Introduction to
International Relations
“The study of International Relations is not a
science with which we solve the problems of
international life. At its best it is an objective and
systematic approach to those problems.”
Palmer and Perkins
(International Relations: The World Community in
Transition)
What is International Relations?
International Relations is the study of conflict and
cooperation by international actors, as furthered
by the development and testing of hypotheses
about international outcomes.
In modern times the world has shrunk as a result
of scientific and technological development. As a
consequence events in one part of the world have
an immediate impact on the rest of the world.
Therefore the states maintain regular relations
with other states and the study of international
relations has assumed great importance.
1. Narrow views
Prof. Dunn defined it as “ the actual relations that take
place across national boundaries or as the body of
knowledge which we have of those relations at any given
time.”
2. Broad Views
Quincy Wright defined, “ It is not only the nations which
international relations seek to regulate. Varied types of
groups-nations, states, government, people, regions,
alliance, confederations, international organizations,
even industrial organization, cultural organization,
religious organizations must be dealt with in the study of
International Relations if the treatment is to be made
realistic.”
• In short, it can be said that International Relations
do not cover only the official relations conducted
by the leaders of representatives of a state, they
also cover the relations conducted by other
important groups, to the extent they influence the
interactions of the sovereign states.
• International Relations is a discipline that studies
interactions between nation-states. It takes
particular interest in their foreign policies and how
their interactions impact upon the world system as
a whole.
• The official relations between the sovereign
states.
International Relations and other
subjects
1. Economics
2. Philosophy
3. Geography
4. Social work
5. Sociology
6. Anthropology
7. Psychology
8. women's studies/gender studies
Evolution of International Relations
Jeremy Bentham in the later part of the eighteenth century with regard to
the laws of nations.
After First World War ( inflow of organization/ League of Nations.)
In 1919, the Chair in International Politics established at the University of
Wales, Aberystwyth U.K (renamed Aberystwyth University in 2008).
In the early 1920s, the London School of Economics' department of
International Relations was founded.
The first university dedicated to the study of IR was the Graduate
Institute of International Studies (Institut de hautes études
internationales et du développement ) which was founded in 1927
Geneva .
The Committee at the University of Chicago was the first to offer a
graduate degree, in 1928.
Definitions of I.R
It has become complex and even more difficult arriving at a more universally
acceptable definition of the subject. Nevertheless scholars have persisted in
their attempt to define International Relations.
1. Trevor Taylor defines International Relations as "a discipline, which tries to
explain, political activities across state boundaries".
2. According to Ola, Joseph "International relations are the study of all
forms of interactions that exist between members of separate entities or
nations within the international system".
3. Seymon Brown thus defines international relations as "the investigating
and study of patterns of action and “reactions among sovereign states
as represented by their governing elites.”
4. Stanley Hoffman writes
“the discipline of international relations is concerned with the
factors and the activities which affect the external policies and
power of the basic units into which the world is divided.”
5. In the words of Karl Wolfgang Deutsch,
“An introduction to the study of international relations in our
time is an introduction to the art and science of the survival of
mankind. If civilization is killed in the nearest future, it will not
be killed by famine or plague, but by foreign policy and
international relations.”
Overview
• Types of actors
– States
– Non-state actors
• Types of systems
– Hierarchy
– Networks
– Anarchy
• Types of interactions between actors
– Harmony, Coordination, Cooperation, Conflict
The central actor: the state
• The state is “a human community that successfully
claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of
physical force within a given territory.”
– Max Weber, 1919
• States are identified by mutual recognition.
– 191 members in the United Nations
What States Do
• Provide public goods
– Goods that benefit everyone, whether or not they
contribute (non-excludable)
– Creates incentives to free ride
– Often requires collecting taxes
• Enforce contracts
Examples of States
• Pakistan
• Sweden
• Argentina
• Canada
• Bangladesh
• South Africa
• New Zealand
• Cuba
Failed States
• Somalia 1991
– No central claim to legitimacy at all
• Afghanistan 2005
– The monopoly claim on coercive authority is tenuous
at best outside the capital.
