IR PPT Chapter Two

Chapter Two
Evolution of International Relations: Past

and Present
• Chapter Objective
• The purpose of this historical overview is to trace
important trends over time-the emergence of the
state and the notion of sovereignty, the
development of the international state system,
and the changes in the distribution of power
among states and many more related issues.
• This chapter highlights major developments and
issues of international relations by dividing it into
three eras: the pre Westphalia, Westphalia and
post Westphalia periods.
Evolution of International Relations: Past and
Present
• How old is IR/ir?
• How different is it from human relations?
• The best way to understand developments of
international relations, let us start by classifying
development eras of ir into three periods
1. Pre Westphalia
2. Westphalia
3. Post Westphalia eras
The Pre-Westphalia Period: Early State
and “state like structures”/ Systems
• In the long history of human political organization, systems
of states have developed less frequently than loose,
sedentary empires. The historical examples of states
systems, such as those of the Greeks, show the
development of rudimentary international institutions such
as diplomacy and trade, but war, conquest, and slavery
were the most notable correlates of political independence.
• Most systems of states eventually collapsed through
constant warfare, to be taken over by neighboring empires
and kingdoms.
• European states began to form in the fifteenth century.
• Through war, religious heresy, and propaganda, they
eventually replaced the mediaeval respublica Christiana,
the theoretically organic community under the sovereignty
of God, as mediated by the papacy.
The Pre-Westphalia Period: Early
State and “state like structures”/
Systems
• There were relationships between early empires, but
we could not claim that they constituted international
systems because the intensity of relations was low, and
usually concerned only one sector such as trade in
luxuries. We have records of trade between Rome and
Han China in the second century BC, but there was no
formalized diplomatic-military relationship.
• Similarly, by the fifth century BC, the Chinese had
commercial relations with small kingdoms in what is
now Indonesia, but they were irregular and seldom
spilled over into the military-diplomatic realm.
•
Systems
States systems are composed of polities, whether tribes,
city states, principalities, kingdoms, or some combination
of them, that maintain relationships at a relatively high
degree of intensity over time, and in several sectors,
including commerce, culture, diplomacy, and war.
• The main historical examples include
I. the Sumerian city states of the fourth and third
millennium BC,
II. the independent states within the northeast Chinese
cultural and geographic regions between 771 BC and 221
BC, and
III. the system of relationships between independent polities
in south Mexico during the first millennium.
•
Systems
The most well known system arose among the Greek city
states in the seventh to the fourth century BC, where
independent polities of relatively small size and population
conducted sustained relationships with each other. These
involved commerce, culture, diplomacy, and war.
• More recently, the city states of Italy during the
Renaissance maintained a formal diplomatic and balance of
power system. The major states of the Italian system
included Venice, Florence, Genoa, the Papal States, and
Milan.
• This system developed institutions that were to become
general throughout Europe in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries. These included professional
diplomacy, ideas about the balance of power, and alliances.
Ancient Greece
• As an activity, one of the earliest examples for international
relations among states can be found in ancient Greece.
• Written evidence has been found that Greek city states
have kept relationships between each other. These
relationships have mostly been militant. Example,
Peloponnesian War(431-404 B.C.E.) between Athens and
Sparta
• The ancient Greece was much troubled and influenced by
politics. Although the city states were constantly at war
with each other, in many instances they formed alliances in
the name of their security to fight and eliminate threats.
For example, The formation of the Hellenic League when
the Persians started moving towards mainland Greece was
an early example for the relations between Greek city
states and the formation of Delian League.
Ancient Greece
• The Purpose of the Hellenic League was to
resist Persian invasion and to liberate the
Greek city-states in Europe from Persian
control.
• The purpose of the Delian League was to
continue the wars against Persia after the
Peloponnese states succeeded (Sparta) and to
liberate the Greek colonies located in Asia
Minor.
Ancient Greece
• And also, in Greece, at the time of Olympics all
city states called for a truce and seized fighting
until the games are over. These instances witness
the existences of diplomacy in that period.
• However, the constant fighting of states makes it
clear that the international relations at that time
were not strong enough to hold peace for a long
period because rulers at that time did not focus
on avoiding conflicts in future.
The Middle Ages: Centralization and
Decentralization
• When the Roman Empire disintegrated in the fifth century
A.D., power and authority became decentralized in Europe.
By 1000 A.D. three civilizations had emerged from the
rubble of Rome:
• Arabic civilization: under the religious and political
domination of the Islamic caliphate, advanced
mathematical and technical accomplishments made it a
potent force.
• Byzantine Empire: located near the core of the old Roman
Empire in Constantinople and united by Christianity.
• The rest of Europe, where languages and cultures
proliferated, and the networks of communication
developed by the Romans were beginning to disintegrate.
The Emergence of Westphalia System/
the Peace of Westphalia (1648)
• The great Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) destroyed a
good portion of central Europe and led to a population
