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International relations concepts
International relations concepts
Impact of globalization on international relations
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The International Relations textbook written by Joshua S. Goldstein and Jon C. W. Pevehouse describe international relations as "The relationships among the world's state governments and the connection of those relationships with other actors (such as the United Nations, multinational corporations, ad individuals), with other social relationships (including economics, culture, and domestic politics), and with geographic and historical influences." (Goldstein and Pevehouse 2) Many international relations theorists date the contemporary system of from 1648, the year of the Treaty of Westphalia, ending the Thirty Years War. (Mingst and Arreguin-Toft Ch. 2) Three key events of the 20th century that shaped the contemporary system of International
“International Agreements.” The Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Third Edition. 1994: Columbia University Press. Lanouette, William. A. “Why We Dropped the Bomb.”
Kent, J. and Young, J.W. (2013), International Relations Since 1945: A global History. 2nd edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
To conclude, indeed there are veracities in Waltz arguments, but also there are limitations which cannot totally explain how the international system interacts with actors from different levels. The features of the world after the Cold War do not resemble what the world is today. Phenomenon such as integration, interdependence among states and the creation of international instruments are the result of states' behavior which are constantly shaping the world politics. Therefore, one theoretical ideology by itself will not fully explain the progressive changes in the international system, taking into account that states do influence in the international system.
In order for countries to cohesively overcome international barriers, frameworks of ideal political standards must be established. Two of these frameworks constantly discussed in international relations are the theories of Neo-realism and Liberalism; two theories with their own outlook at the way politicians should govern their country as well as how they should deal with others. Neo-realism lies on the structural level, emphasizing on anarchy and the balance of power as a dominant factor in order to maintain hierarchy in international affairs. In contrast, Liberalism's beliefs are more permissive, focusing on the establishments of international organizations, democracy, and trade as links to strengthen the chain of peace amongst countries. Liberalism provides a theory that predominantly explains how states can collaborate in order to promote global peace; however, as wars have been analyzed, for example World War II, the causes of them are better explained by Neo-realist beliefs on the balance of power and states acting as unitary actors. Thus, looking out for their own self interest and security.
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between nations, or skill in handling affairs without arousing hostility (Merriam-Webster.) Diplomacy had effectively affected the rise of the modern state during 1648-1715. The first change that it brought was through the treaty of Westphalia, which allowed state to operate important transformations in their structure. Westphalia treaty had allowed “Signatories of treaties to be freed perpetually, to make alliances with strangers for their preservation or safety, and each of the contracting parties of this treaty shall be held to defend a...
During the Twentieth-Century, there were several dramatic economic changes and events. Going from being a complete agricultural nation to being an industrial super, enduring a great depression, having a civil rights movement and so many more, the 20th Century carries the names of some of the world’s most important events. Although history has flourished with all of its game changers, the solute most important event of the 1900’s was World War 2. The second world war, just decades after the first, “was the most widespread and deadliest war in history, involving more than 300 countries and resulting in more than 50 million military and civilian dead,” according to History.com. After World War I had ended, the peace settlement known as the Treaty of Versailles, created in 1919, had a purpose of obligating Germany to relinquish territories to Belgium, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. However these new territories were very susceptible to aggression from its neighboring countries, Germany and the Soviet Union. During this time there was still a great deal of tension between the countries/ territories. Italy and Japan viewed the treaty as a failure to acknowledge the status of the two’s world powers. Also Germans saw that rather than being defeated at the close of World War I, they were betrayed. With the economy being exceptionally deprived and a great deal of political instability, this set the stage for dictatorships that according to Twentieth-Century America “offered territorial expansion by military conquest as a way to redress old rivalries, dominate trade and gain access to raw materials”. Countries such as Japan began making use of propaganda’s stressing that Japans “greatness” must be reassured. Italy’s Fascist dictator, Benito Mus...
