Lecture 1 Dr. KHAN 09.02.2012

2. INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS (IR)

3. Definitions of IR
 Political Dictionary. The discipline that studies
interactions between and among states, and more
broadly, the workings of the international system
as a whole
 It can be conceived of either as a
multidisciplinary field, gathering together the
international aspects of
politics, economics, history, law, and
sociology, or as a meta-discipline, focusing on the
systemic structures and patterns of interaction of
the human species taken as a whole. The
discipline acquired its own identity after World

4. Encyclopedia Britannica
 Study of the relations of states with each
other and with international organizations
and certain sub-national entities (e.g.,
bureaucracies and political parties)
 It is related to a number of other academic
disciplines, including political science,
geography, history, economics, law,
sociology, psychology, and philosophy

5.  The field emerged at the beginning of the
20th century largely in the West and
particularly in UK & the U.S. being
influential at the global level
 The study of international relations has
always been heavily influenced by normative
considerations, such as the goal of reducing
armed conflict and increasing international
cooperation

6. Columbian Encyclopedia
 IR is the study of the relations among states
and other political and economic units in
the international system
 Particular areas of study within the field of
international relations include; diplomacy
and diplomatic history, international
law, international
organizations, international finance and
economics, and communications, among
others

7.  In addition, increased attention has been
paid in recent years to developing a more
scientific understanding of the international
system as a whole

8. Oxford Dictionary of Social Sciences
 The study of political relations between
states or across state boundaries; one of
the main subfields of political science
 Its principal subdivisions include;
strategic studies, international
organizations, and international
political economy

9.  Therefore, the IR is;
 Study of foreign affairs and global issues
among states within the international
system, including ;
 The roles of states, inter-governmental
organizations (IGOs),
 Non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), and
 Multinational corporations (MNCs)
 It is both an academic and public policy
field

10.  Itcan be either positive or normative as
both seeks to analyze as well as
formulate the foreign policy of
particular states
 It is often considered a branch of
political science

11. History of IR
 Often traced back to the Peace of
Westphalia of 1648
 Development of modern state system
 Prior to this, the European medieval
organization of political authority was based
on a vaguely hierarchical religious order
 Westphalia instituted the legal concept of
sovereignty

12.  WP; rulers, or the legitimate sovereigns, had
no internal equals within a defined territory
and no external superiors as the ultimate
authority within the territory's sovereign
borders
 Classical Greek and Roman authority
resembled the Westphalian system, but both
lacked the notion of sovereignty
 Westphalia encouraged the rise of the
independent nation-state, the
institutionalization of diplomacy and armies

13.  Exported to the Americas, Africa, and
Asia via colonialism and the "standards
of civilization”
 Contemporary international system was
finally established through
decolonization during the Cold War

14. IR History
 IR as a distinct field of study entirely
British-centered
 In 1919, the Chair in International Politics
established at the University of Wales
 David Davies became the first academician
position dedicated to IR
 IR Dept established in early 1920s at the
London School of Economics

15.  Graduate Institute of International and
Development Studies, offered first Ph.D
degrees in IR
 The Committee on International
Relations at the University of Chicago
is the oldest graduate program in
international relations in the United
States of America, founded in 1928

16. Concepts in International Relations
 Systemic Level Concepts. These are broad
concepts those define and shape an
international milieu, characterized by
Anarchy
 Power. In IR Power is described as the
degree of resources, capabilities, and
influence and divided into two portions: the
hard power relating primarily to coercive
power, such as the use of force, and soft
power commonly covering economics,
diplomacy and cultural influence

17.  Polarity. Polarity in International Relations
refers to the arrangement of power within
the international system. The concept arose
from bipolarity during the Cold War
 The Balance of Power. A concept prevalent
in Europe prior to the First World War, the
thought being that by balancing power
blocs it would create stability and prevent
war. Theories of the balance of power
gained prominence again during the Cold
War

18.  Interdependence. The current international
system is characterized by growing
interdependence; the mutual responsibility
and dependency on others. Advocates of
this point to growing
globalization, particularly with international
economic interaction. The role of
international institutions, and widespread
acceptance of a number of operating
principles in the international
system, reinforces ideas that relations are
characterized by interdependence

19.  Dependency. Dependency theory states
that a set of Core states exploit a set of
weaker Periphery states for their
prosperity. Various versions of the
theory suggest that this is either an
inevitability (standard dependency
theory), or use the theory to highlight
the necessity for change

20. Globalization
Globalization: the Widening, Deepening &
speeding up of World Wide interconnectedness
Globalization is a Contentious issue in the study of
World Politics
The intensification of worldwide social relations
which links distant localities in such a way that
local happening are shaped by events occurring
many miles away & vice versa

21. Systemic Tools of IR
 Diplomacy; is the practice of
communication and negotiation between
representatives of states
 Sanctions; are usually a first resort after the
failure of diplomacy, and are one of the
main tools used to enforce treaties
 These could take the form of diplomatic or
economic sanctions or the cutting of ties
and imposition of barriers to
communication or trade

22.  War; the use of force, is often thought of as
the ultimate tool of international relations. A
widely accepted definition is that given by
Clausewitz, with war being the continuation
of politics by other means
 The mobilization of international shame can
also be thought of as a tool of IR. This is
attempting to alter states' actions through
'naming and shaming' at the international
level, like exposing state's human rights
violations

23. Proponents of IR
 Norman Angell , Ankerl, Hedley Bull, Barry Buzan, E.
H. Carr, Rubén Herrero de Castro & Robert Jervis
,Robert Cooper,Daniel Deudney , Hugo Grotius, The
Laws of War and Peace, Thomas Hobbes , Robert H.
Jackson, Thomas Hobbes , Robert H. Jackson, Mary
Kaldor, Immanuel Kant, Kautilya, Robert Keohane,
 Hans Köchler, Hans Köchler, Andrew Linklater ,
Niccolò Machiavelli, Donald Markwell, Donald
Markwell, Reinhold Niebuhr , Paul Raskin,
 Jean-Jacques Rousseau , Google Print , Thucydides,
Francisco de Vitoria , Kenneth Waltz, Kenneth Waltz
,Michael Walzer, Alexander Wendt

24. Thanks