International Relations
International Relations ............................................................................................................. 1
LECTURE 1 – Introduction/Historical Background .....................................................................2
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 1 (5th edition) – Why Study IR? ....................................................................2
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 2 (5th edition) – IR as an Academic Subject .................................................6
LECTURE 2 – Realism and Liberalism ........................................................................................10
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 3 (5th edition) – Realism .............................................................................10
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 4 (5th edition) – Liberalism .........................................................................13
LECTURE 3 – Social Constructivism ...........................................................................................17
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 7 (8th edition) – Social Constructivism .......................................................17
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 8 (5th edition) – Social Constructivism .......................................................17
LECTURE 4 – Postpositivist Approaches: Poststructuralism, Postcolonialism, Feminism ....19
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 8 (8th edition) – Post-positivist Approaches: Post-structuralism,
Postcolonialism, Feminism...........................................................................................................................19
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 9 (5th edition) – Post-Positivism in IR ........................................................19
PowerPoint & Lecture Notes ........................................................................................................................20
LECTURE 5 – The Ethics of Globalization ..................................................................................23
Singer Chapter 1 – A Changing World ........................................................................................................23
Singer Chapter 2 – One Atmosphere ............................................................................................................23
Singer Chapter 3 – One Economy ................................................................................................................24
PowerPoint & Lecture Notes ........................................................................................................................24
LECTURE 6 – Security and Conflict ............................................................................................28
Mingst, McKibben Chapter 6 – War and Security .......................................................................................28
PowerPoint & Lecture Notes ........................................................................................................................33
LECTURE 7 – Foreign Policy ........................................................................................................36
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 9 (8th edition) – Foreign Policy ...................................................................36
PowerPoint & Lecture Notes ........................................................................................................................38
LECTURE 8 – Trade and Development .......................................................................................42
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 6 (8th edition) – International Political Economy: Marxism, Mercantilism,
Liberalism .....................................................................................................................................................42
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 10 (8th edition) – Major Issues in IPE: Economic versus Political Power,
Development, Globalization, How to Study the Real World .......................................................................45
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 7 (5th edition) – International Political Economy: Contemporary Debates 50
PowerPoint and Lecture Notes .....................................................................................................................53
LECTURE 9 – Major Issues and Future of IR.............................................................................57
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 11 (8th edition) – Major Issues in IR: Climate Change, Terrorism, Religion,
Power, and Hegemony..................................................................................................................................57
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 12 (8th edition) – The Big Question: World Order or World Chaos? .........58
PowerPoint and Lecture Notes .....................................................................................................................59
1
,LECTURE 1 – Introduction/Historical Background
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 1 (5th edition) – Why Study IR?
We should study IR to understand other ways that people live. A state or nation in
unambiguous and has a clear territory. A sovereign state is free from jurisdiction from other
states.
States should uphold 5 basic values:
1. Security → armed states are competing rivals and often go to war with each other
(realist theory).
2. Freedom → upholding personal and national freedom (independence).
3. Order → making sure that states can co-exist. States often have the same principles or
goals.
4. Justice → upholding international law and diplomacy if states follow the same principle
of justice.
5. Welfare → upholding a population’s socio-economic wealth and welfare. States now
try to implement national policies that will benefit the international economy → since
every state is dependent on international economy. This economic interdependence
increases the overall marketplace but can also promote inequality.
Peace and progressive change are key element in IR → this can be seen as a liberal theory.
States are responsible actors for the common interest and preserving international order and
justice.
States suffer from the social dilemma, since they can both harm (by doing thinks that may hurt
a specific group but benefit the greater good) but also protect their citizens. Some states use
military forces protect themselves and without a world government to constrain them →
follows the problem of national security.
States are all very interconnected. An example of the understanding of this would be the global
inflation of the 1970s and 1980s by the increase of the oil prices and the effect that this had on
other states.
Conventional IR theory regard the state as a valuable core institution of modern life.
Traditional IR theory recognize the importance of the basic values that states should provide.
Liberals, on that note, emphasize the values of freedom and justice.
2
, Theories Focus
Realism Security – power politics, conflict, war.
Liberalism Freedom – cooperation, peace, progress.
International Society Order and justice – shared interests, rules,
institutions.
IPE Theories Welfare – wealth, poverty, equality.
Views on the State
Traditional View Alternative or Revisionist View
Positive view (developed states) Negative view (underdeveloped states)
States are valuable and necessary – they States and the state system are social choices
provide the key values. – they create more problems than they solve.
People benefit from the state system. Majority of people suffer more from the state
system than benefit.
