Encounters with World Affairs

An Introduction to International Relations

Emilian Kavalski

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781317143857
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Political Philosophy

This book is designed to familiarise students with leading International Relations (IR) theories and their explanation of political events, phenomena, and processes which cross the territorial boundaries of the state. Thus, students will be exposed to the interplay between power, interest, ideas, identity, and resistance, in explaining continuity and change in international relations. Developed to provide students with the analytical tools and intellectual frameworks needed to understand the behaviour of different international actors in contemporary global affairs. This textbook responds to the challenges of a dynamic job market by assisting students to gain both thorough theoretical knowledge and training them to apply this knowledge to real world problems. In short, this textbook delivers: A comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to the examination of national, regional and global trends in politics, economics and socio-cultural developments allowing students to understand: ¢ the practice and theory of contemporary international relations ¢ the politics, culture, history, and economies of different regions around the world ¢ the role played by international interactions, culture, and government in local, national, and global settings. Equipping students with the proficiency: ¢ to understand and interpret the dynamics, patterns, and issues of global affairs ¢ to know how to get more information about particular questions ¢ to evaluate that information independently and effectively. To these ends, the textbook provides a number of features that will appeal to students and avoids overwhelming students with chapters on topics which (in practice) are rarely on courses, while nonetheless providing a comprehensive overview of the field. Introduces students to the main debates, topics, and terms in the field and allows them to decide which they would like to focus on in their further studies.

PART I:
Perspectives and Frameworks

Chapter 1
The History of Global Politics

KEVIN MARSH

INTRODUCTION

The contemporary international system marks the latest stage of the continued evolution of international relations. Issues such as terrorism, economic inequality, interstate conflict and cooperation, among others, are all rooted in history. Studying history, then, allows for students of international relations to develop a contextually sophisticated understanding of the contemporary international system. People often look to the past when trying to make sense of current events or major transitions in politics and international relations. It is in that vein that this chapter seeks to explain the central events, periods and trends of history and how these factors shaped and guided the development of the current international system.

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Sovereignty – a state that has defined boundaries, political control over that territory and has the power to exert taxes from its population.

The Balance of Power – how power is distributed within the international system.

Nation-state – basic unit of organization in the international system. A sovereign state organized around a common national characteristic.

Nationalism – a sense of common allegiance that binds people together. It may be the result of common ethnic, racial, cultural, linguistic, religious or civic ties.

Deterrence – the ability to prevent an attack or make it too costly for an adversary to attack.

Peace of Westphalia – the system of treaties ending the Thirty Years’ War and establishing the modern international system.

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This chapter will provide an overview of the significant historical periods and events of international relations from the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 through to the rise of China and the Asia-Pacific in the present. This chapter is intended to familiarize the student with important international relations concepts such as sovereignty, the balance of power, nation-state, Nationalism, deterrence and the Peace of Westphalia. The chapter will also review the development of the modern international system and outline the emergence of the nation-state system, the establishment and progression of sovereignty and fluctuations of the international balance of power. Admittedly, this chapter provides a traditional, Eurocentric account of the history of global affairs. While the standard history of global affairs does bear the hallmark of a Eurocentric or Anglophone view of international relations, it is the intent of the author to explore the underlying reasons for the dominance of this perspective and also analyse the implications of recent challenges to the Westphalian interpretation of international relations.

EUROCENTRISM AND THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

The discipline of international relations has traditionally been dominated by a Eurocentric or Anglophone interpretation and account of global affairs. Beginning with Thucydides and The History of the Peloponnesian War and reinforced by the emergence of the Westphalian system, Western definitions of power, diplomacy, sovereignty, law and the balance of power were promoted by scholars and policymakers. Traditional histories of international relations focus almost exclusively on the Treaty of Westphalia, the development of the nation-state system and balance of power in Europe, and then proceed to assess the evolution of these concepts largely from a Western perspective.

For more information on the tradition Eurocentrism in accounts of the history of the international system, see Hobson (2012), Vucetic (2011), Kayaoglu (2010), Kim, Fidler and Ganguly (2009). Also, Kayaoglu (2010) provides an overview of scholars who discuss Eurocentrism, including Osiander (2001), Beaulac (2004) and Teschke (2003). Some scholars have gone so far as to reject the Westphalian interpretation of international relations as inaccurate, Eurocentric and one that artificially imposes Western ideas and values on the international system.

