INTRODUCTION TO

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Dr. Fatima Agha Shah
Learning Outcomes

 To underline the definition of International Relations

What is International Relations

• International relations, the study of the relations of states with each other and
with international organizations and certain subnational entities (e.g.., Bureaucracies,
political parties, and interest groups). It is related to a number of other
academic disciplines, including political
science, geography, history, economics, law, sociology, psychology, and philosophy.
• There is close connection between scholars, think tanks and the policy making
community working in the government.
• As a part of political science, IR is about international politics, the decisions of
governments about foreign actors, especially other governments.
As An Academic Discipline

• International relations has been a fascinating discipline because it concerns peoples,

cultures and states through out the world. IR affects daily life profoundly and somehow
we all participate in it.
IR emerged in the aftermath of World War I (1914-1918).
• It emerged as a formal academic discipline in 1919 with the founding of the first IR
professorship: The Woodrow Wilson Chair, University of Wales.
Why Study IR?

• The main reason why we should study IR is the fact that the entire population of the world
is divided into separate political communities, or independent states, which profoundly
affect the way people live with each other.
For example:
1. Pakistan and Bangladesh got separation on the basis of Language and economic divide.
2. India and Pakistan got separated on the basis of religion.
• As a part of political science, IR is about international politics- the decisions of
governments about foreign actors, especially other governments.
Core Principles:

• The field of IR reflects the world’s complexity.

• This field is designed by some underlying basic principles.
• IR revolves around one basic problem: how can a group-such as two or more countries-
serve its collective interests when doing so requires its members to forgo their individual
interests?
• Example: every country has an interest in stopping global warming, a goal that can be
achieved only by many countries acting together. Yet each country also has an individual
interest in burning fossil fuels to keep its economy going.
Level of Analysis

• Global level
• Interstate level
• Domestic level
• Individual level
• IR affects daily life profoundly; we all participate in IR
• IR is a field of political science concerned mainly with explaining political outcomes
in international security affairs and international political economy.
• States are the most important actors.
• Non-state actors exert a growing influence of the international relations.
International Trade

• Trade is the oldest and most important economic nexus among nations. $19 trillion worth
of trade crosses across the international borders each year.
• IMF & World Bank are key institutions of international trade and businesses.
• In today’s world, economy is more important than politics. The world of business is a key
factor to run the economy. Hence, IR helps to understand the connection between politics,
economics, and businesses in current times.
Emergence of Globalization
MNC’S
Actors And Influences

• The principle actor in IR are the world’s governments.

• IR traditionally study the decisions and acts of those governments in relation to other
governments.
• The international stage is crowded with actors large and small that are intimately
interwoven with the decisions of the governments.
• These actors are individual leaders and citizens. They are bureaucratic agencies in foreign
ministries. They are multinational corporations and terrorist groups. But the most
 important actors in IR are states.
State

• A state is a territorial entity controlled by a government and inhabited by a population.

• A state’s government is not answerable to any higher authority.
• It makes laws, collect taxes, and so forth.
• The sovereignty is recognized by other states through diplomatic relations or by UN
membership.
• The term state, nation and country are used imprecisely, usually to refer the government.
• Each state has a capital-the seat of government from which it administrates.
• A state-leader often termed as King, President, Prime Minister.
• The state have some key individuals who can be bureaucrat s or ministers who act in the
name of the state.
• The set of relationships among the world’s states structured according to certain rules and
patterns of interactions.
• They include who is considered a member of the system, which rights and responsibilities
the member have and what kind of actions normally occurs between states.
• The modern international system has existed for 500 years.
 The independence of former colonies and more recently, the breaking into smaller states of
large multinational states (USSR) have increased the number of states in the world.
Nation State And Sovereignty

• In 1648, the Treaties of Westphalia- ended the thirty years war in Europe. It was end of the
religious rule and the emergence of the secular system.
• With the secular authority came the principle that has provided the foundation for
international relations ever since then.
• The notion of territorial integrity of states emerged.
• The holy roman empire was dead. With the pope stripped off the power, the notion of
territorial state came into focus.
• Monarchs gained the authority. It legitimized the rights of the states- as sovereign and all
the small states attained sovereignty.
Impact of Treaties of Westphalia

• The treaties thus introduced the principle of non-interference in the affairs of other states,
thus establishing state sovereignty.
• Because of the devastation by the private army in war, after the treaties of Westphalia, the
countries sought to establish their own permanent national militaries.
• It increased their centralized control.
• Core group of states
• The treaty of Westphalia established a core group of states that dominated the world until
the beginning of the 19th century.
• Austria, Russia, Prussia, England, France, United provinces ( now Netherlands)
Nature Of States

