Read for exit exam

1. Chapter One:
•Understanding
International Relations

2. Conceptualizing
–Nationalism,
–Nations
–States

3. Nationalism
 Nationalism is very hard to define clearly
and unequivocally.
 a sense of national consciousness exalting one
nation above all others and placing primary
emphasis on promotion of its culture and
interests
 Nationalism in the first part of the nineteenth
century was a liberal sentiment concerning self-
determination

4. Nation
• There is no universal definition of a nation
• A nation constitutes a community of people
joined by a shared identity and by common
social practices.
• Common ethnic roots, language, religion,
historical memory and the explicit desire to act
as a political unity make up a nation
• A nation is a group of people who see
themselves as a cohesive and coherent unit
based on shared cultural or historical criteria.

5. • Nations are socially constructed units, not
given by nature.
• Members can change dramatically based on
circumstances.
• Nations sometimes ignore political
boundaries such that a single nation may
“spill over” into multiple states.

6. State
• A State is an independent, sovereign
government exercising control over a certain
spatially defined and bounded area, whose
borders are usually clearly defined and
internationally recognized by other states.
• Components of state?

7. Nation state
• A Nation-State is the idea of a homogenous
nation governed by its own sovereign state—
where each state contains one nation.
• homogeneous nation-states do not really
exist b/c nearly all nation-states have national
minorities within their territory.
• a territorially bounded sovereign polity—i.e., a
state—that is ruled in the name of a
community of citizens who identify
themselves as a nation.

8. Understanding International Relations
• International relations first used by Jeremy
Bentham in 1798
• It was seen largely as a branch of the study of
law, philosophy or history.
• After the carnageእልቂት of the First World
War, academicians understood how the fear of
war was now equal only to the fear of defeat
• the first university chair of international
relations was founded at the University of
Wales in 1919

9. • International relations is not merely a field of
study at university but is an integral aspect of
our everyday lives.
• Using social medias….Flight ….Scholarship ….
• Is a range of interactions between people,
groups, firms, associations, parties, nations or
states or between these and (non)
governmental international organizations that
exist in different parts of the world

10. • Participation in international relations or
politics is also inescapable.
• Isolation?
• Example CoViD19…this exemplify how
domestic incidents can become international
and can lead to foreign policy changes and
commitments.

11. The Nature and Evolution of International Relations
• Sovereign state began in medieval Europe
• But before that-:
 most political power was local
diverse of political entities: -
feudal lords
Independent cities like Milan Venice…
States ruled by dukes, clerics, principalities
• the (Catholic) Church and the Holy Roman
Empire- had some power over the
continent(Europe) as a whole

12. • The Holy Roman Empire was a
Formed in tenth Century,
derived legitimacy from the Roman Empire
weak in political power
loosely structured federation of many hundreds of
separate political units.
• the Church occupied a crucial role in the
cultural & intellectual life of the Middle Ages.
• The political system of medieval Europe was
thus a curious combination of the local and the
universal.

13. • from the fourteenth century onward the
new states simultaneously opposed the
popes and emperors (universal level),
and the feudal lords, peasants(local
level).
• Then, the states came to make itself
independent and self-governing
• From the sixteenth century onwards the
states established an administrative
system and raised armies, to fight
internal and external challenges.

14. • In the 17th c bloodiest and most protracted
military confrontation of the era conducted.
• The Treaty of Westphalia, 1648,
♠ concluded the 30 years of warfare,
♠ symbolized the new way of organizing international
politics.
♠ international politics became a matter of relations
between (European)states
♠ All states were sovereign
♠ began dispatching ambassadors
♠ Diplomatic practices were never powerful enough
to prevent war

15. • Politics in Europe had only marginal relevance
to people elsewhere.
• It was only in the nineteenth century that
relations between Europe and the rest of the
world were irrevocablyበማይለወጥ ሁኔታ
transformed due to economic changes after
the ‘industrial revolution’. —high demand for
produced goods and raw materials
• it was the European model of statehood and
the European way of organizing international
relations that eventually came to organize all
of world politics.