In a valuable summary of the counterarguments to the Westphalian interpretation of international relations, Kayaoglu (2010) argues:

The Westphalian narrative allows scholars to reinvent a framework of normative hierarchy depending on where Western and non-Western societies are placed in the narrative. Western states produce norms, principles, and institutions of international society and non-Western states lack these until they are socialized into the norms, principles, and institutions of international society. In this perspective, international society is a normative hierarchy assumed to reflect the natural division of labor in international relations.

Furthermore, the traditional discussion of the pre-Westphalian era of international relations also reflects a Western-dominated perspective as ancient Greece and Rome feature heavily in accounts of the beginnings of the international system. Scant attention is paid to the role of China and India in the pre-Westphalian order, and the East’s role in international relations is then analysed according to Westphalian terms as well. This chapter will conclude with an analysis of the implications of Eurocentrism for the history of international relations.

THE ENDURING LEGACY OF THUCYDIDES IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

The Greek historian Thucydides is generally credited with creating the field of international relations. Thucydides wrote The History of the Peloponnesian War, a truly magisterial work recounting the events of the war for dominance over Greece between the city-states of Athens and Sparta. Thucydides cast a long shadow over international relations and continues to influence the discipline to this day. The History of the Peloponnesian War discussed core features of international relations, including the distribution of power, alliances, competition, security, diplomacy, public opinion and war. Thucydides also provided the basic framework for the development of international relations theory as he reflected on human nature, politics, justice, power and role and nature of diplomacy.

In addition to inspiring the emergence of international relations as a distinct discipline, Thucydides contributed to the Eurocentric narrative of the history of the international system. Thucydides was the first of a series of Greek and Roman historians who wrote about the key events of international relations in the ancient world. These texts continue to form the basis for much of international relations scholarship, and The History of the Peloponnesian War in particular has strongly influenced the course of international relations theory. European and US historians continued this pattern of dominance and have interpreted the history of international relations from a distinctly Eurocentric or Anglophone perspective. In short, Thucydides continues to influence the history of international relations and theory of international relations. His legacy, as stated before, still looms over the discipline.

THE WESTPHALIAN SYSTEM AND THE DAWN OF MODERN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Almost two centuries of unremitting religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Europe came to a climax in the Thirty Years’ War from 1618–48. The war was fought mainly in Germany and Central Europe and was the culmination of the religious wars between Protestantism and Catholicism. Northern Europe, including England, Scotland, Scandinavia and much of Germany, sided with Protestantism while France, Spain and Austria led the Catholic coalition. One common aspect of this era of religious warfare in Europe was the doctrine of foreign intervention in the domestic politics of states. European monarchs believed that they were justified (and in some cases, commanded by God) in intervening in their neighbours’ domestic affairs and, if necessary, going to war to impose a particular religion on their adversaries.

The Thirty Years’ War broke out in 1618 and produced unprecedented levels of violence, carnage and destruction. Various armies ravaged the countryside of Central Europe and little distinction was made between civilians and combatants (Mingst 2004). Germany was particularly devastated by the war and suffered massive population losses. All of the great powers in Europe intervened in the war and employed religious pretexts to settle old scores with enemies, recover lost territory or conquer new lands (D’Anieri 2014; Kissinger 2014). The war also saw widespread employment of mercenaries and other private armies and militias (Mingst 2004). By 1648, with the continent exhausted from warfare, the warring countries commenced peace negotiations and eventually produced a series of treaties leading to the Peace of Westphalia.

The Peace of Westphalia ended the war and also established the foundations of the modern international system and international relations. The Peace of Westphalia established the modern conception of sovereignty, ended religious warfare in Europe and ushered in the nation-state system (Kissinger 2014). Modern international relations, albeit Eurocentric in scope, therefore, can be traced back to the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Sovereignty dictated that states had clearly defined and accepted borders, and were free to determine their own domestic policies without foreign interference. The European great powers recognized each other’s territorial boundaries and also accepted the principle of non-interference in domestic politics (Mingst 2004).

Recognition of the supremacy of state authority resolved the complex system of overlapping loyalties and blending of Church and state that had framed European politics for centuries (Mingst 2004). Westphalia also ended the era of religious warfare in Europe and enshrined the right of monarchs to decide the official religion of their subjects. States agreed to extend the principle of non-interference in domestic affairs to religion, thus removing one of the causes of much of the wars in Europe for the preceding centuries.

Perhaps the single most significant aspect of the Peace of Westphalia was the inception of the modern nation-state system in Europe. The nation-state remains the most significant political unit in the contemporary international system and has dominated international relations for hundreds of years. Prior to the Westphalian system, Europe (and indeed, much of the world) was a confused system of feudal kingdoms with multiple overlapping avenues of authority and empires featuring considerable local autonomy and weak central governments. The Catholic Church also exerted substantial political authority over the lands of the Holy Roman Empire (modern-day Germany) and in Italy.

