• What is international relations?

International relations is the study of conflict and

cooperation by international actors.
A BRANCH OF POLITICAL SCIENCE CONCERNED WITH RELATIONS BETWEEN NATIONS AND
PRIMARILY WITH FOREIGN POLICIES.

There are 4 categories of IR:

1. Relations between states
2. Relations between societies
3. Relations between state and society within the state
5. Relations between state and society across boarders

Level of Analysis:
1. State\National – Answers to no higher authority, exercises sovereignty over its territory to
make and enforce laws, collect taxes, so forth.

2. Sub-national, Domestic – Concerns the aggregations of individuals within states that

influence state actors in the international arena.

3. Individual- Concerns the perceptions, choices and actions of individual human beings
(Leaders) at a national and international level. There is no consensus on the members of this
category. Some definitions include; trade union, community organizations, religious
institutions, ethnic groups and universities

Types of systems in IR:

1. Hierarchy – A situation when one unit, the dominant state, possesses authority over a
second, subordinate state
2. Network – Made of organizations that facilitates collective action and cooperation,
exercises influence, or serves as means of international governance. (Mdoket osht dicka me
Terrorism)
3. Anarchy – The world system is leaderless; there is no universal sovereign or worldwide
government. There is no higher power that can enforce laws, resolve disputes, coercive
power or order, the system like thee is in domestic politics

Types of interactions between actors in IR:

1.Harmony – when actors interests coincide;
2. Conflict – Results from mutually incompatible preferences. It is not always violent.
3.Coordination – Actors are more interested in choosing the same strategy than choosing
any given strategy; Ex: Human right protection
4.Cooperation – cooperation is mutual adjustment of policy, It Benefits both actors, but not
always equally

State models
1. Potential states – Power states that have a greatly developed economy and a strong
military.
2.Weak states – A state that I particularly vulnerable to internal and external shocks and
domestic and international conflicts, It includes deteriorating governance, environments,
prolonged crisis, post conflict situations.
3. Failed States – a state whose political or economic system has become so weak that the
government is no longer in control.
4.Real States

IR Theories; REALISM
1.States are the principal or most important actors
2.State as a unitary actor (an integrated unit) – State is the central actor in IR rather than
individuals or international organizations
3.State as a rational actor – their actions maximize their own self-interest
5.National security as the most important issue for states

Intelectual Roots
1. Thucydides (460-411 BCE)
*History of the Peloponnesian War; Presents the conflict between Athens and Sparta that
took place from 431 to 404 BCE, consists of pared speeches by personages who argue
opposing sides of an issue. Nevertheless, if the history is described as the only
acknowledged classical text in IR, and it inspires theorists from Hobbes to contemporary IR
scholars, this is because it is more than a chronicle of events, and a theoretical position can
be extrapolated from it. Realism is expressed in the very first speech of Athenians, given at
the debate that took place in Sparta just before the war. Moreover a realist perspective is
implied in the way Thucydides explains the cause of Peloponnesian war in the statements
made by the Athenian envoys.

Machiavelli
1. The prince (1469- 1527) political innovator
“it is much safer to be feared than to be loved; if one must choose.
*Machiavelli justified immoral actions in politics, but never refused to admit that they are
evil.

Hobbes 1588-1679 – was a part of an intellectual movement whose goal was to free the
emerging modern science from the constrains of the classical and scholastic heritage.
* Leviathan
* Key assumption about human nature – He said that people have the ability to distinguish
what’s right from wrong and of making moral choices.
Human beings can control their own desires through reason and can work for the benefit of
others, even at the expense of their own benefit. They are naturally social.
*”In the absence of a sovereign authority, life of the individual is ‘solitary, poor, nasty,
brutish, and short”.

***Six Principles of Political Realism by Hans Morgenthau***

*Politics is governed by objective laws; that have their roots in human roots. We can put
ourselves in the position of a lawmaker and examine reasons and objectives because laws
are in line with human nature.

*Centrality of the concept of interest defined in terms of power (national interest as the
guiding principles of international politics); Unlike economic, the driving force of self interest
for power, we don’t have to wonder motives because they’re apparent.

