1. Topics for today Events of the day/week The state system
What is a ‘state’?
Theories of IR: World War I and World War II
Collective security
Comparing the League of Nations and the United Nations

2. What is a “state”?
Montevideo Convention on Rights and Duties of States (1933)
State: a legal entity in international law
with a permanent population
with a defined territory
with a government capable of effective domestic control and international representation/recognition

3. What is “sovereignty”? Sovereignty: No superior authority.
Control over domestic affairs
Control over cross-border movements
Exclusive representation in international politics
Sovereignty is an idealized state of affairs. The actual degree of sovereign control varies greatly among states.

4. Sovereignty as control
Effective domestic monopoly of violence.
Government controls domestic affairs.
How do states loose control?
Voluntarily: enter treaties with other states or create inter- and supranational institutions (“pooling of sovereignty”).
Involuntarily: Military invasion, economic sanctions, diplomatic threats, smugglers, cross-border pollution.

5. New states Bangladesh, 1974 (formerly part of Pakistan). Eritrea, 1993
(formerly part of Ethiopia).
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, 1991/2
(formerly Soviet Union).
East Timor, 2002
(formerly part of Indonesia).
Montenegro, 2006
(formerly part of Serbia and Montenegro)
1700: 45 states
1945: 65 states;
Today: almost 200 states.

6. World history and IR theories
Realism
A cyclical struggle for power
Liberalism
Progressive economic development of societies
Idealism/Constructivism
Unfolding of competing ideas, in the past: nationalism; today: human rights

7. What caused World War I?
Realism: German unification leading to power struggle among European states/decline of British empire
Institutionalism: Weakness of international institutions to prevent war
Identity/constructivism: Nationalism; feelings of superiority over other peoples.

8. Realism
Cause (anarchy): anarchy creating mistrust and insecurity in a multipolar system (p. 78); third image/international level
Process:
Germany’s blitzkrieg aimed to avoid a two-front war, but increased the threat level for everyone else.
Germany attacked Russia to prevent its rise as a power.
One country attacked another because of an imminent attack.

9. Liberal institutionalism
Causes (institutions):
Weak global institutions: No global inter-governmental body; trade and law not strong enough (third image, international level)
Lack of democracy: weak representation of pacifistic voices (second image, domestic level)
Clumsy diplomacy: Kaiser Wilhelm II
Lack of sufficient interdependence.

10. Identity/Constructivism
Causes (ideologies):
Racist nationalism: Jingoism combined with advanced military technology
Ideological nationalism: growing tensions between liberalism (US, France, Britain) and other ideologies
Socialist nationalism: Emergence of Marxism creates incentives for conservative leaders to divert attention away from domestic struggles by going to war
Lack of common understanding and norms.

11. What caused World War II?
Realism
Institutionalism
Idealism/
Identity
International
level
Balance of power is unstable; continuation of WWI; Versailles
Weakness of institutions; US refusal to support the League of Nations
Expanding nationalisms
Domestic level
Democracy vs. fascism; threat of economic collapse in Germany
Bolshevism/
Racism
Individual
Classical realism: Human nature
Humiliation of German nationalism

13. Failure of the League of Nations
Realism
Institutionalism
Idealism/
Identity
International
level
Because collective security simply can not work
Because states did not fully commit to the idea of collective security; faulty design of the League
Because the League did not address cultural differences
Domestic level
Because the League brought together incompatible regime types; unanimity rule
Individual level

14. What is collective security?
Effort to neutralize military power
Focus on threat, not power
Reciprocity: trade in the right to attack for collective protection by all
Examples: League of Nations/United Nations

15. From the League to the UN
Context:
League's Covenant was drafted after the end of hostilities and at the same time as the negotiations about The fate of the loosing powers (Paris Conference). The U.N. Charter was negotiated during World War II and led to an independent legal document.
League: unanimity; U.N.: majority voting (with exceptions)
More effective institutions:
Creation of an executive body (Security Council) with privileged status pertaining to security questions.
Stronger norms:
U.N. Charter provides more comprehensive powers for peacekeeping and peacemaking.
U.N. does not allow the unilateral use of force, except in case of an ‘imminent attack;’ the League’s covenant allowed the use of force for dispute settlement (after arbitration).