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IR: A Very Short Introduction > States > Flashcards

States Flashcards

1
Q

Do we live in a world in which states are still the key actors in international relations?

A

Yes

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2
Q

Why are states still important?

A

As there is no world government and no system of world law enforcement

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3
Q

In which ancient empires do we find some the key characteristics of the state emerging?

A

Egypt, Persia, China and Rome

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4
Q

What were the key characteristics of the state to emerge from the ancient empires of Egypt, Persia, China and Rome?

A
  • Rulers employ officials to enforce their decrees
  • Armies of full-time soldiers to repel enemies
  • Complex legal codes developed
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5
Q

What have the legal systems of contemporary Europe been greatly influenced by?

A

Roman law

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6
Q

What is it important to note from the Italian city-states of the Renaissance period?

A

One of the most important precursors of the modern state:

Increasing secularism

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7
Q

What came about with the Reformation in Europe + the clear separation of church and state?

A

The conditions emerged for the development of a truly modern state system in Europe in which

  • no single state is recognised as the hegemony
  • all member states agree to recognise each other’s rights to sovereignty
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8
Q

When was the true beginning of the modern state system in Europe?

A

The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 which marked the end of the Thirty Years War

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9
Q

What was the Thirty Years War?

A

International conflict between Holy Roman Empire and the powerful sovereign states (eg. France), which sought to ensure they obtained strategic + defensive frontiers

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10
Q

What was the impact of the Peace of Westphalia (1648) on the Holy Roman Empire?

A
  • Power + authority drastically curtailed
  • No longer permitted to raise troops, declare wars or make peace, or raise taxes without the consent of members of the state system
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11
Q

According to international law, what do states have to possess?

A
  • A defined territory
  • A permanent population
  • A government which is capable of maintaining effective control over its territory + conducting relations with other states
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12
Q

Do states always meet the criteria as set out by international law?

A

No

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13
Q

In what ways do states struggle to meet the criteria set out by international law?

A
  • Many states struggle to maintain control over their territory
  • Do not have control of armed forces, resulting in civil wars + insurgents
  • This leaves whole areas of country under control of rebel leaders (e.g. Afghanistan, Burma, Somalia)
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14
Q

Why are states that struggle to meet the criteria set out by international law still regarded as states?

A
  • Still receive international recognition
  • Sign agreements with other states
  • Send delegates to the UN
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15
Q

Why is even external recognition not an absolute criterion of statehood?

A
  • For decades US withheld diplomatic recognition from communist China
  • External recognition does not have to be universally accorded before statehood can be achieved
  • Enough to have external recognition from considerable no. of powers + especially UN
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16
Q

What is the name of states that have been recognised by the UN as achieving full statehood?

A

Nation-state

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17
Q

Why is the term ‘nation-state’ useful?

A
  • Almost all sovereign states seek to foster a sense of national identity and loyalty
  • eg. an Indian nationalism which transcends local loyalties
  • in the UK still strong British nationalism
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18
Q

What is a strong sense of British nationalism rooted in?

A
  • Shared monarchy
  • Common central government
  • Long experience of close political, economic + social interaction in times of peace and war
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19
Q

Whilst ‘nation-state’ is in common usage and almost every state in the global states system engages in some form of ‘nation building’ activity, why is there a huge amount of tension, hostility and conflict between ‘state’ and ‘nation’?

A
  • Many ethnic minorities are rule by states they never chose to join
  • Some (eg. Kurds) found their populations divided by political frontiers created during European colonisation, only to be reaffirmed by new elites in the decolonisation process
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20
Q

Since the implosion of the Former Soviet Union in 1989-90, which country has been the world’s only superpower?

A

US

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21
Q

Why is the US the global superpower?

A
  • US has the biggest economy
  • Greatest purchasing power of any state
  • Unique capability for rapid deployment of its forces, as shown in conflicts in Balkans and Middle East
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22
Q

What does the US’ superpower status depend upon?

A

Huge economic strength + high levels of military expenditure, only made possible by US’ unique wealth

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23
Q

Why is it important for the UK to maintain its ‘special relationship’ with the US?

A
  • Enormous assets US brings to the North Atlantic Alliance
  • Damage that would be inflicted on British interests around the world if the relationship with the US were to be put at risk
  • Through British failure to act in accord with US foreign policy
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24
Q

Name an example of when Britain failed to act in accord with US foreign policy

A

The Suez Crisis of 1956

  • Prime Minister Anthony Eden conspired to invade Egypt
  • With the aim of stopping Nasser from nationalising the Suez Canal
  • US President threatened to pull plug on Pound Sterling as a result
  • Anthony Eden was forced to resign
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25
Q

Why should the UK not automatically fall in with the wishes of the US?