* Nature of power can change, but the concept of interest remain consistent ; Occasionally
public interest will change, but it is virtually impossible for a lawmaker to sacrifice all self
interest for public interest.

*Universal moral principles do not govern state behaviour, but interest; Survival of the state
will always be prioritized before morality.

*No universally agreed set of moral principles; God is not with any certain country, this
belief led to endless wars and chaos.

*Politics is a separate sphere of human activity; Political realism is the most effective tool in
IR.

Theories of IR-Liberalism

J.Bentham; I.Kant, A.Smith (18th and 19th century) IMANUEL KANT wrote PERPETUAL
PEACE

Robert Keohane and Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Power and Interdependence (1977);

Key assumptions/Values of Liberalism

- Conflicts between nations can be resolved peacefully

- Liberal democracy
- A prosperous society is more important than a powerful state;
- Human rights and freedoms
- The global market economy
- International Law
- International institutions, and
- Disarmament

What is international Political Economy (IPE)?

- Political economy is about the correlation between politics and economics;
- In other words, it is about power and money;

Analytical Issues in IPE

-i. Actor behaviour ;

-ii. System governance;

- iii. Globalization; The increasing integration of the world in terms of communications,

culture and economics.

Analytical Perspective on IPE

1. Liberalism; is a political philosophy or worldview founded on ideas of liberty and equality.

2. Realism; primarily concerned with states and their actions in the international system, as
driven by competitive self-interest1

3. And Marxism; rejects the realist/liberal view of state conflict or cooperation, instead
focusing on the economic and material aspects. It purports to reveal how the economy
trumps other concerns, which allows for the elevation of class as the focus of the study.

Context;
*Historical context of the emergence of TSS (Legacy of World Wars, The Cold War)

*Changing Post Cold War Environment

*Resurgence of TSS after 9/11

Key Assumptions of TSS

*TSS privileges the position of the state; threats to the state as the principal referent of
 security);

*Exclusive focus on the threat, use and control of military force;

ORIGINS;

*1994 Strategies in Conflict: Critical Approaches to Security Studies

*Keith Krause and Michael Williams, Critical Security Studies: Concepts and Cases (1997)

Key Question : Who or what is to be secured?

MAJOR SCHOOLS

• Copenhagen School

• Welsh School

• Post-structuralism

COPENHAGEN SCHOOL

Key Figures
*Barry Buzan
*Ole Waver
*Jaap de Wilde

WELSH SCHOOL
* Frankfurt School (post-Marxist Critical Theory)

Key Figures: Ken Booth and Richard Wyn Jones

Key Texts; Booth, Critical Security Studies and World Politics; Jones, Security, Strategy and
Critical Theory

Issues in International Security;

The focus of International security has broadened;

*State Security
*Group security
*Human security
*International Peace and Security
ORIGINS OF THE SECURITY DILEMA
Problem: by every actor seeking to maximikze their own interest, such as security, this threatens
other actors.

ETHNICITY

>Categorizing people based on;

*Common heritage/national origin
*Common culture;
*Language

EXAMPLES:
>Italian Americans;
>Irish Americans;
>Polish Americans

INTER ETHNIC RELATIONS

>Amalgamation -- A+B+C=D
>Assimilation – A+B+C=A
>Segregation-physical isolation/ separation
>Pluralism – A+B+C=A=B=C
>Genocide – Elimination/ cleansing

TYPES OF TERRORISM
>Nationalist
>Religious
>State-sponsored
>Left-wing
>Right=wing
>Anarchist

*Terrorism can be either domestic or international.

WHAT IS UN REFORM?

*An organization wide transformation

*New leadership and management structure;
*Handshake between peace and development with human rights as cross=cutting issue;
*Strengthen UN operational activities;
*Strengthen HQ and field coordination structures;

`UNDERSTANDING UN REFORM
*`Adapt to a changing environment;
*Demonstrate its relevance;
*Address institutional weaknesses;
*Build on its strengths;