Intro

Question 1

Components of an international system (not necessarily fixed)

Answer 1

• actors: organisations that play a significant role in shaping the system, not necessarily states, includes tribes, kingdoms, multinational corporations
• boundaries: historically regional boundaries
• structures: organisation of dominant and subordinate actors and parties e.g. multipolar system - more than two (or three) dominant actor that determines what occurs in the system they operate in, bipolar - two dominant actors - their voice carries more weight, unipolar - one dominant actor
  
  • state or non-state actors?
• rules: or norms of behaviour to enable interaction between actors e.g. attitudes towards use of nuclear weapons, violence against women

Question 2

Greek historical pol. system

Answer 2

• 800-431 BC
  
  • polarity: multipolar, polis or city states considered ideal form of human existence - all treated equal, some subordinate states, military (to protect trade routes) and non-military colonies
  • orientation/rules: little interaction, inward orientation, restrictive citizenship - women and slaves had no representation
• 431-322 BC
  
  • polarity: bipolarity - Athens and Sparta as 2 centres of power
  • orientation/rules: greater interaction between city states - conflicts and alliances, representation, space created for Macedonia

Question 3

Chinese historical pol. system

Answer 3

• Western Chou (1122-771 BC):
  
  • polarity: unipolar, Emperor was son of heaven with ultimate authority who created circles of territory in order of significance
  • orientation/rules: inward orientation, Emperor decided what needed to be done and his ideas commanded loyalty, boundaries marked by non-Chinese (‘barbarians’)
• Spring and Autumn (771-483 BC):
  
  • polarity: slightly bipolar, myth of emperor’s unity with emergence of centres of power away from the Emperor, domination of smaller states by the more powerful bipolar structures
  • orientation/rules: interactive with focus on both interactions and competition
• Warring States (403-221 BC)
  
  • polarity: weak operation of alliances with increase in fluidity of understanding of rules
  • orientation/rules: annihilation as opposed to ‘civil’ rules of war

Question 4

Indian historical pol. system

Answer 4

• historically: kingdoms or principalities similar to Chinese and Greek system, became mostly unipolar before it broke down and again formed smaller principalities

Question 5

Hedley Bull view on society vs. distinct systems

Answer 5

• a group of states, conscious of common interests and common values, [who] form a society in the sense that they conceive themselves to be bound by a common set of rules in their relations with one another, and share in the workings of common institutions.
• international society is formed because, recognising certain common interests and perhaps some common values, they regard themselves as bound by certain rules in their dealings with one another, such as that they should respect one another’s claims to independence, that they should honour agreements into which they enter, and that they should be subject to certain limitations in exercising force against one another

Question 6

Describe the concert of Europe

Answer 6

• starts breaking barriers between individual international systems, broke geographical boundaries
• established in 1815
• founded on balance of power (codified this concept), sovereignty, all states were equal, multipolar system but combined with hierarchical inequality
• gave way to different world structure after WWI and WWII with America and Japan emerging as independent powers
• Cold War: reshaped the major actors in the world, founded on basis of equality however countries in alliances with America and Russia were subordinate to their superpower