The first paradigm of international relations is the theory of Realism. Realism is focused on ideas of self-interest and the balance of power. Realism is also divided into two categories, classical realism and neo-realism. Famous political theorist, Hans Morgenthau was a classical realist who believed that national interest was based on three elements, balance of power, military force, and self interest (Kleinberg 2010, 32). He uses four levels of analysis to evaluate the power of a state. The first is that power and influence are not always the same thing. Influence means the ability to affect the decision of those who have the power to control outcomes and power is the ability to determine outcomes. An example of influence and power would be the UN’s ability to influence the actions of states within the UN but the state itself has the power to determine how they act. Morgenthau goes on to his next level of analysis in which he explains the difference in force and power in the international realm. Force is physical violence, the use of military power but power is so much more than that. A powerful state can control the actions of another state with the threat of force but not actually need to physical force. He believed that the ability to have power over another state simply with the threat of force was likely to be the most important element in analysis the power of as state (Kleinberg 2010, 33-34).
The discipline of IR was officially established after World War 1 with a view to avoiding future mass conflicts and ensuring peaceful change. This remains a worthy goal, but today the scope and complexities of world politics demand an understanding of a much wider range of issues. Moreover, new conceptual frameworks and theories are required to improve our understanding and assist in the development of better policies and practices. International relation theory is often taught as a theory that seeks both to explain past state behavior and to predict future state behavior. However, even that definition is contested by many theorists. Traditional IR theories can generally be categorized by their focus either on humans, states, or
This essay will describe the characteristics of the modern nation-state, explain how the United States fits the criteria of and functions as a modern nation-state, discuss the European Union as a transnational entity, analyze how nation-states and transnational entities engage on foreign policy to achieve their interests, and the consequences of this interaction for international politics.
Suppose you have landed a diplomatic job after completion of your MA International Relations (IR) but your syllabus didn’t include any class on diplomacy and besides you don’t have much time to set aside for reading on widening concept of diplomacy. Then the book ‘Diplomacy: Theory and Practice’ is the right choice for you to read. It explains the nuts and bolts of diplomacy in a clear way.
Melvyn, Leffler, (1986), “Adherence to Agreements: Yalta and the Experiences of the Early Cold War”, in International Security, No.9
international politics (politics in general) are objective to be interpreted by one's own understanding of
The issue of security has long been the preoccupation of international relations. It has been argued that there is no common concept of security and disagreement in the normative and methodological approach. In the simplest form, the core of security is survival, and consequently a lack of threat. In terms of international relations, the state has been the main referent object of security. Arnold Wolfers proposed the definition of security as the "(security), in an objective sense, measures the absence of threats to acquired values, in a subjective sense, the absence of fear that such values will be attacked".” In the traditional approach, threats to security comes from a hard power source and is framed through a national security paradigm. It was argued that security is only concerned with power politics and military action. Proponents of the traditional approach argue that international relations is dominated by a realist perception. States are obliged by anarchy in international relations to follow a course of self-protection and face a security dilemma. External physical threats are the main source of insecurity for state. For traditionalists, protecting national boundaries and sovereignty is the central focus of security. In his seminal paper titled, “The Renaissance of Security Studies,” Stephen Walt argues that the domain of security studies is “the phenomenon of war.” For Walt, security is rightfully preoccupied with analyzing the impact of the use of force on individuals, societies, and the state. In this perspective military power was used as in instrument of foreign policy, political propaganda, and for economic aims. The former approach to security dominated the Cold War era. During this time, global military c...
Interaction among the people or groups of different parts of the world kept continued in ancient, medieval period till now. But the formal establishment of international relations begins from ‘Peace of Wesphalia’ in 1648, This point of time international relations started based on sovereign states, a milestone in development of modern states. Prior to ‘Peace of Westphalia’, international relations were based on a vague hierarchy of religious order. Peace of Westphalia was done after a thirty years of bloodbath among European powers. Peace of Westphalia is known as one the best example in world history which shows the significance of international relations in establishing peace and communal harmony. After this treaty international relations became based on peaceful diplomatic procedure of resolving the issues and to establish the peace and communal harmony among and within the nations. Establishment of international organizations e.g. UNO, are the results of peaceful diplomatic procedure of international
How does identity –ethnic, religious, political, etc.- affect people’s view and actions related to foreign policy and international relations?