• The states may differ in terms of population from China and India with more than 1 billion
people to microstates such as San Marino with 32,000.
• States also differ in terms of GDP. From $15 trillion U.S economy to the economies of smaller
states such as Pacific Island of Tuvalu $36 million.
• A few largest states possess great military strength and often termed as “world powers” or “super
powers”.
 A few political entities are often referred to states or countries although they are nor formally
recognized states. Examples: Taiwan (operates independently in practice but acclaimed by China)
and not a UN member. Formal colonies such as Falk islands ( British), Guam, Puerto Rico (U.S).
Some are would-be states such as , Kurdistan (Iraq), Somaliland (Somalia). They are not fully
controlled territories.
Largest Economy
Britain Both Largest Popula-
France China tion
Italy India
South Korea US Pakistan
Spain Russia Nigeria
Canada Japan Bangladesh
Mexico Philippines
Germany Vietnam
Ethiopia
Modern state system

• The modern state is believed to have risen between the 15 th and 18th centuries in Europe,
and later spread to the rest of the world through conquest and colonialism.
• This ideal of modern state comprises of four defining characteristics that is bureaucracy,
legitimacy, territory, and sovereignty (external and internal).
• States uses these four characteristics to provide their citizens goods such as security, a legal
system, and infrastructure. 
 Failed State
• A failed state or “weak state” is a state-like entity that cannot coerce and is unable to
successfully control the inhabitants of a given territory (Clark & Golder, 2012). They are
incapable of providing security, legal system, and infrastructure to its citizens.
• Once a state become weak, it loses effective sovereignty over part of its territory.
Max Weber (1864–1920)

• According to Weber, the modern state monopolizes the means of legitimate physical violence over a well-defined
territory.
• Monopoly on force– has the right and ability to use violence, in legally defined instances, against members of society, or
against other states.
• Legitimacy/authority– its power is recognized by members of society and by other states as based on law and some form
of justice.
• Territoriality– the state exists in a defined territory (which includes land, water and air) and exercises authority over the
population of that territory.
• Sovereignty – the idea that there is a final and absolute authority in the political community’, with the proviso that ‘no
final and absolute authority exists elsewhere.
• Constitutionality
• Impersonal power
• The public bureaucracy
• Citizenship
International System

 The set of relationships among the world’s states structured according to certain rules and
patterns of interactions.
 They include who is considered a member of the system, which rights and responsibilities the
member have and what kind of actions normally occurs between states.
 The modern international system has existed for 500 years.
 The independence of former colonies and more recently, the breaking into smaller states of
large multinational states (USSR) have increased the number of states in the world.
 National government may be most important actor in IR, but they are strongly influenced by a
variety of non-state actors.
 These actors are also called transnational actors when they operate across international borders.
 They can be violent or non-violent non-state actors according to their actions.
Power

 Conflicts among states are constant phenomenon because tangible and intangible resources
are limited and desires of states are unlimited.
 Those states which have greater POWER are more successful in securing their interests.
 Therefore, states seek to maximize their power to secure their national and international
interests in the world.
 There are 4 benefits of power for states. i) maintenance of autonomy, ii) increased freedom
of action, iii) greater margin of safety, and iv) greater influence in international
community.
 A/c to realist scholars, the world politics is all about power politics. On the other hand,
liberalism believe that international community can be harmonized by developing
international legal and governmental institutions.
What is Power?

 Power in interstate relations may be defined as a state’s ability to control, or at least

influence, other states or the outcome of events.
 The capacity to determine outcomes. It is an ability to control other individuals, groups,
states and even environment. It uses both “sticks and carrots” methods.
 Force: The application of military power in order to punish or compel applied coercion.
 It involves the use of power both explicitly and implicitly to compel or punish others. It
involves military or police force and considered as extremely violent and costly. Its
extreme application is war.
What is not Power?

