The Historical Context of Contemporary International Relations

The Historical Context of Contemporary International Relations

Class 3: Introduction to International Relations Eva wishanti

Introduction

International Relations (IR) After Two World Wars War Realism : state, power World Politics diversity Pluralism

Six Periods of Historical Context of Contemporary International Relations

1. Before 16482. After Westphalia3. Nineteenth Century Europe4. Interwar Years5. The Cold War6. The Post-Cold War

Periodisasi Sejarah Penting dalam HI

History and Philosophy

A Series of world events

The world in the 21st century

• Greek’s (political) philosophy

• Renaissance

• First World War• Second World War• Cold War

• Changing world order

• New challenges

Before 1648:The Pre-Westphalian World

• The Sovereignties of the Greek city-states (400 B.C.)• Imperialism by The Roman Empire (50 B.C – 400 A.D.)• Centralization & Decentralization in the Middle Ages

(400 – 1000)Three civilizations: Arabic, Byzantine, Europe

• The development of transnational networks in the Late Middle Ages (1000 – 1500)

a. Transnational Business Communityb. Individualist & Humanistc. Writers on Classic Literature

Munculnya sistem Westphalia : Nation - States

• Development of practical sovereigntySovereignty by Jean Bodin: absolute and perpetual

power• The Growth of Military Control

The Thirty-years war ⇒ Treaty of Westphalia• The Emergence of Capitalist Economic System

Adam Smith: Invisible Hand of the Market ⇒ Capitalism

Europe in the Nineteenth Century

• The Aftermath of Revolution: Core Principles- Legitimacy - Nationalism

• Peace at the Core of the European System- Solidarity sharing among European- Fear of Revolution among independent states- Unification of Germany and Italy

• Balance of PowerIndependent European states counteract predominant states

• The Breakdown: Solidification of Alliances

The end of Balance of Power system

Interwar Years and World War II

• Three Empires are WeakenedRussia ⇒ New leader and new ideologyAustro-Hungary ⇒ Replaced by new statesOttoman ⇒ Reconfigured and ousted from Europe

• Fascism in Germany- Mobilized support from the masses- Superior civilization

• The Weakness of League of Nations- Prevent all future wars- No political weight, legal instruments, legitimacy

The Cold War

• Origins of the Cold War- The emergence of two superpowers: United States and Soviet Union- The incompatibilities in national interests and ideology- The end of colonial system- The realization of indirectly conflict

• The Cold War as a Series of Confrontations- High level tension with no military conflict- Confrontations between proxies- Confrontations between two blocs: NATO vs. Warsaw

Pact• The Cold War as a Long Peace

John Lewis Gaddis: to dramatize the absence of war between superpowers

The Post-Cold War

• The Continuity of Glasnost and Perestroika in Soviet- Glasnost: Political Openness- Perestroika: Economic Restructuring

• Changes of Soviet Foreign Policy- Cooperate in multilateral activities to preserve regional security- Mark the post-Cold War era

• Iraq Invasion of Kuwait in 1990- The test of New World Order- U.N. Security Council ⇒ Economic sanctions

• The Disintegration of Yugoslavia- Disintegrates into independent states- Bosnia-Kosovo civil war leading to U.N. and NATO action

SUMMARY: Learning from History

• How can we begin to predict what the current era is or what the future will bring?

• How core concepts of international relations – the state, sovereignty, the nation, and the international system- have emerged and evolved over time?