16. • High demand for raw material led to
colonization.
• by the First World War(1914), most parts of
the world were in European hands except
China, Japan, Siam, Persia, Ethiopia and
Nepal.
• liberation from colonizers led to the creation
of Europe-like states.
• After decolonization, all new states had a
familiar form similar to Europe i.e
Territories, capitals, army, foreign ministries,
flags, national anthems….

17. Actors in International Relations
1. State Actors
• IR traditionally focused on inter-state interactions
• But later it include all sorts of political entities.
• State sovereignty comes to be the defining element
in the study of international relations
• despite all the challenges and many new theories of
international politics/relations the state remains,
for many, the primary actor in international politics.
2. Non-State Actors
• Our every day life is influenced by
global firms, international gov’tal institutions, non-gov’tal
organizations and multinational corporations.

18. • state borders do not seem to accurately
delimitate global affairs
• ‘International Relations’ is no longer a mere
inter-state matter. We should instead refer to
the discipline as ‘Global Studies’ or ‘World
Politics’(Robert Keohane)---‘trans-national’
rather than ‘inter-national’

19. The Structure of International System
• (Political Power Distribution)
1. Uni-polar IS,
• there is one state with the greatest political, economic,
cultural and military power and hence the ability to
totally control other states
2. Bipolar IS
two dominant states (super powers)
the less powerful states join either sides
through alliance and counter alliance
formations
there is no one single state with a
preponderant power and hence ability to
control other states.

20. bipolar are vulnerable ደካማ ጎን to zero-sum game
politics because when one superpower gains z
other lose.
Example: Cold War
3. Multi-polar system
equally powerful states competing for power
most common throughout history.
During the period around World War I
It is not necessary for states to change their r/n/p
with zero-sum game( u win others lose).
In such system, it is possible to bring change
without gaining or losing power.
there is no one single state with a preponderant
power and hence ability to control other states.

21. Which system do you
think is more stable
and peaceful? Why?

22. Power
• Power is the currency of international politics.
• It determines the relative influence of actors and it
shapes the structure of the IS
• International politics Is a struggle for power.
Anarchy
• Anarchy is a situation where there is absence of
authority (government)
• A system where power is decentralized and there are
no shared institutions with the right to enforce
common rules
• the new international system was characterized by
constant tensions and threats of war
Basic Concepts in IR

23. Sovereignty
• a state’s ultimate authority within its
territorial entity (internal sovereignty) and,
• the state’s involvement in the international
community (external sovereignty).

24. CHAPTER TWO Theories of
International Relations
1. Idealism/Liberalism
‘utopian’ theory
view human beings as innately good
believe in peace and harmony between nations is
not only achievable, but desirable(Optimists).
democracies do not go to war with each other(
Imanuel Kant)
= states that shared liberal values should have no
reason for going to war against one another
League of Nations was created largely to maintain
international peace.

25. • liberalism failed to retain(እንደያዘቀጠለ) a strong
hold with the out break of WWII and a new
theory emerged.
• Liberals also argue that international law offers
a mechanism by which cooperation among
states is made possible.
• International law refers to the body of
customary and conventional rules which are
binding on civilized states in their intercourse
with each other.
• the purpose of international law is thus to
regulate the conducts of governments and the
behaviors of individuals within states.

26. • Liberals share an optimistic view of IR,
believing that world order can be improved,
with peace and progress gradually replacing
war
• the state and non-state actors to be the
dominant actor in IR

27. 2. Realism
• War is the most prominent instrument of
resolving conflict
• the international system is ‘anarchic’
• = No all-encompassing authority
• politics is primarily about domination as
opposed to cooperation between states.
• inter-national law is non-binding and ultimately
ineffective in the regulation of relations between
states.
• Hence, Conflict is an inevitable and continual
feature of inter-national relations
• Conflict is hence an inevitable and continual
feature of inter-national relations

28. • the state as the primary unit of analysis
• late 1950s and into the 1960s discipline
dominated by realist conceptions of IR
• Human beings as living in an order-less ‘state of
nature’ that he perceived as a war of all against
all.(Thomas Hobbes)
• The international system is, for Waltz,
anarchical and hence perpetually threatening
and conflictual
• there is no sovereign in charge of the world,
disorder and fear rules international relations.