 Influence: the ability of an actor to alter the preferences and behavior of another actor.
 Authority: the capacity to command obedience through voluntary non-coercive means.
 It is absent in international politics because there is no international govt. Authority exist in
national politics while international politics is determined by POWER.
 Most scholars focus on power as a means of strength or capacity that provides the ability to
influence the behavior of other actor in accordance with one’s own objective.
 But for most , power like money is an instrumental, to be used primarily for achieving or
defending other goals, which could include prestige, territory or security.
 Power is historically linked with Military capacity.
 Power is described as the capacity to do something and the actual exercise of that capacity.
 Power is often associated with technology.
 E.g: US nuclear attack in WW II.
Characteristics of Power

 Power is relational. It is not a tangible resource but dimension of interpersonal, intergroup, or

interstate relations. State’s power can increase either by a rise in its own capabilities or by a
decline in the power of other states.
 Power is primarily a means, not an end. It is the means by which states protect and maximize
their interests in the world system. It is a major determinant of state’s ability to protect and
expand its national interests.
 Power is based on perception. A reputation of power confers power. It is ultimately based on
what people think. In 1967 Arab-Israeli war, the was underestimating Israel’s power. Its
reputation enhanced after war. Similarly, in Vietnam War, world was overestimating the power
of US.
 Power is multidimensional. It includes military, economic, psychological, cultural, and
technological instruments. The ability to control other states and aspects of the international
environments will depend on the relative usefulness of the instruments of power.
 Power is dynamic. It is considered as political currency of international relations.
States can increase or decrease their level of power, depending on the rate at which
power is created and used. If states use power carelessly, or if they overspend currency of
power, they may end up politically bankrupt. As in economic life, state must save and
invest resources in order to expand their political stock of power.
 Power can be institutionalized by establishing rules, regimes, and institutions that reflect
the distribution of power among groups and communities. For example, 5major states of
world – US, China, Britain, France, Russia – institutionalized their power in permanent
membership of security council of UN.
Categories of Power

 Super Power: A superpower is a state that cannot be ignored on the world stage and
without whose cooperation no world problem can be solved. During the Cold War, for
instance, the United States could not intervene in world affairs without taking into account
the position of the U.S.S.R. , and vice versa.
 Great Power: A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability
and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. ... International relations theorists
have posited that great power status can be characterized into power capabilities, spatial
aspects, and status dimensions.
 Middle Power: Middle power, in international relations, a state that holds a
position in the international power spectrum that is in the “middle”—below that
of a superpower, which wields vastly superior influence over all other states, or of
a great power, but with sufficient ability to shape international events.
 Small Power: A small power recognizes that it cannot obtain security by relying
solely on its own capabilities. They cannot affect the international system alone
but with some concerted effort they can affect the way the system works.
 Regional Power: In international relations since the late 20th century, a regional
power is a term used for a state that has power within a geographic region. States
which wield unrivalled power and influence within a region of the world possess
regional hegemony.
 Cultural Power: Cultural soft power – sometimes referred to as cultural diplomacy – is a
form of soft power that strives to foster the exchange of views and ideas, promote
knowledge of other cultures, and build bridges between communities.

 Energy Power: Describes a country that supplies large amounts of energy resources (crude
oil, natural gas, coal, uranium, etc.) to a significant number of other states, and therefore
has the potential to influence world markets to gain a political or economic advantage.
Saudi Arabia and Russia, are generally acknowledged as the world's current energy
superpowers, given their abilities to globally influence or even directly control prices to
certain countries. Australia and Canada are potential energy superpowers due to their large
natural resources
Theories of Power

 Balance of Power
 Hegemonic Power (Uni-Polar)
 Collective Security
 Balance of power, in international relations, the posture and policy of a nation or group of nations
protecting itself against another nation or group of nations by matching its power against the power
of the other side. States can pursue a policy of balance of power in two ways: by increasing their own
power, as when engaging in an armaments race or in the competitive acquisition of territory; or by
adding to their own power that of other states, as when embarking upon a policy of alliances.
 Examples: Metternich System established in post-Napoleon Europe after 1815
 Alliance between England, France and Russia against Germany and Austro-Hungarian Empire before
WWI
 Division of world in two camps (Capitalism and Communism) during Cold War
Hegemonic Power

 Hegemony means the dominance of one group over another, often supported by legitimating norms and
ideas.
 The concept of hegemony describes the relatively dominant position of a particular set of ideas, people or
state. It is their tendency to become valid, natural, and supreme thereby preventing the spread and
expression of alternate ideas as well as domination of other people or states.
 The associated term hegemon is used to identify the actor, group, class, or state that exercises hegemonic
power or that is responsible for the dissemination of hegemonic ideas.
 In IR, the notion of hegemonic power denotes a state that has both hard and soft power and it can lead an
alliance of affiliated nations and dominate the global political and economic order.
 Based on its own preferences, a hegemonic power can establish and maintain the rules that regulate
interactions within the international system of states.
 It is a leadership as well as an authority to exercise power, to govern, and to command among states.
 Example: United States briefly after WWII and for some time after Cold War.
Collective Security