decline in the area of almost 40 percent. This was the
first great pan-European war, and, as most great wars,
it was also a major impetus for historic change.
• The peace negotiations that led to the two treaties,
known as the Peace of Westphalia, had major
consequences on the subsequent character of relations
between states.
• The negotiators did not seek to innovate. Rather, they
sought to restore the "ancient liberties" of the
members of the Holy Roman Empire. But they also
sought to find a formula for peace between the
warring Protestants and Catholics.
The Emergence of Westphalia System/ the
Peace of Westphalia (1648)
Along with peace negotiation, important principles began
to emerge like
1. Sovereignty and sovereign equality- Jean Bodin
2. the treaties declared that papal authority no longer
extended into the realms of the sovereigns on secular
issues-Secularism-divorce between politics and
religion
3. grant of freedom of states to conduct their own
foreign relations and alliance formation
4. the Emperor was prohibited from "molesting"
(interfering in the internal affairs of) the Empire’s
members-secularism
• The formulation of sovereignty was one of the
most important intellectual developments
leading to the Westphalian revolution.
• Much of the development of sovereignty is found
in the writings of French philosopher Jean Bodin.
• To Bodin, sovereignty was the “absolute and
perpetual power vested in a commonwealth.”
• Absolute sovereignty, according to Bodin, is not
without limits. Leaders are limited by natural law,
laws of God, the type of regime, and by
covenants and treaties.
• The Thirty Years War (1618-48) devastated
Europe. But the treaty that ended the conflict,
the Treaty of Westphalia, had a profound
impact on the practice of international
relations in three ways:
1. It embraced the notion of sovereignty-that the
sovereign enjoyed exclusive rights within a given
territory. It also established that states could
determine their own domestic policies in their own
geographic space.
2. Leaders sought to establish their own permanent
national militaries. The state thus became more
powerful since the state had to collect taxes to pay for
these militaries and the leaders assumed absolute
control over the troops.
3. It established a core group of states that dominated
the world until the beginning of the nineteenth
century: Austria, Russia, England, France, and the
United Provinces of the Netherlands and Belgium.
Post Westphalia and its Legacies
1. Westphalia abolished the remnants of political
hierarchy in Europe and established the fundamental
rules that would regulate relationships in a system of
legally equal, sovereign states.
2. Though the process took several centuries, with
Westphalia as only a major event along the way,
Europe changed from a polity organized on the
principle of hierarchy under the authority of God, to a
formal anarchy; that is, to a set of independent
political actors with equal legal standing, none under
the authority of any other.
3. Other legacies of Westphalia included the
foundation of international law, which is based
on the idea that sovereigns can be obligated
only through their consent.
4. Equally important was the institutionalization of
territory as the foundation for the state. Prior to
the seventeenth century, there were only
"realms," territorial units that were poorly
defined, often contested, and seldom
administered effectively.
• Post Westphalia IR (1648-Present)-long period
The following are sub phases of Post Westphalia
1. 1648-1814/15-immediate post Westphalia period
2. 1814/15-1914-period of long peace
3. 1914-1919-FWW
4. 1919-1939-InterWar Period
5. 1939-1945-SWW
6. 1945-1989-Cold War
7. Post 1990s-era of globalization
1648-1814/15-immediate post
Westphalia period
• Period of relative stability as a result of Westphalia
• Period of infrequent major wars and intense competition for global
supremacy
• Period of balance of power politics
• The Treaty of Utrecht was a series of agreements signed between
1713 and 1715 that ended the War of the Spanish Succession
• Period of Green Revolution 1688
• Period of Industrial revolution
• Period of urbanization
• Period of democratization-French Revolution 1789
• Period of sovereignty
• Period of technological revolution
• Period of renaissance and liberal thinking
• Period of colonial powers competition
• Period of territorial expansion wars
• Period of Enlightenment etc…..
Long Peace Period (1814-1914)
• Peace at the Core of the European System following
the defeat of Napoleon in 1815 and the establishment
of peace by the Congress of Vienna, the Concert of
Europe-Austria, Britain, France, Prussia, and Russia-
ushered in a period of relative peace.
• The fact that general peace prevailed during this time
is surprising, since major economic, technological, and
political changes were radically altering the landscape.
• At least the following major factors explain why Europe
was relatively peaceful during those days for about 100
years which is described as era of long peace in
International Relations:
1. Natural Exhaustion or war weariness:-during those days Europe was
virtually depopulated as a result of prolonged devastating wars.
There was colossal loss of human capital and gross destruction of
infrastructures and economic activities.
2. European elites were united in their fear of revolution from the
masses. Elites envisioned grand alliances that would bring
European leaders together to fight revolution from below. Leaders
ensured that mass revolutions did not love from state to state.
3. Internal Unification process:-two of the major issues confronting
the core European states were internal ones: the unifications of
Germany and Italy. Although the unification of both was finally
solidified, through small local wars, a general war was averted since
Germany and Italy were preoccupied with territorial unification.
4. Imperialism and colonialism:- imperialism and Colonialism was
there at the heart of the European System even before 1870. The
discovery of the “New” World by Europeans in 1492 led to rapidly
expanding communication between the Americas and Europe.
5. Common Identity:-gradually European major powers began
