International Relations

By

Zahid Mehmood Zahid

zmzahid30@gmail.com
National Officers Academy (NOA), Islamabad
 Recommended Books

(1) “Globalization of World Politics: An introduction to

international relations”
John Baylis, Steve Smith, Patricia Owens

(2) “International Relations” 10th edition

Joshua S. Goldstein & John C. Pevehouse
 Introduction
• The definition and Scope of IR
• The Nation State System
• Evolution of International society
 IR analysis necessitates IR sense

 Interpretation/analysis of an event requires you to think in

terms of IR.

 Like all other disciplines/subjects, it also has its own

language and principles.

 It is an atheistic discipline with less regards to morality.

 how does IR operate …
 Stay unbiased and analyse objectively. (US-ISIS)

 It has certain levels of analysis; Individual,

State, & Int. System. (Pak-Saudi relations)…

 IR connects the Past with present and predicts the future.

(Ind-Pak)
 History of IR and what is it all about…?
 IR is relatively a new field of study whose origins are usually
traced to post-WWI era.

 IR became an academic discipline in 1919 when university of

Aberystwyth established department of Int. Politics.

 IR is the branch of Political Science.

 Cont…
 It is about concepts and methods for understanding the world.

 Wars are the bread and butter of IR.

 Also analyses inter and intra - state conflicts, militancy,

terrorism, violence, separatist movements etc.
Restricted Definition of IR

“Official relations among states”,

Jeremy Bentham
Comprehensive Definition:

“IR encompasses much more than relations among nation states

and International organizations and groups. It includes variety of
transnational relationships, at various level, above and below the
state level, which is the main actor in the international system”

Palmer and Perkins

 Ingredients of IR;

 Political & social issues - terrorism & militancy.

 Economic organizations (World Bank, IMF, BRICS, ASEAN)
 National power & National Interest,
 Balance of Power,
 War and Diplomacy,
 Nuclear Proliferation & WMDs,
 Foreign policies,
and many more……..
 Scope of IR
 Few say, IR is about govt to govt relations among states that deals
with the issues of war and peace.

 Others see IR as about cross-border relations of all kinds, political,

economic and social through int. institutions like UNO, SCO,
ASEAN, ECO, EU etc.

 In the 21st century, few focus on global communication, transport

and financial systems, and MNCs.
 Scope of IR 
 Politics, economics, Law, history, criminology, diplomacy,
security, globalization, nuclear proliferation, terrorism, and
human rights etc.

Utility of studying IR? 

 First, It expands your understanding beyond domestic horizon.

 Secondly, very few other subjects cover such a broad range of
topics.
 Evolution of Modern Nation State System

 Nation “A large body of people united by common history,

culture, identity, or language, inhabiting a particular state or
territory”.

 State “a sovereign political entity with a governance system,

territory, and its inhabitants”.
 Nation State
 A nation state has defined territory with a sovereign government,
with population sharing a common culture, history, and language.

Nation State System

 “A pattern of political life in which people are separately organized

into sovereign states and interact with one another”.
 Evolution of Modern Nation State System
 Cave era Individual society 2.5 million years ago, few
says 10,000 years.

 Groups life started near water concentrations

 Tribes Social & physical needs grew – marriages and

children etc.

 Feudalism agrarian industry gave way to feudalism.

 Rise of Nation State System.

 The nation-state is a recent phenomenon.

 Today, state is supposed to protect its citizens from wars and

economic threats.

 For the protection of national interests these nation

 States use methods like diplomacy and wars.

 Rise of Nation State System
 Nation State System makes Ali a Pakistani, Stephen a British,
and Mohan an Indian.

 Prior to the 1600s, the nation-states did not exist in Europe.

 People used to identify themselves with their region or feudal

lord.
 The medieval Europe (5th to the 15th century) was entrenched in
feudalism.

 Feudalism was a not only an economic system but also was a

political system.

 The allegiance of masses was to landlord, not to a country.

 Crusade wars and decline of Feudalism

 After Crusades wars European soldiers returned home with tales

of the wealthy Muslims.

 This led to the development of trade routes b/w East & West -
towns and cities began to develop along these routes.

 Over time, these towns started demanding independence from

local lords, realizing they could stand on their own.
 Catholic Church and the Rise of the Nation-State

 During 16th and 17th centuries Holy Catholic Church was

ruling the West.

 But, few kings wanted control over their national churches in

order to get absolute power.

 In England, Henry VIII broke away from the Pope and

established an independent Protestant church in the 1530s.
 Thirty Years War 1618-1648, (Catho. Vs. Prote.)

 The war involved almost entire Europe, including Germany,

Austria, Sweden, France, and Spain.

 Catholics could not defeat Protestants.

 The treaty that ended the war – called the Treaty of Westphalia
1648.
 Treaty of Westphalia recognized;

“sovereign ruler of a state has power over nation and state,

including religion.”

 Resultantly, England, France, Germany, and Spain shook pope

and became nation states.
 Treaty of Westphalia (1648)

 Treaty was meant to settle the conflicts, especially conflicts over

religion.

 Treaty, in other words, established the constitution of modern

world politics.

 Pope referred to the Westphalian treaty as ‘Null, Sin’.

 Cont…

 Over the course of time, NSS evolved and brought representative

governments, Int. Law, diplomacy, and interdependence etc.

 Westphalian treaty is also known as “peace of exhaustion”

because war had bankrupted and fatigued the fighting parties.
 Elements of Westphalian Peace
 Sovereignty: The notion that every state has the right of self-rule
over its people and territory. Only sovereign states could enter into
relations.

 Legal Equality: All states are equal as sovereign member of the

International community.
(Bhutan = USA)

 Non-intervention: no interference was permitted in the affairs of

other state.
 The UN Charter
Chapter 1: Purposes and principles

 Article: 2 (1) The organization is based on the principle of the

sovereign equality of all its member states.

 Article: 2 (4) All members shall refrain in their relations from

the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or
political independence of any state …...
 Outcomes of the Westphalian Nation State System
 1- Balance of Power; was maintained to prevent the rise of a
dominant power and future wars.

 2- Religion; Treaty Favoured secularism and ensured religious

freedom.

 Since the empire was catholic and protestant reformation had

begun in 1517-1521 under Martin Luther King Sr. with two
objectives;
 Cont…
I - Discovering Jesus and salvation by faith.
II - Identifying papacy as anti-Christ.

3- Nationalism
 Nationalism entered into Europe after the Westphalian Treaty.

Prior to that feudals and kings used to think in terms of religion.

 Significance of Nation State System
 Each state can decide the best for its people with out external
pressures.

 Other states, no matter how powerful, do not have the right to

intervene in other sovereign countries.

 The principle of autonomy does not allow exploitation of the

weaker by major states.
 Challenges faced by NSS in contemporary World

Today, it faces the challenges from;

 Change in the nature of Int. conflicts, Drone strikes, Yemen,
Syria, Non-state-actors like ISIS, Boko Haram.

 Intra-state conflicts: Syria & Afghanistan.

 Growing interdependence.
 Regional Integration (EU, ASEAN)
 Humanitarian intervention: in Libya.
 Globalization: WTO, IMF, World Bank, MNCs
 Questions to attempt;

 Explain significance and scope of IR.

 Explain the salient features of modern nation state system.

 How do you see the role of state in the future, given that that
globalization and MNCs are undermining state authority?