History of International Relations
History of International Relations.........................................................................................1
Chapter 1 : The Founding Myth of Westphalia (1648-...).............................................. 6
1) The Significance of Westphalia................................................................................ 6
Historical Background.............................................................................................6
Significance to IR....................................................................................................6
2) Limits of Westphalia................................................................................................. 7
Limit 1 : 1648 is an arbitrary date........................................................................... 7
Limit 2 : Insisting on Westphalia is Eurocentric...................................................... 7
Limit 3 : European history cannot be reduced to events happening on the
European continent................................................................................................ 8
Reading : The Peace of Westphalia (chapter 37)...................................................8
Summary chapter 1................................................................................................ 9
Chapter 2 : The Struggle for Power in Early Modern Europe (1500-1700)................ 10
1) The Protagonists.................................................................................................... 10
Great Powers of the Time.....................................................................................10
2) The Events............................................................................................................. 11
Proxy wars and civil wars..................................................................................... 11
Wars that led to fragmentation........................................................................ 11
Wars that led to centralization and the emergence of ‘proto-nation-states’....12
Great Power wars.................................................................................................13
3) Consequences....................................................................................................... 14
Triumph of anarchy as the organizing principle of European politics............. 14
Sovereignty was (partially) consecrated as the internal organizing principle of
European States............................................................................................. 14
Summary chapter 2.............................................................................................. 15
Chapter 3 : The French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars (1789-1815).................... 16
1) The Protagonists.................................................................................................... 16
2) The Events............................................................................................................. 17
Background.......................................................................................................... 17
The Revolution..................................................................................................... 18
The war.................................................................................................................18
French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802)........................................................18
Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815)........................................................................18
Significance for the genesis of the modern sovereign state................................. 20
The invention of the levée en masse.............................................................. 20
Watershed moment in military history and history of nationalism...................20
Institution of national debt markets................................................................. 21
Charles Tilly : Coercion, capital and European States......................................... 21
The system : the Continental System...................................................................22
Economic ‘self-blockade’ of the European Continent - Berlin decrees 1806..22
3) The consequences.................................................................................................23
1
, The Concert of Europe......................................................................................... 23
Liberalism and Nationalism.................................................................................. 24
Summary chapter 3.............................................................................................. 24
Chapter 4 : Colonialism and Rise and Fall of the European Company-State
(1600-1858)......................................................................................................................25
Introduction.................................................................................................................25
1) The protagonists.................................................................................................... 25
English East India Company, Royal African Company and Hudson Bay
Company (1660-1752)....................................................................................25
Dutch East India and West India Companies (1621-1792).............................26
Non-European powers....................................................................................26
2) The events............................................................................................................. 28
Background : First century of Spanish and Portuguese Colonization of the
Americas...............................................................................................................28
Company-state form....................................................................................... 28
The colonization of Indonesia...............................................................................30
The colonization of India.......................................................................................31
The collapse of the Mughal Empire................................................................ 31
Atlantic Trade........................................................................................................32
1) Dutch West India Company........................................................................32
2) Royal African Company..............................................................................33
The colonization of North America....................................................................... 34
3) The consequences.................................................................................................35
A) The first international system........................................................................... 35
B) Industrial Revolution........................................................................................ 35
Summary chapter 4.............................................................................................. 36
Chapter 5 : The Long 19th Century (Part 1) : The Concert of Europe and Balance of
Power (1815-1914).......................................................................................................... 37
Introduction.................................................................................................................37
1) Protagonists........................................................................................................... 38
Britain............................................................................................................. 38
France............................................................................................................ 38
Russia.............................................................................................................38
Austria-Hungary..............................................................................................38
Prussia / Germany.......................................................................................... 39
2) The events............................................................................................................. 39
Background.......................................................................................................... 39
Concert of Europe (1)..................................................................................... 39
Socio-economic dynamics.............................................................................. 39
Revolutions of 1848..............................................................................................40
Three major groups........................................................................................ 40
The Revolutions..............................................................................................41
The ‘Eastern Question’......................................................................................... 42
A Threat to the Concert of Europe..................................................................42
The Crimean War (1853-1856).......................................................................43
2
, The Unification of Germany..................................................................................43
