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PRESENTATION
MEANS AND ENDS IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
INTRODUCTION

1. Commandant, Deputy Commandant, Members of the Faculty

and dear student officers, Udaya Suvosena, good morning. It is
indeed a great pleasure for me to be here at the Defence Services
Command and Staff College, Sri Lanka as a member of the visiting
team to conduct the sessions on Joint warfare. In the series of
presentations I welcome you all to the presentation on, ***"Means
and Ends in Intl Politics". I am sure at this moment many of you
are thinking that military is supposed to be apolitical and is primarily
meant for war. So, is there any relationship between the war and
politics, to be specific international politics? Yes, thats a big question
and that warrants me to establish a relation between politics and the
Military that wages war. In doing so let me recall the nineteenth
century military theorist, Carl Von Clausewitz, mentioned in his
famous book, ON WAR, I quote, ***War is not merely an act of
policy but a true political instrument, a continuation of political
intercourse, carried on with other means. Political object is the goal,
War is the means of reaching, and means can never be considered
in isolation from the purpose unquote. So, war and its conduct is no
more than an instrument of political decisions, or policies. Colin S.
Gray, a professor of International Politics and Strategic Studies of
UK termed war as a live policy option in his book War, Peace and
International Relations An Introduction to Strategic History. He also
said war is not only about warfare the military conduct of war but
is crucial to the political, social and cultural behavior of states. So we
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see that, there exists a relationship between politics and war.

Strategy is the bridge between military power and political purpose.

2. To understand todays topic we also need to have some ideas

of International Relations theory, as war, politics and states are
inseparable. Dear officers, while every state or nation is unique,
there is one commonality amongst all the nation states. That is, ***
all nation states have goals or ends and an array of power to attain
these goals. States develop foreign policy and national security
policies to attain their goals or ends. Nations also try to secure their
interests by employing all available elements of national power and
***military is definitely an important element of national power.
Nobody will understand better than our Sri Lankan military fraternity
as they have secured the long drowns insurgency predominantly by
military action. Officers, you will learn more about the elements of
national power in the Subsequent Presentations.

3. Since the rise, nation states have been the dominant actors in
world politics. And it is the conflicting interests of the different nation
states that give birth to devastating wars. Some says war has made
the modern world more than any other influence. Others say the
modern world has been unmade several times by war.
AIM
4. With this introduction the aim** of my lecture is to give you an
idea about the interests and objectives of nation states in
international politics.

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5. Sequence. The agenda** that I would like to peruse in this

presentation is flashed on the screen. I intend to take about 22
minutes.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY

6. The study of war has always attracted a lot of attention. Over
time, many theories have been proposed and refined to understand
the causes of international war. The two most prominent theories or
perspectives on the causes of International War and International
relations are Realism and Liberalism. Let us see them one by one.
7. Realism
A view of the world defined by assuming that, the international
community is in chaos and consists of political units called
states
States are primary actors and possess some offensive military
capability or power which makes them dangerous to each
other
States can never be sure of the intentions of other states and a
states motivation is to survive and they think strategically to
survive
8. Liberalism
Predictability and cooperation can be gained in international
relations through repeated political and economic interactions
leads to creation of interdependence
Can replicate structures of law and create global governance

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States who defy global community and isolate themselves from

international interactions are threats to international peace
and cooperation.
9. Both the theories
Focus is on international system
System factors can lead to:
Conflict
Cooperation
10. Realism
Conflict is the dominant theme
11. Liberalism
Cooperation is the dominant theme
THE RISE OF NATION STATES
12. Now let us see next two slides to understand the evolution of
nation states and historical perspective of nation states interest.

THE RISE OF THE EUROPEAN NATION- STATE

Time Major Events

Frame
Pre-1500s Most people lived in small villages; they paid tithes to feudal landlords,
didnt travel, and cared little for anything beyond the village.
1485 Henry VII wins the War of the Roses in England, begins the Tudor
dynasty, and starts the development of the English nation state.
1492 Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella finish taking back all of
Spain from the Muslims; the era of Spain as a global power begins.
1547-1584 Ivan the Terrible rules Russia; he unifies the government and creates
the first Russian nation-state.
1638-1715 Louis XIV of France creates in absolute monarchy; France emerges as

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the dominant power in Europe.

