History of Internation Relations - FTU HN - 2223

1. • The Westphalian System
• 1648: signature of Westphalia Treaty –
Marking the nation-state system; end of
rule by religious authority
• The Formulation of sovereignty: most
important intellectual development leading
to the emergence of the Westphalian
revolution.

2. • Jean Bodin (1530-96): Sovereignty was
the absolute and perpeptual power vested
in a commonwealth.
• The distinguishing mark of the sovereign
that he cannot in any way be subject to the
command of another, for it is he who
makes law for the subject, abrogates law
already made, and amends obsolete law.

5. • 1618-1648: The Thirty Years’ War in
the Holy Roman Empire
– The religious reasons: Protestant states and
Catholic states.
– The war spreaded all over Europe with
intervention of Denmark, Sweden, and France
• 1568 – 1648: The Eighty Years’ War
between Spain and Dutch Republic

6. THE PEACE OF WESTPHALIA
• The Treaty of Münster (May 1648)
• The Treaty of Osnabrück (Oct 1648)
• Importance of the Peace of Westphalia:
– Concept of sovereign state: governed by a
sovereign and establishing a prejudice in
international affairs against interference in
another nation's domestic business.
– Basis for national self-determination.

7. The Westphalian system
• Principles/Concepts:
– Sovereignty principle: independence and
supreme authority possessed by states within
their territory.
– Effectivity principle/criterion: force not
prohibited; occupation is legitimate means of
acquiring title to territory.
– Coexistence concept: International law as a
law of coexistence between states
Source: http://www.asil.org

8. • States are only international actors.
• Rule formation: based on custom, treaties
• Rule enforcement process: based on self-
defense.
• Arbitration: based on special agreements.
• Power: decentralized, not organized,
absence of superior power
Source: http://www.asil.org

10. • American Revolution (1776)
• French Revolution (1789)
• Attack the absolute power
• Nationalism
• Defeat of Napoleon in 1818
• Concert of Europe

11. • From revolutions emerge 2 concepts: absolutist
rule subject to be limitations, and nationalism
• A system managed by the balance of power
brings relative peace to Europe (rise of England,
unification of Germany, Italy).
• Elites are united in fear of the masses, and
domestic concerns are more important than
foreign policy
• European imperialism in Asia and Africa helps to
maintain the E. balance of power
• The balance of power breaks down due to
solidification of alliances, resulting in WWI.

12. ALLIANCES BEFORE WWI
• Tripple Alliance: Germany, Autria, and
Italy (1882)
• Dual Alliance: France and Russia (1893)
• 1902: Britain and Japan
• Dissatisfactory of Germany over the
diplomatic recognition and colonies
• The assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the
heir to the throne of the Austria-Hungarian
Empire, 1914:

13. • Who fighted whom: the Allies (centred
around the Triple Entente of the UK,
France, and Russia) and the Central
Powers (Triple alliance of Germany,
Austria-Hungary, and Italy – not enter)
• When: 28/7/1914 – 11/11/1918
• Where: In Central Europe.
• Where was the United States?

15. • Loser: Central Powers
• Fate of the losers
• Winner: Triple Entente: France,
Britain, Russia
• Breaking event: The Russian
Revolution

16. • Versaille – Washington System
• Policy of “Appeasing” Germany
• Revival of Germany
• Reactionary and Extremist Policies of
Germany, Italy, and Japan
• League of Nations appeared and failed.
• Great Depression: 1929 - 1933
• The Break of World War II (1/9/1939)

17. • Who fighted whom: Allies (USA, SU,
China, France, UK) and Axis (Germany,
Japan, Italy)
• When: 1/9/1939-15/8/1945
• Where: All over the world; main battle:
Central Europe, Asia-Pacific
• Result: Loser – Winner
• World War II (casualties: 60 – 78 mil); WW
I (casualties: over 37 mi)

20. IR after WW II
• 1945: The United Nations.
• No common enemies (fascism): Allies
were divided.
• Yalta bipolar order.
• Two world superpowers: Soviet Union and
USA
• Balance of power and Band-wagoning
• A new period: COLD WAR

22. • Foundation of the Cold War
• Characteristics
• Tension in Europe
• Conflicts in other region
• The end of the Cold War

23. COLD WAR
• Interest and perception differences
between Soviet Union and USA.
• Divided by the most significant and
fundamental disagreements: human rights,
individual liberties, cultural freedom, role of
civil society, the direction of history, and the
destiny of man.
• Never exploded into hot war: nuclear
weapons (USA: 1945, USSR: 1949, China:
1962, and other countries)

24. COLD WAR
• USSR and USA / two opposite blocs: Communism
versus Capitalism. (Marshall Plan, NATO (49) versus
Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON
49) and Warsaw Pact (1951)
• Non-aligned Movement: founded in 1961.
• The two superpowers never faced directly in conflicts:
proxy wars – use its allies or satellites to weaken the
other.
• Eg: The Korea war, the Vietnam war, Cuba missile
crisis, Wall of Berlin.
• Peace? Yes. But Peace on the Verge of War

25. COLD WAR
• Each superpower: ambition of world
leadership; clashes of interest,
misperception, misunderstanding, and
demagogy.
• Soviet leaders believed: history would one
day bring about the victory of communism.
Western leaders believed that the nature
of man and markets would one day bring
about the victory of free society.

26. COLD WAR
• Some features of CW:
– proxy wars
– peace was fragile, peace was on the verge of
war
– Containment, constraint and deterrence of
nuclear weapons.
– Scale of the CW was large: all over the world.
– Arm and space race: nuclear weapons, inter-
continental ballistic missile (USSR, Aug 1957),
first Earth Satellite, Spunik (USSR Oct 1957),
Apollo Moon Landing (USA, 1969 – 1972)

27. COLD WAR
• Cold War can be divided into three parts:
confrontation (1947 – 1962); détente
(1962 – 1979); confrontation (1979 –
1985).
• Triangle relations: China – USA – USSR
• Sino – Soviet Split: USA used this context
to weaken both, defeat Soviet Union.
• 1985 – 1991: USSR and socialist
countries gradually collapsed.

28. Important events in the CW
• The Berlin Blockade (1948–1949)
• The Korean War (1950–1953)
• The Suez Crisis (1956)
• The Berlin Crisis of 1961
• The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
• The Vietnam War (1955–1975)
• The Soviet war in Afghanistan (1979–1989)
• Vietnam sent troops to Cambodia (1978)
• China attacked Vietnam (1979)

29. END OF THE COLD WAR
• Collapse of the Berlin Wall (
• Political reforms in USSR led to dissolution
• A series of small former Soviet states
declared independence.
• Communism led by USSR stopped its
existence in late 1980s.
• The Yalta bipolar order collapsed.
• Open a new chapter of IR: peace and
cooperation.

30. • Characteristics
• Trends
• IR in the Asia-Pacific Region