Professional Documents
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Contemporary international system grounded in Europeancentered Western civilization (as Mingst points out, for better or worse, p. 15)
Important not to overlook other civilizations and their impact on international system including India, China, Japan, S.E. Asia, Central and South America (Aztec, Maya, Inca), Africa (Mali, Ghana), among others
European states embraced notion of sovereignty States established national militaries Established core group of states that dominated world until beginning of 19th century
Sovereignty
Key theorist: French philosopher Jean Bodin (1530-1596): absolute and perpetual power vested in a commonwealth distinguishing mark of the sovereign that he cannot in any way be subject to the commands of another, for it is he who makes law for the subject, abrogates law already made, and amends obsolete law Although absolute, not without limits; leaders limited by: Divine law or natural law (laws of God and nature) Type of regime, constitutional laws of the realm Covenants, contracts (with people within commonwealth), and treaties with other states (with no supreme arbiter in relations among states) Sovereignty = authority of the state, based on recognition by other states and nonstate actors, to govern matters within its own borders that affect its people, economy, security, and form of government
State leaders establish permanent national militaries and centralize control producing ever-more powerful sovereign states with national armies Core group of states Austria, Russia, Prussia, England, France, United Provinces (Neth./Belgium) emerge as dominant players
In west, capitalism emerges: private enterprise, infrastructure, trade In east, feudalism remains, economic change stifled European politics marked by absolutist regimes, multiple rivalries, and shifting alliances
Balance of power
Out of fear for emergence of hegemon, states with relatively equal power formed alliances to counteract any potentially more powerful faction Breaks down when alliances solidify, two camps emerge Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria, Italy) and Dual Alliance (France and Russia) and conflict between allied states leads to World War I
League of Nations, IGO formed to promote diplomacy, economic liberalism, association and prevention of future wars did not have political weight, legal instruments, or legitimacy to fulfill mandate
Unable to respond to widespread economic unrest or Japanese, Italian and German aggression Leads to formation of Axis (Germany, Italy, Japan) and Allied Powers (U.S.S.R., England, France, U.S.)
Discussion Questions
1. Why was the Treaty of Westphalia important for international relations? What concepts and principles informed it? What changes did it set in motion? How might contemporary IR be different without the Treaty of Westphalia? 2. What are the most important reasons for the relative peace that characterized nineteenth-century Europe? Do you think any principles of nineteenth-century European politics are applicable to contemporary IR? 3. What started the Cold War, and how was it different from previous ones within the international system? What are its lasting effects on U.S.Russian relations and IR more broadly? 4. John Lewis Gaddis and other scholars refer to the Cold War as the long peace. Do you agree with this characterization? Include in your response a discussion of Gaddiss assertions. 5. Did the end of the Cold War mark the beginning of a New World Order, or did it have little effect on IR? Draw on your knowledge of history and specific contemporary events to support your position.