1648 Peace of Westphalia cements the legal status of the nation-state as
sovereign.

Time Major Events

Frame
1789 The French Revolution begins; it creates the modern French nation-
state and sparks nationalism around Europe.
1871 Unification of Italy and Germany is complete.
1919 Treaty of Versailles ends World War I; it breaks up several
multinational empires and creates many new nation-states.
1945 The United Nations forms.

CHARACTERISTICS OF NATION STATES

13.** Nation States widely differ in terms of ** pop, size, wealth,
industrial ability, economic power, mil power, etc. Despite such
disparities,** some basic characteristics are shared by all nation
states. In the modern world, the scholars identified 4 essential
characteristics of a state: Population, Territory, Sovereignty and
Government. Now let us discuss those.
14. Population. No matter what is the number of population,
the existence of a state is its population.
15. Territory. Territory is the most basic and important attribute
of a nation state. It is the established boundaries of a state. Without
it a state does not exist. For example: Nomads or wandering tribes
who have no permanent residence do not form a state. Even
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civilized people like the Jews did not possess a State till the
formation of Israel in 1948. There is no fixed limit of people and
territory. The modern states differ considerably in their sizes. Take
the example **of Monaco's 368 acres and San Marino's 24 square
miles as opposed to** Russias 6.5 million square miles and
population wise less than 40,000 and 35,000 as opposed to 145
million. The territory can be a point of conflict. The brightest example
in this regard is Palestine and Israel.** They are fighting since long
for establishing control on specific territory to call that to be their
motherland.
16. Sovereignty. Sovereignty is another important facet of a
Nation State. It is that power of which there is no higher appeal. You
have seen in previous slides when I spoke about the rise of nation
states, modern states were created for the appeal of sovereignty.
Sovereignty means the state has supreme and absolute authority in
its territorial boundaries. It is this power which differentiates the State
from all other associations.
17. Government. You all know the requirement of a government
for a State. It is that institution the State uses to maintain social
order, provide public services, provide national security and defence
and provide control of the economic system. No particular type of
government can be considered essential. It varies in kind and
complexity from the State to the State. Democracy is popular in most
of the states. The dictatorship of the Communist Party is found in
some states. Monarchy is found in Nepal. Government may be
classified as parliamentary or presidential and unitary or federal.

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18. Balance of Power. Having seen the characteristics of Nation

States I tend to discuss the issue of Balance of Power or Struggle
for power. All nation states use power to achieve national interests
and objectives.** These powers can be geographic, military,
economic, diplomatic, alliance, political and many others. But this
does not mean that nation states use their power arbitrarily to attain
their objectives. Rather both cooperation and conflict are taken into
consideration as state actors marshal power to attain their ends and
objectives.

19. Dear officers, International Bodies, such as the **United

Nations, may succeed partially in defusing tensions and reducing
conflicts between nations. But as long as autonomous nation states
struggle for power, international conflict will prevail. And as such,**
conflict remains to be an unchangeable feature of the state
system.

** INTERESTS AND OBJECTIVES OF NATION STATES

20. Gen. ** Every nation has its national purpose from which it
draws its national interests, and objectives.** These may be
conflicting with or complimentary to other states or may even be
neutral. As student of warfare let us see why do the communities
fight? ** Thucydides Greek/Athenian historian and a general of
that time after experiencing 2 decades war between Athens and
Sparta identified Fear, honour and interest as the strongest and
most enduring of motives as to why communities are prepared to
fight which stands good till today. Now let us discuss some of the
interests and objectives one by one.
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21. Security. **Security is a fundamental goal of any nation state.

