geographical location, historical
background, religion or ideologies of different states are not the same
at all. And because of all these differences, the relationship between
different states is different.
So international relations need to discuss all these differences in
detail. When the social environment is different, his reaction falls on
international relations.
f) International Organizations
The role of national and international organizations in international
relations is no less important. People from different countries are
involved with the US Congress of Industrial Organizations, the US
44 Federation of Labor, the French Labor Organization, and the
 Women’s International Democratic Federation Engagement Concepts and Approaches
Organization.
The non-governmental organizations are also involved in the
activities of the Coalition and its various expert organizations, such as
UNESCO, the International Labor Organization and the World Health
Organization. Therefore, international relations also discusses all
national and international organizations.
g) Global Environmental Issues
Issues of the environment are one of the key matters of international
relations now. During the 1970s environmental politics only focused
on the question of resource issues. But from the 1990s environmental
politics focused on the issue of ‘Climate change’ brought about
through global warming. To overcome this issue, the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change (FCCC), Kyoto Protocol in 1997, the
Paris Agreement on climate change, etc, have been initiated.
h) Role of People in International politics

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The importance of public and public opinion in the international arena
is also expanding rapidly. The end of imperialism, from international,
disarmament, political and economic, has inspired movements and
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protests by the people of different countries. U.S. scientists,
intellectuals-people from different societies have demonstrated
against the Vietnam War.So what do people think about the
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international situation or their views also come under international

relations.
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i) Role of the Third World

The third emergence in recent world politics has brought about
qualitative change. Most people in the world are third generation. In
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1986, 101 countries participated in the Eighth Non-Alignment

Conference. The growing role of non-aligned countries in building
new international systems, easing tensions between the East and the
West, disarmament, ending colonial rule, etc. is significant.
Therefore, the role of the third world in world politics is also the
relevant point of discussion in international relations.
The scope of international relations is becoming wider as it discusses
various issues of dynamic nature. All the domestic policies that affect
or are likely to affect other countries are now being covered by
international relations. International relations currently discuss
various decision-making processes. In the past, these issues were not
related to international relations. Therefore, it can be said that the
scope of international relations has expanded.
Relevance of International Relations
International relations have become an essential part of social science in
every country. The importance of international relations is growing not only 5
World Politics as a subject included in the political science curriculum, but also as a
separate academic discipline. Even many universities have linked it to the
history curriculum at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Reasonably, the question arises,

• What is the reason for this growing importance of international

relations?

• What is the usefulness and purpose of the international relations

lesson?

• Why study international relations?

One thing will become clear if we look at the current world map and analyze
the real situation, each country has become incomprehensible in
international interdependence.

It is not possible to solve the problems of a country in isolation or to meet

the growing needs of different kinds. In order to meet its own economic,

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cultural, and other needs, each state has to voluntarily enter into bilateral or
multilateral agreements with other states. Instead of extreme self-reliance,
therefore, an environment of interdependence and cooperation has
developed.
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There is currently no doubt about the usefulness of the international
relations lesson. From a broadly constructive perspective, we can gain
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knowledge about how international relations will work, what issues need to
be eliminated or accepted and considered, and how friendship can be
established between different states. International relations make people
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aware of important issues such as war and peace, mutual security,

disarmament, international law and trade, peaceful resolution of inter-state
disputes, imperialism, colonialism, national liberation movement, etc. The
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history of international relations has given each country a wealth of

experience in formulating and implementing its foreign policy. The breadth
of its reading has created initiative and enthusiasm about the need to build
an international community.

Just as international relations have inspired people towards the possibility

of international society, so too it has presented the nature of disunity among
different nations. International relations cannot be analyzed by mere
sentimentality. Differences in the socio-economic structure of different
countries are bound to affect their national and international policy.
Establishing the usefulness of international relations on a broad basis
requires, on the one hand, an objective review of real events, and on the
other hand, one needs to be proactive in building a proper analytical
approach and theoretical basis. The vast potential that the advancement of
science and technology has created in other branches of sociology needs to
be applied to international relations as well.
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Check Your Progress Exercise 1 Concepts and Approaches

Note: i) Use the space given below for your answer.

1) What is International Relations ? Explain its scope and relevance.

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1.3 APPROACHES TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS:

LIBERALISM AND REALISM

Any student of international relations can be counted on to study the basic

foundations of IR, which are the theories behind the study of IR itself.

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Among the most prevalent of these theories are realism and liberalism. Until
the present, professors still speak of the motto from the 1651 work of
Thomas Hobbes, entitled Leviathan, that speaks of the state of nature being
prone to what Hobbes calls bellum omnium contra omnes or the war of all
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against all ( Hobbes : De Cive, 1642 and Leviathan, 1651), as well as
Francis Fukuyama naming Western liberal democracy as the final form of
human government (Fukuyama : The End of History and the Last Man,
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1992). A Theory Of International Relations is a set of ideas that explains

how the international system works. Unlike an ideology, a theory of
international relations is (at least in principle) backed up with concrete
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evidence. The two major theories of international relations are realism and
liberalism.
Liberalism is a defining feature of modern democracy, illustrated by the
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prevalence of the term ‘liberal democracy’ as a way to describe countries

with free and fair elections, rule of law and protected civil liberties.
However, liberalism – when discussed within the realm of IR theory – has
evolved into a distinct entity of its own. Liberalism contains a variety of
concepts and arguments about how institutions, behaviors and economic
connections contain and mitigate the violent power of states. When
compared to realism, it adds more factors into our field of view – especially
a consideration of citizens and international organizations. Most notably,
liberalism has been the traditional foil of realism in IR theory as it offers a
more optimistic worldview, grounded in a different reading of history to
that found in realist scholarship.
The basics of liberalism- Liberalism is based on the moral argument that
ensuring the right of an individual person to life, liberty and property is the
highest goal of government. Consequently, liberals emphasize the
wellbeing of the individual as the fundamental building block of a just
political system. A political system characterized by unchecked power, such
as a monarchy or a dictatorship, cannot protect the life and liberty of its 7
World Politics citizens. Therefore, the main concern of liberalism is to construct
institutions that protect individual freedom by limiting and checking
political power. While these are issues of domestic politics, the realm of IR
is also important to liberals because a state’s activities abroad can have a
strong influence on liberty at home. Liberals are particularly troubled by
militaristic foreign policies. The primary concern is that war requires states
to build up military power. This power can be used for fighting foreign
states, but it can also be used to oppress its own citizens. For this reason,
political systems rooted in liberalism often limit military power by such
means as ensuring civilian control over the military.
Wars of territorial expansion, or imperialism – when states seek to build
empires by taking territory overseas – are especially disturbing for liberals.
Not only do expansionist wars strengthen the state at the expense of the
people, these wars also require long-term commitments to the military
occupation and political control of foreign territory and peoples. Occupation
and control require large bureaucracies that have an interest in maintaining
or expanding the occupation of foreign territory. For liberals, therefore, the
core problem is how to develop a political system that can allow states to

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protect themselves from foreign threats without subverting the individual
liberty of its citizenry. The primary institutional check on power in liberal
states is free and fair elections via which the people can remove their rulers
from power, providing a fundamental check on the behavior of the
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government. A second important limitation on political power is the
division of political power among different branches and levels of
government – such as a parliament/congress, an executive and a legal
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system. This allows for checks and balances in the use of power.
Democratic peace theory is perhaps the strongest contribution liberalism
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makes to IR theory. It asserts that democratic states are highly unlikely to

go to war with one another. There is a two-part explanation for this
phenomenon. First, democratic states are characterised by internal restraints
on power, as described above. Second, democracies tend to see each other
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as legitimate and unthreatening and therefore have a higher capacity for

cooperation with each other than they do with non-democracies. Statistical
analysis and historical case studies provide strong support for democratic
peace theory, but several issues continue to be debated. First, democracy is
a relatively recent development in human history. This means there are few
cases of democracies having the opportunity to fight one another. Second,
we cannot be sure whether it is truly a ‘democratic’ peace or whether some
other factors correlated with democracy are the source of peace – such as
power, alliances, culture, economics and so on. A third point is that while
democracies are unlikely to go to war with one another, some scholarship
suggests that they are likely to be aggressive toward non-democracies –
such as when the United States went to war with Iraq in 2003. The ideal
version of liberalism is marked by a shared commitment to four essential
institutions. First, citizens possess juridical equality and other fundamental
civic rights such as freedom of religion and the press. Second, the effective
sovereigns of the state are representative legislatures deriving their
authority from the consent of the electorate and exercising their
88 representative authority free from all restraint apart from the requirement
that basic civic rights be preserved. Most pertinent, for the impact of Concepts and Approaches
liberalism on foreign affairs, the state is subject to neither the external
authority of other states nor the internal authority of special prerogatives
held, for example, by monarchs or military bureaucracies over foreign
policy. Third, the economy rests on a recognition of the rights of private
property, including the ownership of means of production. Property is
justified by individual acquisition (e.g., by labor) or by social agreement or
social utility. This excludes state socialism or state capitalism, but it need
not exclude market socialism or various forms of the mixed economy.
Fourth, economic decisions are predominantly shaped by the forces of
supply and demand, domestically and internationally, and are free from
strict control by bureaucracies. Liberal thinkers on international relations
have always displayed a keen interest in the ethical dimension of foreign
policy, based on the assumption that ideas, as well as material interests,
ultimately determine state behavior. Thus, questions about the admissibility
and desirability of military intervention to spread or uphold liberal values
abroad were central to the political thought of seminal figures, such as Kant,
Mazzini, and Mill. The classical realists, for their part, did not necessarily
dismiss normative concerns entirely (unlike their contemporary followers);

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yet they were skeptical about the possibility for moral behavior in an 1438
Liberalism in International Relations anarchical environment where state
survival was assumed to be constantly at stake.
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The liberal state focuses on individual rights and freedom. It also argues for
a neutral and minimal state. It replaces the divine right theory of the state
and argues that a legitimate rule must be based on the consent of the people.
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States work for the common good of the society and its major activity is
understood as to be maintaining law and order and ensuring that everyone
is treated with equality without any discrimination. In other words, a liberal
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state regards individuals as moral and rational agents. State’s role is seen as
providing them with the conducive conditions for growth and prosperity.
Its origin and growth can be traced back to the political struggles that took
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place in England and France with the rise and growth of capitalism which
had led to a free market economy. These struggles focused on individual
dignity, self-respect, private property and power and status particularly of
the emerging middle class of the society. With the coming of the liberal
state, there were some significant changes occurring in the political
organization of the society like representative and constitutional forms of
government, rule of law, and governments based on the consent of the ruled.
It stressed on a new discourse on rights, to uphold the natural and basic
human-like rights - to life, property, freedom, justice and so on. For
example, Adam Smith, a liberal thinker, emphasized on the individual urge
to maximize economic interest or to achieve material gains and thereby
improve their living standards or fortunes. Smith argued that if a state
provides the condition of freedom to individuals to make material and moral
decisions concerning his/her life, the resulting society would be a free and
prosperous society. He talks about a free market economy and less
interference by the state. He said that the role of the state should be like an
‘invisible hand’. For liberals in general, commerce and trade would create
a good and welfare-oriented government. 9
World Politics For liberals, the role of the state is to carry out a legal framework under
which the market can function well. And, it should also maximise the
opportunity and prosperity of everyone. State should thus focus more on
adjudicative and legal roles. Liberals also argue that citizens have the right
to overthrow a government if it does not fulfil the desired roles and
functions such as creating conditions for human happiness and well-being.
Liberals wanted to ensure maximum freedom to individuals and therefore
regard the state as a necessary evil. As per them, without legal authority in
the form of state, individual lives and property would be under constant
threat. And that would be detrimental to peace and prosperity of the society.
Thus, State in a liberal framework should perform the minimum role of
maintaining law and order and enforcing a contract.
Within this broad focus, however, along with the changing notion of
individual liberty and freedom, the liberal tradition has journeyed through
changing notions of the State and its role.
Neoliberalism

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As a reaction to the growing thickness of the state as a welfare flag-bearer
and interventionist mechanism in the economic sphere, a new stream of
critique emerged. This is led by the neo-liberals or the Libertarians, chiefly
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amongst them are Friedrich A. Hayek, Milton Friedman, Isaiah Berlin and
Robert Nozick. Their main opposition to the growing intervention of the
state emerges from their concern for liberty and freedom. All of them
support the negative view of liberty and argue for non-interference in the
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economic liberty of the individual. In short, they take the debate back to a
possessive individual and laissez-faire state.
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The features of Neoliberalism include the following:

• Minimalist and night watchman state
• Priority to economic liberty - economic liberty includes political
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liberty (Friedman, Nozick)

• Liberty as absence of coercion
• No relationship between liberty and equality or justice
• No welfare state
In the discipline of International Relations (IR), Realism is a school of
thought that emphasizes the competitive and conflictual side of
international relations. Realism’s roots are often said to be found in some
of humankind’s earliest historical writings, particularly Thucydides’ history
of the Peloponnesian War, which raged between 431 and 404 BCE.
Thucydides, writing over two thousand years ago, was not a ‘realist’
because IR theory did not exist in named form until the twentieth century.
However, when looking back from a contemporary vantage point, theorists
detected many similarities in the thought patterns and behaviors of the
ancient world and the modern world. They then drew on his writings, and
that of others, to lend weight to the idea that there was a timeless theory
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10 spanning all recorded human history. That theory was named ‘realism’.
The basics of realism- The first assumption of realism is that the nation- Concepts and Approaches
state (usually abbreviated to ‘state’) is the main actor in international
relations. Other bodies exist, such as individuals and organizations, but their
power is limited. Second, the state is a unitary actor. National interests,
especially in times of war, lead the state to speak and act with one voice.
Third, decision-makers are rational actors in the sense that rational decision-
making leads to the pursuit of the national interest. Here, taking actions that
would make your state weak or vulnerable would not be rational. Realism
suggests that all leaders, no matter what their political persuasion, recognise
this as they attempt to manage their state’s affairs in order to survive in a
competitive environment. Finally, states live in a context of anarchy – that
is, in the absence of anyone being in charge internationally. The often-used
analogy of there being ‘no one to call’ in an international emergency helps
to underline this point. Within our own states we typically have police
forces, militaries, courts and so on. In an emergency, there is an expectation
that these institutions will ‘do something’ in response. Internationally, there
is no clear expectation of anyone or anything ‘doing something’ as there is
no established hierarchy. Therefore, states can ultimately only rely on
themselves.

