Politics 1B

Intro to IR - Week 1

Introduction and Historical Evolution of

International Relations
Prof Lisa Otto
lisao@uj.ac.za
What is International Relations?

 International Relations is the study of the interaction of state and non-state

actors in fields such as politics, economics and security.
 This is a science often viewed with some skepticism.
 In it we generalise, look for patterns, and try to explain and predict
political behaviour.
 International politics today is a series of puzzles with immense
consequences – think of terrorism, poverty, climate change, and the
prospects of WWIII.
Power
 One of the central concepts in the study of Politics and IR is power.
 Power (at a basic level) = the ability of an actor to achieve its goals.

Types Definition
Coercive Power Compulsion, use of force or threats
Institutional Power Power based in rules
Soft Power Prestige, ability to persuade
Structural Power Unquestioned ‘rules of the game’ that
benefit some actors
Collaborative Power Additional power created when multiple
actors work towards a shared goal

 Theorists disagree about which forms are most important.

The Role of Theory

 While policymakers and journalists tend to focus on specific solutions to

specific problems, political scientists ask general questions.
 But… specific answers to specific questions are almost always based
on general explanations.
 Think, for example, of how best to convince aspiring nuclear powers not to
develop nuclear weapons…
 Does one raise the costs of such a programme by economic sanctions
and military action, OR believe that this would raise the perceived level
of threat, further motivating the acquisition of nuclear weapons?
 Each position is based on a theory.
 Theory = a generalised explanation of a set of comparable phenomena,
something we use to explain and predict events and phenomena
The Role of Theory

 Theory thus allows us to predict the result of different choices – we can use
different theoretical assumptions to explore courses of action.
 Theory is built on the underlying assumption that specific events are not
unique and do not have unique causes, but are single instances of broader
patterns.
 There have been successes and failures in the application of theory to
policy. Think of the aftermath of WWI and WWII.
 Theory has three main purposes:
 Explanation
 Prediction
 Prescription
 Theory tries to simplify a complex reality and in doing so deliberately leaves
out details.
Levels of Analysis

 Levels of analysis = the unit that a theory focuses on in its general

explanation.
 Waltz offers three levels:
 Individual level – individual or specific
 State level – emphasis on the nature of states
 Systems level – characteristics of the international system
 Others offer further levels, including ‘substate’ levels.
 The correct number of levels is less important than the concept and how it
helps explain where different theories look for answers.
The Influence of History on Int’l Politics

 History is a source of lessons and a source of data.

 History influences our thinking and conditions notions of what is right and
wrong.
 It provides analogies used today to understand contemporary events.
 It provides data for analysis of political phenomena.
 It has undeniably shaped the structure and nature of the system we live in
today.
The Birth of Int’l Politics & Key Concepts

 Many histories of international politics begin with the Greek city states as
these offer the first examples of what later came to be viewed as
independent states.
 Thucydides’ The History of the Peloponnesian War, dating to that period, is
the first text that advances a general theory of how international politics
works.
 We see a move from a feudal system, where political authority is defined
personally and religiously, to the system of nation states via the Treaty of
Westphalia of 1648.
 The Treaty of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years’ War, ending the feudal
system and establishing a system of multiple states.
 The principles established in the treaty persist today.
 This system is based on a respect for sovereignty.
 Sovereignty = the principle that states have complete control over their
territory. A principle not a statement of fact. Recognition is NB.
 It had internal and external dimensions.
 The nature of the concept has also shifted over time.
The Birth of Int’l Politics & Key Concepts

 Despite these principles, war did still take place between 1648 and the early
19th century, but sovereignty did have implications for the politics of the time.
 The international system was characterised by anarchy, and so in order to
prevent or limit war, a balance of power system was used.
 Anarchy = a condition in which there is no central ruler.
 Balance of power = a system in which no single actor is dominant and the
distribution of power is not necessarily equal.
 The size of armies, and thus the ability to go to war, was limited by the
nature of states as monarchies.
 Further, laws of war were in place, raising objections to unlimited war and
the targeting of non-combatants.
 Jus in bello = the law governing the way in which war is conducted.
 Jus ad bellum = the law of when war is permissible.
 Now we often refer to the Just War Theory.
The Impact of the French Revolution

 The next key event shaping international politics is the French Revolution of
1789. Napoleon Bonaparte tried but failed to overthrow the Westphalian
system, but in the process two new doctrines emerged.
 Nationalism = the doctrine that sees the nation as the primary unit of
political allegiance.
 Democracy = the doctrine that the population, rather than just a small elite,
should control the government; for the people, of the people, by the people.
 The national motto of France: liberté, égalité, fraternité (liberty, equality,
fraternity).
 Of course, these democratic rights were initially limited to men, with women
and minorities receiving these rights later (and after protracted battles).
19th and 20th Century Europe

 Following the Napoleonic wars, in which Napoleon had tried to take control
of the entire continent, the Concert of Europe was agreed at the Congress
of Vienna in 1815.
 The Concert of Europe = an agreement in which major European powers
pledged to cooperate to maintain peace and stability.
 This put into practice the emerging liberal approach, which focuses on the
ability of states to govern themselves without giving up their liberty and to
cooperate to solve problems.
 The 19th century also saw a rise in imperialism = a situation in which one
country controls another territory of another country.
 Within Europe this saw the unification of smaller states on the basis of
nationalism, alongside the splitting of larger states on the basis of the
principle of national self-determination.
 National self-determination = doctrine that each state should consist of a
single nation with each distinct nation having its own state.
End of Colonialism and World War II

