The Historical Context of Contemporary International Relations

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Chapter 2
The Historical Context of Contemporary
International Relations

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Key Developments Before 1648

• Sovereign Greek city-states reach height of power
  in 400 B.C. carry out cooperative functions
  through diplomacy and classic power politics
• Roman Empire (50 B.C.-400 A.D.) originates
  imperialism, develops practice of expanding
  territorial reach empire is united through law
  and language, while allowing some local identity
• Middle Ages (400-1000) witness centralization of
  religious authority in Church, with
  decentralization in political and economic life
• Late Middle Ages (1000-1500) foster development
  of transnational networks during age of
  exploration

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Emergence Of TheWestphalian System

• Treaty of Westphalia (1648) ended Thirty Years
  War in Europe
• Religious war fought mainly in Germany
  initially, conflict between Protestants and
  Catholics (in Holy Roman Empire) grew into
  larger conflict involving major European powers
• Effects of Treaty
• European states embraced notion of sovereignty
• Monarchs have political authority, not Catholic
  Church
• Sovereign enjoy rights within own territory

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Sovereignty Idea and Practice

• French philosopher Jean Bodin
• Sovereignty is the distinguishing mark of the
  sovereign in that he cannot in any way be subject
  to the commands of another, for it is he who
  makes law for the subject, abrogates law already
  made, and amends obsolete law
• Limits to sovereignty divine or natural law,
  covenants, contracts

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Key Developments After Westphalia

• Notion and practice of sovereignty develops
• Centralized control of institutions under
  military control
• Capitalist economic system emerges

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Europe in the 19th Century Key Principles

• Legitimacy moral and legal right to rule, based
  on law, custom, heredity, or consent of governed
  rulers subject to limitations imposed by man
• Nationalism people share devotion and allegiance
  to nation usually based on shared
  characteristics of people, common religion,
  language, historical experience, etc.

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Developments in 19th Century Europe

• Concert(s) of Europe following Napoleon, great
  powers meet periodically (Britain, Austria,
  Russia, and Prussia) to reach agreement on
  problems threatening peace among European states
• initially aimed at containing France, achieve
  balance of power maintain territorial
  arrangements made at Congress of Vienna
  (1814-1815) kept relative peace for about 40
  years
• Congress of Berlin (1878) Berlin Conference
  (1884)
• 19th Century European concert held together by
  core beliefs of superiority and fear of
  revolution from below
• Relative international peace no wars among great
  powers

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Explaining 19th Century Peace

• European solidarity Christian, civilized
• Elites united by fear of revolution from below
• Preoccupied by unification in Germany and Italy
• Engaged in territorial expansion/colonialism
  outside of Europe competition exported
• Balance of power
• States with relatively equal power
• Form alliances to counteract powerful states

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Solidification Of Alliances The Breakdown

• Russia invades Turkey in 1877
• Conflict escalates in Latin America
• Competition for territory at Congress of Berlin
• Emerging Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria,
  Italy)
• Emerging Dual Alliance (France, Russia)
• World War I

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Key Developments in 19th Century Europe

• From revolutions emerge two concepts absolutist
  rule subject to limitations and nationalism
• System managed by balance of power brings
  relative peace to Europe
• European imperialism in Asia and Africa helps to
  maintain European balance of power
• Balance of power breaks down due to
  solidifications of alliances, resulting in World
  War I

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Key Developments in the Interwar Years

• Three empires collapse Russia by revolution, the
  Austro-Hungarian Empire by dismemberment, and the
  Ottoman Empire by external wars and internal
  turmoil, leads to resurgence of nationalisms
• German dissatisfaction with World War I
  settlement leads to fascism finds allies in
  Italy and Japan
• Weak League of Nations unable to respond to
  Japanese, Italian and German aggression, and
  widespread economic unrest.

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In The Aftermath Of World War II

• Emergence of two superpowers U.S. and Soviet
  Union
• Decline of Europe
• Cold War with differences in geopolitical
  national interests and in ideology (capitalism
  vs. socialism)
• Gradual end of colonialism
• Cold War played out through third-parties/clients/
  proxies
• Development of NATO Warsaw Pact

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IMPORTANT EVENTS OF THE COLD WAR 1
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The Cold War as a Series of Major Crises

• Berlin blockade (1949)
• Korean War (1950-53)
• Cuban missile crisis (1962)
• Vietnam War
• Proxy wars in Middle East, Africa, Asia,
  South/Central America

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Explaining the Cold War as a Long Peace

• John Gaddis
• Key role of nuclear deterrence (MAD)
• Bipolarity led to system stability
• U.S. economic hegemony, able to maintain
  stability
• Economic liberalism
• Long historical cycles

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Key Developments in the Post-Cold War Era

• Changes are made in Soviet/Russian foreign
  policy, withdrawal from Afghanistan, Angola in
  late 1980s
• Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 multilateral
  response unites former Cold War adversaries
• Glasnost and perestroika continue in Russia

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Key Developments in the Post-Cold War Era (cont.)

• Yugoslavia disintegrates into independent
  states civil war in Bosnia and Kosovo U.N. and
  NATO respond
• Widespread ethnic conflict arises in Central
  and Western Africa, Central Asia, Indian
  subcontinent
• Al Qaeda carries out attacks against U.S. and
  interests abroad U.S. and coalition forces
  respond militarily in Afghanistan
• U.S. invades and occupies Iraq
• Terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia, Spain, and
  Great Britain

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Discussion Questions

• 1. Explain the importance of the Treaty of
  Westphalia for international relations. What
  significant concepts and principles informed the
  treaty? What notable changes in international
  relations did the treaty signal or set in motion?
  Discuss how contemporary international relations
  might be different (or not) without the Treaty of
  Westphalia, and provide support for your answer.
• 2. What are the most important reasons for the
  relative peace that characterized
  nineteenth-century Europe? Why do you consider
  these particular reasons to be most important? Do
  you think any of the principles of
  nineteenth-century European politics are
  applicable to contemporary international
  relations? Why or why not?

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Discussion questions, II

• 3. What started the Cold War, and how was this
  war different from previous ones within the
  international system? Now that the Cold War is
  over, what do you think are some of its lasting
  effects on U.S.-Russian relations and/or
  international relations more broadly?
• 4. John Lewis Gaddis and a number of other
  scholars have referred to the Cold War as the
  long peace. Do you agree or disagree with this
  characterization? Explain your answer and include
  in your response a discussion of some of the
  reasons for Gaddiss assertion.
• 5. Did the end of the Cold War really mark the
  beginning of a New World Order, or did it have
  little effect on the general course of
  international relations? Present a response to
  this question that draws on your knowledge of
  history and uses specific events from recent
  years to support your position.