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As realism frequently draws on examples from the past, there is a great deal
of emphasis on the idea that humans are essentially held hostage to
repetitive patterns of behaviour determined by their nature. Central to that
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assumption is the view that human beings are egoistic and desire power.
Realists believe that our selfishness, our appetite for power and our inability
to trust others leads to predictable outcomes. Perhaps this is why war has
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been so common throughout recorded history. Since individuals are

organised into states, human nature impacts on state behaviour. In that
respect, Niccolò Machiavelli focused on how the basic human
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characteristics influence the security of the state. And in his time, leaders
were usually male, which also influences the realist account of politics. In
The Prince (1532), Machiavelli stressed that a leader’s primary concern is
to promote national security. In order to successfully perform this task, the
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leader needs to be alert and cope effectively with internal as well as external
threats to his rule; he needs to be a lion and a fox. Power (the Lion) and
deception (the Fox) are crucial tools for the conduct of foreign policy. In
Machiavelli’s view, rulers obey the ‘ethics of responsibility’ rather than the
conventional religious morality that guides the average citizen – that is, they
should be good when they can, but they must also be willing to use violence
when necessary to guarantee the survival of the state. In the aftermath of the
Second World War, Hans Morgenthau (1948) sought to develop a
comprehensive international theory as he believed that politics, like society
in general, is governed by laws that have roots in human nature. His concern
was to clarify the relationship between interests and morality in
international politics, and his work drew heavily on the insights of historical
figures such as Thucydides and Machiavelli. In contrast to more
optimistically minded idealists who expected international tensions to be
resolved through open negotiations marked by goodwill, Morgenthau set
out an approach that emphasised power over morality. Indeed, morality was
portrayed as some- thing that should be avoided in policymaking. In
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World Politics Morgenthau’s account, every political action is directed towards keeping,
increasing or demonstrating power. The thinking is that policies based on
morality or idealism can lead to weakness – and possibly the destruction or
domination of a state by a competitor. In this sense pursuing the national
interest is ‘amoral’ – meaning that it is not subject to calculations of
morality.
In Theory of International Politics (1979), Kenneth Waltz modernised IR
theory by moving realism away from its unprovable (albeit persuasive)
assumptions about human nature. His theoretical contribution was termed
‘neorealism’ or ‘structural realism’ because he emphasised the notion of
‘structure’ in his explanation. Rather than a state’s decisions and actions
being based on human nature, they are arrived at via a simple formula. First,
all states are constrained by existing in an international anarchic system (this
is the structure). Second, any course of action they pursue is based on their
relative power when measured against other states. So, Waltz offered a
version of realism that recommended that theorists examine the
characteristics of the international system for answers rather than delve into
flaws in human nature. In doing so, he sparked a new era in IR theory that

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attempted to use social scientific methods rather than political theory (or
philosophical) methods. The difference is that Waltz’s variables
(international anarchy, how much power a state has, etc.) can be
empirically/physically measured. Ideas like human nature are assumptions
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based on certain philosophical views that cannot be measured in the same
way. Realists believe that their theory most closely describes the image of
world politics held by practitioners of statecraft. For this reason, realism,
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perhaps more than any other IR theory, is often utilised in the world of
policymaking – echoing Machiavelli’s desire to write a manual to guide
leaders. However, realism’s critics argue that realists can help perpetuate
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the violent and confrontational world that they describe. By assuming the
uncooperative and egoistic nature of humankind and the absence of
hierarchy in the state system, realists encourage leaders to act in ways based
on suspicion, power and force. Realism can thus be seen as a self-fulfilling
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prophecy. More directly, realism is often criticised as excessively

pessimistic, since it sees the confrontational nature of the international
system as inevitable. However, according to realists, leaders are faced with
endless constraints and few opportunities for cooperation. Thus, they can
do little to escape the reality of power politics. For a realist, facing the
reality of one’s predicament is not pessimism – it is prudence. The realist
account of international relations stresses that the possibility of peaceful
change, or in fact any type of change, is limited. For a leader to rely on such
an idealistic outcome would be folly.
Perhaps because it is designed to explain repetition and a timeless pattern
of behaviour, realism was not able to predict or explain a major recent
transformation of the international system: the end of the Cold War between
the United States of America (US) and the Soviet Union in 1991. When the
Cold War ended, international politics underwent rapid change that pointed
to a new era of limited competition between states and abundant
opportunities for cooperation. This transformation prompted the emergence
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12 of an optimistic vision of world politics that discarded realism as ‘old
thinking’. Realists are also accused of focusing too much on the state as a Concepts and Approaches
solid unit, ultimately overlooking other actors and forces within the state
and also ignoring international issues not directly connected to the survival
of the state. For example, the Cold War ended because ordinary citizens in
Soviet-controlled nations in Eastern Europe decided to rebel against
existing power structures. This rebellion swept from one country to another
within the Soviet Union’s vast empire, resulting in its gradual collapse
between 1989 and 1991. Realism’s toolbox did not and does not account for
such events: the actions of ordinary citizens (or international organisations,
for that matter) have no major part in its calculations. This is due to the
state-centred nature of the thinking that realism is built upon. It views states
as solid pool balls bouncing around a table – never stopping to look inside
each pool ball to see what it comprises and why it moves the way it does.
Realists recognise the importance of these criticisms, but tend to see events
such as the collapse of the Soviet Union as exceptions to the normal pattern
of things. Many critics of realism focus on one of its central strategies in the
management of world affairs – an idea called ‘the balance of power’. This
describes a situation in which states are continuously making choices to
increase their own capabilities while undermining the capabilities of others.

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This generates a ‘balance’ of sorts as (theoretically) no state is permitted to
get too powerful within the international system. If a state attempts to push
its luck and grow too much, like Nazi Germany in the 1930s, it will trigger
a war because other states will form an alliance to try to defeat it – that is,
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restore a balance. This balance of power system is one of the reasons why
international relations is anarchic. No single state has been able to become
a global power and unite the world under its direct rule. Hence, realism talks
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frequently about the importance of flexible alliances as a way of ensuring

survival. These alliances are determined less by political or cultural
similarities among states and more by the need to find fair-weather friends,
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or ‘enemies of my enemy’. This may help to explain why the US and the
Soviet Union were allied during the Second World War (1939–1945): they
both saw a similar threat from a rising Germany and sought to balance it.
Yet within a couple of years of the war ending, the nations had become
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bitter enemies and the balance of power started to shift again as new
alliances were formed during what became known as the Cold War (1947–
1991). While realists describe the balance of power as a prudent strategy to
manage an insecure world, critics see it as a way of legitimising war and
aggression. In addition, realism continues to offer many important insights
about the world of policymaking due to its history of offering tools of
statecraft to policymakers.
Realism is a theory that claims to explain the reality of international politics.
It emphasises the constraints on politics that result from humankind’s
egoistic nature and the absence of a central authority above the state. For
realists, the highest goal is the survival of the state, which explains why
states’ actions are judged according to the ethics of responsibility rather than
by moral principles. The dominance of realism has generated a significant
strand of literature criticising its main tenets. However, despite the value of
the criticisms, which will be explored in the rest of this book, realism
continues to provide valuable insights and remains an important analytical
tool for every student of International Relations.
13
World Politics Neorealism or structural realism is a theory of international relations that
emphasizes the role of power politics in international relations, sees
competition and conflict as enduring features and sees limited potential for
cooperation.The anarchic state of the international system means that states
cannot be certain of other states' intentions and their security, thus
prompting them to engage in power politics. It was first outlined by Kenneth
Waltz in his 1979 book Theory of International Politics. Alongside
neoliberalism, neorealism is one of the two most influential contemporary
approaches to international relations; the two perspectives dominated
international relations theory from the 1960s to the 1990s.
Check Your Progress Exercise 2
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answer.
1) Explain the main features of the liberal approach to International
Relations.
………………………………………………………………………………
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………………………………………………………………………………
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……………………………………………………………………………....
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1.4 CONCEPTS: POWER, NATIONAL INTEREST AND

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BALANCE OF POWER
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Power in International Relations

The subject of power has been an interest of social scientists for many
decades, if not centuries, if one were to go back to writings of Aristotle,
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Plato, and Machiavelli. Despite such great deal of attention, however, there
are still notable academic debates over power’s specific definition and its
features, which lead to the topic’s complexity and ambiguity. In discussing
power, it is important to note whose power one is referring to. For instance,
Arendt defined power not as the property of an individual, but rather argued
that it belongs to a group and remains in existence only so long as the group
keeps together. Meanwhile, Dahl proposed to call the objects in the
relationship of power as actors. The term actor is inclusive and may refer to
individuals, groups, roles, offices, governments, nation-states, or other
human aggregates. One of the most influential definitions of power in the
field of social science belongs to Max Weber who defined it as the
probability of one actor within a social relationship to be in a position to
carry out his own will despite resistance. According to Weber, power is a
zero-sum game and is an attribute that derives from the qualities, resources
and capabilities of one subject. However, the Weberian definition attracted
a number of criticisms. Martin pointed out that Weber did not define power,
but rather provided the basis for a comparison between the attributes of
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14 actors. Moreover, the author argued that, by building the element of conflict
into his definition and viewing power solely in zero-sum terms, Weber Concepts and Approaches
disregarded the possibility of mutually convenient power relations . In
contrast, Talcott Parsons offered a conceptualization of power, which did
not define it in terms of conflict, but rather views it as a system resource.
Parsons argued that power is a capacity to secure the performance of
binding obligations by units in a system of collective organization, when
obligations are legitimized with reference to the collective goals, and where
in case of recalcitrance, there is a presumption of negative sanctions.
Power remains one of the critical subjects in political science, including the
sphere of international relations. The discipline of International Relations
incorporates a number of competing schools of thought, but for the long
time, the discipline has treated power as the exclusive prerogative of
realism. In fact, there is still a tendency among scholars and 3 practitioners
to view power predominantly through the realist lens. To reiterate, the five
basic assumptions of realists about the international system are that it is
anarchic; all great powers possess some offensive military capability; states
can never be certain about the intentions of other states; survival is the
primary goal of states; and states are rational actors (Mearsheimer, 2001).

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The realists view the nation-states as the key actors in the international
system. Hans Morgenthau famously proclaimed that international politics,
like all politics, is a struggle for power and ‘whatever the ultimate aims of
international politics, power is always the immediate aim’. According to the
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author, the ‘ubiquity of the struggle for power in all social relations on all
levels of social organization’ made the arena of international politics a
necessity of power politics (Morgenthau, 1954). Carr (1964) was in
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agreement with Morgenthau and asserted that politics, at its heart, is power
politics. For all realists, calculations about power lie at the core of how
states perceive the world around them (Mearsheimer, 2001: 12). While
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realists are in agreement that power is a key determinant in political

relations, there is there is a variation in how individual realists understand
the concept. For instance, classical realists posit that the permanent struggle
for power stems from the fundamental human drive for power (Morgenthau,
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1954). In contrast, for structural or neo-realists, it is the architecture of the

international system that forces states to pursue power and maximize their
power position (Mearsheimer, 2001; Dunne, Kurki, and Smith, 2013).
Furthermore, there are disagreements as to how the power should be
conceived and measured (Walt, 2002). There are two dominant traditions of
power analysis in IR: the ‘elements of the national power approach’, which
depicts power as property of states, and the relational power approach,
which depicts power as an actual or potential relationship . In other words,
some realists define power in terms of resources, while others define it in a
relational manner as the ability to exercise influence over other actors.
Proponents of the elements of the national power approach associate power
with the possession of specific resources. All of the important resources that
a state possesses are typically combined to determine its overall aggregate
power. The resources that are indicators of national power are the level of
military expenditure, size of the armed forces, gross national product, size
of territory, and population. In line with this tradition, Morgenthau equated
power with the possession of identifiable and measurable resources and
15
World Politics listed geography, natural resources, industrial capacity, military, and
population as stable power elements of a nation. Carr argued that military
power was the most important form of power in international politics, as it
serves as both a means and an end in itself. However, one of the difficulties
with the elements of the national power approach is the issue of power
conversion; that is ‘the capacity to convert potential power, as measured by
resources, to realized power, as measured by the changed behaviour of
others’. It is not the mere possession of power resources that matters, but
the ability to convert these into actual influence. Hart argued that, with the
control over resources approach, it not always certain that actors will be
able to use resources which are nominally under their control; some types
of resources are extremely difficult to measure; and, finally, the focus on
national power precludes the consideration of the role of non-state actors
and the issues of interdependence, coalitions, and collective action.
As the discipline of international relations was evolving, the rigid
interpretation of power slowly started to change. In particular, Joseph Nye
(1990) argued that the changing nature of the international framework has
re-emphasized the use of intangible forms of power, such as culture,

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ideology, and institutions. The growing social mobilization makes the
factors of technology, education, and economic growth as, if not more,
significant as geography, population, and resources. Conversely, Baldwin
(2012) argued that the importance of military force has been previously
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exaggerated, while the role of nonmilitary forms of power has been
underestimated. Nye splits power into two forms: hard and soft. For the
purposes of this paper, the author is going to adopt Nye’s definition of
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power: as an ability to affect others to achieve the outcomes one wants.

