INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS –
LEIDEN UNIVERSITY IRO QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Why are IR concepts contested? - ANSWER - Definitions are rarely
consensual
- Meanings not fixed in time
- Ethnocentrism
Why are IR concepts useful? - ANSWER - Makes sense of reality
- Makes sure we're talking about the same thing
- Ensure some degree of constructive dialogue
- To develop and evaluate theories
What are theories? - ANSWER - Goes beyond mere description
- Interprets data
- Identify patterns, and regularities across space & time
- An explanation, answer to "why this happened?"
- Helps to describe, explain, anticipate, and prescribe
Why do we need theories? - ANSWER Real life is too complex
- Too many data points
- Too many variables
- Too many moving parts
Definition of a State - ANSWER According to Montevideo Convention
in 1933, four qualifications:
- A permanent population
- A defined territory
- Government
- Capacity to enter relations with other states
Problems with definition of a state - ANSWER 1. Declarative vs.
constitutive theory of statehood
2. Internal vs. external sovereignty
3. Creation of the state in practice - dynamic (can differ)
,Therefore, in IR theory, states are units of analysis - entities with well-
defined territory and recognized political authority
The "Relations" in IR? - ANSWER - Interactions (war and peace, trade,
intl. agreements)
- Bilateral vs. multilateral
- Any state actions (or inactions) which affect other states
- Not simply interstate relations (also transnational relations, NSAs...)
Levels of Analysis - ANSWER 1. International
2. National/domestic
3. Individual
In a globalized world, this distinction matters from a theoretical
perspective:
- National order vs. intl. anarchy
- Self-help
- "Level of analysis" framework is a type of theorizing
- Analytical tool to think & organize IR
Why is history important for IR? - ANSWER - Background to
contemporary events
- Distinguishing continuity from change
- Providing context behind theories and concepts
- Dating/benchmarking/periodization of IR is already interpreting &
theorizing
Significant historical IR dates - ANSWER 1500 - increase in
communication skills in trade
1648 - Peace of Westphalia
1919 - end of WW1, Treaty of Versailles
1945 - end of WW2
1989 - Fall of Berlin Wall, led to end of Cold War
Emergence of Westphalian System - ANSWER 1648 considered a
benchmark:
- Foundations in theory/practice of contemporary IR
- Historical origins of modern sovereign state
,- Institutionalization of domestic vs. international perspectives
Westphalia - important peace conference
- Outcome of Thirty Years' War
- "Whose realm, his religion"
Ideas of a Westphalian sovereign state:
1. Territoriality
2. Sovereignty
3. Autonomy
What is the myth of Westphalia? - ANSWER - 400 years long process
of implementation of "Westphalian" principles
- Eurocentrism: example being similar changes in China 770-221 BC,
during its feudal period, where Qin states' victory led to a centralized,
bureaucratic empire
- Multiple other regional international orders (Lawson) - other types of
political units & inter-units organization
Alternative argument about emergence of the sovereign state -
ANSWER - Charles Tilly - "Wars made the state and the state made
war"
- Evolutionary argument: explains that states compete for population,
territory and survival
1. Threat of war - rulers forced to defend borders
2. Larger, more centralized states, increased tax collection & military
recruitment
3. Expand representative rule & bureaucracy
4. Strong states survive, weak perish
Explanation for emergence of states & "state systems"
Legacies of the long 19th century - ANSWER 1. Rise of the West and
the "great divergence" (Pomeranz)
- Not in isolation, but due to previous global networks
, - Industrialization (& de-industrialization)
- Evolution of the state
- Tech changes (steamships, trains, telegraph
- Imperialism & colonialism
2. Emergence of unified intl. order
- Interdependence
- First IOs, international standards set
- Exploitation & inequality at global level
3. Why does this matter today?
- Manjari Miller's "Wronged by Empire"
- Early stages (historical context) of globalization & inequalities
- 1905: rise of the rest?
How did the World Wars impact IR? - ANSWER 1. Led to emergence of
IR discipline
- First IR debate: causes of WW1
- First chair of IR in 1919
- Structured the realism-liberalism debate
2. Changed nature of war and its implications
3. Further changing the state system
How did the Cold War impact IR? - ANSWER 1. Globalization of post-
WW2 politics
- From decolonization to cold-war rivalries
- Bipolar world
- Formation of long-term alliances
- Non-alignment of global south (Bandung Conference 1955)
2. Nuclear revolution - "long peace" sustained by mutual deterrence
3. Led to emergence of the institutionalized (liberal?) intl. order today
The End of History - ANSWER - Famous post-Cold War article from
Francis Fukuyama
LEIDEN UNIVERSITY IRO QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Why are IR concepts contested? - ANSWER - Definitions are rarely
consensual
- Meanings not fixed in time
- Ethnocentrism
Why are IR concepts useful? - ANSWER - Makes sense of reality
- Makes sure we're talking about the same thing
- Ensure some degree of constructive dialogue
- To develop and evaluate theories
What are theories? - ANSWER - Goes beyond mere description
- Interprets data
- Identify patterns, and regularities across space & time
- An explanation, answer to "why this happened?"