The unification - Prussia................................................................................. 43
Germany - 1871..............................................................................................44
3) The consequences.................................................................................................45
A) The material conditions of the First Globalization............................................ 45
B) ‘New Imperialism’.............................................................................................45
Osterhammel - Bleak and fatalistic................................................................. 46
Summary chapter 5.............................................................................................. 46
Chapter 6 : The Long 19th Century (part 2) : The First Globalization (1815-1914)...47
Introduction.................................................................................................................47
1) Protagonists........................................................................................................... 49
European powers........................................................................................... 49
United States.................................................................................................. 49
Japan.............................................................................................................. 49
Qing Empire (China)....................................................................................... 49
2) The events............................................................................................................. 50
The Great Game...................................................................................................50
Halford Mackinder : Geographic Pivot of History............................................50
Unequal Treaties.................................................................................................. 50
China.............................................................................................................. 50
Scramble for Africa............................................................................................... 52
Russo-Japanese War of 1905.............................................................................. 52
Why this was globally significant.................................................................... 53
3) The consequences.................................................................................................53
A) The world was set on a trajectory of uneven development..............................53
B) Leading to ‘late developing nationalisms’ to emerge....................................... 54
Japan.............................................................................................................. 54
Summary chapter 6.............................................................................................. 54
Chapter 7 : WWI and ‘the end of Nineteenth Century Civilization’ (1914-1939)....... 55
Introduction.................................................................................................................55
1) Protagonists........................................................................................................... 55
British Empire................................................................................................. 55
France (Third Republic and Empire).............................................................. 55
Germany (Imperial, Weimar and later Nazi)................................................... 55
Russia, Soviet Union...................................................................................... 56
Japanese Empire............................................................................................56
USA................................................................................................................ 56
2) The events............................................................................................................. 56
World War 1..........................................................................................................56
Triggers of WWI..............................................................................................57
Reality of WWI................................................................................................ 57
The 1917 Russian Revolution.............................................................................. 58
February Revolution....................................................................................... 58
October Revolution......................................................................................... 58
3
, Era of political radicalism................................................................................ 59
Economic order.................................................................................................... 59
Why the system no longer fit after WWI......................................................... 59
Global security order............................................................................................ 60
The League of Nations................................................................................... 60
The Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)..................................................................... 60
3) Consequences....................................................................................................... 61
1) Economic ‘New Deal’....................................................................................... 61
2) Fragmentation of the world economy............................................................... 61
Summary chapter 7.............................................................................................. 61
Chapter 8 : World War II and founding of the post-1945 International Order
(1939-1945)......................................................................................................................62
Introduction.................................................................................................................62
1) The protagonists.................................................................................................... 62
Axis powers.......................................................................................................... 62
The allies.............................................................................................................. 63
2) The Events............................................................................................................. 63
The Eastern Front / Generalplan Ost................................................................... 63
The words of Hitler as evidence..................................................................... 64
How was a country like Germany convinced by this genocidal ideology?......65
Misreading by other powers........................................................................... 66
Pacific war and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.........................67
Collision with the United states.......................................................................68
Rise of American power in Asia......................................................................69
The Founding of a New International Order......................................................... 69
Spheres of influence....................................................................................... 70
Japan.............................................................................................................. 70
3) The Consequences................................................................................................ 71
A) A prelude to the Cold War................................................................................71
The Long Telegram.........................................................................................71
The Greek Civil War (1946-1949)...................................................................71
The Berlin Airlift (1948-1949)..........................................................................71
B) An ‘embedded liberal order’.............................................................................71
Summary chapter 8.............................................................................................. 72
Chapter 9 : The Cold War, Liberalism and Birth of European Communities
(1945-1985)......................................................................................................................72
Introduction.................................................................................................................72
1) The Protagonists.................................................................................................... 73
The US - Empire of Liberty................................................................................... 73
State power of the US.................................................................................... 74
The Soviet Union - Empire of Justice................................................................... 74
2) The Events............................................................................................................. 76
Cold War in the ‘Third World’................................................................................76
The Soviet approach to the Third World......................................................... 76