Moreover, this paper adopts Nye’s forms of power as a framework for the
analysis. Hard and soft power can be considered two pure forms of power.
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Hard or command power is the oldest form of power; it is connected to the

idea of an anarchic international system, where countries do not recognize
any superior authority and thus have to focus on power politics. Hard power
is defined as an ability to reach one's goals through coercive actions or
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threats, the so-called 'carrots' and 'sticks' of international politics.

Historically, hard power has been measured by such criteria as population
size, territory, geography, natural resources, military force, and economic
strength. Soft power rests on the ability to shape the preferences of others,
without the use of force, coercion or violence, but through intangible assets
such as an attractive personality, culture, political values, institutions, and
policies that are seen as legitimate or having moral authority (Nye, 2008:
95). Legitimacy is central for soft power. One of the roots of soft power
could be traced to Steven Lukes’ argument on the third face of power
(Lukes, 1974). The first face of power was associated with Dahl (1961),
who stated that an actor who wins the argument or an issue has the power.
Alternatively, Bachrach and Baratz (1962) argued that Dahl’s approach
neglected a second ‘face’ of power represented by the suppression of some
issues, thus, in effect, keeping them from being considered. In other words,
the second face refers to the ability to set the agenda (Baldwin,). Lukes
(1974) introduced the third face of power; illustrating the ability of an actor
A to get B to do something B would not otherwise do is to affect B’s
16
16
preferences, desires or thoughts. The first two faces of power describe how Concepts and Approaches
power can be used to get someone to do what you want them to, even if it
is against their own will. Conversely, the third face of power described how
power could manipulate by changing what they want. In another example,
one could trace the roots of soft power in Carr’s (1946: 108) writings when
he equated divided power into three categories: military power, economic
power, and power over opinion. Military and economic powers are
obviously the attributes of hard power, while the power over opinion could
be viewed as the variant of Nye’s soft power. To reiterate, legitimacy is
central soft power. When a state is able to sincerely attract and convince
others with use of its values and set of practices, the country is considered
to have an effective soft power. For instance, the Fulbright program is an
influential aspect of American educational soft power. In another example,
Hollywood and Broadway are significant aspects of American cultural soft
power.
National Interest
National interest is the most crucial concept in international relations. It is

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the key concept in foreign policy as it provides the material based on which
foreign policy is made. While formulating foreign policy, all statesmen are
guided by their respective national interests. It is the purpose of foreign
policy to conduct foreign relations to achieve national interest to the
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maximum extent. But it is not easy to determine exactly what a nation’s
national interest is. This concept is highly vague and difficult to define. The
task of defining national interest becomes more cumbersome as the
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domestic and international activities overlap. It is appropriate if national

interest is seen as a synthesis of the objective and subjective approaches. In
most nation-states, the iron law of oligarchy is prevalent, implying that
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governmental decisions are made only by a few men and women. These
decisions are often taken in such a way as to promote the national interest
as this notion is perceived and defined by the decision-makers; at best, they
are justified by being related to the national interest. A renowned British
m

scholar of international relations, Hugh Section Watson, has recommended

that the expression of national interest is a misnomer as governments, not
nation-states, make foreign policy. According to Morgenthau, the concept
of national interest is similar in two respects to the great generalities of the
(American) constitution such as the general welfare and due process. It
contains a residual meaning which is inherent in the concept itself. Still,
beyond these minimum requirements, content can run the whole gamut of
meanings logically compatible with it. That content is determined by the
political traditions and the total cultural context within which a nation
formulates its foreign policy. The residual meaning in the concept of
national interest is survival. In Morganthau’s opinion, nation-states’
minimum requirement is to protect their physical, political, and cultural
identity against encroachments by other nation-states. Formulated into more
specific objectives, the preservation of physical identity is equated with
maintaining the territorial integrity of a nation-state. Preservation of
political identity is equated with preserving existing politico-economic
regimes, such as democratic competitive, communist, socialist,
authoritarian, and totalitarian; preservation of cultural identity is concerned 17
World Politics with ethnic, religious, linguistic, and historical norms and traditions in a
nation-state. Some of the prominent tools used to pursue national interest
are as follows:
Diplomacy as a Means of National Interests:
Diplomacy is a universally accepted means for securing national interests.
It is through diplomacy that the foreign policy of a nation travels to other
nations. It seeks to secure the goals of national interests. Diplomats establish
contacts with the decision-makers and diplomats of other nations and
conduct negotiations for achieving the desired goals and objectives of
national interests of their nation. The art of diplomacy involves the
presentation of the goals and objectives of national interest in such a way as
can persuade others to accept these as just and rightful demands of the
nation. Diplomats use persuasion and threats, rewards and threats of denial
of rewards as the means for exercising power and securing goals of national
interest as defined by foreign policy of their nation. Diplomatic negotiations
constitute the most effective means of conflict-resolution and for
reconciling the divergent interests of the state. Through mutual give and
take, accommodation and reconciliation, diplomacy tries to secure the

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desired goals and objectives of national interest. As an instrument of
securing national interest, diplomacy is a universally recognized and most
frequently used means. Morgenthau regards diplomacy as the most primary
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means. However, all the objectives and goals of national interest cannot be
secured through diplomacy.
Propaganda
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The second important method for securing national interest is propaganda.

Propaganda is the art of salesmanship. It is the art of convincing others
about the justness of the goals and objectives or ends which are desired to
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be secured. It consists of the attempt to impress upon nations the necessity

of securing the goals which a nation wishes to achieve. “Propaganda is a
systematic attempt to affect the minds, emotions and actions of a given
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group for a specific public purpose.” —Frankel. It is directly addressed to

the people of other states and its aim is always to secure the self-interests—
interests which are governed exclusively by the national interests of the
propagandist. The revolutionary development of the means of
communications (Internet) in the recent times has increased the scope of
propaganda as a means for securing support for goals of national interest.
Economic means
The rich and developed nations use economic aid and loans as the means
for securing their interests in international relations. The existence of a very
wide gap between the rich and poor countries provides a big opportunity to
the rich nations for promoting their interests vis-a-vis the poor nations.The
dependence of the poor and lowly- developed nations upon the rich and
developed nations for the import of industrial goods, technological know-
how, foreign aid, armaments and for selling raw materials, has been
responsible for strengthening the role of economic instruments of foreign
policy. In this era of Globalisation, conduct of international economic
18
18 relation has emerged as a key means of national interests.
Alliances and Treaties Concepts and Approaches

Alliances and Treaties are concluded by two or more states for securing
their common interests. This device is mostly used for securing identical
and complementary interests. However, even conflictual interests may lead
to alliances and treaties with like-minded states against the common rivals
or opponents. Alliances and treaties make it a legal obligation for the
members of the alliances or signatories of the treaties to work for the
promotion of agreed common interests. The alliances may be concluded for
serving a particular specific interest or for securing a number of common
interests. The nature of an alliance depends upon the nature of interest which
is sought to be secured. Accordingly, the alliances are either military or
economic in nature. The need for securing the security of capitalist
democratic states against the expanding ‘communist menace’ led to the
creation of military alliances like NATO, SEATO, CENTO, ANZUS etc.
Likewise, the need to meet the threat to socialism led to the conclusion of
the Warsaw Pact among the communist countries. The need for the
economic reconstruction of Europe after the Second World War led to the
establishment of the European Common Market (Now European Union)

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and several other economic agencies. The needs of Indian national interests
in 1971 led to the conclusion of the Treaty of Peace, Friendship and
Cooperation with the (erstwhile) Soviet Union. Alliances and Treaties are
thus popular means for securing national interests.
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War and Aggression have been declared illegal means, yet these continue
to be used by the states in actual course of international relations. Today,
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nations fully realize the importance of peaceful means of conflict-resolution

like negotiations, and diplomacy as the ideal methods for promoting their
national interests. Yet at the same time they continue to use coercive means,
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whenever they find it expedient and necessary. Military power is still

regarded as a major part of national power and is often used by a nation for
securing its desired goals and objectives.
m

All this makes it essential for every nation to formulate its foreign policy
and to conduct its relations with other nations on the basis of its national
interests, as interpreted and defined in harmony with the common interests
of the humankind. The aim of foreign policy is to secure the defined goals
of national interest by the use of the national power.
Balance of Power
The balance of power is considered one of the core principles of
international relations. Although the theory doesn’t have one, exact
meaning, it is best understood as referring to a state of international order
where power is balanced in such a way that nations avoid aggression out of
fear of forceful retaliation. Balance of power, in international relations, the
posture and policy of a nation or group of nations protecting itself against
another nation or group of nations by matching its power against the power
of the other side. States can pursue a policy of balance of power in two
ways: by increasing their own power, as when engaging in an armaments
race or in the competitive acquisition of territory; or by adding to their own
19
World Politics power that of other states, as when embarking upon a policy of alliances.
The term balance of power came into use to denote the power relationships
in the European state system from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to World
War I. Within the European balance of power, Great Britain played the role
of the “balancer,” or “holder of the balance.” It was not permanently
identified with the policies of any European nation, and it would throw its
weight at one time on one side, at another time on another side, guided
largely by one consideration—the maintenance of the balance itself. Naval
supremacy and its virtual immunity from foreign invasion enabled Great
Britain to perform this function, which made the European balance of power
both flexible and stable.
The balance of power from the early 20th century onward underwent drastic
changes that for all practical purposes destroyed the European power
structure as it had existed since the end of the Middle Ages. Prior to the 20th
century, the political world was composed of a number of separate and
independent balance-of-power systems, such as the European, the
American, the Chinese, and the Indian. But World War I and its attendant
political alignments triggered a process that eventually culminated in the

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integration of most of the world’s nations into a single balance-of-power
system. This integration began with the World War I alliance of Britain,
France, Russia, and the United States against Germany and Austria-
Hungary. The integration continued in World War II, during which the
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fascist nations of Germany, Japan, and Italy were opposed by a global
alliance of the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain, and China. World
War II ended with the major weights in the balance of power having shifted
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from the traditional players in western and central Europe to just two non-
European ones: the United States and the Soviet Union. The result was a
bipolar balance of power across the northern half of the globe that pitted the
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free-market democracies of the West against the communist one-party

states of eastern Europe. More specifically, the nations of western Europe
sided with the United States in the NATO military alliance, while the Soviet
Union’s satellite-allies in central and eastern Europe became unified under
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Soviet leadership in the Warsaw Pact. Since the 16th century, balance of
power politics have profoundly influenced international relations. But in
recent years—with the sudden disappearance of the Soviet Union, growing
power of the United States, and increasing prominence of international
institutions—many scholars have argued that the balance of power theory
is losing its releva
Check Your Progress Exercise 3

Note: i) Use the space given below for your answer.

1) Elucidate on the concept of Power and National Interest.
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20
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1.5 LET US SUM UP (SUMMARY/ CONCLUSION) Concepts and Approaches

In this module we discussed the meaning, nature and important approaches

toInternational Relations.Why international relations is important, is that it
goes beyond peace and war, past poverty and business; rather it explores the
key players in world politics, intrinsic political patterns, and identifies the
theories for how resolution and cooperation can be reached. The module
also emphasizes two most important approaches in this discipline. The
module also reflects upon important key concepts like power, national
interest , balance of power etc.

1.6 REFERENCES

D. A. Baldwin (ed.), Neo-realism and Neo-liberalism, New York,

Columbia University Press,1993. (ed.), Paradoxes of Power, New York,
Basil Blackwell, 1989.
J. C. Bennett (ed.), Nuclear Weapons and the Conflict of Conscience, New
York, Charles Scribner’sSons, 1962.

