evolution of the stat system

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Chapter 2The Historical Context of Contemporary

International Relations


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Contemporary International

System

Key conceptsstate, nation, sovereignty, power, international

state system, balance of power

Key historical moment1648, Treaty of Westphalia, ending

Thirty Years War; emergence of modern state system

Secular authority replaced religious authority Territorial integrity of states as legally equal and sovereign

participants in international system

Contemporary international system grounded in European-

centered 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


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Key Developments Pre-Westphalia

Greek city-states (circa 400 B.C.) Classic power politics, diplomacy, economic relations, trade, and military

conflict; precursor of modern state system

Roman Empire (50 B.C.-400 A.D.) Larger, centralized political system through imperial expansion; empire

united through law and language

Middle Ages (400-1000) Disintegration of Roman Empire, emergence of feudalism in Europe and

rise of Roman Catholic Church

Emergence of three major civilizations: Arabic, Byzantine, remains of Holy

Roman Empire

Late Middle Ages (1000-1600) Secular trends undermine decentralization of feudalism, universalism of

Christianity in Europe

Commercial activity expands, communications and technologies improve

Emergence of transnational business community, revival of classicism, and

European territorial expansion (principally due to new technologies and

economic interests)


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Emergence Of Westphalian System

Treaty of Westphalia (1648) ended Thirty Years War

(1618-1648) in Europe

Thirty Years Warfought mainly in Germany; initially conflict

between Protestants and Catholics (in Holy Roman Empire);

grew into larger conflict involving major European powers

European states embraced notion of sovereignty

States established national militaries

Established core group of states that dominated worlduntil beginning of 19thcentury


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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), andtreaties 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


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Key Effects of Westphalia

Sovereignty Small states in central Europe attain sovereignty (demise of H.R.E.)

Monarchs inherit religious authority over people (sovereign authority,

exclusive rights within given territory)

Territoriality, territorial state legitimized

Right of states to choose religion, determine domestic policies free

from external pressure with full jurisdiction; right of noninterference

State leaders establish permanent national militaries and

centralize control producing ever-more powerful sovereign states

with national armies

Core group of statesAustria, 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


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19thCentury Europe:

Key Principles

American and French revolutions against absolutist

rule, Enlightenment thinking and social contract

theorists, usher in 19thcentury

Absolute rule subject to limits imposed by man

Locke: political power rests with people;monarch/leader/government derives legitimacy

(moral and legal right to rule) from consent of

governed

Nationalism: people share devotion and allegiance tonation based on shared characteristics, common

religion, language, historical experience, etc.


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Developments in

19thCentury Europe

Concert of Europe (Napoleon defeated in 1815, Congress of

Vienna), establishes period of relative peace

Great powers meet periodically (Britain, Austria, Russia, and

Prussia) to reach agreement on problems threatening peace among

European states Initially aimed at containing France, achieve balance of power;

maintain territorial arrangements made at Congress of Vienna

(1814-1815); kept relative peace for about 40 years

Major economic, technological, and political changes

Populations and commerce grew

Italy and Germany unified; Holland split (Netherlands, Belgium);

Greece, Moldavia, Romania achieved independence

No wars among great powers. Why?


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Explaining 19thCentury Peace

European solidarity

European elites united by fear of revolution from below

Preoccupied by German and Italian unification

European states engaged in territorial expansion, colonialism;

Gold, God, Glory (hence, competition exported to Africa and Asia)

Congress of Berlin (1885) divided Africa

European states controlled 4/5 of world (1914)

Balance of power

Out of fear for emergence of hegemon, states with relatively equal

power formed alliances to counteract any potentially more powerfulfaction

Breaks down when alliances solidify, two camps emergeTriple

Alliance (Germany, Austria, Italy) and Dual Alliance (France and

Russia)and conflict between allied states leads to World War I


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Key Developments

in Interwar Years

Three empires collapse leading to resurgent nationalisms Russia by revolution

Austro-Hungarian Empire by dismemberment (Austria, Hungary,

Czechoslovakia, parts of Yugoslavia and Romania)

Ottoman Empire by external wars, internal turmoil (Turkey)

Germany dissatisfied with Treaty of Versailles (ending WWI) and

reparations provides climate for rise of Hitler (who finds allies in Italy and Japan)

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.)


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Aftermath of WWII: Cold War

Atlantic Charter (U.S., G.B., U.S.S.R.) evolves intoUnited Nations; Axis powers defeated; power

redistributed, political borders altered Key outcomes of WWII

Emergence of two superpowersU.S. and Soviet Union

as primary actors (relative decline of Europe) Fundamental differences in national interests and ideology

(capitalism vs. socialism) leads to 45 years of high level

tension, competition, and crises between the superpowers,

but not direct military conflict

Development of NATO and Warsaw Pact Gradual end of colonialism

Cold War competition played out through third-parties,

clients, proxies throughout the entire globe


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IMPORTANT EVENTS OF THE COLD WAR 1


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Cold War: Series of Major Crises

and Long Peace

Berlin blockade (1949), Korean War (1950-53),

Cuban missile crisis (1962), Vietnam War, proxy

wars in Middle East, Africa, Asia, South/Central

America

Why long peace? absence of war between

great powers? According to Gaddis:

Nuclear deterrence (mutually assured destruction,

MAD)

Parity of power (i.e., bipolarity)system stability

U.S. economic hegemonypaid for stability

Economic liberalism transnationalized politics creating

interests, coalitions across state borders

Long historical cycles of war (every 100-150 years)driven by uneven economic growth


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Post-Cold War World

Change made in Soviet/Russian foreign policy, withdrawal from

Afghanistan, Angola in late 1980s; glasnostand perestroika

Explanations for change/breakup of Soviet Union: Wests preparations for

war, military strength, strong alliance system; Western power and policy;

events within USSR; economic, bureaucratic failureunclear, probably

multiple factors

Key developments in post-Cold War world (New World Order)

Iraqi invades Kuwait (1990); multilateral response unites former Cold War

adversaries

Yugoslavia disintegrates into independent states; civil war in Bosnia and

Kosovo; U.N. and NATO respond

Widespread ethnic conflict arises in Central and Western Africa, Central Asia,Indian subcontinent

Al Qaeda attack on 9/11, US war on terror; US and coalition invades

Afghanistan

US invades, occupies Iraq

Looking ahead: unipolarity, multipolarity; cooperation or conflict among

great powers?


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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 WorldOrder, or did it have little effect on IR? Draw on your knowledge of

history and specific contemporary events to support your position.

evolution of the stat system

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