4
History of International Relations.........................................................................................1
Chapter 1 : The Founding Myth of Westphalia (1648-...).............................................. 6
1) The Significance of Westphalia................................................................................ 6
Historical Background.............................................................................................6
Significance to IR....................................................................................................6
2) Limits of Westphalia................................................................................................. 7
Limit 1 : 1648 is an arbitrary date........................................................................... 7
Limit 2 : Insisting on Westphalia is Eurocentric...................................................... 7
Limit 3 : European history cannot be reduced to events happening on the
European continent................................................................................................ 8
Reading : The Peace of Westphalia (chapter 37)...................................................8
Summary chapter 1................................................................................................ 9
Chapter 2 : The Struggle for Power in Early Modern Europe (1500-1700)................ 10
1) The Protagonists.................................................................................................... 10
Great Powers of the Time.....................................................................................10
2) The Events............................................................................................................. 11
Proxy wars and civil wars..................................................................................... 11
Wars that led to fragmentation........................................................................ 11
Wars that led to centralization and the emergence of ‘proto-nation-states’....12
Great Power wars.................................................................................................13
3) Consequences....................................................................................................... 14
Triumph of anarchy as the organizing principle of European politics............. 14
Sovereignty was (partially) consecrated as the internal organizing principle of
European States............................................................................................. 14
Summary chapter 2.............................................................................................. 15
Chapter 3 : The French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars (1789-1815).................... 16
1) The Protagonists.................................................................................................... 16
2) The Events............................................................................................................. 17
Background.......................................................................................................... 17
The Revolution..................................................................................................... 18
The war.................................................................................................................18
French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802)........................................................18
Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815)........................................................................18
Significance for the genesis of the modern sovereign state................................. 20
The invention of the levée en masse.............................................................. 20
Watershed moment in military history and history of nationalism...................20
Institution of national debt markets................................................................. 21
Charles Tilly : Coercion, capital and European States......................................... 21
The system : the Continental System...................................................................22
Economic ‘self-blockade’ of the European Continent - Berlin decrees 1806..22
3) The consequences.................................................................................................23
1
, The Concert of Europe......................................................................................... 23
Liberalism and Nationalism.................................................................................. 24
Summary chapter 3.............................................................................................. 24
Chapter 4 : Colonialism and Rise and Fall of the European Company-State
(1600-1858)......................................................................................................................25
Introduction.................................................................................................................25
1) The protagonists.................................................................................................... 25
English East India Company, Royal African Company and Hudson Bay
Company (1660-1752)....................................................................................25
Dutch East India and West India Companies (1621-1792).............................26
Non-European powers....................................................................................26
2) The events............................................................................................................. 28
Background : First century of Spanish and Portuguese Colonization of the
Americas...............................................................................................................28
Company-state form....................................................................................... 28
The colonization of Indonesia...............................................................................30
The colonization of India.......................................................................................31
The collapse of the Mughal Empire................................................................ 31
Atlantic Trade........................................................................................................32
1) Dutch West India Company........................................................................32
2) Royal African Company..............................................................................33
The colonization of North America....................................................................... 34
3) The consequences.................................................................................................35
A) The first international system........................................................................... 35
B) Industrial Revolution........................................................................................ 35
Summary chapter 4.............................................................................................. 36
Chapter 5 : The Long 19th Century (Part 1) : The Concert of Europe and Balance of
Power (1815-1914).......................................................................................................... 37
Introduction.................................................................................................................37
1) Protagonists........................................................................................................... 38
Britain............................................................................................................. 38
France............................................................................................................ 38
Russia.............................................................................................................38
Austria-Hungary..............................................................................................38
Prussia / Germany.......................................................................................... 39
2) The events............................................................................................................. 39
Background.......................................................................................................... 39
Concert of Europe (1)..................................................................................... 39
Socio-economic dynamics.............................................................................. 39
Revolutions of 1848..............................................................................................40
Three major groups........................................................................................ 40
The Revolutions..............................................................................................41
The ‘Eastern Question’......................................................................................... 42
A Threat to the Concert of Europe..................................................................42
The Crimean War (1853-1856).......................................................................43
2
, The Unification of Germany..................................................................................43
The unification - Prussia................................................................................. 43