to forge common identity that gradually led to the
establishment Common “European” identity termed as
“Europeanness.” They started to view themselves as one
European than Germany, Italy, British, and French;
Christians, civilized, and white were contrasted with the
“other” peoples of the world.
6. Diplomatic Efforts:-From 1815 to 1914, the Concert of
Europe established a set of principles, rules and practices
that helped to maintain balance between the major powers
after the Napoleonic Wars, and to spare Europe from
another broad conflict.
7. Balance of Power Politics:-the period of peace in Europe was
managed and preserved for so long because of the concept of
balance of power. They formed alliances to counteract any
potentially more powerful faction. Great Britain was the
pivotal state to keep the balance among major powers. The
alliance created was fluid and flexible until it was replace by
rigid and solidified alliances. Two camps emerged: the Triple
Alliance (Germany, Austria, and Italy) in 1882 and the Dual
Alliance (France and Russia) in 1893.
In 1902 Britain broke from the “balancer” role by joining in a
naval alliance with Japan to prevent a Russo-Japanese
rapprochement in China. For the first time, a European state
turned to an Asian one in order to thwart a European ally. Russian
defeat in the Russo-Japanese war in 1902 was a sign of the
weakening of the balance-of-power system o The end of the
balance-of-power system came with World War I.
1914-1919
• FWW period
• Compulsory Readings
• Read and analyze fundamental and immediate
causes of FWW
• Some argue that first world war is unintended
consequence of the period of long peace in
international relations. Explore how?
1919-1939-interwar period
• Peace Treaties/ The Treaty of Versailles:-the First
World War ended with the signing of the peace treaties
at a conference held in Paris. The important leaders at
the conference were the U.S. President Woodrow
Wilson, the British Prime Minister Lloyd George, and
the French Prime Minister George Clemenceau.
• One of the first acts of the peace conference was the
decision to create a world organization, called the
League of Nations, for the promotion of ‘international
cooperation, peace and security. The Covenant (formal
agreement) of the League was approved in April 1919.
• The agreement required all members to reduce armaments
in the interest of peace.
• If any member country resorted to war, then collective
action would be taken against that country.
• The trade relations with the aggressor country would also
be cut off.
• However, the League of Nations could never be an effective
organization. Two major countries-Soviet Union and
Germany - were not allowed to become its members for
many years. United States, despite its leading role in the
formation of the League, decided not to join it.
• Hence, when aggression began in the 1930s, the League
failed to prevent it.
• The end of World War I saw critical changes in international
relations:
• First, three European empires (Russia, Austro-Hungary, and
the Ottoman) were strained and finally broke up during the
war. With those empires went the conservative social order
of Europe; in its place emerged a proliferation of
nationalisms.
• Second, Germany emerged out of World War I an even
more dissatisfied power. The Treaty of Versailles, which
formally ended the war, made Germany pay the cost of the
war through reparations. This dissatisfaction provided the
climate for the emergence of Adolf Hitler, who was
dedicated to right the “wrongs” imposed by the treaty.
• Third, enforcement of the Versailles Treaty was
given to the ultimately unsuccessful League of
Nations, the intergovernmental organization
designed to prevent all future wars. The League
did not have the political weight to carry out its
task because the United States refused to join.
• Fourth, a vision of the post-World War I order
had clearly been expounded, but it was a vision
stillborn from the start. The world economy was
in collapse and German fascism wreaked havoc
on the plan for post-war peace.
• The first half of the twentieth century is known in history as
the era of world wars.
• The First World War was considered by many to be ‘a war
to end all wars’. Yet, the developments during the next
twenty years, led the world into another war-more
destructive, more widespread and much larger in scale.
• In order to understand the reasons for the outbreak of this
war, we need to study the inter-war period in detail.
• The end of the First World War did not end the rivalries
between the European nations. Even the peace Treaties
failed to ensure peace.
• The treaties were harsh on the defeated countries and thus
sowed the seeds of future conflicts.
1. The Russian Revolution and the emergence of the Soviet
Union also divided the world into two groups-those who
favored the revolution and those who fear effects.
2. The Changed Map of Europe
3. Rise of Totalitarian Regimes:-the immediate post war
years were full of problems for almost all countries of
Europe. These included reorganization of the economy,
resettlement of the survivors of war, and growing
unemployment. The working classes in many countries
tried to organize socialist revolutions on the Soviet
pattern, but they were ruthlessly suppressed. In their
place, strong, anti-democratic movements arose in
Hungary, Poland, Italy, Portugal, Germany and Spain,
which can generally be termed as ‘Fascist’.
4. Emergence of Fascism in Italy:-the term
‘Fascism’ is of Italian origin and was first used
for the movement started by Benito Mussolini
in Italy
5. Hitler and Nazi Germany
6. Military Fascism in Japan- Japan had been the
only country in Asia to escape colonization. By
the end of the nineteenth century, Japan’s
expansionist policy led her to a war with China.
7. The Great Depression and its Effects
1939-1945-Second World War Period
• Identify the major fundamental causes of
SWW and try to relate the major causes of the
war with interwar period developments
during the interwar period
• What were the immediate causes of SWW?
• Discuss the alignment patter of major actors
of SWW
Cold War Period (1945-1989)
• The next slides discuss major issues and