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D.G. Brennan (ed.), Arms Control, Disarmament and National Security,
New York, George Braziller,1961. H. Bull, The Control of the Arms Race,
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New York, Praeger, 1961.
K von Clausewitz, War, Politics and Power: Selections, Chicago, Henry
Regnery Company, 1962.
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W. D. Coplin, Introduction to International Politics, Chicago, Markham,

1971
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K. Deutsch, The Analysis of International Relations, Englewood Cliffs NJ,

Prentice Hall, 1967. J. E.
Dougherty, How to think about Arms Control and Disarmament, New York,
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Alfred A. Knopf, 1962

R. L. Pfaltzfraff, Jr., Contending Theories of International Relations,
Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott Co.,1970.
W. Epstein, Disarmament: 25 years of Effort, Toronto, Canadian Institute
of International Affairs, 1971.
The Last Chance: Nuclear Proliferation and Arms Control, New York, The
Free Press, 1976.
R. A. Falk, Law, Morality and War in the Contemporary World, New York,
Frederick A Praegar, 1963
H. W. Forbes, The Strategy of Disarmament, Washington DC, Public
Affairs Press, 1962.
J. Galtung, The True Worlds: A Transnational Perspective, New York, The
Free Press, 1980. 21
World Politics F. I. Greenstein and N. W. Polsby, Theory of International Relations,
Reading Massachusetts, AddisonWesley, 1979.
K.J. Holsti, Why Nations Realign, London, Allen and Unwin, 1982.
————, The Dividing Discipline, Boston, Allen and Unwin, 1985.
————, Peace and War: Armed Conflicts and International Order 1648-
1989, Cambridge,Cambridge University Press, 1991.
A. Hurrell, “Collective Security and International Order Revisited”
International Relations, Vol. II,No.1, April.
. R. O. Keohane, After Hegemony: Cooperation and Discord in the World
Political Economy, Princeton NJ, Princeton, University Press, 1984.
———— (ed.), Neo-realism and Its Critics, New York, Columbia
University Press, 1986.————, International Institutions and State
Power, Boulder Colorado, Westview Press, 1989. ———— and E. Ostrom
(eds.), Local Commons and Global Interdependence: Heterogeneity and

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Co-operation in Two Domains, London, Sage, 1994.
S. D. Krasner (ed.), International Regimes, Ithaca NY, Cornell University
Press, 1983.
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Political Science 23 H. D. Lasswell, World Politics and Personal Insecurity,
New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1953.
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H. J. Morgenthau, Politics Among Nations, 6th edition, revised by K. W.

Thompson, New York, Alfred Knopf, 1985.
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J. A. Vasquez, The Power of Power Politics, London, Frances Pinter, 1983.

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 2
WORLD ORDER
Unit Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction: Meaning of World Order
2.2 Cold War
2.2.1 Bipolarity
2.3 Post- Cold War
2.3.1 Unipolarity
2.3.2 Multipolarity
2.3.3 Non-Polarity
2.4 Summary/ Conclusion

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2.5 References

2.0 OBJECTIVES
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The aim of this unit is to familiarize you with the meaning of world order
and the changes that were witnessed in the nature of world order through
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the cold war and post-cold war periods. After studying this unit, you should
be able to:
• Explain what world order is and how the international system is
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characterized by changes in the world order.

• Understand the nature of world order during the Cold War period.
• Understand the nature of world order during the Post-Cold War
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period.

2.1 INTRODUCTION: MEANING OF ‘WORLD ORDER’

Theories of international politics often refer to the term ‘World Order’.

While the realists argue that the international order is characterized by
anarchy and conflict between states, liberals argue that the order is
characterized by mutual cooperation between states. What is this ‘order’
that the scholars are referring to? According to Lake, Martin and Risse, the
term ‘Order’ refers to “patterned or structured relationships amongst units”,
the units being states. ‘World Order’, as Heywood argues, reflects how
power distribution amongst the states in the international system determines
order. According to him,

• Power is distributed amongst states in the international system.

• Power distribution affects the level of stability within the system, i.e.,
power distribution will determine whether the international system
World Politics will be characterized by anarchy and chaos or characterized by
cooperation.
Thus, ‘World Order’, as Richard Falk agrees, analytically, refers to the
“arrangement of power and authority” in the international system with the
power arrangement acting as the basis on which states conduct their foreign
policies and diplomacy at a global level.
The nature of distribution of power in the international system has been
changing over time. One of the ways to understand the nature of the
international system and how power is distributed in the international
system is through polarity. Polarity is determined on the basis
of power/powers that dominate the international system, militarily and
economically, at any given point of time. Historically, three typologies of
polarity, explaining the distribution of power in the international system
have been witnessed:

• Unipolarity- In a unipolar system, one state is considered to have the

most military, economic, political, and cultural power. Balance of
power is not possible in a unipolar system since one state is too strong

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or powerful for any other state to possibly balance it. Unipolarity,
however, is not to be confused with hegemony whereby the strongest
state/ entity ‘controls’ the foreign policy of all the other states.
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According to Martha Finnermore, a unipole maintains its status-quo
in the international system through institutionalization and
legitimation. Monteiro (2011) argues that a unipole, unlike a
hegemon, does not have complete control over the foreign policy of
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other states. In order to obtain legitimacy, a unipole gives some degree

of power to the other actors in the international system and wards off
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any kind of challenge to its power through

institutionalization. [Witnessed during the Post -Cold War period]

• Bipolarity - Predominate power in a bipolar system is held by two

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states where one state constantly seeks to balance their power against
the other. In this system, two of the most dominant states/
superpowers compete for power and the less powerful states ally with
either of the two. Actors in the system are in a zero-sum game where
if one of the superpower gains, the other loses. According to neo-
realists, balance of power and stability is possible in a bipolar world
order. [Witnessed during Cold War period]

• Multipolarity - In a multipolar system, more than two states / many

equally powerful states vie for power. Historically, the multipolar
system has been common as was witnessed both during World War I
and World War II.
The above systems reflect the number of states that are competing for power
in the international system. Each pole is further, assumed to be of
comparable strength. The next section, in this context, goes on to elaborate
the nature of world order during the Cold War period and its consequent
implications on the international system.
24
24
Check your progress Exercise 1 World Order

Note (i) use the space given below for your answer

1) What is the meaning of ‘World Order’?

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2.2 COLD WAR

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The Cold War refers to the period of bipolarity from 1945-1989 when there
was rising tensions between the two power blocs (led by USA and
USSR). It is referred to as ‘Cold War’ since there was no open hostility
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(military war) but attack of one bloc against the other through methods of
propaganda, economic sanctions, and a general policy of non-cooperation.
At the end of WWII, there was massive destruction with the economies of
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most European countries being heavily affected. According to Norman

Lowe, at the end of the war, USSR (current day Russia) suffered massive
losses with 70,000 villages ruined, 70 percent of its industries and 1700
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cities destroyed. Most of the countries in Europe were similarly affected.

However, USA suffered little losses (except for the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbour and brief occupation of the Aleutian Islands of Attu and Kiska).
Economically, USA not only came out of the Great Depression but also
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enjoyed economic supremacy and a war time boom.

Post- World War II, there was a quest for collective security and efforts
towards creation of a new international structure designed to settle
international problems. However, there were differences of principles and
an ideological struggle for global influence between the communist states
(led by USSR) and the liberal-democratic states (led by USA). While the
Communist states believed in the collective ownership of wealth and central
planning of the economy, Capitalist states were in favour of private
ownership of country’s wealth, profit-making and preservation of power.
USSR, as the flagbearer of communist states, was distrusted by the west
since USA and its allies had the fear of communism spreading in Europe.
Foreign policies of Stalin aggravated the tensions since he ordered
occupation of a significant proportion of German territory and acquiring of
a substantial portion of land from the countries of Poland, Finland, and
Romania. These actions were seen as ‘aggression’ by the West. USSR, on
its part, contended that Stalin was not informed about the exact nature of
25
World Politics the atomic bomb (the bomb that hit Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of
WW II) though Churchill was informed about it. USSR’s request of sharing
occupation in Japan was further denied.
At the end of the war, Yalta and Potsdam conferences were held.
Accordingly, decisions were taken on a number of issue areas-

• Germany was to be divided into three zones – Russian, American, and

British.
• Berlin and Austria were to be further split up into corresponding
zones.
• Free elections were to be conducted in rest of the states of Eastern
Europe.
• The question of who rules Poland was an area of contention. It was
ultimately decided that Poland was to be ruled by democratic leaders
from Poland itself and by the Polish government abroad until free and
fair elections are held to decide the permanent government in Poland.

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However, no free and fair elections were held in Poland. Stalin not only
captured all of Poland but also drove towards Berlin. According to Lowe,
Stalin did not want any foreign power to have the opportunity to turn
Eastern Europe against USSR. Pro-Communist governments were
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established in Hungary, Bulgaria, Albania, Poland, and Romania. By 1947,
every state in Eastern Europe, except Czechoslovakia had a communist
government. However, the Western powers argued that acceptance of
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USSR’s expanse would be a repetition of the appeasement policy as was

witnessed in the case of Hitler and thereby, would eventually lead to a war.
US President Churchill announced that a ‘Iron Curtain’ has descended
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across the continent, referring to the widening rift between the East and the
West. The West eventually adopted the policy of ‘containment’ as a strategy
to contain the spread of Communism in Eastern Europe. As a part of its
‘containment’ policy, USA adopted the ‘Truman Doctrine’ and ‘Marshall
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Plan’ under which countries received massive amounts of aid. 13000

million dollars of aid flowed from USA to Europe. USSR came up with its
own version of Marshall Plan, known as, Molotov Plan, wherein similar
amounts of aid were promised to the countries of Eastern Europe.
Strategies of Threat Perception (perceiving any action made by the
opponent as a threat, necessitating reaction) and Mirror-Image Syndrome
(Replication of similar strategies) continued to dominate the Cold War
period. The creation of a collective defence organization - NATO (North-
Atlantic Treaty Organisation) in 1949 by the Western powers was countered
by USSR through the creation of the Warsaw Pact. Similarly, Truman
Doctrine and Marshall Plan by USA was countered by creation of
Cominform and Molotov Plan by USSR. The production of an atomic bomb
by USA was further countered by production of Russian atom bombs in
1949. This paved the way for an acceleration of Arms Race wherein both
the powers competed for military superiority. Some of the examples are as
follows- While USA produced a hydrogen bomb in 1952, USSR produced
the same in 1953. Similarly, while USSR produced the world’s first Earth
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26
Satellite -Sputnik 1 in 1958, USA produced its own satellite by 1959. The World Order
arms race continued post 1970s along with the powers competing for
increasing their zone of influence, not only within Europe (e.g. – annexation
of Czechoslovakia by USSR, 1968) but also outside Europe (as was
witnessed in Korea and Vietnam).
2.2.1 Implications of Cold War Bipolarity
During the Cold War, we saw two superpowers emerging in the
international system with a capacity to dominate and influence all the
others. The Cold War thereby, is a practical example of a bipolar world
order.
According to neo-realists, stability and order is maintained in a bipolar
system since the system tends towards a balance of power. Despite USA
and USSR engaging in an arms race, military equality between the two
inclined them towards a strategy of deterrence. According to Heywood,
power relationships were more stable during the cold war period since each
bloc was forced to rely on their internal resources with lesser scope of
relying on external means for expanding their power.

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However, critical theorists criticise the bipolar world order on grounds that
it strengthened the imperialistic tendencies of both USA and USSR who
sought to extend and consolidate their spheres of influence. USA’s political
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interference in the Vietnam War and USSR’s invasion of Czechoslovakia,
Hungary and Afghanistan reflect neo-colonial tendencies.
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Critics also argue that the images of equilibrium/ maintenance of balance

during the cold war period is misleading since USA and USSR were never
on equal footing. Lowe argues that although USSR was a superpower, it
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was only a ‘military superpower’ and never an ‘economic superpower.’

USA, on the other hand, was a superpower both militarily and
economically. The imbalance between the military capacity of USSR and
its economic development made USSR vulnerable. By the 1980s, the
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vulnerability was visible when increasing US military spendings put

pressure on the economy of USSR, eventually leading the way for
Gorbachev to initiate a reform process, paving the way for the disintegration
of USSR in 1991.
Check your progress Exercise 2
Note (i) use the space given below for your answer
1. What do you mean by Cold War and what are the implications of
Cold War Bipolarity on the international system?
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World Politics 2.3 POST-COLD WAR

2.3.1 Unipolarity
Unipolarity refers to an international system in which there is a single great
power, a single pre-eminent state/ pole with an absence of any potential
rival/competitor. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, unification of Germany
and end of the Cold War, there was a burst of ideas of liberal
internationalism and USA emerged as the world’s sole superpower. US
President Bush, in his speech in 1990, titled “Towards a New World Order”
contended that –

• In the post-cold war order, US leadership will ensure the preservation

of international rule of law.

• USA will protect the sovereign independence of all the nations, rather
than prioritizing liberal democratic states only.

