1. International Relations
Introduction to
International Relations
Major Actors in International Relations and Development of Nation-states
Jaechun Kim

2. INTERNATIONAL RELATONS
MAJOR ACTORS IN
INTERNATIONAL RELATONS
International Relations – relations among nations? Is this correct?
What (or who) is the primary actor of International Relations?
Then what is “Nation”?
a group of people who feel themselves as part of some large identity group… 민족(民族)
Nation is “intangible phenomenon”…!!
What does it mean that nation is intangible phenomenon?
The essence of nation is “less tangible elements”… such as sense of connection…
It is a condition of a mind… a feeling of identification to people…

3. What are the elements that create nation?
Regionalism
To live and interact in the same areas…induces sense of connection…
Common Language
A very important aspect of nationalism…
Reinstate national language…
Common Ethnicity
A common ethnic background is also an important element of nationalism…

4. Historical background
Common Religion
can be a rallying point for nationalism…
Historical background
sharing similar historical experiences…
collective destiny, common past, and the vision of a common future… induces a sense of connection…
The most important element of nationalism
Feeling of community… connectedness!! Perception is the key!
*Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism
“Nation is an imagined community! Members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in minds of each lives the image of their communion…”

5. A state is an institution, nation is an (imagined) community…!!!
What constitutes state, then?
Sovereignty
State is territorially defined political unit (or entity) that exercises ultimate internal authority and that recognizes no legitimate external authority over them…
Internal Sovereignty
State’s supremacy over all other authorities within that territory and population
Ultimate internal authority…
External Sovereignty
State’s independence of outside authorities
Recognizes no legitimate external authority over states
Legal equality among states….

6. Some thoughts on ‘sovereignty’ Are states really equal?
cf. popular sovereignty?
- …sovereignty resides within people…”
- John Locke
Perfect sovereignty, possible?
Small states
Big states
Globalization….

7. What constitutes state? (cont’d)
Territory
Must have physical boundaries…
But necessary? Is Palestine a state?
People
Minimum requirement of any state
Diplomatic Recognition
necessary element?
Internal Organization
basic political and economic infrastructures…
but what about failed states?

8. Domestic Support
people should be loyal to states and should grant authority to govern…
at least passive acquiescence is needed…for states to survive!
Multiple loyalties
loyalties of people are shifting !?? e.g. EU
The concept of citizenship has become a bit controversial in contemporary era because of globalization… !??

9. Some thoughts on states and nations…
Difficulty of state building… with many nations in same state boundaries?
African states…
The US has been quite successful…
One nation one state is the solution, then??

10. DEVELOPMENT OF STATE
State-centered international system is relatively new…
State was not a main actor !
State was not the main actor in IR before the Westphalian Treaty of 1648…
Europe before the W. Treaty consisted of many feudal entities… State was not the locus of power
At the macro level, authority existed in the form of Roman Catholic Church…

11. At the micro level, authority centered on political units small than the states….
Westphalian Treaty of 1648 recognized the sovereign rights of the state  Westphalian International System, State-centered International System
Rise of current state system in Europe was the result of a convergence of many factors…political as well as economic factors…
Capital and Coercion, i.e., Wealth (Resources) and Means to Launch Wars…
Enabled the monarchs to wield powers against church and feudal lords…

12. Conquered feudal entities..and challenge Church
Capital and Coercion :
security
Monarchs
Money economy
Capitalist class
money
- Collect tax
- Administer army
Bureaucracy
With the money and armies, monarchs gained exclusive control over means to wage wars…
Conquered feudal entities..and challenge Church
To wage wars, monarchs had to collect more taxes and conscript more soldiers  Strengthened state’s domestic control

13. Charles Tilly – “The state makes war, and war makes the state…” in Coercion, Capital and European States (1992)

14. NON-STATE ACTORS IN THE CONTEMPORARY
INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM
INTERGOVERNMENT ORG (IGOs)
Members are states or governments…
Scope of membership and scope of purposes…
Universal political organizations
Membership is open
e.g.) the League of Nations and the UN
 universal political organizations and general-purpose organizations….
Other general-purpose IGOs?
e.g.) NATO, OAS, OAU, EU

15. Functional IGOs or limited-purpose IGOs
e.g.) ASEAN, WTO, IMF…
NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGS (NGOs or INGOs)
Membership is the key distinction…
e.g.) Red Cross
MNCs or TNCs
increasingly important…
* Do they have any “independent” impact on IR?
-numbers are increasing… 3,000 IGOs and 4,000 MNCs…
-impacts are getting bigger

16. INTL HISTORY 1900 ~ now…
European states dominated the global pattern of IR before WWI
1 in 4 of the world’s population lived in Europe
Europe’s great powers had a concentration of military power, as well as dominating world trade…
Colonialism and Imperialism
Global K economy was flourishing
Pax Britanica
WWI
Europe losing its preeminent status in IR…

17. The age of Terror? G2…!? Interwar period WWII Cold War
Collective Security and League of Nations
Great Depression
Rise of extreme political ideas
WWII
Cold War
The End of History (Fukuyama) vs. Back to the Future (Mearsheimer);
Clash of Civilization (Huntington)
The age of Terror?
G2…!?

18. Globalization and State Sovereignty
What is Globalization? Process whereby many social relations become relatively delinked from territorial geography, so that human lives are increasingly played out in the world as single place...  
Globalization in Economic Realm
International Trade
FDI
Capital Market Flows
Is state losing sovereignty due to Globalization? 
What does Globalization mean to the Westphalian State system?