29. • they see war as inevitable
• Human Nature do not believe that h. beings
are inherently good, or have the potential for
good, as liberals do individuals act in their
own self-interests. states partake in
international organizations only when it is in
their self-interest
• the state to be the dominant actor in IR
• realists believe that international organizations
appear to be successful when they are working
in the interests of powerful states. Unless…

30. 3. Structuralism/Marxism
• Focus on socio-economic aspects
• Marxism is an ideology that argues that a
capitalist society is divided into two
contradictory classes – the business class (the
bourgeoisie) and the working class (the
proletariat).
• Marx hoped for an eventual end to the class
society and overthrow of the bourgeoisie by
the proletariat.

31. • Critique of both realism and pluralism
concentrated on the inequalities (North-South)
that exist within the international system.
• focused on dependency, exploitation and the
international division of labor.
• most states were not free. Instead they were
subjugated by the political, ideological and
social consequences of economic forces.
• The basis of such manifest inequality was the
capitalist structure of the international system

32. • Networks of economic interdependence as
the basis of inequality, the debt burden,
violence and instability.
• Major writers in the structuralist perspective
emerged from Latin America, Africa and the
Middle East… Andre Gunter & Samir Amin

33. 4. Constructivism
• highlight the importance of values and shared
interests between individuals who interact on
the global stage
• the essence of IRs exists in the interactions
between people. states do not interact; it is
agents of those states, such as politicians and
diplomats

34. 5. Critical Theories
• established in response to mainstream approaches
• they oppose commonly held assumptions in the field of
IR
• new approaches that are better suited to understand
the world.
• They also provide a voice to individuals who have
frequently been marginalized, particularly women and
those from the Global South.
• argue that the internationalization of the state has led
people becoming divided and alienated from other
people across the world.
• emancipation from the state in some form is often part
of the wider critical agenda.

35. 6. Post-colonialism
• The persistence of colonial forms of power.
• differs from Marxism by focusing on the
inequality between nations or regions, as
opposed to classes.

36. Chapter THREE: Understanding Foreign Policy
and Diplomacy
• Foreign policy of a state is the actions,
decisions and goals that states pursue towards
the outside world
• It is shaped by both external & internal factors
International regimes and orgs, great powers
Internally, the economic, technological and military
capabilities of states
idiosyncrasy of leaders

37. Defining National Interest
• National interest refers to set of values,
orientation, goals and objectives a given
country would like to achieve in its
international relations.
• It has been the main driving force for FP

38. 1. Ideological Criteria:
• Ideology for IR…Example Cold War
2. Moral and Legal Criteria:
• acting honestly; keeping promise; avoiding
exploitationብዝበዛ and uneven development; abiding
(የማያልቅ)by the laws
3. Pragmatic Criteria: …Realist advocate this
• analysis of cost and benefit or merit and demerit to your
country interest
• Based on reality
• A good diplomat is a rational diplomat and a rational
diplomat is a prudent diplomat who is able to assess
one’s needs and aspirations while carefully balancing
them against the needs and aspirations of others.
(Morgenthau )
Criteria for determining N. interest of states

39. 4. Professional Advancement Criteria
• Popular pressure or to strong elites
5. Partisan Criteria
• You may tend to equate the interest of your
organization (the army, the foreign office, and
so forth) with the national interest.
• survival and the success of your political party,
or ethnic or religious origin with the survival
and success of your country
6. Foreign Dependency Criteria:
• These countries are s`till dependent on their
ex-colonial states for technical aid, expertise
and technology, sometimes even for their
security.

40. • Idealists have strong belief in the relevance of
legal, ideological and moral elements.