• USA will not only engage in a partnership with USSR but also look

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into the inclusion of USSR into world economic bodies.
Heywood argues that the above speech by Bush acted as an ideological tool
to legitimize the global exercise of power by the USA and marked the
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emergence of a unipolar world order with unprecedented power and
influence of USA. USA has been referred to as the global hegemon or as a
hyperpower i.e. as a state that is vastly stronger than all of its potential rivals
and thereby, dominates the world affairs. During the post cold war period,
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USA increasingly assumed a position of political, economic, and military

leadership within the West and was a key architect of institutions like
United Nations (UN), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
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US Corporations quickly achieved economic dominance and enjoyed

privileges like the greatest share of votes in the IMF and World Bank (16%
quota). This meant that USA could (and still can) veto those proposals in
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these multilateral institutions that do not suit its interests.

During the period of 1970s to 1980s, there was a rise of civil rights
movements, counter-cultural movements and women movements that
challenged the orthodox views of the liberals on matters of abortion, gender
roles, race, and consumerism. In 1974, the Watergate Scandal led to the
resignation of US President Nixon. This was followed by the defeat of USA
in the Vietnam War and the Iran Hostage Crisis wherein 66 US citizens
were held hostage for 444 days and the US embassy in Tehran was seized.
Further, there was a rise of economic competitors like Germany, Japan and
the ‘Asian Tigers’. The tendency of ‘Imperial Over-reach’ by USA proved
to be unsustainable since USA assumed military responsibilities that
outstripped the growth of its economy domestically. These events led many
to argue that US hegemony is in decline.
However, USA remained strong both politically and economically. Under
President Reagan, US adopted a more assertive policy. Further, Germany
and Japan began to falter economically during the 1980s and 1990s. USA’s
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productivity levels increased owing to its high-level spending on World Order
development, training, and research with it assuming a lead in the high-tech
sectors of global economy. US model of liberal-democracy was adopted by
many post-communist states who embarked on a ‘shock therapy’ i.e.
transitioned from central-led-planning to free market capitalism. USA
emerged as a hegemon and assumed the role of the world’s police officer
with its humanitarian intervention during the Gulf War. However, the
events of 9/11 (Terrorist attack on twin tower in USA) altered the direction
of US foreign policy and the balance of world order. Post 9/11, President
Bush declared ‘War on Terror’ and the US led military regime toppled the
Taliban regime in Afghanistan. North Korea, Iran and Iraq were further
identified as the ‘axis of evil’. ‘War on Terror’, however, became regime
change in Iraq and was justified on the grounds of pre-emptive attack.
Unipolarity has been defended on the grounds that the dominant actor,
acting as the world’s police officer, can settle disputes, prevent wars, and
set and maintain ground rules for economic behaviour. However, critics
argue that unipolarity promotes fear and resentment amongst other actors in
the international system. US foreign policy had a unilateralist tendency.

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Anti-Americanism peaked when USA went ahead with the invasion of Iraq
despite failing to get clear UN approval for military action.
USA followed the foreign policy approach of ‘Neo-Conservatism’ which
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was a mix of neo-Reaganism and hard-Wilsonianism. Neo-Reaganism
meant taking a Manichean worldview where the ‘good’ (USA) confronted
the ‘evil’ (rogue states) and implied that USA should expand its global reach
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and achieve a position of unchallengeable strength in military terms. As an

extension of the same, Hard- Wilsonianism meant the spread of US-style
democracy throughout the world (regime-change) and imposing the same
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on countries by military means, if necessary. Heywood argues that such a

system implies- ‘Democracy from above’. Noam-Chomsky further
contends that- the more powerful the state, the greater will be its tendency
towards oppression and tyranny. He criticises the small- and large-scale
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military intervention by USA in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Somalia, and

Panama and contends that it was motivated by a desire to gain control over
vital resources like oil. However, Chomsky is criticised by some who
construct a positive view of US hegemony on the basis of the ‘hegemonic-
stability-theory’. According to the theory, a global hegemon can bring
certain benefits to other states and the international system as a whole. They
argue that the liberal image of USA as the land of freedom leads it towards
multilateralism and self-restraint in world affairs.
The question of whether USA continues to remain the only ‘pole’ and
whether the current world order is ‘unipolar’ is a subject of contention in
recent times. The ones who argue that USA remains a global hegemon
contend that USA continues to have global military dominance with an
unchallengeable lead in air power and high-tech weaponry. They further
argue that USA is economically resilient with high productivity levels and
40 percent of world’s spending on development and research. Finally, they
argue that USA is unrivalled in terms of its structural power with its
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World Politics disproportionate influence over the Bretton Woods institutions (IMF and
World Bank) and NATO.
As against this, the ones who argue in favour of US hegemony in decline
contend that US military power has become redundant against the use of
insurrectionary and guerrilla tactics as is reflected through its difficulty in
winning asymmetrical wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and its forced
withdrawal from Lebanon (1984) and Somalia (1993). They further argue
that the US economy is in relative decline with the rise of competitors like
China, who, possess the potential to outstrip USA economically. Finally,
the soft-power reputation of USA has been hampered over debates on the
treatment of its prisoners in the Guantanamo detention camp and over terror
actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. This debate/contention necessitates an
examination over the prospects of a multipolar world order as highlighted
in the next section of the chapter.

Check your progress Exercise 3

Note (i) use the space below to write your answer

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1) Discuss the relevance of unipolarity with examples.
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2.3.2 Multipolarity
Multipolarity refers to the international system in which there are three or
more than three poles/ centres of power. According to liberals, cooperation,
peace, and integration will be possible in a multipolar system since it tends
towards multilateralism. As against this, neo-realists argue that a multipolar
world order will lead to chaos and uncertainty which will eventually lead to
war and instability. Multipolar system can be tripolar in nature (involving
three powers) or can be non-polar in nature wherein power is too diffused
for any actor to be potentially called a ‘pole’. The modern world is said to
be a one which is still unipolar but with a multi-polar trend since we have
multiple emerging powers who has the potentially to become a great power
in the 21st century. Certain states like China, Japan, European Union, and
India have global influence since they account for 75% of world’s GDP and
over half of world’s population. Certain other states have regional influence.
While Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela are dominant in Latin
America, Nigeria and South Africa have considerable regional influence in
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Africa while Egypt, Iran, Israel, and Saudi Arabia have the capacity to World Order
change the course of West Asia’s politics.
Based on the influences that the above states exert, certain scholars predict
that just like the 20th Century was termed as the ‘American Century’, 21st
Century will be called the ‘Chinese Century’. There are many bases on
which China is considered to have achieved a great power status-

• China was the World’s largest exporter in 2009

• It overtook Japan to become the second largest economy in 2010

• Annual growth rates of China have been between 8% to 10%

consistently for almost 30 years.

• In terms of arms expenditure, China is second to USA.

• Apart from having the largest population, China also has an

inexhaustible supply of cheap labour and acts a huge manufacturing
hub.

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Some scholars argue that the rise of China is a part of a larger shift from
‘West’ to ‘East’, specifically, a shift to Asia. This leads them to argue that
the 21st century is going to be a ‘Asian Century’. India’s emergence as a
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great power is however, constrained by illiteracy, poverty and
unemployment with its economy performing poorly in recent times.
Although the economy of Japan witnessed 10% growth rates in the 1950s,
ot

it stalled in the 1990s and its political significance currently is dependent on

development of its relationship with other emerging powers in Asia. Apart
from China, India and Japan, Russia has exhibited military assertiveness in
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terms of its relations with neighbours. The war with Georgia in 2008 and
the Russia-Ukraine war in 2014 and again in 2022 are examples of its
military assertiveness. Apart from that, Russia has also emerged as a
‘energy superpower’ and exerts considerable influence over Eastern Europe
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by control over the price and the flow of gas and oil resources.
The optimistic model of multipolarity indicates that USA’s relative decline
and the emergence of new power will lead to peace and keep rivalries under
control. USA, on its part, has exhibited an accommodative approach
towards its potential rivals while discouraging them from taking up greater
roles. It encourages the emerging powers to ‘band-wagon’ (side with USA)
rather than ‘balance’ (compete with USA). USA has drifted back to
multilateralism in order to tackle the shifting powers and has attempted to
integrate Russia into the global governance institutions while preventing
return of Russian territorial influence. As against this, the pessimistic
model of multipolarity as propounded by the neo-realists contend that more
actors increase the possibility of conflicts and leads to a higher level of
insecurity, intensifying the already existing security dilemma. They further
argue that the shifting alliances witnessed in a multipolar order will lead
actors to take risk and encourage ambition and restlessness. According to
Mearsheimer, with the end of Cold War, Europe will drive into a ‘back to
the future scenario’ i.e. to the WW I and WW II scenario where expansionist
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World Politics policies were followed by ambitious powers. Conflict could arise from
already existing issues like resource wars, human rights or claim over
Taiwan, Tibet or Ukraine. According to neo-realists, hegemonic powers do
not adjust peacefully to their declining status while rising powers seek to
gain unparalleled politico-military dominance. Questions like whether
China’s rise will be peaceful or whether India-China enmity will be
witnessed in a multipolar order are debated upon. However, the optimists
argue that high level of economic interdependence between USA and China
will prevent any outright conflict between China and USA with chances of
a new form of bipolarity being created in the 21st century. Thus, while there
is an agreement over that the current world order is witnessing multipolar
trends, there is disagreement over whether multipolarity will lead to order
or lead to chaos and over whether we can consider the current world order
as being truly multipolar with multiple ‘poles’ emerging rather than trends
emerging.
2.3.3 Non-Polarity
Non-polarity refers to the international system in which the nature of power

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is too diffused for any actor to be potentially called a ‘pole’. Certain
developments in recent times have indicated towards pluralization and
fragmentation of global power. One of the primary developments has been
the unfolding of globalization. Globalization has led to increased
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interdependence and interconnectedness between states leading to military
rivalries being displaced by economic rivalry and thereby, indicating a
change in the nature of rivalry itself. Apart from globalization, there has
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been a growing trend towards regional governance. Certain challenges

confronting the states in the world today are transnational in character,
necessitating, transnational solutions. Issues like climate change, pandemic,
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migration and terrorism can be tackled through transnational cooperation

rather than individual measures taken up by states. Finally, the rise of non-
state actors like NGOS, TNCs, international crime groups and terrorist
networks has strengthened the role played by non-state actors in the
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international system.
If global power is dispersed amongst International Organizations and other
non-state actors, the very idea of polarity can be brought to question since
polarity is understood in terms of state actors. Thus, the world order is
contended to be acquiring a non-polar character.
Check your progress exercise 4
Note (i) use the space below for your answer
1. Discuss the current nature of the world order with reference to
the emerging concepts of multipolarity and non-polarity.
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........................................................................................................................ World Order

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2.4 LETS SUM UP

In this chapter, we discussed the meaning of world order and changes in the
nature of world order through the cold war and post-cold war periods. World
Order refers to the arrangement of power and authority in the international
system through which the states determine their foreign policy and
diplomacy. One of the ways to determine world order is through polarity.
During the Cold war period, international system was characterized by a
bipolar world order where two superpowers – USA and USSR competed
for power and influence. At the end of the war, USA emerged as the only
superpower leading to a change in the nature of international system from
‘bipolar’ to ‘unipolar’. USA remained the only pole in the system, the only

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power that continued to dominate the nature of international politics. The
question of whether USA continues to remain the only ‘pole’ and whether
the current world order is ‘unipolar’ is a subject of contention in recent
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times. While some believe that the system is still unipolar, others argue that
the system is multipolar with multiple powers competing for power and
influence. Some others still argue that the nature of world order is unipolar
with trends of multipolarity. Emerging economies like China, Japan, Russia
ot

and India are said to have considerable global influence while regional
powers are also emerging. Finally, some scholars believe that the world
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order is non-polar in nature, meaning, that the power structures are so

diffused in the international system that no power can be called a ‘pole’.

2.5 REFERENCES
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Heywood, Andrew (2015), Global Politics, Palgrave Macmillan: London

Lowe, Norman (2013), Mastering Modern World History, Palgrave
Macmillan: London
Piotrowski, Harry and McWilliams, Wayne (2014), The World Since 1945:
A history of International Relations, Lynne Reinner Publishers: London
Whitkopf, Eugene and Kegley, Charles (2006), World Politics: Trend and
Transformation, Thomson Higher Education: Belmont

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 3
World Politics

CONFLICT, PEACE, AND SECURITY

Unit Structure

3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction: Meaning of Peace, Conflict and Security
3.2 Types of Conflict and changing nature of Conflict
3.3 Approaches to Peace
3.3.1 Disarmament
3.3.2 Arms Control
3.3.3 Collective Security
3.4 Changing idea of security: National Security to Human Security

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3.5 Summary/ Conclusion
3.6 References

3.0 OBJECTIVES
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The aim of this unit is to familiarize you with the meaning of conflict, types
of conflict, different approaches to peace and the changing idea of security.
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After studying this unit, you should be able to:

• Explain what conflict is and what the different types of conflict are.
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• Understand the different approaches to peace like arms control,

disarmament, and the idea of collective security.
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• Explain the changing nature of security and the shift in focus from
national security to human security.