The International System
• Includes all actors who have regular interactions
• Scope depends on transportation and
communications technology
• Examples:
– Ancient Greece
– Global today
Power in the System
• Power is the ability of A to get B to do what A
wants B to do.
• Inherently relational
• Sources of power
– Land
– Natural Resources
– Population
Types of Power
• Military power
• Market power
• Cultural power
Defining the System by Power
• Great Power – state that can project power across
the system
• System defined by number of great powers:
– many, two, or one
Multipolarity
• Three or more Great Powers
• Example – Europe at the beginning of the 20th
century
• Attempts to balance power make system war-
prone
Bipolarity
• Two great powers
• Examples
– Athens and Sparta in Ancient Greece
– USA and USSR during Cold War
• Relatively stable
Unipolarity
• One great power
• Example – the US right now
United States
Militarity Expenditures Russia*
China*
United Kingdom
Japan
France
Germany
Saudi Arabia
India
Italy
South Korea
Australia
Turkey*
Israel*
Canada
Spain*
Brazil
Netherlands
Taiwan
Greece*
• May encourage other states to align against the
Indonesia*
superpower
Defining the System by
Globalization
• Can also characterize the system by level of
international flows of goods, labor, and capital
• Actors defined by level of openness
• Highly globalized at beginning of 20th century
• Retrenchment of globalization in 1930s
• Significant growth in globalization during current
era
Non-state Actors
• Debate about significance
• Importance varies by issue area
– Nations
– International Organizations
– Multinational Corporations
– Non-governmental Organizations
The Nation
• Common identity
– Ethno-linguistic, religious, ideological
• Common history or origin
– Real or mythical
• Claim on homeland
• Desire for self-rule
• Identity can be created through common symbols
and education.
Nationalism
• Political ideology advocating national self-
determination
• First developed in 19th Century in Europe, but
spread world-wide
• Nationalism is one way to legitimate states and/or
separatist movements.
• Particularly dangerous to empires
The Nation-State
• In a nation-state, the boundaries of the state
territory and the membership of the nation are co-
terminus.
• Ideal-type for the post-WW II era
• In practice, rare
– Diaspora
– Separatist movements
– Irredentism
Examples of Nations
• Nation-states
– Japan
– Denmark
• Multi-national states
– China (Tibet)
• Stateless nations
– Kurds (in Iraq, Turkey, Iran)
– Basques (in Spain, France)
• Divided nations
– Korea (North and South)
International Organizations
• Institutions with formal membership and
procedures
• Only states are members
• Membership can be limited or universal
• Purpose may be broad or narrow
Examples of IOs
•Limited Membership, Narrow
Purpose: Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries
•Limited Membership, Broad
Purpose: African Union
•Universal Membership, Narrow
Purpose: Universal Postal Union
•Universal Membership, Broad
Purpose: United Nations
Multinational Corporations
MNCs are organizations that seek to make a profit by
engaging in foreign production, marketing, finance,
and staffing through directly controlled affiliates
located in several states.
Non-Governmental Organizations
• Broad category - Not states and non-profit
• Includes religions, charities, political activists,
academic research communities, and even terrorist
groups.
Examples of NGOs
•Roman Catholic Church
•International Red Cross
•Greenpeace
•Doctors Without Borders
•
Types of Interaction among
Actors
All types of actors interact.
Harmony
Coordination
Cooperation
Conflict
Types of Interaction: Harmony
Harmony is when actors' interests coincide.
Independent pursuit of own interests returns
maximum output.
More common than often considered.
Example – Taliban wipes out heroin production in
Afghanistan; availability of heroin decreases in US.
Types of Interaction:
Coordination
Actors more interested in choosing the same strategy
than in choosing any given strategy.
Example – Universal Postal Union
Two possibilities
Pure coordination – easier
Coordination after investment - harder
Types of Interaction: Cooperation
• Cooperation is mutual adjustment of policy.
• Benefits both actors, but not always equally.
• Example – WHO eradication of smallpox