41. Understanding Foreign Policy and FP Behaviors
• Foreign policy refers to the sets of objectives
and instruments that a state adopts to guide its
relation with the outside world.
• national interest is often considered as the
objectives of foreign policy of a state.
• All states would like to promote their national
interest as their capability or power allows
them to do.
• Security and survival of a state, as explained
above, has always been considered as the first
priority, among various foreign policy
objectives

42. Foreign policy Objectives of States
1. Core Interests and Values (Short Range Objectives)
• goals for which most people are willing to make
ultimate sacrifices.
• basic principles of foreign policy
• sacrosanct by entire peoples residing in the state
• related to the self-preservation of political and
economic systems, the people and its culture, and
the territorial integrity of a state
• others goals cannot be realized if the existence of
the state and its political units are not ensured.

43. • Some governments place great values on
controlling or defending neighboring
territories for resources, to avoid threat.
• Even today, Israel and the USA pursue such
policies called extra-territoriality( Claims of a
country beyond its boundary.)
2. Middle Range Objectives
• Related to domestic economic and welfare
needs.
• Trade, foreign aid, access to communication
facilities, sources of supply, and foreign
market.
• to gain much public support

44. 3. Long- Range Objectives
• plans, dreams, and visions concerning the
ultimate political or ideological organization of
the international system.
• ????

45. Foreign Policy Behavior: Patterns and Trends
• Foreign policy behavior refers to the actions
states take towards each other.
• Patterns of FP Behaviors
1. Self-preservation
• U.S has become the staunch supporter of the
international order due to its advantages.
• international financial institutions and the
system has been shaped by USA.
• Any attempt to reform the international system
and the politico-economic order will face strong
criticisms, threat or force, and sanctions

46. 2. Self-extension
• to create enabling environment,
• newly emerging powers such as China, India,
Brazil, Germany and others are competing to
restructure the international institutions and
different regimes.
• 3. Self-abnegation
• displayed in Less Developing Countries (LDC)
which fail to defend and promote their national
interests.
• Foreign aid dependent states fail to pursue
autonomous policies.
• Compromise its long lasting national interest for
temporary and immediate benefits.

47. Foreign Policy Dimensions
A. Alignment B. Scope C. Mode of Operation/ “Modus Opernadi’
A. Alignment
• Alignment b/r(behavior ) can vary from time to
time
Alliances - formal agreements to provide mutual
military assistance
-has benefits as well as risks
_states tend to side on key issues Ex. Israel & US
Neutrality - formal non-partisanship in world affairs.
_can avoid potential enemies of counter alliances
_but no one is committed to providing a
protective military umbrella
_Exa: Switzerland neutral to UN till 2002

48. Non-alignment : developing countries during cold
war.
_Non Alignment Movement (NAM) against West
and East bloc politics and alliances.
_Although ‘NAM’, it was south-south cooperation

49. B. Scope
• the scope of a country’s activities and interests
I. Global Scope—Major Powers example USA
II. Regional Scope– Most countries most of countries in the
world are essentially regional actors frequently
concerning economic issues south africa is regional actor
in africa in general and in south african states in
particular.
III. it is the most important actor in regional organaization
such as SADIC and AU
Ex: South Africa, India is a regional actor in Africa &
South Asea resp.
III. Isolationism
 less viable foreign policy orientation
 Burma in 1960 and 70s
=>

50. C. Mode of Operation/Modus Operandi
Multi-laterally…most use this…
Dev’ping country, Germany in its external
relation, Most Scandenavians fall under this
category.
 Best strategy with cooperation & peace
2. Bilaterally…through diplomats
3. Unilaterally…by themselves…
major powers by carrot and stick? approach

51. Instruments of Foreign Policy
1. Diplomacy
 Diplomacy has probably existed for as long as
civilization has.
 promote exchanges that enhance trade, culture, wealth
and knowledge through bargaining(settling d/ces over
priorities ).
Diplomatic bargaining is used primarily to reach
agreements, compromises, and settlements
where governments objectives conflict
states use “carrot and stick” approaches threats,
punishment, promise, and rewards(Carrot &
Stick)

