Introduction to International Relations

Lectures 1 to 4Actors in the International System

By Muhammad Ilyas Ansari

What is International Relations?

International Relations is the study of conflict and cooperation by international actors, as furthered by the development and testing of hypotheses about international outcomes.

Overview

• Types of actors– States– Non-state actors

• Types of systems– Hierarchy– Networks– Anarchy

• Types of interactions between actors– Harmony, Coordination, Cooperation, Conflict

The central actor: the state

• The state is “a human community that successfully claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.”

– Max Weber, 1919

• States are identified by mutual recognition.– 196 members in the United Nations

What is legitimacy?

• Legitimacy is the belief that those in power have the right to rule.

• Sources of legitimacy– Traditional – Charismatic– Rational/Legal

• Authority is power with legitimacy.

What States Do

• Provide public goods– Goods that benefit everyone, whether or not they

contribute (non-excludable)– Creates incentives to free ride– Often requires collecting taxes

• Enforce contracts

Examples of States

• Sweden• Argentina• Canada• Bangladesh• South Africa• New Zealand• Cuba

Potential States

• The Palestinian Authority– Not a state, because Israel retains the ability to use

coercion in all its territory

Failed States

• Somalia 1991– No central claim to legitimacy at all

• Afghanistan 2005– The monopoly claim on coercive authority is tenuous

at best outside the capital.

Sovereignty

• Sovereignty is the defining characteristic of the state.

• An entity is sovereign when it is the highest political authority in the system.

• By definition, no other unit has coercive authority within a state's territory, so therefore states are sovereign.

• All sovereign states have nominally equal authority.

Development of Sovereignty

• 1648 – Principle of sovereignty is first articulated in the Peace of Westphalia– Ended Thirty Years War by giving rulers authority to

determine religion within their own territory• 1713 – Principle of sovereignty is solidified in the

Treaty of Utrecht• 1945 – Sovereign equality of members enshrined

in United Nations charter

Alternatives to sovereign states

• Sovereign state system is not only possible system.

• Example: Feudalism, which preceded the sovereign state system– Non-territorial– Overlapping authorities

Alternative to states: Empire

• Consists of a metropole and its colonies• Example: Ancient Rome and England, France, etc.• Example: Britain and India, Jamaica, etc.• Example: France and Tahiti, Lebanon, etc.

• Different political status for people in metropole and colonies

• Typically, colonies retain some local control, while metropole controls external affairs

• Benefits the metropole economically and militarily

Hierarchy

● Hierarchy is a chain of command. ● Example - military ● Power in hierarchy comes from legitimacy and the

ability to coerce or bribe.

Anarchy

• Anarchy means that all the actors have equal authority, and are in equal relationship to each other.- However, they may vary in their capabilities.

• Example – pure free market• Power in anarchy comes from the ability to coerce

or bribe.

Networks

• In a network, each actor is a node, linked to some but not all of the other nodes. The connections between actors may be strong or weak.

• Example – group of friends• Power in networks comes from the number of other

nodes to which an actor is connected.

Sovereignty creates anarchy.

In the international system, there is no higher authority to provide public goods or enforce contracts among states.

All agreements among states must be self-enforcing.

Violations of Sovereignty

System is anarchic, but hierarchy exists between some states.Empire - Example: United States and GuamProtectorates - Example: France and MonacoIntervention – Example: United Nations and Liberia

The International System

• Includes all actors who have regular interactions• Scope depends on transportation and

communications technology• Examples:

– Ancient Greece– Global today

Power in the System

• Power is the ability of A to get B to do what A wants B to do.

• Inherently relational• Sources of power

– Land– Natural Resources– Population

Types of Power

• Military power• Market power• Cultural power

Defining the System by Power

• Great Power – state that can project power across the system

• System defined by number of great powers:– many, two, or one

Multipolarity

• Three or more Great Powers• Example – Europe at the beginning of the 20th

century

• Attempts to balance power make system war-prone

Bipolarity

• Two great powers• Examples

– Athens and Sparta in Ancient Greece– USA and USSR during Cold War

• Relatively stable

Unipolarity

• One great power• Example – the US right now

• May encourage other states to align against the superpower

Militarity ExpendituresUnited StatesRussia* China* United Kingdom Japan France Germany Saudi Arabia India Italy South Korea Australia Turkey* Israel* Canada Spain* Brazil Netherlands Taiwan Greece* Indonesia* 

Defining the System by Globalization

• Can also characterize the system by level of international flows of goods, labor, and capital

• Actors defined by level of openness• Highly globalized at beginning of 20th century• Retrenchment of globalization in 1930s• Significant growth in globalization during current

era

Non-state Actors

• Debate about significance• Importance varies by issue area

– Nations– International Organizations– Multinational Corporations– Non-governmental Organizations

The Nation

• Common identity– Ethno-linguistic, religious, ideological

• Common history or origin– Real or mythical

• Claim on homeland• Desire for self-rule• Identity can be created through common symbols

and education.

Nationalism

• Political ideology advocating national self-determination

• First developed in 19th Century in Europe, but spread world-wide

• Nationalism is one way to legitimate states and/or separatist movements.

• Particularly dangerous to empires

The Nation-State

• In a nation-state, the boundaries of the state territory and the membership of the nation are co-terminus.

• Ideal-type for the post-WW II era• In practice, rare

– Diaspora– Separatist movements– Irredentism

Examples of Nations

• Nation-states– Japan– Denmark

• Multi-national states– China (Tibet)

• Stateless nations– Kurds (in Iraq, Turkey, Iran)– Basques (in Spain, France)

• Divided nations– Korea (North and South)

International Organizations

• Institutions with formal membership and procedures

• Only states are members• Membership can be limited or universal• Purpose may be broad or narrow

Examples of IOs

•Limited Membership, Narrow Purpose: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

•Limited Membership, Broad Purpose: African Union

•Universal Membership, Narrow Purpose: Universal Postal Union

•Universal Membership, Broad Purpose: United Nations

Multinational Corporations

MNCs are organizations that seek to make a profit by engaging in foreign production, marketing, finance, and staffing through directly controlled affiliates located in several states.

Examples of MNCs

•Coca-Cola

•Sony

•LVMH

Non-Governmental Organizations

• Broad category - Not states and non-profit• Includes religions, charities, political activists,

academic research communities, and even terrorist groups.

Examples of NGOs

•Roman Catholic Church

•International Red Cross

•Greenpeace

•Doctors Without Borders

Types of Interaction among Actors

All types of actors interact.HarmonyCoordinationCooperationConflict

Types of Interaction: Harmony

Harmony is when actors' interests coincide.Independent pursuit of own interests returns

maximum output.More common than often considered.Example – Taliban wipes out heroin production in

Afghanistan; availability of heroin decreases in US.

Types of Interaction: Coordination

Actors more interested in choosing the same strategy than in choosing any given strategy.

Example – Universal Postal UnionTwo possibilities

Pure coordination – easierCoordination after investment - harder

Types of Interaction: Cooperation

• Cooperation is mutual adjustment of policy.• Benefits both actors, but not always equally.• Example – WHO eradication of smallpox

Types of Interaction: Conflict

• Results from mutually incompatible preferences.• Not always violent.• Example – 2004 US steel tariffs, EU retaliates on

Florida oranges.