developments in international relations during
the Cold War period
Cold War: Meaning, its Origin, Causes
and Phases
• Meaning
• In his International Relations, V. N. Khanna states that
the term Cold War was first used by Walter Lippmann
by referring to a war-like-situation between two power
blocs, yet it was not a war.
• This could also mean a subtle loud-less but noticeable
war that exist between two factions, states, etc.
• In relation to International politics, cold war becomes a
‘diplomatic war’, devoid of armed conflict between two
or more Powers.
• The Cold War could also be described as ‘peace time
unarmed warfare’.
Origin/Causes of Cold War
1. The abandonment of war time policy of collaboration.

Second World War, the United States deliberately
abandoned the wartime policy of collaboration and,
exhilarated by the possession of the atomic bomb,
undertook a course of aggression of its own designed to
expel all Russian influence from Eastern Europe and to
establish democratic-capitalist states on the very border
of the Soviet Union.
2. The Concept of Vacuum. A significant explanation of the
origin of the Cold War is the concept of vacuum. The
defeat of Germany was one of the major changes that
occurred after the Second World War. After the war, with
the decline of Great Powers such as Britain and France,
left World power largely in the hands of the Soviet Union
and the United States.
3. Divergent Post-War Objectives. The post-war objectives of
the two were not identical. Soviet Union was determined to
establish its domination over the East European countries
which she hoped to (and did) liberate from Nazi Germany.
4. Churchill’s Fulton Speech. On March 5, 1946, Winston
Churchill, the then leader of the opposition in Britain,
delivered a speech at Fulton, Missouri in the presence of
President Truman. He sharply criticized the Soviet and said
that the Soviet Union had erected an “iron curtain” at the
dividing line between the East and West so that nothing that
transpired in the Soviet satellite countries could be known in
the West. He described Soviet actions as threat to democracy,
freedom, and Christian civilization. Churchill called for an
Anglo-American alliance “to champion freedom and protect
Christian civilization.” Truman responded to this call and
decided upon the policy of “containment of communism.”
5. Capitalism and Communism are usually seen as
antithetical (differences of ideology),
6. The Death of Roosevelt and Truman’s Doctrine.
The likelihood of future conflict only heightened
on 12 April 1945, when President Franklin D.
Roosevelt unexpectedly died of a brain
hemorrhage. Vice President Harry S. Truman-a
former Missouri senator with only a high-school
education, who had served just 82 days as vice
president suddenly became the President of the
United States.
7. The nuclear missiles race. In 1959, Cuba had fallen under
the leadership of Fidel Castro, who had rejected American
influence to ally himself with the Soviets. In the fall of
1962, American spy planes discovered that Castro was
installing Soviet nuclear missiles capable of quickly striking
targets in the US.
8. Space Race. During the 1960s, the space race became a
much more peaceful, and beneficial, battlefield- this time
for technological and ideological superiority. The Soviets
took the lead on October 4, 1957, when they launched
Sputnik 1, the world’s first artificial satellite. They followed
up by shooting the first human, Yuri Gagarin, into space in
1961 and the first woman, Valentina Tereshkova, in 1963.
9. Poland
Various Phases of the Cold War:
Chronology of Major Events between
the Two Blocs
• The Cold War did not occur in a day. It passed
through several phases. The second half of the
twentieth century witnessed an intricate but
protracted conflict between the United
States and the Soviet Union which never
broke open as war till its formal end.
• This state of affair between the newly
emerged great powers after the World War II
is referred to as the Cold War.
Various Phases of the Cold War:
Chronology of Major Events between
the Two Blocs
• The two great powers-rather greatest powers by
virtue of being politically vigorous, militarily
indisputable and economically sound-of that
period the US and the USSR ranked as
superpowers. These two superpowers were
ideologically incompatible, strategically at
variance; politically pole apart and economically
adherent to two contrasting models.
• Yet, there has been a substantial debate over the
date of the beginning of the Cold War.
First Phase (1946-1949)
• In this phase America and Soviet Russia disbelieved each
other. America always tried to control the Red Regime in
Russia. Without any hesitation Soviet Russia established
Communism by destroying democracy in the Poland, Bulgaria,
Rumania, Hungary, Yugoslavia and other Eastern European
Countries.
• In order to reduce Russia’s hegemony, America helped Greece
and Turkey by following Truman Doctrine which came into
force on 12 March 1947. In this tense international
atmosphere, US President Harry S. Truman broke with the
policy of his predecessor Franklin D. Roosevelt and redefined
the country’s foreign policy guidelines.
• Soviet Union on the other hand embarked on The Zhdanov
Doctrine and the Cominform. On 22 September 1947, as a
bureau for information exchange
First Phase (1946-1949)
• According to Marshall Plan which was declared on 5 June,
1947 America gave financial assistance to Western
European Countries. On 16 April 1948, in Paris, the 16
countries signed a convention to establish the
Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC).
• The Soviet Union rejected the Marshall Plan and
persuaded its satellite countries and neighbouring
Finland to refuse US aid. Those countries that had been
interested, such as Poland and Czechoslovakia, had to
give in. This rejection deepened the split between
Eastern and Western Europe.
• Soviet Union in its part embarked on creation of the
Soviet buffer zone
• The division of Germany and The Berlin Blockade
Second Phase (1949-1953):
• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was

created in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and
several Western European nations to provide collective
security against the Soviet Union.
• In this phase a treaty was signed between Australia, New
Zealand and America in September, 1951 which was
known as (ANZUS). The major purpose of the treaty was
protection of security of the pacific zone or region.
• America-Japan Treaty agreement to further strengthen
its presence
• At that time by taking armaments from Russia and army
from China, North Korea declared war against South
Korea (1950-1953).
Third Phase (1953-1957)
• Now United States of America formed South East
Treaty Organization (SEATO) in 1954 in order to reduce
Soviet Russia’s influence. Members of SEATO were USA,
Britain, France, New Zealand Australia, the Philippines,
Thailand and Pakistan.
• In 1955 America formed Middle East Defense