3.1 INTRODUCTION
Peace is referred to as the absence of war or a lack of any serious kind of
conflict in the international system. Defined positively, Peace does not only
mean the absence of war but also means that the system guarantees social
and economic justice. In a peaceful world, people live in harmony and order
and friendship prevails. While peace is considered to be synonymous to
‘order’ in the international system, conflict and violence are associated with
‘disorder’. Conflict occurs when people differ in their thoughts, feelings and
emotions and is an inevitable part of not only the international system but
also humanity. Conflict arises when a lack of any problem-solving
mechanism leads to an intensification of struggle between parties with
incompatible goals. Both the parties mobilise resources to force the other to
change their behaviour according to their wishes. When mismanaged,
conflict can lead to violence and mass destruction.
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3.2 TYPES OF CONFLICT Conflict, Peace, and Security

There is no common agreement amongst scholars on the number of

typologies into which conflict can be categorised. Conflicts can be intra –
personal (within oneself), inter-personal (between people), person-group,
inter-group or at a systems level. There can be caste conflict, group conflict,
religious conflict, cultural conflict, economic conflict, ideological conflict,
social conflict, inter-community conflict, ethnic/racial conflict, regional
conflicts, intra-state conflict, inter-state conflicts, international conflicts and
so on.
According to Quincy Wright (1990), conflicts can be of four major types-
political conflict, physical conflict, legal conflict, and ideological conflict.
In case of a political conflict, one group tries to impose its policies on other.
As against this, in a physical conflict, two entities attempt to dominate the
same space at the same time. In case of legal conflicts, demands/claims are
adjusted amongst parties through procedures which are mutually recognized
by the parties. Finally, ideological conflicts occur when thoughts/value
system of parties clash with each other. Apart from these, Wright recognises

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a fifth category of conflict – War. War, according to him, occurs through a
union of the four conflicts, mentioned above and is manifested by armies
trying to occupy the same place and seeking to disarm, annihilate and
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capture each other.
Stuart Chase, in 1951, classified conflicts into 18 typologies – Personal
Quarrels, family vs, family, feuds (clan vs clan), community quarrels,
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sectional quarrels (South vs North) , conflict between workers against

managers, political parties (contesting elections) , races ( whites vs blacks),
religious conflict ( Hindu vs Muslim ) , antisemitism ( racial / cultural
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antagonism) , ideological conflict ( communism vs capitalism),

occupational conflict, intra- industrial conflict , inter- industrial conflict,
cultural conflicts, conflict between the east and the west and finally, conflict
during the cold war. According to Chase, the list is not exhaustive and the
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number of conflicts that ensue are greater. As against Chase, LeVine (1961),
provides a structural/ anthropological classification which is more compact
in nature. According to LeVine, conflict can be interpersonal,
intracommunity, and intercultural.
Other scholars who have provided a classification of conflict include
Kenneth Boulding (1962) and John Galtung. According to Boulding, eight
kinds of social conflicts are present in the international system. These
include inter-personal conflict, boundary conflicts between various spatially
segregated groups, ecological conflict, homogeneous organization conflict
(between organizations with similar purposes and character), heterogenous
organization conflict (between organizations with dissimilar purposes and
character like state vs church or corporation vs union), person-group
conflict (child vs family), person-organization conflicts (role conflicts), and
group-organization conflicts. As against Boulding, Galtung gives a simpler
classification and categories conflict into four typologies – Intra-system
conflict (conflicts in the smallest sub-units of a system), Inter-system
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World Politics conflict (conflict between different parts of a system with each sub-systems
standing on its own), individual conflict, and collective conflict.
According to Sandole (2003), conflict is a continuous process which can be
divided into stages like initiation, escalation, maintenance, de-escalation,
and termination (either through resolution or through settlement). Sandole
further differentiates conflicts into three kinds –

• Latent conflicts – Conflicts which are in the development stage but

are not observable to anyone (not even to the parties themselves). This
type of conflict is non-violent in nature. In this stage, parties question
each other and question the existing values/ raise issues.

• Manifest Conflict Processes (MCPs) – Conflicts which are observable

but not violent. E.g.- economic sanctions.

• Aggressive Manifest Conflict Processes (AMCPs) – These are high-

intensity conflicts which are not only noticed/observed but also
destructive to the parties. E.g.- civil war, armed conflicts, etc. These
types of conflicts have a potentiality to turn into aggressive wars

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leading to “MAD”- Mutually Assured Destruction.
Thus, the typologies of conflict are diverse with different scholars focusing
on varied issue-areas to define the nature of conflict.
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Check your progress exercise 1
Note (i) use the space given below for your answer
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1) What do you mean by conflict and what are the different types of
conflict?
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3.3 APPROACHES TO PEACE:

3.3.1 Disarmament
Disarmament, as the word connotes, simply means doing away with
weapons. If it is taken up as a goal by any country, it will mean that the
country will no longer possess weapons/ will not possess a certain category
of weapons. Since wars become destructive because of possession of
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36
weapons, the idea is to do away with the access to weapons to avert the Conflict, Peace, and Security
destructive consequences. The coming of nuclear weapons, highly
explosive bombs and poisonous gases led countries to discuss the topic of
disarmament on an urgent basis. The consequences of World War I and the
massive damages accrued at the end of the war led the League of Nations
to discuss the possibilities, if any, of disarmament with a conference on
disarmament conducted in Geneva in 1932- 1934. However, the parties felt
that countries were not disarming at an even rate / fairly. This led Hitler to
withdraw Germany from the conference in 1934. Since the end of World
War II, disarmament has been a goal of the United Nations (UN) with the
United Nations Disarmament Commission (UNDC) primarily dealing with
the issues of disarmament. The first committee of UN General Assembly,
named ‘The Disarmament and International Security Committee’ is further
devoted to the cause of disarmament.
However, although disarmament sounds simple, states in the international
system, owing to their security dilemma are highly unlikely to accept
complete disarmament in the first place. While peace movements and
individual peace leaders since the mid- 19th century have been calling for

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disarmament, serious attempts towards disarmament were taken post World
War II. Some of them are as follows:

• Baruch Plan, 1946 - Proposed by USA, this plan called for

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relinquishing atomic weapons in a stage-wise manner. However, the
plan was rejected by USSR with USSR proposing the ‘Gromyko
Plan’.
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• Antarctic Treaty (1961) – Prohibits establishment of any military base

and conduction of any nuclear tests in Antarctica and declares that
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Antarctica will be exclusively used for peaceful purposes.

• Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT), 1963 – Nuclear Weapon testing

banned underwater, in the outer space and in the atmosphere.
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• Tlatelolco Treaty/ Latin American Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, 1967-

Bans possession, testing and deployment of any nuclear weapon in
Latin America. Inspections and verifications of the same by IAEA
(International Atomic Energy Agency) was further agreed upon. This
treaty was signed by all the states except, Brazil, Argentina, Cuba and
Chile.

• Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention (BTWC), 1972 - Banned

manufacture and any kind of stockpiling of biological weapons. 168
nations have signed up for the agreement. An entire category of
weapons has been attempted to be disarmed universally under
international control for the first time.

• Chemical Weapons Convention, 1993- Bans development,

production and any kind of stockpiling / use of chemical weapons.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPWC)
was further established as an implementation agency. Under its
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World Politics supervision, a total of 10% of world’s chemical weapon stockpile has
been destroyed.

• Treaty of Rarotonga (1985) - created Nuclear Weapons Free Zone in

South- Pacific.

• Treaty of Bangkok (1995) created Nuclear Weapons Free Zone in

South-East Asia.

• Treaty of Pelindaba (1996) created Nuclear Weapons Free Zone in

Africa.
Thus, though disarmament is difficult, it should not be assumed that it has
been completely ‘futile’. Although the Baruch Plan that aimed towards
complete abolition of nuclear weapons failed, it took shape later in the form
of ‘Non-Proliferation Treaty’ (NPT). Similarly, nuclear free zone pacts
have been successful.
3.3.2 Arms Control

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The process of arms control has evolved over thousands of years as world
security structures have shifted. Modern arms control regime seeks to
manage war and the causes and consequences of war. It seeks to address
three issues – reducing the likelihood of war, managing costs of war, and
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limiting scope of violence in case it occurs.
While disarmament seeks to eliminate weapons, arms control aims at
regulation of weapons. Arms control seeks stability in the international
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system by regulation of the arms race that takes place between countries.
Agreements of arms control seek to limit the development, stockpiling and
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use of weapons. It can take place through three means –

• Arms Reduction – Lowering of level of arms / partial disarmament.

• Arms Limitation – Prevent accidental outbreak of war and limit the

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destructiveness of war.

• Arms Freezing- places ceiling on certain categories of arms.

According to the realists, the possession of nuclear weapons by country A
will deter an enemy country B to attack first because of the fear of damage
from nuclear weapons, that will be unleashed on B by A, in case A is
attacked. Related to this is the idea of Mutually Assured Destruction/ MAD.
According to this idea, if two states possess nuclear weapons and attack
each other, they are opening themselves up for reciprocal damage. Although
efforts on control of arms started since the Hague Conferences, there was a
spike in efforts during the cold war years. Some of the most important arms
control agreements are as follows:

• 1972- Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT 1)- This treaty, signed
between USA and USSR limits strategic nuclear weapons (like
SLMBS, ABMs and ICMBs) and freezes ICMBs at 1972 levels.
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38
• 1972- Anti-Ballistic Missiles Treaty (ABM) Treaty – Signed by Conflict, Peace, and Security
Brezhnev and Nixon, this treaty limits the number of anti-ballistic
missiles.

• 1979- SALT 2 – This treaty was signed by Carter and Brezhnev.

However, it was not ratified by either side and expired.

• 1987- INF- Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty – This treaty was by

Reagan and Gorbachev. It was decided that all- land based
intermediate range nuclear weapons were to be scrapped over next 3
years. Strict Verification Provisions would be ensued so that both
sides could check that the weapons were actually being destroyed.

• 1994- Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (START) – Treaty between

USA and USSR regarding limitations on strategic offensive arms.
START II treaty banned use of Multiple Independent Targetable Re-
entry Vehicle (MIRV).
3.3.3 Collective Security

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Collective security is an arrangement through which states have tried to
prevent or stop wars. According to the idea of collective security, ‘attack on
one’ is considered to be synonymous to ‘attack on all’. Aggression against
one state is considered to be an aggression on all the other states who are a
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part of the collective security arrangement. All the states act together in
order to repel the aggressor. The states thereby, defend each other in case
of an attack. Thus, security of each state is considered to be of paramount
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importance.
The League of Nations and the United Nations originated on the basis of
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the principal of collective security. Collective Security is considered to be

acting as a deterrent against aggression. According to Scheliecher, “In
essence, Collective Security is an arrangement among states in which all
promise, in the event any member of the system engages in certain
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prohibited acts (war and aggression) against another member, to come to

latter’s assistance.” All the nations are thereby, committed to pool all their
resources for ending aggression.
Collective Security, however, is different from Collective Defence. While
collective security is a universal system where all states in the world,
without any differentiation, comes together to defend a state and fight the
aggressor (any nation, any aggressor), collective defence is narrower in
scope. A collective defence system is made by a group of nations who are
in an alliance/ part of a collective defence pact and come to defend against
a common enemy. While any aggressor is an enemy in a collective security
system and no advance planning is possible, enemies are known in advance
in a collective defence system with possibilities of advance planning. North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an example of collective defence
system while UN is an example of the collective security system.
Chapter VII of the UN Charter and its articles -39-51, lays down the basis
of the collective security system. The charter places the UN Security
39
World Politics Council with the responsibility of identification of threats to peace, breaches
of peace or act of aggression. UNSC can take measures ranging from
ceasefire to sanctions to military action in order to restore international
peace and security. Article 43 specifically calls for creation of a ‘Collective
Security Force’ in cases where UNSC demands military action. Articles 44-
47 calls for maintaining a UN Peace Keeping Force and calls for all the
member states of UN to assist in carrying out the measures decided by
UNSC.
Although it is said to have been used during the Korean crisis, Collective
Security as a concept, is idealistic in its scope and nature. Identification of
‘aggressor’ is value-laden and biased at times since it rules out any
possibility of neutrality. Further, there are practical difficulties since there
is an absence of any permanent peace-keeping force at the international
level. Finally, the concept is limited since it engages in a war in order to
counter the aggressor and thereby, self-negates itself.
Check your Progress Exercise 2
Note (i) use the space given below for your answer

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1. Discuss the following approaches to peace: (a) Disarmament (b)
Arms Control (c) Collective Security.
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........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................
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3.4 CHANGING IDEA OF SECURITY: NATIONAL

SECURITY TO HUMAN SECURITY

Security studies, as a discipline, has been pre-occupied with four ‘S’s-

States, Status-quo, strategy, and science. States have been considered as the
most important agents of security in international politics. Strategy has been
vital since the states engage in devising the best intellectual strategy to
tackle threats. Objective knowledge and scientific knowledge are further,
highly regarded by states with states adopting methods of hard sciences.
Traditional security studies thereby not only focused on state-centrism but
also focused on preservation of status-quo of states.
National security focuses on defending the sovereignty of the nation-state
and the institutions of the nation-state from external threats and relies on its
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40 military, economic and political power to safeguard state’s security.
National security strategy (NSS) is adopted by certain states like USA, UK, Conflict, Peace, and Security
Spain, and Sweden to organise their policies. Traditional security studies,
by and large, solely focused on states and institutions surrounding the state
as the focal point of security studies. The agency of peoples, environment
or institutions other than the state were not considered to fall under the ambit
of security studies. Although there were dissenting voices, studies solely
focused on national security and believed that the main threat to security is
only through military terms and states are the only entity facing threats.
With the end of the cold war, traditional security studies came under heavy
criticism. According to Kanti Bajpai, the classical idea is unilateralist in its
emphasis on force and restricts the scope of security to military threats from
other states only. However, threats to the political integrity and territoriality
of the state can come from not only other states but also from other non-
state actors. Threats can also be cultural, environmental, or economic.
Bajpai further argues that security cannot be restricted to the well -being of
the state alone. Protection of citizens and welfare of individual citizens
deserves equal consideration. Bajpai argues that “A conception of security
that is centered above all on the sanctity of the individual may be called

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human security”.
The 1994 United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report is
considered to be one of the most important documents laying the basis for
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human security. This report made a claim that human security is not about
states but about individuals and peoples. Individuals, thereby, should be
made the referent of security since individuals suffer at the hands of states.
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Human development and human security are conditions for peace. Mahbul
Haq, one of the chief proponents of the UNDP report answers the questions
of – ‘security from whom’ and argues that “human security pertains above
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all to the safety and well-being of all the people everywhere – in their
homes, in their jobs, in their streets, in their communities, in their
environment”. Haq argues that drug, poverty, disease and terrorism are the
main threats to the established values. Apart from that, the threats to human
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security are as follows –

• Threats to economic security – lack of employment and financial

safety nets

• Threats to food security – lack of food entitlements

• Threats to health security- pollution, lack of access to health-care

facilities, pandemic.

