THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM: REALITY, THEORY AND PERCEPTION

1
THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM REALITY, THEORY AND
PERCEPTION

• POLS 221
• WINTER 2008

2
THE ACTUAL STATE SYSTEM

• Categories of political units
• States
• -independent recognized states
• -U.N. (Non) Recognized states
• Ex U.N. Observer status- Holy See
• Palestine, Switzerland, Malta were former
  observer states before joining

3
COLONIAL AREAS

• The demise of colonialism at the end of World War
  II necessitated United Nations action to aid
  newly independent territories on the road to
  statehood.
• This road to independence, and ultimately
  statehood, took several forms, all of which fell
  under UN supervision.
• Note the importance of international law to the
  evolution of the international system.

4
The Road to Statehood

• Non-self governing territories
• -Colonies
• -Protectorates
• -Condominiums
• -Trust Territories (Mandates)
• These categories have all but disappeared
• Several interesting categories continue

5
EXCLAVES

• Non-contiguous
• Ex- Cabinda province (Angola)
• What are the problems of this arrangement?

6
DEPENDENCIES

• British Channel Islands
• Crown Dependency since 1066
• Possession of U.K.
• Not part of U.K.
• Not part of E.U.

7
TRUST TERRITORY

• Administered by UN
• Prepare for majority rule and independence
• Examples-
• Ruanda-Urundi (Bel.)
• Somalia (Italy)
• Palau (United States)-became state in 1994

8
DEMISE OF COLONIALISM

• Ended by World War II
• Exponential growth in of states
• Growth in size of United Nations
• Impact on International System?
• End of political colonialism what about economic
  colonialism/imperialism?

9
NON-SELF GOVERNING TERRITORIES

• Vestiges of colonialism?
• Perpetrating imperialism?
• Still the Age of Empire?

10
CLIENT STATES

• Support friendly states via
• Military Support and Alliances
• Economic Support (loans, trade)
• Impinging on Sovereignty
• In best interest of the client-state???

11
U.S. CLIENT STATES

• Iran and the Shah
• Indonesia and Suharto
• Panama and Noriega
• Zaire and Mobutu
• Preeminent current example
• Israel

12
REALITY OF THE INTL SYSTEM

• Legally states are
• -sovereign
• -independent
• The reality is that states are
• -unequal
• -interdependent

13
SYSTEMIC DISPARITIES

• More money is spent on pet food in the United
  States than the Gross Domestic Product of
  Ethiopia
• The human cost of inequality

14
SYSTEMIC DISPARITIES

• Ten countries contain 2/3 of the worlds
  population
• The environmental cost of inequality

15
GOALS OF STATES

• Each state has the same goal
• Maximize their degree of independence via
• Diplomacy
• Trade
• War
• Q- How is peace maintained in this type of
  conflict-based system???
• BALANCE OF POWER

16
BALANCE OF POWER RULES

• Strive to increase own capabilities
• Rather negotiate than fight
• Fight rather than fail to increase capabilities
• Stop fighting rather than eliminate a member of
  the system (maintain balance)

17
BALANCE OF POWER RULES

• Oppose any coalition or single actor who tends to
  dominate the system
• Constrain states that subscribe to supranational
  principles
• Permit defeated states to reenter as partners
  (economic, not military)

18
ASSUMPTIONS

• The potential for conflict within the
  international system is permanent
• The Goal of the International system is to manage
  power
• Power is measured against the power of other
  states in the system
• There are a variety of sources of power in the
  system (economic, military, political)
• Acquisition of power is a means to subsequent
  objectives

19
BALANCE OF POWER SYSTEMS

• UNIPOLAR- One country dominates
• BIPOLAR- Two countries dominate
• MULTIPOLAR- Many countries dominate

20
PERCEPTIONS

• United States- Good v. Evil
• China- Imperialism v. Rest of World
• Cuba- Capitalism v. Socialism
• Western Europe and Japan Multipolar
• Third World- North v. South Bipolarity

21
BALANCE OF POWER

• Focuses on relationship between states
• Does it explain why states behave as they do in
  the international system?
• Given the rise of non-state actors, is a balance
  of power approach still valid?
• Is hegemony a bad thing???