52. 2. Economic Instruments of Foreign Policy
• There hardly exists a state that is self-
sufficient…=> trade
• States may reward or punish states through
the manipulation of economic policies such as
tariffs, quotas, boycotts, embargos, & aid
• Tariff: Tax on imports for the purpose of raising
revenue, protecting domestic producers from
foreign competition.
• as an inducement or punishment
• Quota: limiting imports of some commodities
gov't establish quotas rathre than tariffs

53. • Boycott
• organized by a government eliminates import
• Embargo
• A government that seeks to deprive another
country of goods prohibits its own business
men.
• Prohibiting private businessmen from sending
to the country being punished.
• Loans, Credits and Currency Manipulations
• granting loans or extending credits
• manipulation of currency rates is also used to
create more or less favorable terms of trade
between countries

54. • Foreign Aid:
• The transfer of money, goods, or technical assistance or
adevice from donor to recipient is an instrument of policy
that has been intern'al relation. there are main types of aid
program including military aid,thchnical assistance ,grants
and commodity import programme and development
loans.
• Military Aid:the oldest types of aid which had been used
for buttressing alliances.
• To strengthen military capabilities of allies.
• Foreign aid is often used for achieving political and
economic objectives of the donors not solely for
humanitarian purpose.
• India, Pakistan, Israel and Egypt are large recipients b/c of
their strategic and symbolic importance in world politics.
• Donors manipulate the aid to make change the policy of
the recipient.

55. Overview of Foreign Policy of Ethiopia
1. Foreign Policy during Tewodros II (1855-1868)
Christianity as instrument of foreign policy
Implored Western Christian world (Br,Fr, and Russia)
for help against Turkey, Egypt & Islam.
2. Foreign Policy during Yohannes IV (1872- 1889)
Islam, Egypt and European expansionism as a threat.
3. Foreign Policy during Menelik II (1889-1893)
Italy had good diplomatic relation with Menelik
the ‘Wuchalle’ friendship and peace treaty where the
parties agreed to avoid war
European expansionism(British, French and Italy)
Battle of Adwa

56. Significance of the Adowa victory
Ethiopia recognized as independent
Exchange of Ambassadors
signed formal boundary treaties with the
emperor
This later brought irredentism(Problem
of arbitrary boundary delimitation)

57. 4. FP during Emperor H/Selassie I (1916-1974)
Ethiopia’s entry to the League of Nations
the Emperor fled to London after z invasion
extremely dependent on British military,
economic and technical aid.
British Military Aid was withdrawn in 1952, and
the King made r/n with USA.
USA guaranteed Ethiopia’s security and military
aid.
Contributed for African independence and end
colonialism and apartheid.
Contributed for the establishment of OAU
peacekeeping operations in Korea in 1951 and
the Congo in 1961

58. 5. FP during the Dergue (1974—1991)
socialist ideology=> alliance with socialists
• survival of the regime and maintaining the
territorial integrity
• building the military capability
• military aid on the Soviet Union
• declining Ethio-US relations => closure of the US
military base
• Attack by Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF)& TPLF
• Somalia’s invasion of Ogaden but USSR & Cuba
• condemning Israel and sought political allegiance
with the Arab world

59. The Foreign Policy of Ethiopia in the Post 1991
• FP is driven primarily to ensure national interest
and security
• democracy and development are the foreign
policy visions of the country.
• Economic diplomacy… attracting foreign
investments, seeking markets for Ethiopian
exportable commodities, seeking aid and
confessional loans.
• building up the military capability

60. Chapter Four: International Political Economy (IPE)
• Meaning and Nature of International Political
Economy (IPE)
• IPE studies the ever-changing r/n/p b/n
gov’ts, businesses, & social forces across
history and in different geographical areas.
• political and economic dimension