Organization (MEDO) in Middle East. The beginning of
1952 saw riots in Egypt and a continuing erosion
of Britain's position in the Middle East. The U.S. foreign
policy establishment considered plans to replace
Britain as the preeminent power in the Middle East.
• The Baghdad Pact was created in 1955 by Britain, Iraq,
Turkey, Iran and Pakistan with the aim of strengthening
regional defence and preventing the infiltration of the
Soviet Union into the Middle East.
• To reduce the American Power, Russia signed WARSAW
PACT in 1955. It was a treaty of friendship, co-operation
and mutual assistance Between the People's Republic of
Albania, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, the
Hungarian People's Republic, the German Democratic
Republic, the Polish People's Republic, the Rumanian
People's Republic, the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics, and the Czechoslovak Republic, May 1, 1955
• Russia also signed a defence pact with 12 Countries.
• In 1953 Stalin died and Khrushchev became
the President of Russia.
• In 1956 an agreement was signed between
America and Russia regarding the Suez Crisis.
• America agreed not to help her allies like
England and France. In fact West Asia was
saved from a great danger.
Fourth Phase (1957-1962)
• In 1959 the Russian President Khrushchev went on a historical
tour to America.
• Both the countries were annoyed for
• U-2 accident (American Spy plane shot down by Soviet Air
Defense Force in 1960) and for Berlin Crisis (1958). In 1962,
Cuba’s Missile Crisis contributed a lot to the cold war.
• The Cuban missile crisis of October 1962 is generally regarded
as the most serious military confrontation of the Cold War.
American destroyers deployed along a picket line to intercept
Soviet ships transporting missiles and nuclear warheads to
Cuba while American air, ground and naval forces prepared for
air strikes against Soviet missile sites under construction in
Cuba and a follow-up invasion.
• 1958, Khrushchev issued an ultimatum giving the Western
Powers six months to agree to withdraw from Berlin and make
it a free, demilitarized city.
Fifth Phase (1962-1969)
• The Fifth Phase which began from 1962 also marked a
mutual suspicion between USA and USSR.
• There was a worldwide concern demanding ban on nuclear
weapons.
• In this period Hot Line was established between the White
House and Kremlin (The Moscow–Washington
hotline (formally known in the United States as
the Washington–Moscow Direct Communications Link for
text messages only). The need for ensuring quick and
reliable communication directly between the heads of
government of nuclear-weapons states first emerged in the
context of efforts to reduce the danger that accident,
miscalculation, or surprise attack might trigger a nuclear war.
• 1965 Vietnam war
Sixth Phase (1969-1978)
• This phase commencing from 1969 was marked by
DETENTE between USA and USSR- the American
President Nixon and Russian President Brezhnev played
a vital role for putting an end to the Cold War
• The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) refers to
two arms control treaties-SALT I and SALT II-that were
negotiated over ten years, from 1969 to 1979. The two
treaties became the basis of all subsequent arms
control agreements between the United States and the
Soviet Union. SALT I was signed in 1972, and SALT II in
1979. The first one was ratified by both sides; the
second one was observed without being ratified.
Seventh and Last Phase (1979-1987)
• In this phase certain changes were noticed in the

Cold War. That is why historians call this phase as
New Cold War. In 1979, the American President
Carter and Russian President Brezhnev signed
SALT II.
• But in 1979 the prospects of mitigating Cold War
were marred by sudden development in
Afghanistan. Vietnam (1975), Angola (1976),
Ethiopia (1972) and Afghanistan (1979) issues
brought success to Russia which was unbearable
for America.
• American President Carter’s Human Rights and Open
Diplomacy were criticized by Russia. The SALT II was not
ratified by the US Senate. In 1980 America boycotted the
Olympic held at Moscow.
• In 1983, Russia withdrew from a talk on missile with
America. In 1984 Russia boycotted the Olympic game held
at Los-Angeles.
• The Star War of the American President Ronald Regan
annoyed Russia. Named the Strategic Defense Initiative
(SDI), it called upon the American scientific community-
“those who gave us nuclear weapons, to turn their great
talents now to the cause of mankind and world peace, to
give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons
impotent and obsolete.”
• The immediate reaction was one of disbelief and derision
with the media quickly dubbing the SDI the “Star Wars”
program because of its fantastical nature. Reagan
demonstrated a fierce opposition to the spread of
communism throughout the world and a strong distrust of
the Soviet Union, which in 1983 he labeled an "evil
empire." He championed a rearmed and strong military and
was especially supportive of the MX missile system and the
Strategic Defense .
• In a televised address to the nation delivered on March 23,
1983, President Ronald Reagan announced his vision of a
world safe from nuclear weapons via a sophisticated
defensive network across land, sea, air, and space.
Other Critical issues of the cold war
• Decolonization
• Liberation movements
• State formation process
• Propaganda war
• And many more should not also be overlooked
Factors brought an end to cold war
1. The Soviet Union collapsed because of
overspending on the arms race
2. The Soviet Union lost and the U.S. won the Cold
War because the U.S. under Reagan, and NATO
as (especially Britain's Margaret Thatcher), took
a firm stand on the intermediate-range missiles
in Europe.
3. Communism collapsed and capitalism won
because communism is an inherently inferior
economic system and could not deliver the
goods for its people.
Factors brought an end to cold war
4. During the last stages of the Cold War under Reagan, the renewed
Western peace movements (some of them) developed contacts with
Eastern dissident and human rights groups.
5. Democracy is inherently superior to dictatorship, whether it be of the
right or the left.
6. The Soviet regime was undermined by the revolution in communications
technology. When it became relatively easy for underground dissidents
to own and operate xerox machines, fax machines, and computers, the
KGB became helpless against the samizdat. This precipitated the Second
Russian Revolution.
7. In the end, technology is the primary determining factor in history.
Historical materialist philosophers like Marx and Engels would probably
agree. The means of reproduction are even more important than the
means of production. It is information which can move matter and
energy.
8. The change occurred because of Gorbachev's reforms. GLASNOST
ANDPERESTROIKA was an initiative that allowed limited market
incentives to Soviet citizens
Post-Cold War International Relations
9190s-present)
• The following slides discusses major
developments in international relations in
the post cold war period. By doing so, the
slides will focus only on fundamentals, basics
and trends of it as developments during this
period are quit complex to provide detailed
picture
Post-Cold War International Relations
Basic Features of Post-Cold War International
Relations
• There are certain prominent characteristics of the
post-Cold War international system.
• Though the Cold War period had created a
bipolar world order where the actions of the
states were predictable and the actors in the
international system were supportive of the state
actions. The Cold War period that way brought
status quo and stability to the international
system.
• The fall of communism created a vacuum and left
the world unipolar with US as the sole super
power and leader of the free capitalism and
liberal democracy.
Basic Features of Post-Cold War International Relations
• The Cold War world order was divided based

