Introduction to

International Relations
Class 1: Actors in the
International System
What is International Relations?
International Relations is the study of conflict and
cooperation by international actors, as furthered
by the development and testing of hypotheses
about international outcomes.
Overview
Types of actors
States
Non-state actors
Types of systems
Hierarchy
Networks
Anarchy
Types of interactions between actors
Harmony, Coordination, Cooperation, Conflict
The central actor: the state
The state is a human community that successfully
claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of
physical force within a given territory.
Max Weber, 1919
States are identified by mutual recognition.
193 members in the United Nations
What is legitimacy?
Legitimacy is the belief that those in power have
the right to rule.
Sources of legitimacy
Traditional
Charismatic
Rational/Legal
Authority is power with legitimacy.
What States Do
Provide public goods
Goods that benefit everyone, whether or not they
contribute (non-excludable)
Creates incentives to free ride
Often requires collecting taxes
Enforce contracts
Examples of States
Sweden
Argentina
Canada
Bangladesh
South Africa
New Zealand
Cuba
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the defining characteristic of the
state.
An entity is sovereign when it is the highest
political authority in the system.
By definition, no other unit has coercive authority
within a state's territory, so therefore states are
sovereign.
All sovereign states have nominally equal
authority.
Development of Sovereignty
1648 Principle of sovereignty is first articulated
in the Peace of Westphalia
Ended Thirty Years War by giving rulers authority to
determine religion within their own territory
1713 Principle of sovereignty is solidified in the
Treaty of Utrecht
1945 Sovereign equality of members enshrined
in United Nations charter
Alternatives to sovereign states
Sovereign state system is not only possible
system.
Example: Feudalism, which preceded the
sovereign state system
Non-territorial
Overlapping authorities
Alternative to states: Empire
Consists of a metropole and its colonies
Example: Ancient Rome and England, France, etc.
Example: Britain and India, Jamaica, etc.
Example: France and Tahiti, Lebanon, etc.
Different political status for people in metropole
and colonies
Typically, colonies retain some local control, while
metropole controls external affairs
Benefits the metropole economically and militarily
Hierarchy
Hierarchy is a chain of command.
Example - military
Power in hierarchy comes from legitimacy and the
ability to coerce or bribe.
Anarchy
Anarchy means that all the actors have equal
authority, and are in equal relationship to each
other.
- However, they may vary in their capabilities.
Example pure free market
Power in anarchy comes from the ability to coerce
or bribe.
Networks
In a network, each actor is a node, linked to some
but not all of the other nodes. The connections
between actors may be strong or weak.
Example group of friends
Power in networks comes from the number of other
nodes to which an actor is connected.
Sovereignty creates anarchy.
In the international system, there is no higher
authority to provide public goods or enforce
contracts among states.
All agreements among states must be self-enforcing.
Violations of Sovereignty
System is anarchic, but hierarchy exists between
some states.
Empire - Example: United States and Guam
Protectorates - Example: France and Monaco
Intervention Example: United Nations and Liberia
The International System
Includes all actors who have regular interactions
Scope depends on transportation and
communications technology
Examples:
Ancient Greece
Global today
Power in the System
Power is the ability of A to get B to do what A
wants B to do.
Inherently relational
Sources of power
Land
Natural Resources
Population
Types of Power
Military power
Market power
Cultural power
Defining the System by Power
Great Power state that can project power across
the system
System defined by number of great powers:
many, two, or one
Multipolarity
Three or more Great Powers
Example Europe at the beginning of the 20
th

century






Attempts to balance power make system war-
prone
Bipolarity
Two great powers
Examples
Athens and Sparta in Ancient Greece
USA and USSR during Cold War




Relatively stable
Unipolarity
One great power
Example the US right now






May encourage other states to align against the
superpower
Milit arit y Expendit ures
Unit ed St at es
Russia*
China*
Unit ed Kingdom
Japan
Fr ance
Ger many
Saudi Ar abia
India
It aly
Sout h Kor ea
Aust r alia
Tur key*
Isr ael*
Canada
Spain*
Br azil
Net her lands
Taiwan
Gr eece*
Indonesia*
Defining the System by
Globalization
Can also characterize the system by level of
international flows of goods, labor, and capital
Actors defined by level of openness
Highly globalized at beginning of 20
th
century
Retrenchment of globalization in 1930s
Significant growth in globalization during current
era
Non-state Actors
Debate about significance
Importance varies by issue area
Nations
International Organizations
Multinational Corporations
Non-governmental Organizations
The Nation
Common identity
Ethno-linguistic, religious, ideological
Common history or origin
Real or mythical
Claim on homeland
Desire for self-rule
Identity can be created through common symbols
and education.
Nationalism
Political ideology advocating national self-
determination
First developed in 19
th
Century in Europe, but
spread world-wide
Nationalism is one way to legitimate states and/or
separatist movements.
Particularly dangerous to empires
The Nation-State
In a nation-state, the boundaries of the state
territory and the membership of the nation are co-
terminus.
Ideal-type for the post-WW II era
In practice, rare
Diaspora
Separatist movements
Irredentism
Examples of Nations
Nation-states
Japan
Denmark
Multi-national states
China (Tibet)
Stateless nations
Kurds (in Iraq, Turkey, Iran)
Basques (in Spain, France)
Divided nations
Korea (North and South)
International Organizations
Institutions with formal membership and
procedures
Only states are members
Membership can be limited or universal
Purpose may be broad or narrow
Examples of IOs
Limited Membership, Narrow
Purpose: Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries
Limited Membership, Broad Purpose:
African Union
Universal Membership, Narrow
Purpose: Universal Postal Union
Universal Membership, Broad
Purpose: United Nations
Multinational Corporations
MNCs are organizations that seek to make a profit by
engaging in foreign production, marketing, finance,
and staffing through directly controlled affiliates
located in several states.
Examples of MNCs
Coca-Cola
Sony
LVMH
Non-Governmental Organizations
Broad category - Not states and non-profit
Includes religions, charities, political activists,
academic research communities, and even terrorist
groups.
Examples of NGOs
Roman Catholic Church
International Red Cross
Greenpeace
Doctors Without Borders
Types of Interaction among
Actors
All types of actors interact.
Harmony
Coordination
Cooperation
Conflict
Types of Interaction: Harmony
Harmony is when actors' interests coincide.
Independent pursuit of own interests returns
maximum output.
More common than often considered.
Example Taliban wipes out heroin production in
Afghanistan; availability of heroin decreases in US.
Types of Interaction:
Coordination
Actors more interested in choosing the same strategy
than in choosing any given strategy.
Example Universal Postal Union
Two possibilities
Pure coordination easier
Coordination after investment - harder
Types of Interaction: Cooperation
Cooperation is mutual adjustment of policy.
Benefits both actors, but not always equally.
Example WHO eradication of smallpox
Types of Interaction: Conflict
Results from mutually incompatible preferences.
Not always violent.
Example 2004 US steel tariffs, EU retaliates on
Florida oranges.