Chapter 5The State

•Has a territorial home

•A stable population

•A government to which the population has allegiance

•Is recognized diplomatically by other states

The State Defined

•Territory is not always well-defined

•Population changes

•People not always obedient to government

•Unclear how many other states need to grant diplomatic recognition for a state to be considered legitimate

Legal Criteria Are Not Absolute

•Group of people who share a group of characteristics: ─ Common language, history, ethnicity, customs

ScottishCatalanJewishPalestinian

A Nation Defined

•Nation-state: Denmark, Italy

•Nations spread in several states: • Kurds in Iraq, Turkey, Iran; Somalis in Somalia,

Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti

•States with several nations within borders: India, Russia

•Ethnonationalists • Federal arrangements • Irredentism—join with fellow ethnonationalists in

other states to create new states

Relationship Between State and Nation

•The state is: ─ An autonomous, unitary actor ─ Constrained only by the anarchy of the international system ─ Sovereign ─ Guided by a national interest that is defined in terms of power

Realist View of the State

•The state is: ─ A process, involving many contending interests ─ A reflection of both governmental and societal interests ─ The repository of multiple and changing national interests ─ The possessor of fungible sources of power ─ No single explicit or consistent national interest

Liberal View of the State

•The state is: ─ The executing agent of the bourgeoisie ─ Influenced by pressures from the capitalist class ─ Constrained by the structure of the international capitalist system, which drives the state to expand

Radical View of the State

•The state is: ─ A socially constructed entity ─ The repository of changing national interests ─ Shaped by international norms that can change preferences ─ Influenced by changing national interests that reshape identities ─ Socialized by intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)

Constructivist View of the State

•What is power?

─ The ability to not only influence others but also to control outcomes, producing results that would not have occurred naturally

─ Multidimensional, dynamic, and situational

The Nature of State Power

•Natural sources of power ─ Natural resources ─ Oil ─ Mineral deposits (gold, silver, bauxite) ─ Geographic size and position ─ Proximity to sea ─ Temperate zone ─ Population ─ Size ─ Level of skills ─ Age

Power Potential Depends On:

•Industrial development

•Level of infrastructure

•Economic diversification

•Characteristics of military

Tangible Sources of Power

•National image—views of self as exceptional or weak

•Public support and cohesion—strong or weak

•Public morale—strong or disaffected

•Leadership—visionaries, pragmatic, poor, corrupt

•Quality of government—not type, but effectiveness

•Soft power—ability to attract others because of legitimacy of state’s values or policies

Intangible Sources of Power

•Power not only to be possessed but also to be utilized through: ─ Diplomacy ─ Economic statecraft ─ Force

The Exercise of State Power

•Influencing the behavior of others by negotiating

•Taking a specific action or refraining from action

•Conducting public diplomacy using positive images

•Requires credible parties with believable statements, likely positions, and ability to back up positions with action

•Complicated by Putnam’s two-level games and as a culture-bound activity

The Art of Diplomacy

•Positive sanctions—offers a reward for moving in desired direction

─ Grant trading privileges—most-favored-nation (MFN) status to China

─ Permit trading in sensitive products

Use of Economic Statecraft

•Negative sanctions—threaten or take actions that punish state for undesirable move

─ Freeze target state’s assets—United Nations against Libya

─ Boycott goods and services—South Africa boycotted

─ Impose trade limits—Arab states and United States

Use of Economic Statecraft

•Compellence—threat or use of force to get target state to do something or undo an act already undertaken• ─ Example: prelude to 1991 Gulf War—try to change Saddam’s behavior by escalating threat

•Deterrence—threatening or actually punishing a target state if it takes an undesired action

•In both cases, intentions must be communicated; credibility is essential

Use of Force/Threat to Use Force

•Kant: democracy changes international politics by eliminating war; public restrains leaders.

•Major finding: democracies do not fight each other.

•Potentially divergent findings: ─ Democracies are not overall more pacific than nondemocracies. ─ Autocracies are just as peaceful with each other as are democracies.

Democracy and Foreign Policy

•Crisis situation•Short time to react•Incomplete information about decision making in other state•National security issues

Rational Model Most Appropriate When:

•Organizations: importance of standard operating procedures and processes within different organizations ─ Decisions depend on precedents ─ Decisions apt to be incremental

•Bureaucratic: pull and haul of different interests among departments, groups, or individuals

•Most often in non-security issues

Characteristics of Bureaucratic/ Organizational Model

•Organizational: ─ Decisions depend heavily on precedent.

─ Major changes unlikely.

─ Conflict can occur between groups with different goals and procedures.

Bureaucratic/Organizational Outcomes

•Bureaucratic: ─ Decisions emerge from “tug-of-war” between departments, groups, or individuals.

─ Outcomes depend on relative strength of players.

Bureaucratic/Organizational Outcomes

•Bargaining among domestic actors ─ Example: interest groups, public, mass movements, multinational corporations (MNCs)

•Most often emerges in noncrisis, economic situations

•Time allows mobilization of media and public opinion, lobbying, organizing transnational networks, direct contact with government officials

Pluralist Model Outcomes