The state system is a historical institution and a social organization. In the past, state systems
have always seemed to adapt to historical changes. The state system and modernity are related
historically. Because of the system of territorial states (conquering states to add to your own)
in Europe started the modern era. Diplomacy can also be seen as a historical notion.
The biggest problem in IR is the relations between various independent political groups with
different views on collective outcomes.
In medieval times, wars were fought to win territory not to fight issues of rights and wrongs.
One of the major effects of the rise of the modern state was the monopoly on means of warfare.
Warfare became a more important notion in everyday life.
Traditional view: the change from medieval to modern times eventually led to the
establishment of states (in Europe). Only states are seen as legitimate actors. This is usually
identified with the Thirty Years War (1618-48) and the Peace of Westphalia.
The emergent of the state system had a few important characteristics:
1. All states must be legitimately recognized.
2. Recognition is only legitimate when it’s within European borders.
3. States are subject to international law and diplomacy.
4. There is a balance of power → no hegemony.
3
, Traditionalists are historicists and empiricists → they see evidence of the birth of the
modern state in history.
Revisionist view: no real-life event has led to the establishment of states. Revisionists
claim that traditionalists are mythmakers.
Revisionists are constructivists and critical theorists → they see the history of Westphalia
as a construction made by IR scholars that failed to see the reality of history.
Western imperialism (trade between the West and its colonies) led to the first time a
formation and operation of a global economy. The European imperialism led to a few
points:
• European states made alliances with non-European political systems.
o European states conquered new types of political systems and applied them
to their already existing systems.
▪ These colonized states became part of the European empire.
• Some of these colonies fell part under European populations.
o Europeans were not planning to incorporate any non-
Western political systems.
There were various stages of globalization of the state system:
1. Countries that escaped colonization were still obliged to accept Western rules → like
the Ottoman Empire or Japan.
2. Anticolonialism → by fighting for independence by colonized states.
3. Dissolution of the Soviet Union, the breakup of Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, and
the end of the Cold War.
International politics becomes more complex because of the growing variation of ideologies.
The sovereign state can be seen as a contested theoretical concept.
The state has 2 different dimensions which are both divided into 2 broad categories:
- DIMENSION 1: state as a government vs. state as a country:
1. State as a government → highest governing authority in a country (internal aspect
of the state)
The state has state-society relations.
4
International Relations ............................................................................................................. 1
LECTURE 1 – Introduction/Historical Background .....................................................................2
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 1 (5th edition) – Why Study IR? ....................................................................2
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 2 (5th edition) – IR as an Academic Subject .................................................6
LECTURE 2 – Realism and Liberalism ........................................................................................10
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 3 (5th edition) – Realism .............................................................................10
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 4 (5th edition) – Liberalism .........................................................................13
LECTURE 3 – Social Constructivism ...........................................................................................17
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 7 (8th edition) – Social Constructivism .......................................................17
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 8 (5th edition) – Social Constructivism .......................................................17
LECTURE 4 – Postpositivist Approaches: Poststructuralism, Postcolonialism, Feminism ....19
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 8 (8th edition) – Post-positivist Approaches: Post-structuralism,
Postcolonialism, Feminism...........................................................................................................................19
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 9 (5th edition) – Post-Positivism in IR ........................................................19
PowerPoint & Lecture Notes ........................................................................................................................20
LECTURE 5 – The Ethics of Globalization ..................................................................................23
Singer Chapter 1 – A Changing World ........................................................................................................23
Singer Chapter 2 – One Atmosphere ............................................................................................................23
Singer Chapter 3 – One Economy ................................................................................................................24
PowerPoint & Lecture Notes ........................................................................................................................24
LECTURE 6 – Security and Conflict ............................................................................................28
Mingst, McKibben Chapter 6 – War and Security .......................................................................................28
PowerPoint & Lecture Notes ........................................................................................................................33
LECTURE 7 – Foreign Policy ........................................................................................................36
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 9 (8th edition) – Foreign Policy ...................................................................36
PowerPoint & Lecture Notes ........................................................................................................................38
LECTURE 8 – Trade and Development .......................................................................................42
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 6 (8th edition) – International Political Economy: Marxism, Mercantilism,
Liberalism .....................................................................................................................................................42
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 10 (8th edition) – Major Issues in IPE: Economic versus Political Power,
Development, Globalization, How to Study the Real World .......................................................................45
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 7 (5th edition) – International Political Economy: Contemporary Debates 50
PowerPoint and Lecture Notes .....................................................................................................................53
LECTURE 9 – Major Issues and Future of IR.............................................................................57
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 11 (8th edition) – Major Issues in IR: Climate Change, Terrorism, Religion,
Power, and Hegemony..................................................................................................................................57
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 12 (8th edition) – The Big Question: World Order or World Chaos? .........58
PowerPoint and Lecture Notes .....................................................................................................................59
1
,LECTURE 1 – Introduction/Historical Background
Jackson and Sørensen Chapter 1 (5th edition) – Why Study IR?
