International Relations

Ali G interview with James Baker on international relations:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6_BU9El33k

1280 BCE: one of the first international treaties in history
Treaty between Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II and King of the Hittites Hattushilish III (“witnessed by the thousand gods, by the male gods and the female gods”):
“ There shall be no hostilities between them forever. The great chief of the Hittites shall not pass over into the land of Egypt, forever, to take anything therefrom; Ramses, the great chief of Egypt, shall not pass over into the land of the Hittites to take anything therefrom, forever…

...If another people, (or state) shall come as an enemy against the land of Ramses, the great chief of Egypt, and he shall send to the great chief of the Hittites, saying “Come with me with your army against him,” the great chief of the Hittites shall come , and the great King of the Hittites shall slay his enemy. But if it should not be the desire of the Great Chief of the Hittites to come, he shall send his infantry and his chariotry, and shall slay his enemy...

...Or, if Ramses, the great chief of Egypt, be provoked against delinquent subjects, when they have committed some other fault against him, and he shall come to slay them, then the great chief of the Hittites shall act with the lord of Egypt.
If any of the great men of the land of Egypt shall flee and shall come to the great chief of the Httites, from either town or… of the land of Ramses, the great chief of Egypt, and they shall come to the great chief of the Hittites, then the great chief of the Hittites shall not receive them, but the great chief of the Hittites shall cause them to be brought to Ramses, the great chief of Egypt, their lord.”
Frederick L. Schuman. International Politics, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1933

Ramses II mastering his enemies

Studying international relations
What is the subject matter?
Relations between whom?
Relations concerning what?

Imagine 2 tribes - trading and/or fighting with each other
“The Elves”
“The Dwarfs”
fight
trade

2 states and 2 societies
Dwarfland
Elfland
state-state relations
society-society relations
State-society relations
state-society relations

The sphere of international relations includes 4 sets of relations:
1.Relations between states:
treaties, wars, alliances, diplomacy, etc.
2.Relations between societies:
movement of people, goods, information, technology, money; ethnic, cultural (including religious), political ties
3.State-society relations within each country:
political systems and political processes as they affect the country’s relations with others
4.State-society relations across borders:

Dwarfland
Elfland
state-state relations
society-society relations
State-society relations
state-society relations
Dwarfland – Elves relations
Elfland – Dwarfs relations

Can a state exercise power over citizens of another state?
YES
It is yet another set of state-society relations:
If you visit another country
If you do business in another country
If you seek another government’s protection from your own government
If your country is subjected to international sanctions
If your country is occupied by foreign forces
etc.
Such relations can be problematic, because they challenge state sovereignty – one of the most important political principles of the modern world
Some challenges are benign and easily regulated by international treaties
Some, such as aggression, are banned by international law
Others are highly controversial and lead to conflicts

Internationalization
Growth of issues, concerns, and relations which transcend state borders
--Economic globalization
--The information revolution
--The ecological crisis
--The spread of liberal democracy
--Growing international migration
--Civilizational ties
--International security (nuclear proliferation, terrorism, organized crime)

3 major perspectives in the study of international relations:
conservative
liberal
radical

CONSERVATIVE (“realist”, power politics)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnKEFSVAiNQ&feature=related
---Sovereign states are the main actors in international relations. They must be strong.
---The world is an anarchic place, where constant struggle for power goes on between states, each of which pursues its own national interests
---Revolutions are dangerous
---Order in the world can only be based on balance of power between states
---War is a natural phenomenon, a sometimes necessary evil, “continuation of politics by other means” (von Clausewitz)
---International trade should serve national power

LIBERAL (“idealist”, internationalist, globalist)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZbDMUaqwE8&feature=related
---Conflicts between nations can be resolved peacefully; mutual interests between them make cooperation possible
---A prosperous society is more important than a powerful state
---Human rights and freedoms must be respected everywhere
---The spread of liberal democracy leads to world peace
---The global market economy binds nations together, making wars less likely
---International law must be obeyed by all states
---International institutions, such as the UN and International Monetary Fund, can be effective instruments of peace and cooperation
---Disarmament is necessary and possible

CONSTRUCTIVIST
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYU9UfkV_XI
International relations are not shaped by some immutable laws of nature
They can be changed
International relations are determined:
by social practices
by ideas
by interactions between countries

Critique: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMkKT_0IKUw

RADICAL (anticapitalist)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxMptEJybd0&feature=related
--The most important factors of international relations are class interests
--Struggle for power between states is rooted in the class interests dominant in each state
--The existing international order is defined by global capitalism
--Capitalism fosters inequality, exploitation, conflicts
--International conflicts and wars will be less likely if societies are radically transformed on the basis of democracy, equality and social justice (some or other form of socialism)

Each of the three worldviews reflects a part of the complex reality of IR
No state can base its policies on just one ideological perspective
What works both in analysis and in practical policy-making is a combined approach, which uses a range of different perspectives
The influence of each worldview grows and declines with the tide of history

THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM
--STATES
--TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS (TNCs)
--INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (IGOs)
--CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS (CSOs)
--INTERNATIONAL LAW (BILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL TREATIES, CONVENTIONS, CHARTERS, ETC.)

Some of the 197 states…

TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS (TNCs)
The first in history was established in 1600 – British East India Company
There are 63,000 transnational corporations worldwide, with 690,000 foreign affiliates
51 of the world's top 100 economies are corporations
Three quarters of all transnational corporations are based in North America, Western Europe and Japan
Ninety-nine of the 100 largest transnational corporations are from the industrialized countries
Royal Dutch Shell's revenues are greater than Venezuela's Gross Domestic Product. Using this measurement, WalMart is bigger than Indonesia. General Motors is roughly the same size as Ireland, New Zealand and Hungary combined
Source: Corpwatch, Inc.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
The United Nations system
The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
The World Bank
The World Trade Organization (WTO)
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)

CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS
“Global Civil Society”
2ND World Social Forum, January 2002, Porto Allegri, Brazil:
68,000 participants from 131 counries, representing
5,000 organizations
3,000 journalists
800 MPs
Registered CSOs
Brussels – 1,392
London – 807
Paris – 729
Washington – 487
etc.

MAIN SPHERES OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
--International security (war, peace, terrorism, organized crime)
--International economy (trade, investment, production and finance)
--Social and economic development
--Protection of human rights
--Protection of the natural environment