Germany - 1871..............................................................................................44
3) The consequences.................................................................................................45
A) The material conditions of the First Globalization............................................ 45
B) ‘New Imperialism’.............................................................................................45
Osterhammel - Bleak and fatalistic................................................................. 46
Summary chapter 5.............................................................................................. 46
Chapter 6 : The Long 19th Century (part 2) : The First Globalization (1815-1914)...47
Introduction.................................................................................................................47
1) Protagonists........................................................................................................... 49
European powers........................................................................................... 49
United States.................................................................................................. 49
Japan.............................................................................................................. 49
Qing Empire (China)....................................................................................... 49
2) The events............................................................................................................. 50
The Great Game...................................................................................................50
Halford Mackinder : Geographic Pivot of History............................................50
Unequal Treaties.................................................................................................. 50
China.............................................................................................................. 50
Scramble for Africa............................................................................................... 52
Russo-Japanese War of 1905.............................................................................. 52
Why this was globally significant.................................................................... 53
3) The consequences.................................................................................................53
A) The world was set on a trajectory of uneven development..............................53
B) Leading to ‘late developing nationalisms’ to emerge....................................... 54
Japan.............................................................................................................. 54
Summary chapter 6.............................................................................................. 54
Chapter 7 : WWI and ‘the end of Nineteenth Century Civilization’ (1914-1939)....... 55
Introduction.................................................................................................................55
1) Protagonists........................................................................................................... 55
British Empire................................................................................................. 55
France (Third Republic and Empire).............................................................. 55
Germany (Imperial, Weimar and later Nazi)................................................... 55
Russia, Soviet Union...................................................................................... 56
Japanese Empire............................................................................................56
USA................................................................................................................ 56
2) The events............................................................................................................. 56
World War 1..........................................................................................................56
Triggers of WWI..............................................................................................57
Reality of WWI................................................................................................ 57
The 1917 Russian Revolution.............................................................................. 58
February Revolution....................................................................................... 58
October Revolution......................................................................................... 58
3
, Era of political radicalism................................................................................ 59
Economic order.................................................................................................... 59
Why the system no longer fit after WWI......................................................... 59
Global security order............................................................................................ 60
The League of Nations................................................................................... 60
The Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)..................................................................... 60
3) Consequences....................................................................................................... 61
1) Economic ‘New Deal’....................................................................................... 61
2) Fragmentation of the world economy............................................................... 61
Summary chapter 7.............................................................................................. 61
Chapter 8 : World War II and founding of the post-1945 International Order
(1939-1945)......................................................................................................................62
Introduction.................................................................................................................62
1) The protagonists.................................................................................................... 62
Axis powers.......................................................................................................... 62
The allies.............................................................................................................. 63
2) The Events............................................................................................................. 63
The Eastern Front / Generalplan Ost................................................................... 63
The words of Hitler as evidence..................................................................... 64
How was a country like Germany convinced by this genocidal ideology?......65
Misreading by other powers........................................................................... 66
Pacific war and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.........................67
Collision with the United states.......................................................................68
Rise of American power in Asia......................................................................69
The Founding of a New International Order......................................................... 69
Spheres of influence....................................................................................... 70
Japan.............................................................................................................. 70
3) The Consequences................................................................................................ 71
A) A prelude to the Cold War................................................................................71
The Long Telegram.........................................................................................71
The Greek Civil War (1946-1949)...................................................................71
The Berlin Airlift (1948-1949)..........................................................................71
B) An ‘embedded liberal order’.............................................................................71
Summary chapter 8.............................................................................................. 72
Chapter 9 : The Cold War, Liberalism and Birth of European Communities
(1945-1985)......................................................................................................................72
Introduction.................................................................................................................72
1) The Protagonists.................................................................................................... 73
The US - Empire of Liberty................................................................................... 73
State power of the US.................................................................................... 74
The Soviet Union - Empire of Justice................................................................... 74
2) The Events............................................................................................................. 76
Cold War in the ‘Third World’................................................................................76
The Soviet approach to the Third World......................................................... 76
4