 Outside of Europe, this often came in the form of colonialism = a type of

imperialism in which the dominating sates takes direct control of a territory.
 Think of the ‘Scramble for Africa’ and the Berlin Conference of 1884-5.
 Nationalism and self-determination, in turn, spurned anti-colonial
movements in the colonised territories.
 The next influential event is the WWI. While you should be familiar with this
history broadly, the key consequences for international political came in the
form of the Treaty of Versailles, which ended the war and established the
League of Nations (LoN).
 Although the LoN failed, it did serve as a precursor to the United Nations
(UN), and the war also played a role in elevating the USA’s status within the
international system.
 The end of WWI also saw the devastation of several great powers, and the
creation of a number of new states
 WWI was supposed to be the “war to end all wars”, but…
World War II
 WWII broke out in 1939 – the principle of collective security had failed as
leaders wanted to avoid going back to war. The US Senate refused to ratify
the Charter of the LoN exactly because of the commitment to go to war if
another state was invaded.
 This was tested by the invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and the Berlin Crisis
in 1939.
 There were also economic roots to WWII – the economic depression of the
1930s, which led to an increase in trade barriers and decrease in
cooperation, provided fertile ground for Hitler to come to power in Germany.
 Fascism was on the rise. Fascism = a doctrine in which the rights / goals of
the individual are subservient to those of the nation.
 Two key lessons from WWII:
 Many saw the rise of fascism as an immediate cause, thus reinforcing
the democratic peace theory.
 Democracies were seen as under threat from economic strife, thus
better governance of the global economy was needed.
The Cold War
 Where WWI showed the folly of going to war before diplomacy was
exhausted, WWII showed the consequences of failing to deal with
expansionist powers.
 The introduction (and use) of nuclear weapons also shifted the int’l political
landscape in many ways. This changed how leaders thought about war.
 While WWII weakened traditional powers, the USA and the Soviet Union
were elevated. They were allies in the war but deeply distrusted each other
and had incompatible post-war plans for Europe.
 Between 1946 and 1989 we saw a Cold War between USA and the Soviet
Union.
 The origins of this came from ideological differences and, based on the
lessons of WWI and WWII, the intent to let the other know the slightest
aggression would be countered.
 This period was characterised by a nuclear arms race and the space race.
 The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was the point of highest tension.
The Post-War Global Economy
 In the aftermath of WWII, states realised the need to act cooperatively to
avert economic crises.
 To this effect, the Bretton Woods system was established:
 An int’l currency system based on the dollar and linked to the value of
gold, managed by the Int’l Monetary Fund (IMF), was introduced to
provide stability to the int’l financial system.
 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was established in
1955, which eventually became the World Trade Organization (WTO) to
provide a multilevel agreement on tariff levels. Tariff = a tax on imports
used to protect domestic producers.
 The World Bank was founded in 1944 to promote post-war
reconstruction.
 There are criticisms of the membership and fairness of the system,
which favoured wealthy, industrialised nations.
Decolonisation and Development
 A wave of decolonisation followed the end of WWII until 1975.
 Several factors contributed to this:
 National independence movements grew stronger as a result of the rise
of values of self-determination and democracy.
 The major colonial powers were weakened by WWII and were less able
to resist independence movements.
 The US, now the leading power, disapproved of colonialism and sought
to undermine it.
 As countries gained independence, they were integrated into the sovereign
state system by virtue of UN membership.
 The demarcation of borders as part of this process created a number of
problems.
 Further, while the Cold War remained ‘cold’ between the superpowers, a
number of proxy wars were waged in Africa and other parts of the world.
 Several declonised states didn’t want to take sides in the Cold War, leading
to the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Decolonisation and Development
 Poverty was a major issue in the developing world – independence didn’t
always lead to improved economic development and prosperity.
 Another key development was the rise of non-state actors. Non-state actor
= a political actor that is not a state, such as a charity, corporation, or
terrorist group.
 This was important because throughout modern history, int’l affairs was
deemed to have states as the central actors.
 Of course, today international organisations (like the UN), non-
governmental organisations (like GreenPeace), and multi-national
corporations (like Coca-Cola), play a role in int’l politics.
The World Since 1989
 On 9 November 1989 the Berlin Wall fell, marking a symbolic end to the
Cold War. The definitive end came in 1991 when the Soviet Union
fragmented.
 The collapse of communism led to a wave of democratisation.
 With an end to this ideological war, there were hopes of a more peaceful
world, but this didn’t last long with nationalism resurfacing in places like
Yugoslavia.
 Some states resisted a move toward democracy, however, they remain in
the minority.
 More states adopted free market economic principles, with mixed results.
 Poverty decreased considerably.
 States demonstrated an increased willingness to tackle global problems
through cooperation. The WTO got stronger, and the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) emerged.
New World Order? Or Disorder?
 The 9/11 terrorist attacks challenged the notion that the main threats to
states come from other states, shifting attention to non-state actors.
 This initially sparked a new sense of common purpose but there was
ultimately disagreement on how terrorism should be addressed.
 It also led to the ‘War on Terror’ in Afghanistan and Iraq.
 Another significant development was the expansion of the European Union
(EU), followed by the UK’s exit from it (Brexit).
 The global economic crisis of 2008 showed up flaws in global economic
policy and slowed globalisation.
 The Covid-19 pandemic has also taught important lessons about
globalisation, integration, and cooperation in the face of common
challenges.
 Another defining challenge of our time comes in the form of climate change.
 The rise of China and what this means for global politics also an enduring
question of the contemporary era.