We should study IR to understand other ways that people live. A state or nation in
unambiguous and has a clear territory. A sovereign state is free from jurisdiction from other
states.
States should uphold 5 basic values:
1. Security → armed states are competing rivals and often go to war with each other
(realist theory).
2. Freedom → upholding personal and national freedom (independence).
3. Order → making sure that states can co-exist. States often have the same principles or
goals.
4. Justice → upholding international law and diplomacy if states follow the same principle
of justice.
5. Welfare → upholding a population’s socio-economic wealth and welfare. States now
try to implement national policies that will benefit the international economy → since
every state is dependent on international economy. This economic interdependence
increases the overall marketplace but can also promote inequality.
Peace and progressive change are key element in IR → this can be seen as a liberal theory.
States are responsible actors for the common interest and preserving international order and
justice.
States suffer from the social dilemma, since they can both harm (by doing thinks that may hurt
a specific group but benefit the greater good) but also protect their citizens. Some states use
military forces protect themselves and without a world government to constrain them →
follows the problem of national security.
States are all very interconnected. An example of the understanding of this would be the global
inflation of the 1970s and 1980s by the increase of the oil prices and the effect that this had on
other states.
Conventional IR theory regard the state as a valuable core institution of modern life.
Traditional IR theory recognize the importance of the basic values that states should provide.
Liberals, on that note, emphasize the values of freedom and justice.
2
, Theories Focus
Realism Security – power politics, conflict, war.
Liberalism Freedom – cooperation, peace, progress.
International Society Order and justice – shared interests, rules,
institutions.
IPE Theories Welfare – wealth, poverty, equality.
Views on the State
Traditional View Alternative or Revisionist View
Positive view (developed states) Negative view (underdeveloped states)
States are valuable and necessary – they States and the state system are social choices
provide the key values. – they create more problems than they solve.
People benefit from the state system. Majority of people suffer more from the state
system than benefit.
The state system is a historical institution and a social organization. In the past, state systems
have always seemed to adapt to historical changes. The state system and modernity are related
historically. Because of the system of territorial states (conquering states to add to your own)
in Europe started the modern era. Diplomacy can also be seen as a historical notion.
The biggest problem in IR is the relations between various independent political groups with
different views on collective outcomes.
In medieval times, wars were fought to win territory not to fight issues of rights and wrongs.
One of the major effects of the rise of the modern state was the monopoly on means of warfare.
Warfare became a more important notion in everyday life.
Traditional view: the change from medieval to modern times eventually led to the
establishment of states (in Europe). Only states are seen as legitimate actors. This is usually
identified with the Thirty Years War (1618-48) and the Peace of Westphalia.
The emergent of the state system had a few important characteristics:
1. All states must be legitimately recognized.
2. Recognition is only legitimate when it’s within European borders.
3. States are subject to international law and diplomacy.
4. There is a balance of power → no hegemony.
3
, Traditionalists are historicists and empiricists → they see evidence of the birth of the
modern state in history.
Revisionist view: no real-life event has led to the establishment of states. Revisionists
claim that traditionalists are mythmakers.
Revisionists are constructivists and critical theorists → they see the history of Westphalia
as a construction made by IR scholars that failed to see the reality of history.
Western imperialism (trade between the West and its colonies) led to the first time a
formation and operation of a global economy. The European imperialism led to a few
points:
• European states made alliances with non-European political systems.
o European states conquered new types of political systems and applied them
to their already existing systems.
▪ These colonized states became part of the European empire.
• Some of these colonies fell part under European populations.
o Europeans were not planning to incorporate any non-
Western political systems.
There were various stages of globalization of the state system:
1. Countries that escaped colonization were still obliged to accept Western rules → like
the Ottoman Empire or Japan.
2. Anticolonialism → by fighting for independence by colonized states.
3. Dissolution of the Soviet Union, the breakup of Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, and
the end of the Cold War.
International politics becomes more complex because of the growing variation of ideologies.
The sovereign state can be seen as a contested theoretical concept.
The state has 2 different dimensions which are both divided into 2 broad categories:
- DIMENSION 1: state as a government vs. state as a country:
1. State as a government → highest governing authority in a country (internal aspect
of the state)
The state has state-society relations.
4