on the ideologies of capitalism and
communism.
• The end of Cold War brought an end to this
ideological division.
1. Hence the first characteristic of post-Cold
War era is the dominance of free market
capitalism. It is since then seen as a major
tool, approach and an important means to
achieve economic development.
Basic Features of Post-Cold War
International Relations
• Majority of the countries who adopted
communism or socialism to achieve economic
development have turned around to embrace
capitalist ideology.
• End of the Cold War is also seen as heralding of
individual freedom and democracy. These
freedoms range from economic, social, cultural
and political. All these freedoms are to be
supported by rights.
• Both the freedoms and rights are to be supported
by political institutions which are basically
democratic.
• Elections were held, in many countries for the
first time; democratic governments came to
power and completed their term without facing a
military coup, new constitutions were written;
judiciary became independent and rule of law
prevailed, right to vote was expanded in most
countries and covered women, indigenous, and
marginalised and excluded sections of the
society; and democratic institutions were
established which worked.
2. The second characteristic of post-Cold War era
was the outbreak of the ‘third wave’ of
democratization, as Samuel Huntington put it.
• Liberal democracy in the minimal meaning of
electoral contest spread to South East Asia, North
Asia, South Asia, Africa and Latin America.
• East European countries underwent varieties of
‘colour’ revolutions -‘pink’, ‘blue’ etc. Some years
later in 2010, ‘Arab spring’ bloomed in West
Asian region.
• The third characteristic of post-Cold War era is the rapid
growth in international trade. Formation of the WTO marked
the rise of a rule-based multilateral trade order.
• The increased international trade allowed the countries to
become interdependent and to forge economic relations.
• This swift turn from traditional relations which focused on
interactions between governments has allowed economic
relations between private players. Global corporate and
banking interests emerged as extremely powerful economic
players.
• Foreign economic relations have become dominant over other
traditional issues like defence and border security etc.
• Increased international trade has softened the rigid boundaries
between the states and allowed free flow of goods, capital,
human resources forging new linkages between the states.
4. The fourth important characteristic of post-Cold
War era is the rise of new actors who are mostly
non-state actors.
These non-state actors do not have any nationality,
state identity and are not controlled by the state.
International nongovernmental organizations like
Amnesty International and Greenpeace emerged
championing specific issues like protection of
human rights and environment.
• The emergence of these non-state actors created
several multiple linkages between the states and non-
state actors.
• These linkages supported ‘cobweb paradigm’ to
understand international relations.
• The idea of international relations looking a cobweb
emphasizes transnational relations supported by
various civil society organizations, multinational
corporations which create new forms of international
society and which are not bound by Realist idea of
national interest and sovereign state.
• The interactions between the non-state actors
prioritise the individual and community interests
pertaining to the actors rather than national
interest.
• The state here would not act independently
rather plays a supportive role.
• The result of this multiple interactions at multiple
levels slowly but steadily replaces the word
‘international relations’ with ‘world relations’ in
understanding the phenomenon and outcomes.
5. The fifth characteristic of post-Cold War era is the new
focus-spread from world-centric to region-centric
interests.
These interests ranged from environmental issues to issues
of human migration.
These interests are common in nature and have major
impact on human civilization itself.
Identifying, understanding and collective efforts to address
the issues have become priority areas in state actions.
These issues, for instance the COVID-19 pandemic call for
lots of concerted action at regional and global level; and
even demand setting up of regional mechanisms to fight
these new types of non-traditional security threats.
6. Sixth major characteristic of post-cold war
international relations is Multilateralism:-one
of the most important developments that
happened and which has deeply influenced
international relations at the end of the Cold
War is the expansion of multilateralism.
• It refers to alliance of multiple countries and
their agreement to work together to achieve
common goals or to address common issues.
• Multilateralism allows countries to take membership or
to form an alliance at equal footage without any
discrimination in any form. In that sense, it is opposite
to unilateralism.
• Though the institutions like United Nations, World
Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), General
Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT) were the core
form of multilateralism during Cold War era and did
play a vital role in diffusing the Cold War tensions, the
real essence of multilateralism could be seen in the
post-Cold War era.
• Formal establishment of WTO to institutionalize
international trade relations, conclusion of many
free trade agreements, such as NAFTA, which saw
free flow of goods, services, human resources
between the member countries, formation of
new groupings and mechanisms like the BRICS,
Shanghai Cooperation Organization, creation of
other economic initiatives and trade corridors,
and infrastructural developments and
connectivity like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
are the examples of growth in multilateralism at
trade, political and security levels.
7. Seventh is “Revitalized Approach towards International
Organizations”:-There were considerable numbers of
international organizations during the Cold War period.
Organizations like the UN, World Bank, IMF, etc. were, in a
sense, victim of the Cold War as their functioning was
