Introduction

• The definition and Scope of International

Relations
• The Nation State System
• Evolution of International society
Making sense of IR
Before we embark upon interpreting an event
related to IR, we need to think in IR terms.
It has its own rules of the game in place.
(treaties, alliances, political and material
interests)
It has its own morality. (Al-Qaeda, IS, Iran, Iraq
and Afghanistan invasion, Iran-Saudi, Iraq-US,
Uyghur-China govt., Pakistan’s involvement in
Yemen)
Making sense of IR

It has certain units and levels of analysis (one

need to strictly adhere with these units)
Human, State, System
IR is atheist in nature that connects and interprets
past with present and predicts the future.
In nutshell, IR is about enhancing national power,
interests, waging or averting wars, intentions of
leaders, behaviour of states.
Definition of IR

 IR is a new field of study whose origins are controversial

but often traced to post-WWI era.
 IR came to be known as a academic "discipline" in 1919
with the founding of the first "chair" in IR – the Woodrow
Wilson Chair at Aberystwyth, University of Wales.
 IR is the field of Political Science.
 It is not about politics, it is not history either.
 It is about concepts, theories, and diversity of methods
to understand the world.
Cont…
 It deals how a state or community within a state is
connected with rest of the world.
 Wars are the bread and butter of IR, how a war is
waged and how a war can be averted.
 IR also analyses intra-state conflicts, violence, migration,
insurgency, etc.
 It discusses human behaviour, and state behaviour and
causes why certain things happen.
 A survey of the field suggests that a number of different
definitions are employed.
Cont …
 For some, international relations means the diplomatic–strategic
relations of states, and point of focus of IR is on issues of war and
peace, conflict and cooperation.

 Others see IR as being about cross-border transactions of all kinds,

political, economic and social with focus on trade negotiations or
the operation of non-state institutions such as Amnesty International
and United Nations.

 Again, and with increasing frequency in the twenty-first century,

some focus on globalization, studying, for example, world
communication, transport and financial systems, global business
corporations and the emergence of a global society.
Cont…
 Which definition we adopt will have real consequences for the rest
of our study.
 Because IR does not exist in the world (physically), instead a
continual interplay between the ‘real world’ and the world of
knowledge.
 The latter is, of course, shaped by the former, but this is not simply a
one-way relationship.
 It is generally true of the social sciences that their subject-matter is
not self-defining in the way that is often the case in the natural
sciences.
 Except “Economics” among social science disciplines that defines
what an ‘economy’ is?
Cont…
 In pure sciences, for example Anatomy is the study of
body parts. Everyone knows what an ear is. Therefore,
this concept of ear cannot be expanded dramatically.
 But, in social sciences there are many “dissidents” who
go against the established truths and interpretations, e.g.
‘Liberal political economists’ and Marxist economists’.
 Jeremy Bentham (British Philosopher) was the first person
to use the word `international', in the later 18th century
defining relations between nation-states.
A restricted definition of IR
“Confines its focus to “Official relations among states”.
From a broader view
 “IR may refer to all forms of interactions between members of
separate societies, whether government sponsored or not”.
 The study of IR includes analysis of foreign policies or political
processes between nations, and also focuses on international trade
and civil society interaction.
 IR is an academic field that is massively under-appreciated but
absolutely vital to the future of global affairs.
 First and foremost it allows you to expand your horizons to beyond a
domestic/nationalistic perspective, and secondly very few other
subjects cover such a broad range of topics including
law, politics, economics, history, technology, communications, cultural
studies, criminology, diplomacy, int. security, psychology,
globalization, nuclear proliferation, human intervention, terrorism,
organized crime, human rights etc.
“IR encompasses much more than relations
among nation states and International
organizations and groups. It includes great variety
of transnational relationships, at various level,
above and below the level of nation state, still the
main actor in the international system”

Palmer and Perkins

“Relations between many entities of uncertain
sovereignties: groups like nations, states,
governments, people, regions, alliances,
confederations, int. organizations, industrial
organizations, religious organizations etc”.
Write
“In simplest and narrowest sense, IR is taken to
donate the study of relations between states. IR
donates interaction between state-based actors
across state boundaries”.
Lawson
Ingredients of IR
 Political (principle force of IR)
 Social
 Economic organizations (World Bank, BRICS, G7, G20, G8)
 National power, including the limitation of national power
and examining how it can be controlled.
 National Interest
 Balance of Power
 War and Diplomacy (how to wage how to avert (axis of evil,
Iran)
 Foreign policies (different govts.) etc.
 and many more
International Politics vs. International
Relations

IR is wider in scope than international politics.

