Strange New World: Power and Systems in Transformation
Chapter 1
I. International Relations Defined
A. International relations – Interactions among countries
1. Opposite of domestic politics
a. Domestic politics = interactions within countries
b. International relations have fewer and less enforceable rules
2. Dependent on power
a. Power = Ability of one country to get another to do something
b. May or may not require force = the use of military power
3. Rules change over time
a. International systems are temporary
b. System = Interaction of many components so that one cannot
change without changing the others
II. International Systems Through the Cold War
A. Pre-World War I: European powers maintain stability in the world by
preventing world dominance and chaos
1. Balance-of-power - Theory that states form alliances to offset
threatening states.
B. WWI – WWII: Empires destroy themselves and refuse to respond to threats of
war from Germany, Japan, and Italy
2. Antibalance-of-power – A temporary and unstable time period when
states do not form alliances or stop aggression.
C. Cold War: US and USSR become dominant opposing superpowers
3. Bi-polar – When the world is divided between 2 superpowers – nations
a. Superpowers – Nations with far more power than others and the
ability to wage many kinds of war nearly everywhere
b. Dangerous system
1. Constant tension
2. Nuclear capability
3. Constantly trying to exploit the other bloc
4. “Zero-sum game” – If one wins, the other must lose
c. Comforting
1. Enemy is easy to identify
2. No direct fighting…thankfully!
d. Could it have been a “loose bi-polar”?
1. Many neutral “islands” between the two
2. Non-aligned nations – deliberately avoided joining
either camp
e. Why didn’t it last?
1. Costly arms race
2. Third World nationalism
i. Both sides lost wars to keep nations in their camp
a. US = Vietnam
b. USSR = Afghanistan
3. Splitting of the communist camp – USSR and China
4. Economic growth of Asian Tigers pointed out the
foolishness of the rivalry
5. Defective communist economy couldn’t last
D. Post-Cold War: Unclear…could be any of the following:
4. Multipolar – system of several centers of power, some trading blocs
a. Like the balance-of-power but the blocs (i.e. European Union or
Pacific Rim) are bigger than countries and compete economically
b. Why Not?
1. Blocs like the EU and Pacific Rim cannot look after their
own security
5. Unipolar – One power center exists
a. The US has lead the UN and mid-sized powers to stop
aggressors (i.e. 1991 Gulf War)
b. Why not?
1. US unwilling to spend money to fight everywhere
2. Resentment – few allies in Iraq
6. Counterweight – Countries unite to oppose a unipolar system.
a. Many nations (China, Russia, EU, Muslim world) opposed the
latest invasion of Iraq
b. Why not?
1. Rest of the world cooperates little with each other
2. Not consistent opposition
7. Stratified – Power is distributed in layers.
a. 3 layers
1. Rich, high-tech countries
2. Middle-income industrializing lands
3. “Zones of chaos” dominated by crime, warlords,
and instability
b. Top 2 layers can destroy conventional targets, but cannot
control zones of chaos
c. Chaos zones have oil and produce drugs, so other layers cannot
ignore them
8. Globalized – The world becomes one big capitalist market
a. Countries focus on making money, not war
b. Countries that to participate (Cuba and North Korea) live in
poverty.
c. Why not?
1. Most countries (including U.S.) fear totally free trade
and the competition that comes with it
2. Is globalization a cause or product of peace?
9. Resource Wars – Countries compete for natural resources
10. Clash of Civilizations – The world is broken into several different
civilizations that either get along with or dislike each other, mainly due to
religion.
a. Western (European and North American branches)
b. Slavic/Orthodox
c. Islamic
d. Hindu
e. Sinic (Chinese)
f. Japanese
g. Latin America
1. Islam hates Western and Slavic/Orthodox
2. Religion, not trade, determines relationship
III. Are States Here to Stay?
A. State – Country or nation that has sovereignty…different from U.S. state
B. Sovereignty – Concept that each state rules its own territory
C. Strong states (mostly European) developed 500 years ago during the Age of
Absolutism and conquered the world
D. After liberation, Latin America, Asia, and Africa adopted this form
E. Now theses states are supported with the involvement of the masses, not just
kings
IV. Is Sovereignty Slipping
A. Strong states have always pushed around weaker ones
B. Supranational entities (UN and EU) demand some sacrifice of sovereignty
1. Supranational – Power above the national level
C. nations must be willing to sacrifice some sovereignty to maintain peace and
cooperation