These feudal kingdoms, while loosely organized around a measure of nationhood, failed to meet the definition of a state. For example, the monarchs of these feudal states did not command standing, professional state armies. Instead, monarchs were dependent upon lords to raise levies on behalf of the king and also collect and distribute tax revenue (Mingst 2004). These lords retained significant autonomy and often challenged the central monarch over succession and other political issues.

The Westphalian system contributed directly to the rise of the modern nation-state as the old feudal order collapsed. States with strong central government and bureaucracies replaced the multiple levels of lords and competing jurisdictions of Feudalism. The monarch commanded a standing state military, governed with the assistance of an expanded and more capable bureaucracy, asserted central government control over a defined, recognized territory and, perhaps most importantly, controlled the collection and dissemination of tax revenue (Mingst 2004). Local armies were disbanded, as was the reliance on mercenaries and other non-state military actors. Westphalia, then, gave rise to the modern nation-state system as collections of people with similar ethnic, linguistic, religious or other characteristics formed political units led by a strong central government controlling professional militaries and possessing sovereignty over a clearly defined and recognized territory.

FROM NAPOLEON TO WORLD WAR I: THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM IN TRANSITION

The rise of Napoleon Bonaparte as the leader of post-revolutionary France and the series of wars that resulted from his attempts to establish French hegemony over Europe signalled a new era of international relations. Napoleon, an officer in the French army, seized control of the country as the revolutionary regime collapsed at the end of the 1790s. Bonaparte was eventually named Emperor of France in 1804 and sought to conquer Europe. Napoleon then exploited French Nationalism to develop a massive citizen army that he wielded with ruthless efficiency in conquering much of Europe (D’Anieri 2014). An alliance of Britain, Russia and Prussia eventually defeated the French at Waterloo in 1815 and Napoleon was exiled to the island of St Helena where he lived out the rest of his days and died in 1821. While Napoleon was ultimately unsuccessful in imposing French hegemony on Europe, his wars would inspire the creation of a new order in Europe that would impose a measure of great power, peace and stability for the next 100 years.

The victorious powers in Europe met in Vienna in 1815 to create a new postwar system for Europe. This order, which became known as the Concert of Europe, sought to prevent war and stabilize the relationship between the great powers. The great powers of Europe, including Britain, Russia, Prussia, Austria and France, instituted multiple meetings in order to conduct diplomacy and resolve interstate disputes peacefully. The Concert system maintained relative peace and stability among the great powers in Europe over the next 100 years. Mingst (2004, 29) describes the impact of the Concert on international relations in Europe, stating; meeting over thirty times before World War I, the group became a club of like-minded leaders, and through these meetings they legitimized both the independence of new European states and the division of Africa by colonial powers’. The Concert established a distribution of power where no member sought hegemony and where stability and the status quo were valued (Kissinger 1994).

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The Concert of Europe – a system of conferences held by the European great powers to resolve conflicts after the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

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However, while preventing the sort of continental-wide wars of the Napoleonic Era, the Concert system failed to stop several major wars from breaking out during the second half of the nineteenth century. The Concert system began to erode starting with the Crimean War and also struggled to accommodate German and Italian unification in the 1860s. A series of wars instituted by Prussia against Denmark, Austria and France established a unified German Empire led by the Prussian Kaiser by 1871. Italy also fought wars of independence against Austria and emerged as a unified state with Rome as its capital by 1870. This series of wars redrew the map of Europe and shifted the distribution of power to the new German Reich. The rise of a powerful united Germany dramatically altered the balance of power in Europe and played a large role in the eventual collapse of the Concert system in the years preceding the outbreak of World War I. Indeed, the rise of Germany upset the balance of power and produced a new round of alliance formation and jockeying for position in Europe.

The Concert of Europe era coincided with the Enlightenment and the rise of Liberalism and Nationalism (Mingst 2004; D’Anieri 2014). The Enlightenment unleashed powerful ideas and philosophies of government that would transform politics in Europe and throughout the international system. The principles of Liberalism and Nationalism blossomed during this period as the American colonies declared independence from Britain and established the United States of America. The new nation instituted a democratic form of government and espoused the values of Liberalism a...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Figures and Tables
• List of Contributors
• Prologue: Observing and Encountering Global Life
• Part I: Perspectives and Frameworks
• Part II: Actors
• Part III: Topics and Issues
• Index