influenced by the interests and perceptions of the two
super powers who tried to use them to advance their own
ideological and strategic objectives. They were seen as
proponents of the ideologies of their Cold War allies and
were used as tools to influence the foreign and domestic
policies of developing countries. For instance, IMF worked
in close harmony with the US interests and goals.
Understanding the role of these organizations were to
understand their nature and growth in international
relations.
8. Eighth is “Commercial Considerations in Drivers Seat”:-
the irreversible globalization has made the world into a
small society where interactions between the countries
are more based on commercial interests. Production,
movement and marketing, and consumption of goods and
services have become deeply integrated. Investment
decisions, flow of capital and technology across borders
and regions and movement of corporate managerial elite
today integrates the world in an unprecedented manner.
In the process commerce have become main and
important tool in shaping and reshaping the relations
between the nations. Commerce has become more
important than ever before and foreign policies are driven
by the commercial interests. Market and market based
activities have become common language/vocabularies.
Other Important Issues in the Post-
Cold War International Relations
1. Ethnicity and Conflict:-dissolution of the USSR resulted in a
steady rise in ethnicity-based conflicts and violence in the
newly independent countries. An ethnic war in former
Yugoslavia inflicted a heavy toll on human life and split the
country in several independent states. Number of
secessionist movements based on ethnicity in the former
Soviet bloc especially in Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Georgia indulged in such wars. Other countries and regions
like Sri Lanka, South Sudan, East Timor, Catalonia also
witnessed a steady rise in violent ethnic conflicts. African
countries like Angola, Cyprus, Somalia, Rwanda, Ethiopia,
Algeria, Nigeria and others were caught in ethnic, sectarian
and tribal conflicts and wars. These wars have created large
human tragedies with violence, genocide, and crimes
against humanity committed on large scale.
Brainstorming Question
• Explain the impact of the rise of “identity
politics” under the banner of ethnicity and
ethnic politics in the post cold war
international Relations?
• As the result of evil consequences of identity
politics, liberal internationalism demands that
international community must step in to prevent,
if necessary by using force, genocides, ethnic
cleansings and crimes against humanity. Thus,
there began a collection of norms, broadly
described as ‘humanitarian international law’. The
concept of ‘humanitarian intervention’ and the
principle of ‘Responsibility to Protect’ (R2P)
became international norms.
• The idea of ‘human security’, which essentially
means ‘freedom from fear’ and ‘freedom from
want’, emerged to protect individuals and
communities from persecution and violence.
• Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and several other
countries and regions saw ‘humanitarian
interventions’ in the aftermath of Cold War.
• The UN upgraded its mechanisms and in 2006,
UN Human Rights Council was established which
replaced the UN Human Rights Commission.
2. Rise of Islamic Fundamentalism and Terrorism and US
foreign Policy response as a war on terror-Middle East
and beyond
• Birth of Taliban, another fierce Islamic fundamentalist
group.
• Al-Qaeda headed by the Saudi-born Osama bin Laden
and 9/11 terrorist incidents.
• Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
• Hezbollah in Lebanon, Palestine Liberation Army in
Palestine, Iran, Iraq war Somalia and Al Shabaab,
Pirates in Somalia, Boko Haram and Nigeria
3. Hegemonic Attitude of the United States:-the Cold War period
provided some amount of predictability and certainty in
international relations. The fall of communist bloc allowed the USA
and its allies to play a dominant role in world politics. The end of
Cold War certainly expanded the US role from being the chief
protagonist of capitalism to other areas such as global security,
peacekeeping and peacemaking and peace enforcement, ‘war on
terrorism’, and further to areas such as regime change, democracy
promotion, human rights etc.
• In the name of protecting the democratic regimes and international
security, the post-Cold War era saw US intervention in several
countries. The Gulf war of 1991, US-led NATO intervention in
Afghanistan in the post 9/11 period, invasion of Iraq without UN
sanction, interventions in Libya and Syria are the examples of US and
its allies aggressive policies.
4. Sustainable Development:-the Cold War period witnessed
massive rise in industrial activities, advancements in
military technologies, nuclear programmes, production of
weapons of mass destruction etc. The Cold War
competition had no scope for the concept of an industrial
order that would be environmentally sustainable. The
military budgets of the countries at best included some
spending on measures to reduce pollution and emissions
in industrial activities. The environmental protection
movements were also focused more on approaches which
promoted ‘pollution control strategies’ rather than
adopting strategies which would change the production
process by incorporating environmentally-sustainable and
-friendly technologies.
• The end of Cold War immediately impacted the international
relations in the field of environmental protection. Global
environmental concerns have become common agenda in the
international platforms. Unlike the Cold War era politics, which
would prevent countries to come together to fight for common
cause because of various reasons, the post-Cold War era could
successfully identify these common concerns. From the Rio summit
of 1992, Kyoto Protocol and to the Paris climate agreements in
2015, international community has come a long way to undertake
commitments to reduce emission of ‘greenhouse gases’ and adapt
technologies to mitigate climate change. Mid 1990s witnessed a
substantial progress in bringing the countries together on a single
platform to discuss the environmental issues. In 1995 first United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was