A
  • Difference between mere subservience + genuine alliance
  • UK is an independent sovereign state + its national interests do not always coincide with those of the US
  • eg. UK made wise decision to abstain from Vietnam war, which cost US, Vietnam + Cambodia huge loss of life and wealth
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26
Q

How could the US change its image of a superpower reacting to challenges with an over reliance on military power and intervention?

A

A change towards civilian foreign policy by the US, using ‘soft power’ of trade, aid, and cultural, scientific and technological cooperation

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27
Q

What were the impacts of 9/11 on George W. Bush’s foreign policy?

A
  • 9/11 led to George W. Bush declaring a War on Terror
  • Transforming his foreign policy into one of global power projection and interventionism
  • On a scale not seen since the height of the Cold War
28
Q

What did 9/11 give George W. Bush’s posse of neoconservative advisers the golden opportunity to do?

A
  • To provide the White House with a new foreign-policy agenda
  • A radical departure from foreign policies of multilateralism + conflict management mediated through the UN
29
Q

Did President Bush’s ‘War on Terror’ capture the public mood?

A
  • American public shocked by scale of death + destruction caused by 9/11
  • Widespread yearning to strike back at America’s perceived enemies (even if they weren’t certain who they were) and to restore national pride
30
Q

Why did US military intervention in Afghanistan after 9/11, in collaboration with the Northern Alliance, appear justified?

A
  • Led to the other throw of the Taliban regime
  • Seemed justified in eyes of most of the international community
  • Taliban rulers had given safe haven + protection to bin Laden’s Al Qaeda movement
31
Q

In what way was the neoconservatives’ project, adopted so readily by George W. Bush after 9/11, in reality far more ambitious?

A
  • Their central idea was to impose regime change + actively promote democracy and market economics
  • Appeared to believe they could reshape the world in their own image
  • Defied norms of multilateralism + constraints of UN charter and customary international law
32
Q

How did US defy norms of multilateralism and the constraints of the UN Charter + customary international law after 9/11?

A

The US invasion + occupation of Iraq, in collaboration with UK in defiance of the UN Security Council

33
Q

What was the impact of the US post-9/11 neoconservative project on international relations?

A
  • The move towards unilateralism + aggressive nationalism
  • Meant hopes of the major powers coming together in UN Security Council
  • To develop multilateral, political + diplomatic solutions to problems of conflict were quickly dashed
34
Q

What did the US government do to justify the invasion of Iraq?

A

The US government introduced a new national security doctrine of pre-emptive military action to justify the invasion of Iraq

35
Q

Did Iraq under the Saddam dictatorship constitute a threat to US security or even the security of its nearest neighbours in the Middle East?

A

No, it was one of the most contained states in the world

  • subject to no-fly zones
  • had been weakened by sanctions
  • UN investigations showed Iraqi regime didn’t have weapons of mass destruction
36
Q

What is a key lesson of the Iraqi conflict?

A

Political leaders should be made aware of the practical limitations and dangers of this pre-emptive military action doctrine

The invasion + occupation of Iraq served as a huge propaganda boost and recruiting sergeant for Al Qaeda

37
Q

What were two other key examples of US unilateralism post 9/11?

A
  • Unwillingness to sign up to the Kyoto agreement on the emission of greenhouse gases
  • Unwillingness to support the International Criminal Court, designed to deal with major crimes against humanity + war crimes
38
Q

Which other countries have been also been responsible for the weakening of multilateralism?

A
  • China has been pursuing its expansion of nuclear weapons + military forces
  • Foreign policy under President Putin has been characterised by the aim of regaining control over lost territories
39
Q

Rather than a strengthening of multilateral institutions and global political integration, what are we witnessing?

A
  • rivalry + conflict between powers
  • continuing effects of the security dilemma
  • perpetuation of the balance of power as a central feature of the system, at global + regional levels
40
Q

What is balance of power?

A
  • Suggests that national security is enhanced when military capability is distributed so that no one state is strong enough to dominate all others.
  • If one state becomes much stronger, the theory predicts it will take advantage + attack weaker neighbours, thereby providing an incentive for those threatened to unite in a defensive coalition
  • Some realists maintain this would be more stable as aggression would be averted if there was equilibrium of power between rival coalitions
41
Q

Name two examples of important global balances

A
  • Between Russia + its allies and US + its allies

- Between China and US + its allies

42
Q

Name two examples of important regional balances

A
  • Between China and Japan

- Between China and India

43
Q

What is security dilemma?

A
  • Under anarchy, actions by a state intended to heighten its security, such as increasing its military strength
  • Can lead other states to respond with similar measures,
  • Producing increased tensions that create conflict, even when no side really desires it.
44
Q

Is it possible to break out of the vicious cycle of security dilemma?

A

Robert Jervis used game theory to show that if war is costly and cooperation is beneficial, there will be a possibility of breaking out of security dilemma

If it can be shown that war is very expensive + risky, policies designed to reduce rather than increase inter-state tension may be adopted

45
Q

What did Vegetius say?