61. Theoretical perspectives of International Political Economy
• liberalism, Marxism, and nationalism (mercantilism).
1. Mercantilism/nationalism:
 strong role of the state in the economy in trade, investment
and finance.
 Through tax policy, subsidization, banking regulation, labor
control, and interest-rate management.
 ‘developmental state approach’ of “Tiger Economy”
2. Liberalism
 free market system… removing impediments (barriers) to
the free flow of goods and services
 Advocate comparative advantage

62. 3. Marxism
 central planning in command economies
 Capitalism income inequality, exploitation of labor
4. Hegemonic Stability Theory (HST):
 Hegemon (a dominant state) for the smooth
operation of the International (economic) system
5. Structuralism
Latin American model
 Unequal structural problems of the international
liberal capitalist economic system bn center-
periphery.
 advocates for a new pattern of development
 industrialization via import substitution

63. 6. Developmental State Approach
a state that intervenes and guides the
direction and pace of economic development
robust role of the state
Some of the core features of developmental state
Strong interventionism through tax credits, subsidies,
import controls, export promotion
Existence of bureaucratic apparatus to implement
dev’t goal
Existence of active participation and response of the
private sector to state intervention
Regime legitimacy

64. Survey of the Most Influential National Political Economy
systems in the world
1. The American System of Market-Oriented Capitalism
benefit consumers then maximizing wealth
creation Emphasis on consumerism and
wealth creation
competitive market economy
competition is the best protection for
consumers except when there are market
failures.

65. 2. The Japanese System of Developmental Capitalism
♠ characterized as neo-mercantilism;
♠ the state play a central
♠ state assistance, regulation, and protection of
specific industrial sectors
♠ close cooperation among government,
business, and labor
♠ “developmental state capitalism”

66. 3. The German System of Social Market Capitalism
• permits the market to function with
considerable freedom
• less interventionist than Japan
• attempts to balance social concerns and
market efficiency
• “welfare state capitalism
• closer to the American market-oriented
system than to the Japanese

67. Core Issues, Governing institutions and Governance of
International Political Economy
barter trade_exchange of goods for goods
“free trade’’ “The unrestricted purchase and
sale of goods and services between countries
without the imposition of constraints such as
tariffs, duties and quotas” = is never entirely
free = Example Trade agreements in WTO
NAFTA has some restrictions through tariff…
autarky (complete economic independence or
self-sufficiency)

68. 1. International Trade and the WTO
• WTO
⃝ sets the rules for global trade
⃝ Replaced General Agreement on Trade and
Tariffs (GATT) in 1995
⃝ the major economic powers are
manipulating it to advance their own
interests.

69. International Investment and the WB
• created after the WWII in 1945
• focused on the developing countries
♠ human development (education, health),
♠ agriculture and rural development
♠ environmental protection (pollution reduction,
♠ infrastructure
♠ Governance
• provides loans and grants to the members
• influence Z economic policies of LDCs.
• criticized for
♣ setting the economic agenda of the poorer nations,
♣ attaching stringent conditions to its loans and
♣ forcing free market reforms.

70. International Finance and the IMF
♣ oversees those International financial
institutions and regulations
♣ has 184 members, that enjoy unequal say
♣ G-8 members (the US, Japan, Germany,
France, the UK, Italy, Canada and Russia),
Saudi Arabia and China have 55% votes
♣ the more a country pays to the IMF, the more
say it has in IMF decision makings
♣ represent U.S. and other major capitalist
countries interests.

71. • The global financial system
☼ monetary system
how the exchange rate of national currencies is
determined
☼ credit system.
rules, agreements, institutions, and practices that
facilitate the transnational flow of financial capital
components of the monetary and credit
systems 

72. Exchange Rates and the Exchange-Rate System
Exchange rate = price of one national currency in
terms of another Ex: 1 $ US=ETB?
Exchange rate systems
♠ fixed exchange rate
fixed-rate system- the value of a particular
currency is fixed against the value of another single
currency.
♠ floating exchange rate
the value of a currency is determined solely by
money supply and money demand