Unit 1- General approach to international relations

Question 1

A society of societies

Answer 1

• includes all international actors, from individuals to international organisations
• international society and inter-state society are not the same –> the existence of an international society implies the existence of established relations between its members
• A common international order is a direct consequence of the international society. This International Order, sometimes emerges from the simple correlation between the different powers of the international actors that make up the International Society, but also another way is to emerge as an expression of the dominance of the great powers over the rest of the members of the International Society, as what happened during the imperialism

Question 2

Key principles of our International Society:

Answer 2

• Sovereign equality: All members of the International Society are theoretically equal as sovereign actors.
• Non-interference in internal affairs: As recognised independent members, their domestic authority cannot
  be questioned by any other member and, in particular, any intervention against it should be avoided.

Question 3

The three key institutions that configures our international society:

Answer 3

• The Diplomacy or Diplomatic Relations
• The International Law
• The balance of power

Question 4

Our international society is dominated..

Answer 4

by Western countries, founded on Western values and unbalanced in favour of the power exercised by Western or Westernised countries.

• The main reason for the actual organisation of the International Society is its dependence on the former European state system, which dominated the world for more than 200 years.

Question 5

An international actor:

Answer 5

Any individual or political entity that has sufficient authority and power to influence the various political processes in international society, and the will to exercise that influence.

• An actor can also be defined as an entity with the capacity to act beyond state borders and to influence other states or actors, thereby influencing international relations.

Question 6

International actors- categories:

Answer 6

State actors

Non state actors:
*Individuals,
* Social Groups and movements.
* Inter Governmental Organizations (IGOs)
* Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)
* Multinational Corporations (MNCs)

Question 7

State actors:

Answer 7

• the only ones who can have a foreign policy
• 194 independent states which form the international system
• With few exceptions, everyone lives in one of these countries but is also a citizen of one or more of them.
• we must not confuse the international state system with the international society, as the latter only represents the interactions between a specific type of international actors: the State.

Question 8

Some actors in the UNGenreal Assembly are not recognised as states:

Answer 8

Taiwan is claimed as a province of China, but acts independently.

• Puerto Rico (U.S.), Bermuda (R.U.), Gibraltar (R.U.), Martinique (Fr.), Aruba (Nth.) or Greenland (Dk.) are formal colonies, associated states or territorial extensions of the former imperial powers of Europe and North America.
• Hong Kong has a special status within China.
• The Holy See has an ambiguous status as both the head of the Catholic Church and a sovereign city-state.

Question 9

Would-be states:

Answer 9

Abkhazia and South Ossetia (Georgia), Kosovo (Serbia), Somaliland (Somalia) or the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which have full control over their own territory and a certain degree of sovereignty, but are not widely recognised internationally.

Question 10

What is a state?

Answer 10

A state in IR is a sovereign political, legal and social entity that is capable of carrying out its political and economic functions through the generation and organisation of simultaneous relations of power and solidarity that are institutionalised inwards and projected outwards.

A state is very different from a country, a nation or a people. It is also different from a government. The equivalence between the foreign actions of a government and the foreign policy of a state is one of the most dangerous and important misunderstandings among IR theorists.

Question 11

A state is not:

Answer 11

• The executive
• A government
• A central administration

Question 12

Five elements to be considered a state:

Answer 12

• A defined population
• A defined territory
• A specific political, economic and cultural organisation
• Sovereignty
• International recognition.

Question 13

Great powers and superpowers

Answer 13

The existence of great powers and even superpowers is a historical reality that has shaped the various international societies since their emergence, as these great powers have been decisive in the emergence, development and dissolution of the historical international societies.

Question 14

Three main dimensions of the different powers:

Answer 14

• Material strength or potential strength. This dimension includes all the human and material resources that can be mobilised if necessary. It includes the material wealth of each society, its demographic strength, its political, administrative and technological development, its military capacity, its economic autonomy and its international influence.
• Actual or active strength. This dimension includes the actual resources and instruments used to defend the state’s interests abroad, including social, economic and political stability.
• The political will to mobilise these resources. The link between the previous two dimensions is precisely the crucial aspect that makes some actors great powers and others not. An effective decision-making and executive capacity to establish a clear link between potential and active strengths is the decisive element in maintaining dominance over international reality.

Question 15

4 major misinterpretations of foreign policy:

Answer 15

1)The first is the one that confuses the FP of a state with the FP of a government. This is the most common misinterpretation and is even found in prestigious academics such as DUROSELLE, who defines FP as the continuous activity developed by a government to influence and modify international situations.

2) The second is the one that confuses the FP of a state with the external actions of a government. We find this misinterpretation in authors such as REYNOLDS- who defines FP as the actions taken by a state to promote its interests among other international actors.

3) The third deviation is the one that clearly separates the FP from the rest of the national policies of a state. We find this misinterpretation in authors such as KANTER or HALPERIN, who support the idea of the non-existence of any link between the two different spheres of the state, the national and the international.

4) Finally, the fourth deviation reduces the FP to a mere decision on foreign affairs. This misinterpretation is supported by authors such as PEARSON and ROCHESTER, who define the FP as a mere system of priorities established by the political leaders in order to determine the various foreign actions.

Question 16

Two conditions for FP:

Answer 16

• When the institutions of the state, especially the government, follow an organised process of
  political decision and action that cannot be broken.
• If this process determines both the objectives and the measures and resources necessary to
  achieve them.

Question 17

FP according to Calduch Cervera:

Answer 17

FP can be defined as that part of the general policy of any State which is conformed by the decisions and actions by which that State defines the objectives and measures to establish, modify or suspend any relationship established with another member of the international community.

Question 18

The three stages of any public policy to obtain our FP:

Answer 18

1) The formulations stage- When the FP is formulated, the different institutions and social and political actors will influence the definition of the objectives, the definition of the targets and the selection of the resources necessary to carry out the different actions required to achieve the defined objectives.

2) The implementation stage: The most significant stage. is based on a group of actions carried out by different elements of the State to achieve the objectives determined in the previous formulation stage. This is usually called foreign action, and the main institution involved is the government and subsidiary any other organisation with attributions on foreign actions, including the armed forces or the diplomatic corps.

3) Evaluation: It is the final stage of any public policy and the starting point for the next, becoming the link that helps to support the coherence between different public policies. Its basic task is to assess the final results of the various actions, the achievement or not of the objectives set and the appropriateness of the various resources used. It can also determine who is responsible for the success or failure of the various measures adopted and draw up alternatives for strengthening or revising them.