• Threats to environmental security – pollution, deforestation, ozone

layer depletion, desertification

• Threats to personal security- drug trafficking, abuse of women and

children, crime

• Threats to political security- human rights violation, militarization

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World Politics • Threats to community security- genocide, ethnic cleansing,
discrimination

Haq goes on to outline some proposals for human security as follows:

• Development through sustainability and equity of opportunities,

ensuring global justice through restructuring of consumption, income
and lifestyle patterns of the world.

• Reduction of arms expenditure, closing up of military bases,

prohibition of arms transfers, elimination of subsidies to arms exports,

• North-South Restructuring- removal of trade barriers, equitable

access to global markets.

• Institutional Restructuring of IMF, World Bank and UN with a focus

on human development. Veto less UN Security Council

• Evolution of Global Civil Society through grassroot participation and

democratic governance.

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Thus, a shift has witnessed in the understanding of security in recent times.
Traditional security studies solely emphasised on security of states and
considered wars and external military threats as the only dangers against
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which states need to be protected. Human Security, in stark contrast, gives
paramount importance to the security of individuals and believes that,
individuals need to be protected against multiple threats of varied nature
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(not military threats alone). Development and not force, is the key to attain
human security. States, NGOs and international organizations can further
come together to decide the short-term and long-term norms of conduct in
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various areas of human security.

Check your progress exercise 3
Note (i) use the space given below for your answer.
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1) Discuss the threats to human security and the proposals of reform

suggested by Mahbub ul Haq.
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........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................

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3.5 LET US SUM UP

In this chapter, we discussed the meaning, typologies and the different

approaches to peace, conflict, and security. While peace reflects order in the
42
42 international system, conflict reflects disorder. However, conflict is natural
and inevitable. Conflict can be of different types with a lack of any common Conflict, Peace, and Security
agreement amongst scholars regarding its typologies. It can, broadly, range
from being intra-personal to inter-personal to international to varied issues-
areas like ideology, occupation, race, culture and so on. However,
management of conflict is necessary for establishing peace in the
international system. While there are different approaches to peace, we have
discussed the approaches of disarmament, arms control, and collective
security. While disarmament focuses on complete elimination of
armaments, arms control focuses on limiting/controlling the armaments.
The idea of collective security is based on the rationale of ‘attack on one’
being equivalent to ‘attack on all’. It is applicable to all the states in the
international system universally and aggression against any one state in the
international system is to be considered as aggression on all the states, with
all states coming together to defend the state which has been attacked by the
aggressor.
Finally, in the third section of the chapter, we discussed the shift from
national security to human security. It was observed that there has been a
shift in recent times from the classical/ traditional idea of security that

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focused on state-centrism to the idea of human security where the referent
object of security is the individual and security is achieved through
development.
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3.6 REFERENCES:

Bajpai, Kanti (2000), Human Security: Concept and Measurement, Kroc

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Institute Occasional Paper, Kroc Institute: Notre Dame.

Boulding, Kenneth. (1962), Conflict and Defense: A General Theory,
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Harper: New York.

Sandole, Dennis J. D. (2003), “Typology”, in Sandra Chelden, Daniel
Druckman, and Larissa Fast (eds.), Conflict: From Analysis to
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Intervention, Continuum: London.

Dinesh (2022), Collective Security: Meaning, Nature, Features and
Criticisms, Accessed on October 5, 2022, URL: Collective Security:
Meaning, Nature, Features and Criticisms (yourarticlelibrary.com)
LeVine, Robert A. (1961), “Anthropology and the Study of Conflict:
Introduction”, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol.5, No.1, pp. 3-15.
Wright, Quincy (1942), A Study of War, University of Chicago Press:
Chicago

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 4
World Politics

INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL
ECONOMY
Unit Structure
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Introduction: International political economy
4.3 IMF, World Bank and, World Trade Organization
4.4 Regional Integration
4.5 European Union
4.6 Globalization
4.7 Summary

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4.8 Conclusion
4.9 References
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4.1 OBJECTIVES

The aim of this unit is to familiarize you with the international political
economy. After studying this unit, you should be able to:
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 Understand the nuances of international political economy, and the

interplay between political and economic factors in international
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relations.

 Explicate the role of non-state actors like MNCs in shaping

international political economy
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 Explain, Understand Regional Integration how EU has pioneered

regional economic integration and emerged as an ideal model.

 Explain, Understand the dimensions of Globalization and its role in

making the world a global village.

4.2 INTRODUCTION

Internationalism brought a different approach focussing on soft power and

challenging the realist world order based on hard power. It developed as a
key theory in the liberal international order. Liberal institutionalism argues
that in order for there to be peace in international affairs states must
cooperate together and in effect yield some of their sovereignty to create
‘integrated communities’ to promote economic growth and respond to
regional and international security issues (Caporaso J. and Jupille J, 1999).
Namkoong, Young (2000) while analysing international political economy
44
44 argue that relations between the actors are essentially harmonious.
Liberalists advocate free market economy and free trade with minimal International Political
Economy
barriers.
In July 1944, the World War II was drawing to a close and the world was
discussing the structure of the Post- War international order. Delegates from
44 Allied nations gathered at a mountain resort in Bretton Woods, to discuss
a new international monetary order. The purpose was to build a better
monetary order with lessons learnt from the Great Depression and WWII.
The great economic superpowers all have gathered. US has emerged as a
stronger nation Post WWII while Britain and other European countries were
weak and indebted after the destruction and loss of the WWII.
American interests were represented by Harry Dexter White, who
prioritized the facilitation of freer trade through the stability of fixed
exchange rates. Britain’s position, was communicated by John Maynard
Keynes who advocated the freedom to pursue autonomous policy goals,
pushed for greater exchange rate and flexibility.
What came out of these deliberations was the fixation of a fixed rate wherein
nations would peg their currencies to the U.S. dollar. U.S. in turn would peg

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the dollar to the gold to ensure that its currency was dependable, the U.S.
would peg the dollar to gold, at a price of $35 an ounce. (Wang. 2009)
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In order to ensure compliance with the new rules, two international
institutions were created the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD; later
known as the World Bank). The new rules were officially outlined in the
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IMF Articles of Agreement.3 Further provisions of the Articles stipulated

that current account restrictions would be lifted while capital controls were
allowed, in order to avoid destabilizing capital flows. (Bretton Woods
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Committee Report)

4.2 IMF
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a global organization with 190-

member countries with staff drawn from 150 countries. It is currently based
in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1944 to tackle the great
depression of 1930s. The fund's purpose is to promote financial stability
and economic growth among other objectives. (IMF Factsheets)

The objective of IMF is to ensure stability of the international monetary

system which is a system of exchange rates and international payments that
enable countries to transact with each other. The IMF issues an international
reserve asset known as Special Drawing Rights, or SDR that can
supplement The SDR is an international reserve asset, created by the IMF
in 1969 to supplement its member countries’ official reserves. To date, a
total of SDR 660.7 billion (equivalent to about US$943 billion) have been
allocated. This includes the largest-ever allocation of about SDR 456 billion
approved on August 2, 2021 (effective on August 23, 2021). The value of
the SDR is based on a basket of five currencies—the U.S. dollar, the euro,
45
World Politics the Chinese renminbi, the Japanese yen, and the British pound sterling.
(IMF Factsheet ,2021)

The primary goals of IMF are:

1) Surveillance - To maintain stability and present crisis in the

international monetary system, the IMF monitors member countries
and promote policies designed to foster economic stability, reduce
vulnerability to economic and financial crisis and raise living
standard.

2) Providing loan to member countries that are experiencing actual or

potential balance – of- payments problem. In 2009 the IMF
strengthened its capacity and approved major changes in its financial
support mechanisms. (IMF Factsheets, 2019)

3) Capability development- The IMF provides technical assistance and

training to help member countries built better economic institutions

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and strengthen related human capacities.

4) The Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) provides rapid financial

assistance, which is available to all member countries facing an urgent
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balance of payments need. The RFI was created as part of a broader
reform to make the IMF’s financial support more flexible to address
the diverse needs of member countries which has two windows. (i) a
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regular window, for situations described above, with access limits of

50 percent of quota in any 12-month period and 100 percent of quota
on a cumulative basis, and (ii) a Large Natural Disaster (LND)
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window, for cases where the damage suffered as a result of a natural

disaster is assessed to be 20 percent of GDP or more, with access
limits of 80 percent of quota in any 12-month period and 133.33
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percent of quota on a cumulative basis. (IMF Factsheets,2022) India’s

quota in IMF is SDR 13114.4 million and is the 8th largest quota
holding country in the IMF. (India and IMF)

The World Bank

The World Bank Group, like the IMF, was created at Bretton Woods in
1944. The group is self-funded and has its home office in Washington, D.C.
Its goal is to provide “financial and technical assistance to developing
countries around the world” in an effort to “reduce poverty and support
development.” It consists of five underlying institutions, the first two of
which are collectively referred to as The World Bank. (Burke)

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). This is the

World Bank's lending arm. It provides financial assistance to credit-worthy,
middle- and low-income nations.

46
46
International Development Association (IDA). IDA provides loans and International Political
Economy
grants to poor countries.

International Finance Corporation (IFC). In contrast to the World Bank,

which focuses its efforts on governments, the IFC provides money and
advice to private sector entities.

Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. MIGA seeks to encourage

foreign direct investment in developing nations.

International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. ICSID provides

physical facilities and procedural expertise to help resolve the inevitable
disputes that arise when money is at the heart of a disagreement between
two parties.

The World Bank pursues its objectives by delivering financial assistance to

developing nations. It gives low- or no-interest loans and grants to finance
a wide array of investments in such areas as education, health, public

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administration, infrastructure, financial and private sector development,
agriculture, and environmental and natural resource management. For
example, the World Bank loaned India $2.75 billion and $400 billion in
emergency lending in 2020 to support India’s responses to the Covid-19
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crisis. (World Bank in India)

The World Bank’s efforts include providing advice and guidance in addition
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to working closely with the International Monetary Fund.

The World Bank Board of Executive Directors has approved a supplemental

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budget support package for Ukraine, called Financing of Recovery from

Economic Emergency in Ukraine – or FREE Ukraine – for $489 million.
The package approved by the Board consists of a supplemental loan for
$350 million and guarantees in the amount of $139 million and is also
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mobilizing grant financing of $134 million and parallel financing of $100

million, resulting in total mobilized support of $723 million. (Britannica
History)

India faced a balance of payment crisis in 1958 and asked World Bank for
help. India is a founding member of World Bank and largest borrower too.
It has received financial aid and support from World Bank through India
Consortium, or Aid-India Consortium Group. Its purpose had shifted from
providing emergency financial aid to coordinating long-term financing to
India's development plan.

The World Trade Organization (WTO)

The World Trade Organization (WTO) claims to be the only global
international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations.
The WTO’s efforts center on developing trade agreements between nations
47
World Politics to encourage cross-border commerce. This includes setting up the
agreements, interpreting the agreements, and facilitating dispute settlement.

Officially founded in 1995, the WTO traces its roots back to Bretton Woods
where the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) was crafted in
an effort to encourage and support trade between nations. Following up on
GATT, the 1986-1994 Uruguay Roundtable trade negotiations resulted in
the formal creation of the WTO.18 The WTO headquarters is located in
Geneva, Switzerland. Like the IMF and the World Bank, the WTO is funded
by its members. The World Trade Organization (WTO is also a global
association with 164-member countries. The organization's purpose is to
promote fair trade between nations. The World Bank is also an international
organization and has a goal to reduce poverty through financial assistance.