International politics focuses on various
styles/forms of politics: the politics of violence,
the politics of persuasion, politics of terrorism,
politics of fear, and hierarchical policies.
Yet IR embraces the totality of relations among
people and groups in global society, which go
beyond looking at political forces to an
examination of socio-cultural and economic
processes as well.
Misconception and Benefits of IR
Misconception about IR
 It lays overwhelming emphasis on Foreign Policy.
 It is muted on intra-state conflicts.
 It is all about war and peace.

Advantages/benefits of IR
 It encompasses moral and behavioural.
 Throws light on processes of cooperation and integration
(EU)
 It also suggests how the world should be (normative)
apart from how the world is.
Scope of IR
In sum, scope of IR is not confined to state to state
official relations. It has expanded to;
 Governments to governments
 People to people
 Social groups to Social groups (human rights groups,
cultural exchange, sports etc.)
 Religious groups to Religious groups
 Economic entities to Economic entities
 Expanded from state to international; one country or
state cannot stay unaffected from happenings in other
parts of the world. E.g. 9/11 and subsequent US invasion
of Afghanistan.
Is study of IR a science?
What makes a discipline science?
Evolution of Modern Nation State System

Story!!!
 Cave era Individual society 2.5 million years ago
 Groups life started near water concentrations
 Tribes society started to take roots,
interdependence social and physical, children and
further relationship.
 Chiefdom resulted in class system
 Feudalism agrarian industry gave way to feudal
Nobility etc.
Evolution of Modern Nation State System
 A nation “denotes a common ethnic and cultural identity shared by
a majority of people”.

A large body of people united by common descent, history,

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

 State “a sovereign political entity with a governance system

controlling a territory and its inhabitants”.

“The political organization of the society”.

“A population of a fixed area that shares a common language,

culture, and history”. (Greek)
State has four elements
 Territory
1 No state has ever been established in the vacuum or seas
2 No state can survive or thrive without territory, e.g.
3 Jews prior to the state of Israel, Kurds (stateless nation)
Aristotle, Ibn-Khaldun, Montesquieu, and Russo favoured a small
state.
 Population
State is for human beings
 Government
legislature, executive, judiciary
 Sovereignty (internal. External)
“it is indivisible, absolute, permanent, and cannot be
transferred”. Rousseau
 Nation promotes emotional relationship amongst its members.
(patriotism)
 States provide political and legal foundation for the identity of its
citizens.
State and Government
 While governments come and go, a state has more permanence.
Students and scholars of international relations can depend upon
the continued existence of a state as a viable political entity.
Nation State System
 “State System It is a pattern of political life in which people are
separately organized into sovereign states that interact with one
another”.
A nation state is a defined territory with a sovereign government,
made up of people sharing a common culture, history, and language.
Rise of Nation State System
 The nation-state developed fairly recently.
 Contemporary nation state system is widely understood e.g. I am a
Pakistani, joseph is American, and Chawla is Indian etc.
 Prior to the 1500s, in Europe, the nation-state did not exist.
 Most people did not consider themselves part of a nation; they rarely
left their village and knew little of the larger world.
 If anything, people were more likely to identify themselves with their
region or local lord.
 At the same time, the rulers of states frequently had little control over
their countries.
 Instead, local feudal lords had a great deal of power, and kings often
had to rely them for the rule.
 The medieval Europe (5th to the 15th) century, saw most of Europe
entrenched in feudalism.
 Feudalism is a political and economic system based on land
ownership.
 The land owned by a noble or lord was known as a fief
(fiefdom) and was almost a kingdom in itself, with its own laws
and practices.
 Although the common folk may have heard of a king, it was
the wealthy land owner who ruled their lives.
 Their allegiance was to him and his land, not to a crown or a
country.
 However, this all started to change during the 15th century.
 In the early modern era (1500), a number of monarchs began
to consolidate power by weakening the feudal nobles and
allying themselves with the emerging commercial classes.
Feudals descend Monarchs ascend

 After the Crusades (1095-1291 and 14th – 15th century), wars fought
between the Christian West and the Muslim East over the Holy Lands.
 European soldiers began returning home with tales of the wealthy East.
 This led to the development of trade routes between the East and the
West, and in just a short time, towns and cities began developing along
these routes.
 Over time, these towns began demanding independence from local
lords, realizing they could stand on their own. (e.g. Transnational event)
 Making matters even worse for the feudal lords, towns became
beacons of freedom for poor workers looking for life beyond the yoke of
feudalism.
 The poorer classes become free merchants and craftsman within these
new towns. In short, as towns grew, feudalism's grip began to fracture.
 The Rise of the European Nation State
Time line Major Event

Most people lived in small villages; they paid tithes (tenth) to feudal landlords, didn’t
Pre-1500s
travel, and cared little for anything beyond the village.