held in Berlin. This conference would also be known as Conference
of the Parties (COP) which expressed its concerns about the
adequacy of countries’ abilities and agreed on “Activities
Implemented Jointly”.
Chronology-on Environment
• 1987 – Montreal Protocol: In response to the deterioration of
the ozone layer, member states of the United Nations come
together to regulate nearly 100 chemicals known as ozone
depleting substances. The Montreal Protocol was ratified by
all 197 member states, making it the only UN treaty ever
ratified by every member. While the agreement was focused
on ozone restoration, it proved that the global community can
unify around urgent environmental action, and deliver results.
• 1992 – Earth Summit: The United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, also called
the Earth Summit, opened UNFCCC for signature. By year’s
end, 158 nations had signed on to UNFCCC, paving the way
for annual Conferences of the Parties (COP). This was the first
joint measure in international climate action, which has been
a continuous process ever since.
• 1995 – COP 1: The first COP was held in Germany in 1995,
then a minister in the German government responsible for
environmental issues.
• 1997 – Kyoto Protocol: COP 3 produced the world’s first
international treaty requiring the reduction of global
warming pollution, with industrialized nations agreeing to
cumulatively cut their greenhouse gas to 5 percent below
1990 levels within 10–15 years. Notably, India and China
had yet to enter their economic booms, and thus were not
considered industrialized nations for purposes of the
protocol and are not subject to the requirements. And
while 192 nations would eventually adopt the Kyoto
Protocol, the United States does not, undermining the
agreement.
• 2001 – Marrakesh Accords: Representatives from 160
nations meet to further plan out implementation of
the Kyoto Protocol, including differentiations between
developed nations and transitioning nations.
• 2005 – Kyoto Protocol goes into effect: After nearly a
decade of work on its implementation, the Kyoto
Protocol goes into effect. In the ensuing years, many
nations – including the European Union – would meet
their targets and cut emissions. That progress,
however, was more than offset by countries like the US
and China continuing to increase emissions.
• 009 – COP 15: When world leaders gathered in Copenhagen
for COP 15, there were high hopes for a legally binding treaty
to build off of the Kyoto Protocol. Instead, nations
were unable to agree on firm targets and left instead with
just a non-binding accord. Still, the conference did produce
some progress on setting targets and implementation
mechanisms, as well as establishing a goal of $100 billion per
year in financing for developing nations to shift towards low-
carbon development and build resilience.
• 2011 – COP 17: Countries meeting in Durban agree to
develop a “protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed
outcome with legal force” that would be “applicable to all
Parties.” The agreement in Durban lays the foundation for a
binding, universal agreement to come in the following years.
• 2013 – Warsaw Mechanism for Loss and Damage: COP 19 saw the establishment
of the first formalized international mechanism for dealing with loss and damage,
a term broadly understood to mean the negative consequences of the climate
crisis that cannot be avoided through mitigation and adaptation. Developing and
vulnerable nations have long pushed for action on loss and damage and continue
to call for further action.
• 2015 – Paris Agreement: After years of struggling to achieve a broad agreement
that could build upon the Kyoto Protocol, COP 21 delivered the Paris Agreement –
the most ambitious global climate agreement the world has ever seen. The Paris
Agreement set an overarching goal to keep warming “well below” 2 degrees
Celsius while “pursuing efforts” to keep it under 1.5 degrees, and included each
nation offering specific, challenging targets that they felt were achievable, even if
they have so far been inadequate. With China, India, and the US on board at its
signing, this historic accord gave the world both the framework to halt rising
temperatures and the international muscle to do it. Unfortunately, there was a
major setback when the Trump Administration refused to act on US commitments
and then removed the country from the agreement earlier this month. But by
design, the Paris Agreement offers an easy path for nations to re-enter the
agreement – and President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to return the US to the
accord on his first day in office.
• 2019 – Climate Action Summit: Set against the
backdrop of youth climate strikes around the globe, UN
Secretary-General António Guterres convened a special
summit to focus on the need for urgent action and
encourage nations to enhance their pledges to cut
carbon emissions. And 70 nations stepped up,
committing to cut emissions by more than their Paris
pledges. But those nations represented just 6.8 percent
of global emissions – and with the US, China, and India
offering few concrete promises, the summit did not
deliver the hoped-for breakthrough.
5. Migration and Human Rights Issues:-
• The international events like war on terrorism, ‘failed’
states and ‘rogue’ states, regime change, economic
failures of states have produced huge numbers of intra-
state and inter-state migrations in the post Cold War
period. Countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Sudan,
Somalia, Rwanda, etc have produced large number of
migrants due to conflicts. Addressing the concerns of
refugees, displaced persons and those fleeing state
violence and seeking protection of their lives and
human rights have become main international issues.
End of the Chapter

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Chapter Two

Evolution of International Relations: Past

• The next slides discuss major issues and

1. The abandonment of war time policy of collaboration.

• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was

• In 1955 America formed Middle East Defense

• In this phase certain changes were noticed in the

• The Cold War world order was divided based

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