A

Qui desiderat pacem, praeperat bellum

Let him who desires peace, prepare for war

46
Q

Why is it important for a state to sustain sufficient arms and armed forced to defend against any potential aggressor, even when there is no actual aggressor?

A

Pacifism would have been useless in the face of the threat from Hitler in WW2 and in response to Stalin’s bid to expand the borders of his Soviet Communist Empire after Hitler’s defeat

47
Q

Does the possession of large quantities of weapons and large numbers of troops mean that a well protected state will become an aggressor?

A

Not necessarily, much depends upon the statesmanship shown by a state’s leaders and on the way they respond to the pressure of events

48
Q

What is coercion?

A

Coercion is the use or threat of physical force to compel, persuade or restrain

49
Q

Why are all states inherently coercive?

A

Because all governments and regimes need to use force to enforce the law, to maintain internal order, and to defend the state against any perceived external threats

50
Q

What is the only movement which is opposed in principle to the powers of government and the state’s use of legal systems, implicitly backed by coercive power?

A

Anarchism

51
Q

Is there a huge difference in the degree of coerciveness employed by states?

A

Yes, think liberal democratic states at one end of spectrum and totalitarian regimes at the other end

52
Q

How coercive are liberal democratic states?

A
  • Governments chosen by people in free elections
  • Basic human rights + liberties are upheld
  • Rule of law is maintained under independent judiciary
  • Police trained to use minimal force + military generally deployed for external defence
53
Q

Have there been instances of the abuse of coercive powers in liberal democratic states?

A

Not all liberal democracies have impeccable records in keeping their coercive powers under effective constraints

e.g. US has a record of serious abuses of the coercive powers of state, especially in conduct of its foreign policy

54
Q

Who were the worst abuses of coercive power in modern history committed by?

A

The totalitarian regimes of the 20th Century:

  • Hitler’s Nazi regime, responsible for Holocaust + occupation of most of Europe
  • Stalin’s Communist dictatorship
  • Communist regime in China
  • Pol Pot’s regime in Cambodia
55
Q

Where has there been a dramatic increase in coerciveness?

A

In Nepal where the previously peaceful kingdom has been confronted by a Maoist guerrilla insurgency

56
Q

Although the US and UK fall into the category of democracies least reliant on the use of coercive power for their internal governance, how have both countries been involved in extreme coerciveness as an instrument of foreign policy?

A

Operation Shock and Awe, employed by US and UK in 2003 Iraq invasion, was one of the most dramatic examples of the use of massive firepower.

A deliberate use of coercive military force to commence a war which did not have a mandate approval from the UN Security Council

57
Q

Name an example of states embarking on draconian economic measures in domestic policies?

A

Mugabe’s expropriation of the lands of white farmers, which virtually destroyed the rural economy

58
Q

Is the use of military powers the only form of coercion open to the state?

A

No, eg. economic coercion

59
Q

How may a state use coercive economic measures as instruments of foreign policy?

A

In the form of sanctions, deliberately aimed at coercing the targeted state to change its policies

60
Q

Give an example of when sanctions have failed to be effective

A

UK’s attempts to bring pressure on the Southern Rhodesian government when it declared independence in 1965 were ineffective because it was able to secure supplies, such as oil, via South Africa

61
Q

Give an example of when sanctions have been effective

A

Economic sanctions against Apartheid in South Africa made a major contribution to persuading the Nationalist Party government to negotiate an end to Apartheid.

The international economic pressure was having a major impact on the South African business community

62
Q

What are the major features of the coercive state?

A
  • Achieves power through a coup or insurgency
  • Once in power, employs violence to suppress any threat
  • No system of checks and balances which can constrain them
  • Control of the media, places of worship, educational institutions
63
Q

Why has it become harder for dictatorships to control the flow of information and ideas?

A

As a result of globalisation + the development of the internet and other media technologies

64
Q

What does Hannah Arendt’s ‘The Origins of Totalitarianism’ (1958) say?

A
  • A mass society in which traditional ties have been destroyed by war
  • The isolated individual is vulnerable to being mobilised to a new loyalty + subservience to a charismatic leader
  • Who, by manipulating the masses, can construct a system of centralised control which rules by means of state terror on a mass scale
65
Q

What are the 4 key characteristics of a failed state?

A
  • Loss of control of its territory
  • Erosion of legitimate authority to make collective decisions
  • Inability to provide public services
  • Inability to interact with other states as a full member of the international community
66
Q

Why does the term ‘failed state’ have questionable value in the contemporary international system?

A
  • During colonisation, such countries would have been immediate targets for imperial conquest
  • Today, states are expected to uphold the right of all former colonised countries to self-determination + sovereignty on the basis of equal status with all other states in the international system
67
Q

What is a quasi state?

A

‘Quasi states’ refer to new states that have not effectively established internal sovereignty, but enjoy external sovereignty due to international recognition.

IR: A Very Short Introduction (5 decks)

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