The Ministerial Conference is the highest organ of the WTO and is to meet
at least once every two years. It is normally composed of all the Ministers
of Trade of the Members of the WTO. The Ministerial Conference has
supreme authority over all matters. The General Council is composed of

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representatives of all the members – normally country delegates based in
Geneva. The General Council is in session between the meetings of the
Ministerial Council. Besides there are Councils like Council for trade in
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Goods, Trade in services etc. to take up specific responsibilities.

The WTO operates through a network of multilateral agreements like

TRIPS (Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights), Agreement on
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Technical barriers to Trade, Agreement on Agriculture etc. WTO facilitates

the implementation, administration, and operation of the Multilateral Trade
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Agreements, and provides the framework for the implementation,

administration, and operation of the multilateral Trade Agreements.

To accelerate this plan of helping the needy countries, the heads of the
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International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, World Health

Organization and World Trade Organization had several discussions for
playing a proactive role in Covid-19 affected countries. At a meeting held
on 17 December 2021 high-level consultations with UNICEF and Gavi
discussed an increasing access to COVID-19-related vaccines and other
critical medical countermeasures in low— and lower-middle-income
countries. The four agency heads — Kristalina Georgieva (IMF), David
Malpass (World Bank), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (WHO) and Dr
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (WTO) — issued a joint statement on behalf of the
Multilateral Leaders Task Force. (Joint statement, 2021)

Besides, the WTO along with facilitating the cross-border with large-scale
trade initiatives, also facilitates trade dispute negotiations, such as a
disagreement between USA and China. It has a proper framework of
dispute settlement mechanism that was lacking in GATT (General
Agreements on Tariffs and Trade) which preceded WTO.
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48
Flow Chart of WTO Dispute Settlement process International Political
Economy

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Source: WTO
There are two main ways to settle a dispute once a complaint has been filed
in the WTO: (i) the parties find a mutually agreed solution, particularly
during the phase of bilateral consultations; and (ii) through adjudication,
including the subsequent implementation of the panel and Appellate Body
reports, which are binding upon the parties once adopted by the Dispute
Settlement Board. (DSB). There are three main stages to the WTO dispute
settlement process:
49
World Politics (i) consultations between the parties; (ii) adjudication by panels and, if
applicable, by the Appellate Body; and (iii) the implementation of the
ruling, which includes the possibility of countermeasures in the event of
failure by the losing party to implement the ruling. (WTO Dispute
Settlement process)
However, these institutions are also criticized for being discriminatory and
harsh by the conditions imposed on developing counties while providing
them development assistance. They often come with a number of strings
attached. Developing countries have to shift their investment in social
welfare and health to profit making enterprises. The organizations do
provide financial assistance to countries in need, but like just about every
other known method of obtaining financial resources, the money comes
with conditionalities and the motives behind the initiatives are often in
question. For example, Structural Adjustment program which a country
must adhere to get loan from the IMF or World Bank have undermined
access to affordable healthcare for poor in developing countries.
India has been fighting reforms in the WTO subsidy rules to enable

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developing countries to engage in public food stockholding for food
security purposes. It also calls for making the multilateral trading system
fairer and more inclusive.
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Protests, including those in Davos, Switzerland, Washington, D.C., Cancun,
Mexico, and other major cities are a regular feature at IMF, World Bank,
and WTO events. Aside from the public protests, even some business
leaders argue against the organizations. (Conway and Heynen, 2006)
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Check your Progress Exercise 1

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Note i: Use the Space given below for your answer

1.) Examine the structure and functions of WTO. How do Bretton Woods
Institutions facilitate the process of Globalization.?
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………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………

4.5 REGIONAL INTEGRATION

Regional Integration is a process by which two or more nation-states agree

to co-operate and work closely together for mutual progress, and realization
of peace and stability. This cooperation begins with economic integration
and gradually encloses within its ambit other areas of cooperation as well.

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50
 International Political
Economy

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The European Integration

Sources: Eionet Portal
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4.6 EUROPEAN UNION

European Union is a supranational organization an association of

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independent European nation states.

It consists of 27-member countries which have a common economic, social
and security policy. Two treaties revised the policies and institutions of the
EU. The Treaty of Amsterdam, signed in 1997 and entered into force on
May 1, 1999
A second treaty, the Treaty of Nice, was signed in 2001 and entered into
force on February 1, 2003. Negotiated in preparation for the admission of
new members from eastern Europe, it contained major reforms as initially
EU was confined to Western Europe but later expanded to eastern and
Central Europe. (Factsheets of European Union)
EU was developed on the idea of Victor Hugo a European thinker who
dreamt of a single European state. The idea was developed by Jean Monnet.
The credit for actual European integration however goes to Robert
Schuman, a French foreign minister who advocated the formation of
European Coal and Steel community. Schuman plan proposed the formation
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World Politics of European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The six states of the
Western Europe viz. France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Netherlands, and
Luxembourg formed the ECSC and concluded the treaty of Paris in 1991.
Treaty of Rome led to the creation of European Atomic Energy Community
(EURATOM) and the European Economic Community. (EEC)
The European Union was founded on November 1, 1993 in Maastricht,
Netherlands. The main decision-making bodies of EU are European Union
– European Parliament, European Council, European Commission, Council
of the European Union, Court of Justice of the European Union, European
Central Bank and European Court of Auditors. Every member state is part
of the founding treaties of the union and is subjected to binding laws within
the common legislative and judicial institutions. In order for the EU to adopt
policies that concern defence and foreign affairs, all member states must
agree unanimously.
1. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in European Union was worth
15276.47 billion US dollars in 2020, according to official data from
the World Bank. (World Bank Data)

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2. E.U also has representation in the WTO. The Eurozone is a monetary
union of 19-member states of the European Union that has adopted
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the euro as their primary currency and sole legal tender.
3. Euro is the 2nd most traded currency in the world and second largest
reserve currency of the world.
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4. A setback to this regional integration was BREXIT. On January 31,

2020, the United Kingdom (U.K) formally left the European Union.
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U.K is the first country to leave the E.U. The exit was in accordance
with Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union. UK therein
became free to set its own trade policy and negotiate deals with other
countries.
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5) (BBC, 2020)
6)
Check your Progress Exercise 2
Note i: Use the Space given below for your answer
1) What is European Integration and how it is a role model for regional
integration?
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4.4 GLOBALIZATION International Political
Economy

Globalization is a phenomenon characterized by interconnectedness and

inter dependence of world economies, cultures, trade and free flow of
goods, services, ideas and people. The technological changes leading to
dissemination of information related to finance, information series and
transportation, communications, logistics, production and advancement of
knowledge and competence has triggered globalization. This has led to rise
of Knowledge based economies. Simultaneously there is flow of capital
and technology and expansion of communication networks. Besides, in a
Globalized world nation states are not the primary actors. Globalization
process hence extends beyond, the boundaries of nation states. Multi
national and Transnational corporations and Non-governmental
organizations, multi-state/ regional organizations are also an important
actor in a globalized world.
There has been an intense debate regarding the features of Globalization.
Three schools of thought have emerged on globalization according to Held
(1999). The Hyper globalizers like Ohmae argue that globalization has

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given birth to a new Skeptics such as Hirst and Thompson (1996), on the
other hand, oppose the Hyper globalists and call it a myth. They cite social
and economic inequalities to prove that nothing has changed in
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globalization. Transformationalists, one of whom is Giddens (1990, 1996),
are convinced that globalization is an unprecedented major force causing
the rapid social, economic and political transformation of the world. They
are pragmatic and optimist in their assessment of globalization unlike the
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Hyper globalizers who are critical of the impact of globalization and

perceive it as oppressive. The impact of globalization resulting from the
technological diffusion has been distributed unequally dividing the world in
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to haves and have nots, insiders and outsiders. (Conway and Heynen, 2006)
There have been desirable and undesirable outcomes of Globalization.
Positive outcomes like increase in consumer choice, lowering of commodity
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prices, free and unrestricted flow of information have come with certain
undesirable outcomes like curtailment of nation-state sovereignty,
compromise of national interest and erosion of national identity. Critics also
call it a new form of imperialism propelled by MNCs, under the guise of
globalization.
Check your Progress Exercise 3
Note i: Use the Space given below for your answer
1) Define Globalization. What are the three perspectives of
globalization?
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World Politics 4.5 LET US SUM UP

International political economy studies the interdependence of economy

and politics. It studies how economic factors influence political processes
and how political factors shape economic policies. When we critically
analyze the international political economy, then we understand the role of
the Bretton Woods institutions and the WTO in facilitating and aiding the
process of globalization. WTO frames international trade governance and
rules. World Bank provides financial aid and assistance for economic
growth especially of the developing countries. IMF helps in maintaining
global financial stability and providing financial consultation as well as
technical help to countries.
When we talk about global integration, side by side regional integration is
also an important development in understanding the world economy.
European Union is a successful model of Regional economic integration. It
shows how Countries of a region could work together under the ambit of a
supranational organization like EU to mutually prosper. Hence, integration

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at global and regional level assisted with economic governance by
international economic institutions have supported Globalization.
Globalization thus is all pervasive and all-encompassing with a network of
communication, trade and technology and creating a global village.
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The context of power today is not just military but also economy and
technology. To understand World politics a thorough understanding of
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international political economy is a pre-requisite. International political

economy, we come to know is the interaction between states as well as
bargaining and cooperation between states in economic sphere. It takes
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place through regional integration like the EU model, also and through
international economic institutions in a globalized world.
Thus, a state in the pursuit of security and prosperity needs to use further
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means like trade and economic cooperation to influence other actors in the
international system. This viewpoint is supported by Institutional
interdependence. Liberal intuitionalist like Robert Keohane and Nye in
understanding the international relations advocate institutional cooperation.
They focus on international regimes, international institutions with rules,
norms and principles and emphasis on soft power and diplomacy to foster
international cooperation. (Devitt,2011) International political economy
epitomizes such mutually beneficial cooperation between countries which
are having conflicting interests.

4.6 REFERENCES

1. Britannica History. World Bank.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/World-Bank
2. Burke, J A John. Financial Services in the 21st Century. Springer.
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=Fwo3EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA13
&lpg=PA13
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3. BBC(2020) Brexit: What you need to know about the UK leaving the International Political
Economy
EU. https://www.bbc.com/news
4. Caporaso, J and Jupille, J,’Institutionalism and the European
Union.(1999) Beyond International Relations and Comparative
Politics. Annual Review of Political Science Vol.2, 1999, pp 429-444
5. Devitt,Rebecca (2011). E-International Relations. Liberal
Institutionalism: An Alternative IR Theory or Just Maintaining the
Status Quo? https://www.e-ir.info/2011/09/01/liberal-
institutionalism-an-alternative-ir-theory-or-just-maintaining-the-
status-quo/
6. Eds. Dennis Conway and Nik Heynen (2006) Globalizations
Contradictions. Geographies of discipline, destruction. Routledge.
7. Europeon Environment Portal and Observation Network. (2021).
EEA members and cooperating counties.
https://www.eionet.europa.eu/

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8. Factsheets on the European Union. The Maastricht and Amsterdam
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maastricht-and-amsterdam-treaties
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9. Factsheets WTO.
https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news21_e/covid_22dec21_e.ht
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10. IMF Factsheets, (March, 2022) IMF’S Rapid Financing Instrument.

https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2016/08/02/19/55/
Rapid-Financing-Instrument
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11. IMF Factsheets. (2021) SDR.

https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2016/08/01/14/51/
Special-Drawing-Right-SDR
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12. IMF Factsheets. (March, 2019) IMF at a glance.

https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/IMF-at-a-Glance
13. IMF. (March, 2019) Real GDP Growth.
https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDP_RPCH@WEO/OE
MDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD
14. India and the International Monetary Fund.
https://www.dea.gov.in/sites/default/files/India_IMF.pdf
15. Namkoong, Young(2000). Contending Perspectives of Political
Economy: Liberalism and Statism.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/223386590000300206
?journalCode=iasa
16. Seventh Meeting of the Multilateral Leaders Task Force, December
17, 2021. ‘From Vaccines to Vaccinations’. Joint Statement.
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World Politics 17. The Bretton Woods Committee. About the Institutions.
https://www.brettonwoods.org/page/about-the-institutions
18. Wang, Peijig (2009) Exchange Rate Regimes and International
Monetary Systems.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259006207_The_Economi
cs_of_Foreign_Exchange_and_Global_Finance
19. World Bank Data. GDP- European Union.
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?locations
=EU
20. World Bank in India.Covid-19 Response.
https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/india/coronavirus
21. WTO. Dispute Settlement Training Module. The process — Stages in
a typical WTO dispute settlement case
https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e
/c6s1p1_e.htm#:~:text=There%20are%20three%20main%20stages,b
y%20the%20losing%20party%20to.

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22. WTO. Flow Chart of the Dispute Settlement Process.
https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e
/c6s1p1_e.htm#:~:text=There%20are%20three%20main%20stages,b
es
y%20the%20losing%20party%20to

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