Henry VII wins the War of the Roses in England, begins the Tudor dynasty, and starts the
1485
development of the English nation-state.

Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella took Spain back from the Muslims; the era of
1492
Spain as a global power begins.

Ivan IV (the first Tsar/Czar) the Terrible rules Russia; he unifies the government and creates
1547–1584
the first Russian nation-state.

Louis XIV of France creates an absolute monarchy; France emerges as the dominant
1638–1715
power in Europe.
 The Rise of European Nation State
Time line Major Event

1648 Peace of Westphalia cements the legal status of the nation-state as sovereign.

The French Revolution begins; it creates the modern French nation-state and
1789
sparks nationalism around Europe.

1871 Unification of Italy and Germany is complete.

Treaty of Versailles ends World War I; it breaks up several multinational empires

1919
and creates many new nation-states.

1945 The United Nations forms.

The Catholic Church and the Rise of the
Nation-State
 Newly emerging nation-states in the 16th and 17th
centuries had a complex relationship with the
predominant transnational power of the time, the Holy
Catholic Church.
 At times, partial nation-states were useful tools for the
Catholic Church.
 On several occasions, for example, France and Spain
intervened in Italy at the invitation of the Pope.
 But some monarchs wanted control over their national
churches in order to get absolute power.
In England, the dispute over who controlled the
English church led Henry VIII to break from the
Pope and establish an independent Protestant
church in the 1530s.
This break with the Catholic Church gave the
English something to rally around, thus
encouraging them to develop loyalty toward
the English nation-state.
At the same time, some devout Catholics in
England refused to convert; their displeasure
ultimately led to repression and civil war.
Thirty Years War (1618-1648)

 This war is the one of the deadliest and destructive

conflicts of European history.
 The war involved many nations of Europe, including
many small German states, the Austrian Empire, Sweden,
France, and Spain. Despite a brutal war, the Catholics
were unable to overturn Protestantism.
 War was ignited actually between two “Catholics” and
“Protestants” in different parts of the Holy Roma Empire
but later became political contestation for supremacy
among European powers primarily between Germany
and France and respective allies.
 The treaty that ended the war, called the Peace of
Westphalia, decreed that the sovereign ruler of a state
had power over all elements of both the nation and the
state, including religion.
 Thus, the modern idea of a sovereign state was born.
Treaty of Westphalia (1648) or peace of
Westphalia or peace of exhaustion
 In fact it was two treaties;
The first, signed in the city of Münster, was between the
Holy Roman Emperor and the King of France;
The second, signed in the nearby city of Osnabrück, was
between the Emperor and the King of Sweden.
 These treaties were meant to settle the conflicts,
especially conflicts over religion, that had kept Europe
at war for a generation.
 The Peace Treaties of Westphalia (1648) established the
legal basis of modern statehood and by implication the
fundamental rules or constitution of modern world
politics.
Cont…

 Holy Pope referred to the Westphalian settlement at the time

as ‘Null, Sin’.
 The heart of Westphalian settlement was agreement
between European Rulers to recognize each other’s right to
rule their own territories free from outside interference.
 Ended thirty years’ war (1618–1648) in the Holy Roman Empire,
and the Eighty Years’ War (1568–1648) between Spain and
the Dutch Republic (1581-1795).
 Westphalian peace is also known as “peace of exhaustion”.
Because war had bankrupted and fatigued the fighting
parties.
Westphalian Constitution of World Politics

 Territorial Sovereignty: The notion that every state has

the right of self-governance over its people and territory.

 (Legal) equality of states: All states are equal as

sovereign unit of the International community.
(Maldives = USA)

 Non-intervention/Autonomy: no interference is
permitted in the affairs of other state.
This Westphalian constitution by then had
come to colonize the entire planet.
Characteristics/outcomes of the state system after 1648