- Helps to describe, explain, anticipate, and prescribe
Why do we need theories? - ANSWER Real life is too complex
- Too many data points
- Too many variables
- Too many moving parts
Definition of a State - ANSWER According to Montevideo Convention
in 1933, four qualifications:
- A permanent population
- A defined territory
- Government
- Capacity to enter relations with other states
Problems with definition of a state - ANSWER 1. Declarative vs.
constitutive theory of statehood
2. Internal vs. external sovereignty
3. Creation of the state in practice - dynamic (can differ)
,Therefore, in IR theory, states are units of analysis - entities with well-
defined territory and recognized political authority
The "Relations" in IR? - ANSWER - Interactions (war and peace, trade,
intl. agreements)
- Bilateral vs. multilateral
- Any state actions (or inactions) which affect other states
- Not simply interstate relations (also transnational relations, NSAs...)
Levels of Analysis - ANSWER 1. International
2. National/domestic
3. Individual
In a globalized world, this distinction matters from a theoretical
perspective:
- National order vs. intl. anarchy
- Self-help
- "Level of analysis" framework is a type of theorizing
- Analytical tool to think & organize IR
Why is history important for IR? - ANSWER - Background to
contemporary events
- Distinguishing continuity from change
- Providing context behind theories and concepts
- Dating/benchmarking/periodization of IR is already interpreting &
theorizing
Significant historical IR dates - ANSWER 1500 - increase in
communication skills in trade
1648 - Peace of Westphalia
1919 - end of WW1, Treaty of Versailles
1945 - end of WW2
1989 - Fall of Berlin Wall, led to end of Cold War
Emergence of Westphalian System - ANSWER 1648 considered a
benchmark:
- Foundations in theory/practice of contemporary IR
- Historical origins of modern sovereign state
,- Institutionalization of domestic vs. international perspectives
Westphalia - important peace conference
- Outcome of Thirty Years' War
- "Whose realm, his religion"
Ideas of a Westphalian sovereign state:
1. Territoriality
2. Sovereignty
3. Autonomy
What is the myth of Westphalia? - ANSWER - 400 years long process
of implementation of "Westphalian" principles
- Eurocentrism: example being similar changes in China 770-221 BC,
during its feudal period, where Qin states' victory led to a centralized,
bureaucratic empire
- Multiple other regional international orders (Lawson) - other types of
political units & inter-units organization
Alternative argument about emergence of the sovereign state -
ANSWER - Charles Tilly - "Wars made the state and the state made
war"
- Evolutionary argument: explains that states compete for population,
territory and survival
1. Threat of war - rulers forced to defend borders
2. Larger, more centralized states, increased tax collection & military
recruitment
3. Expand representative rule & bureaucracy
4. Strong states survive, weak perish
Explanation for emergence of states & "state systems"
Legacies of the long 19th century - ANSWER 1. Rise of the West and
the "great divergence" (Pomeranz)
- Not in isolation, but due to previous global networks
, - Industrialization (& de-industrialization)
- Evolution of the state
- Tech changes (steamships, trains, telegraph
- Imperialism & colonialism
2. Emergence of unified intl. order
- Interdependence
- First IOs, international standards set
- Exploitation & inequality at global level
3. Why does this matter today?
- Manjari Miller's "Wronged by Empire"
- Early stages (historical context) of globalization & inequalities
- 1905: rise of the rest?
How did the World Wars impact IR? - ANSWER 1. Led to emergence of
IR discipline
- First IR debate: causes of WW1
- First chair of IR in 1919
- Structured the realism-liberalism debate
2. Changed nature of war and its implications
3. Further changing the state system
How did the Cold War impact IR? - ANSWER 1. Globalization of post-
WW2 politics
- From decolonization to cold-war rivalries
- Bipolar world
- Formation of long-term alliances
- Non-alignment of global south (Bandung Conference 1955)
2. Nuclear revolution - "long peace" sustained by mutual deterrence
3. Led to emergence of the institutionalized (liberal?) intl. order today
The End of History - ANSWER - Famous post-Cold War article from
Francis Fukuyama