It is also one of the most complex concerns, with wide range of
meanings.** Nations tend to define security in a way that suits their
requirements. Sometimes security becomes an excuse even for pre-
emption. In fact, defining security is a basic task of every nation.** In
its most rudimentary meaning, security is the actual survival of the
nation maintaining its territorial integrity and sovereignty. Once I
speak about security I mean National Security. A commonly used
definition of national security: Safeguarding the sovereignty,
territorial integrity, citizenry and socioeconomic functionality of a
nation from an aggressor intent on undermining a particular valued
aspect of a nation through violent or unjust means. Let us now see a
list of elements of national security:

Military security
Economic security
Resource security
Border Security
Demographic security
Disaster security
Energy security
Geostrategic security
Informational security
Food security.
Health security
Ethnic security
Environmental security
Cyber security
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**22. Honour. Honour contributes to a nation's ability to influence

other nations. To phrase it differently, honour serves as a multiplier
of political power. National honour has number of sources. **Let us
see few of those.

a.** Military power is one of the most obvious sources of

prestige. The major powers often use military power as part of
power projection in the form of parade, Jt ex, Jt trg, test fires
and demonstration of newer military hardware. Military also
used as a diplomatic tools like Naval Diplomacy, disaster
response in foreign soil etc. All these though benign, is to show
case and augment military prestige.

b.** Nuclear capability is another source of national prestige.

Membership of the nuclear club makes a nation truly a power
to be reckoned with, even if there is little chance of using those.
In our neighborhood, India, Pakistan and China do illustrate
this.

c. ** attractive national values can also be a source of

prestige. The influence of the ** United States during the post-
World War is very significant as it was seen by most as the
role model of democracy and self-determination.

CONFLICT AND CONTRADICTION IN NATIONAL GOALS

23. ** All states experience problems as they use their power to
attain their goals. Though it is largely true that the greater the state's
power, the fewer are the problems the state encounters in attaining
its goals. There are other dimensions as well. As the power of a
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state grows, its goals tend to become more ambitious. Thus the
process of matching means and ends gets complicated. Let us now
see the example of 2010 Obama administration strategy for
enduring national interest.
In 2010, the White House included an all-encompassing world-
view in a national security strategy which identified "security"
as one of the country's "four enduring national interests" that
were "inexorably intertwined":
"To achieve the world we seek, the United States must apply
our strategic approach in pursuit of four enduring national
interests:
Security: The security of the United States, its
citizens, and U.S. allies and partners.
Prosperity: A strong, innovative, and growing U.S.
economy in an open international economic system that
promotes opportunity and prosperity.
Values: Respect for universal values at home and
around the world.
International Order: An international order
advanced by U.S. leadership that promotes peace,
security, and opportunity through stronger cooperation to
meet global challenges.
Each of these interests is inextricably linked to the others: no
single interest can be pursued in isolation, but at the same
time, positive action in one area will help advance all four."

24. Let us now, discuss certain basic conflicts and contradictions

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experienced by states.

a. ** Guns Versus Butter. Dear officers, we can say that

states have dual responsibility. In one hand it is the custodian
of ** nations economy and on the other hand it needs to
ensure national security. The state cannot emphasize on one
and overlook the other. It needs to strike a healthy balance
between national security and economic prosperity, which is
easier said than done.

b. Short Term Versus Long Term Goals. ** All nations

occasionally experience conflict between their short-term and
long-term goals. Often the solution to immediate problems
creates even bigger problems in the future.** For the former
Soviets the invasion of ** Afghanistan fulfilled the immediate
objective of perpetrating a pro-Soviet regime. In long term the
invasion entailed serious costs and humiliation in terms of **
military hardware, lives, and Gruesome economic and political
burden. According to many, this marked the beginning of the
end for superpower USSR.

14. Officers, that brings me to the end of the lecture. ** I talked

about the Theories of International Relations. Rise of Nation States,
Characteristics of nation states. Then I focused on the Interests and
objectives of nation states. Lastly, I discussed about the conflicts and
contradictions in national goals.

CONCLUSIONS

15. As states develop foreign and national security policies to

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attain their goals, two primary processes constantly take place:

a. The balancing of competing and contradictory goals.

b. The graduation of means and ends.

Interest of nations can be complimentary to the interest of other

nations as well as conflicting with the interest of other nations. When
the latter happens, we the military get involved.

Thanks for your patient hearing. Have a good day. istuti.

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