 States’ mutual recognition of legitimacy and independence

 States recognise and observe a set of rules and norms in their
relations; International Law & Diplomatic practices.
 Balance of Power is maintained to prevent the rise of a hegemonic
power.
Religion
 Favoured secularization after fracturing Christendom and became
the magna carta of religious freedom.
 Since the empire was catholic and protestant reformation had
begun in 16th century under the leadership of Martin Luther King (Sr.)
with two objectives;
1 - Discovering Jesus and salvation by faith
2 - Identifying papacy as anti-Christ
Cont…
Balance of Power
 France weakened Germany (disintegrated Germany
could not become reunited until the 1st quarter of 20th
century), but again became powerful modern nation in
17th century and retook the provinces of Alsace and
Lorraine that were previously under the rule of France
since 1648.
Nationalism
 Europe brought Nationalism in politics after the evolution
of modern nation state system. British, German, French,
and Polish etc.
 Prior to that nobility, feudals, kingdoms, and kings used
to think in terms of religion.
Cont…
 England, Spain and France obtained independence
from dominance by the Holy Roman Empire.
 state to state diplomacy took its roots.
 Subsequent wars were not about issues of religion, but
rather revolved around issues of state.
 This allowed Catholic and Protestant Powers to ally,
leading to a number of major re-alignments.
 The nation-state would be the highest level of
government, subservient to no other religious or power.
Congress of Vienna (1814-15)

Emperors, foreign ministers and statesmen

assembled at Vienna
Congress of Vienna was based on the three
principles; Restoration/Adjustments, Legitimacy,
and Compensation.
It was the remaking of Europe after the down fall
of Napoleon.
Austria, Prussia, and Russia, and Great Britain,
the four powers that were chiefly instrumental in
the overthrow of Napoleon.
Cont…

 It was aimed at providing e a long-term peace plan for

Europe by settling critical issues arising from the French
Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars.
 The goal was not simply to restore old boundaries, but
to resize the main powers so they could balance each
other off and remain at peace.
Relevance of Nation State System in
contemporary World.
 Today it faces the challenges from;
 International Security Change in the nature of Int. conflicts, modern
technology, (Hot pursuits, Drone campaigns, Yemen, Syria, Non-state-actors
like IS, Boko Haram, Al-Shabab)
 Intra-state conflicts (genocide with fears of crossing borders … Yemen …
Kurd Issue)
 Humanitarian intervention (in Libya) but did not come in 1994 in Rwanda
 Globalization (WTO, IMF, World Bank, MNCs)
 Importance of Cultural atmosphere (Afghanistan, China, Russia, North
Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia have their own culture) lee Kuan Yew,
considered violation if a neighbouring country attempts to change its
cultural environment. (disturb the ethnic balance by inciting)
Significance of Nation State System

 Promotion of Liberalism, Democracy, Liberty and Capitalism in

2nd Half of 20th Century. Ideas of liberalism is strongly opposed
with the argument of national sovereignty in the light of
Westphalian Peace.
 Each state can decide the best for its people, thus, hopefully,
developing economically, socially, and politically.
 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 on the scale of the relations between states.
 North Korea, Myanmar, Cuba continue to enjoy the fruits of
“Political Isolation”, they sacrifice the long term benefits of
international cooperation.
Evolution of International Society
 Many ways to characterize the structure and pattern of relations
among different political communities.
 1 extreme: One might be a struggle of all against all; result war,
conquest, conflict, slaughter, and enslavement of the defeated
etc.
 2nd extreme: at the other end we might conceive a world
government in which individual societies retained distinctions
based on language, religion, and culture like USA.
 Between these two extremes there emerged many forms of
interactions; empires, dynasties, kings, theocracies, centralized
decentralized form etc….
 To Int. system organized on the basis on independent units (states)
or on sovereignty with different kind of hierarchical order in
between.
 Int. society is any association of distinct political
communities which accept some common values,
rules , and institution.
 Although originally was coined to refer to relations
among European states.
 But this term can be applied to many other political
arrangements among distinct political communities.
 Roots of IS can be traced from the first organized
human community.
 Early forms of diplomacy and treaties existed in
ancient Middle east, city states of Greece, Persians,
Indian and Roman societies.
Medieval Europe/Christianity/Islam

 Medieval Europe’s society was a complex of

supranational, national, and subnational structure.
 Roman catholic Church played a vital role in shaping
the normative side of the society
 Islam developed its own understanding of international
society.
Contemporary int. society

“Contemporary international society comprises

the norms, rules, established practices, and
institutions governing the relations among
sovereign states: communities occupying a
defined territory whining which they exercise
judicial independence”.
Questions that might be asked by FPSC
 Can US led strikes on Libya in the name of humanitarian
intervention be termed as violation of its sovereignty, the
corner stone of Westphalian peace of 1648, throw light?

 Nation state system is endangered by the great powers’

interventionist actions like drone campaign in Yemen
and Pakistan, comment.

 Undoubtedly Nation State system has acted as the

constitution of the world for the last three and half
centuries, does it cater the needs of sovereign units of
international community in 21st century?
Questions…..!!!
“Globalization of World Politics An
introduction to international relations” by
John Baylis, Steve Smith, Patricia Owens