Wednesday January 9thHave the readings done before class every Fridayrelations between states and non state actorsleadership positions that aren’t foreign leaders that have an affect on foreign relationsWhy study international relations?International relations seeks to understand how peoples and countries of the world get alongTo better understand the varied landscape of conflict and cooperation that goes on in the worldThrough understanding, we can hope to make the world a better placeHistorical International RelationsEmerged as an interdisciplinary field after World War 1, through the study of international relations dates back thousands of yearsStudy of IR dominated by British ScholarsStudy focused on international law, diplomacy, and war, military strategyInternational Relations in the USIn the US considered a subfield of political science, through schools of international studies still existInternational relations did not become more prominent in the US until after World War 2The Behavioral RevolutionBehavioral revolution was a movement in political science to make it more “scientific”Political science must be a positivist and empiricalA THEORY is a set of propositions, concepts and variable that seeks to explain phenomena by specifying the relationships among concepts and variablesTheory’s ultimate purpose is to predict eventsFriday January 11thThe Emergence of Post-PositivistsDeny that people even political scientists, can be neutral and value free (positivism)So called “facts” have value laden assumptionsDeny we can even actually really “know” by observation (empiricism)Nature of researchPre-existing images we have of the worldAbandon the scientific method and engage in ethnographyAbandon causal explanation in favor of hermeneutics (interpretation)International relations todayStill dominated by positivist and empiricist, though not as dogmatic about itTheories are still seen as a useful tool in helping us uncover what variables/concepts are important to studyAs a field, scholars working in IR open to many viewpoints on how it should be doneInternational relations: the study of the interactions among various actors that participate in international politicsInterests interaction and institutionsInterest actors and preferencesInterests:Actors and PreferencesActors are purposive; they develop strategies that they believe are the best response to a given situationStrategic interactions: sometimes an actor’s strategy or plan of action can depend on the anticipated strategy of othersCooperationThrough coordination and collaborationCoordination everyone gets together and agrees on a set group of rulesCollaboration is on going coordination, each party of the coordination has to hold up their end of the bargainMonday January 14thNudging cooperationPublic (cooperative) goods: goods available to all regardless of individual contributionNo one owns these goodsOne person’s enjoyment does not decrease the amount availableCollective action: the willingness of individuals to work together to achieve a public (collective) goodInteractions: bargainingCan use coercion (not necessarily militarily) or ThreatInstitutions:Process and structures of social order around which relatively stale individual and group identities convergeFormal rules to create collective action easierWhat role do institutions play?What are the important institutions?How do institutions constrain certain behavior or encourage other behavior?Charity, Community Service etc.Are institutions neutral?NoCycles of WarKey developments before A.D. 1000Greek city states: height of power in 499 B.C.E.; carry out cooperative functions through diplomacy and classic power politicsRoman Empire (50 B.C.E.-A.D. 400) unites empire through law and language, with some local identityMiddle Ages (400-1000)Decentralized political and economic authority, but travel, commerce, and communication increasedMost European societies organized by feudalismThe organization of feudalism dictates that you have these small little unitsPreeminent institution was the churchLate Middle Ages (1000-1492)Commercial activity, communication and technological advances lead to social changesTransnational business class starts to developPeriod of European territorial expansionInternational diplomatic practices establishedThe Mercantilist Era, (1492-1815)Explorers and traders discover the “New World”Mercantilism replaces feudalismTreaty of Westphalia grants sovereignty to political unitsTo main interests of the European Monarchies:Ensure their continued military and political powerWanted access to markets and resources in other parts of the worldThe emergence of the Westphalia systemThe Thirty Years’ War 1618-1648The peace of WestphaliaCreates the notion of a state, and each state is sovereignConsequence of Westphalia: Sovereignty1.) Territorial integrity2.) Border inviolability3.) Supremacy of the commonwealth4.) The “sovereign” as supreme lawmaking authority within its jurisdictionThe Pax Britannica (1815-1914)Industrial revolution altered interestsCapitalism replaces mercantilismEconomic inegratino increasesColonialismMechanismsMigrationFree tradeGold standardThe colonial empires emerge in 1914Wednesday January 16thNineteenth-Century Imperialism and ColonialismImperialism: annexation of distant territory and it’s inhabitants, often by forceColonialism: settling of people from home country among indigenous people of a distant land, accompanied by imperialismCongress of Berlin (1885) divides AfricaInto territories of particular countriesWorld War 1: A guide to the Major PlayersAlliance powersGermanyAustria-hungary empireItaly (until 1915Entente PowersGreat BritainRussia FranceItaly, U.S. after 1917Why War?Balancing of powerDecline of the hegemonCapitalist rivalryLennon, look at the powers and who was involved what do they all have in common?All of them were large colonizing countriesThe Inter-War yearsThe league of Nations failed to handle problemsGerman dissatisfaction with the treaty of Versailles grewMajor economic downturn-the Great DepressionThe value of the Deutchmark goes downCreates Hitler and the rise of Germany againWhy War?Proximate:American non-involvementInaction by France, Britain, Soviet UnionappeasementUnderlying:MultipolarityGreat Depression of 1929Hitler as a LeaderWW2 ConsequencesBorder changes in EuropeBeginning of decolonizationUnited NationsBipolarity- US/Soviet Power StruggleGoals of the US after WW2Minimize