 It is a theory of world order, first applied by the League of Nations, that seeks to deter
aggression by promising collective retaliation against any community member
committing aggression.
 It believes that peace can be secured by centralization of power but this centralization
should be done collectively than individually.
 This theory does not emphasize permanence of power, rather, it is believed to be applied
on certain states temporarily in response of their aggressive actions and policies.
National Power

 National Power is the ability or capability of a nation to secure the goals and objectives of
its national interests in relation with other nations. It involves the capacity to use force or
threat of use of force or influence over others for securing the goals of national interest.
 Approaches of Power
 Hard Power:
 Direct strategy. It seeks to influence behavior through coercive means. Examples: war, the
threat of military intervention, and economic sanction.
 Soft Power:
 Cooperative. It seeks to achieve behavioral outcomes by designing environment in the way that
facilitate and encourage desired results.
 The aim of soft power is to get foreign actors to pursue the goals and behaviors of the home state – to get
others to want what you want
 It includes political ideals and ideologies, cultural pattern, and global and regional economic and
political structures.
Smart Power

 The combination of soft and hard power in the right mix in the appropriate context yields
Smart Power. “we must speak softly and carry a big stick” Teddy Roosevelt.
 Hence, smart power is a mixture of both hard power and soft power.
 Smart power means developing an integrated strategy, resource base, and tool kit to
achieve objectives, drawing on both hard and soft power.
 It is an approach that underscores the necessity of a strong military, but also invests
heavily in alliances, partnerships, and institutions at all levels to expand state’s influence
and establish the legitimacy of state’s action.
Tools of Smart Power
Elements Of National Power

 Geography
 Amongst the elements of National Power, geography is the most stable, tangible,
permanent and natural element.
 Geography is considered as the determining factor of international politics.
 “The foreign policy of a country is determined by its geography” Napoleon
Bonaparte.
 Geography includes map, size, location, topography, climate, and boundaries of nation-
state.
Natural Resources

 Natural resources include Raw Materials/Minerals and maximum Food production.

 The industrial and military capabilities of a nation as well as its economic well-being are
dependent upon the existence of natural resources. Natural resources, in the form of
minerals, fertile soil, flora and fauna, through planned exploitation and use always
make a nation powerful.
 A self-sufficiency in certain key resources can be a big source of power of a nation and no
nation can be powerful without becoming a developed industrialized nation and the
chances of becoming an industrialized nation are basically linked with the possession of
natural resources, particularly industrial raw materials and minerals.
Population

 Another basic element which affects national power is population.

 Manpower continues to be a key factor which determines the industrial and military
capacities of a nation and its status as a power in international relations.
1. Population is an important element of military power.
2. Man power is needed for fully exploiting the resources of the state. Industrial production
depends upon man-power as well as machines.
3. Population factor determines both national needs as well as policies designed to serve
these needs.
4. Population is an important human element of National Power.
Economic Development

 Effective economic organization and planning are essential qualities of a powerful

nation.
 Poverty is always a source of limitation of power. It is this factor which has been largely
forcing most of the developing countries of the Third World to live with neo-colonialism.
 Only nations with developed economies can use the economic instruments—aid, loan,
rewards, trade, grants and denial of rewards or punishment, for securing their desired goals
in international relations.
 By using economic means a nation tries to exercise its national power in a productive and
useful way. The level of economic well-being determines the power of a nation.
Industrial Capacity

 In this age of science, industrialization and technology developed industrial capacity alone
can be a source of enduring and effective economic development.
 Only industrially advanced nations can become great powers. Today, the United States,
the United Kingdom, France, Japan and Germany are powerful nations because of their
huge industrial capacities. They have the ability to process raw materials, and thereby
are in a position to control international economy. India is now emerging as an
industrial power.
 Industrial capacity of a nation is thus an important factor of national power. Industrial
backwardness, despite the possession of raw materials, can be a source of weakness for
any nation.
Technology

 Technology is the application of knowledge of science for promoting human

welfare.
 It is the ability to use scientific inventions for the promotion of human welfare.
 Progress in engineering and industrial production is directly related to the nature and level
of technology.
 It has been the advanced technological ability that has largely contributed to the
prosperity and power of the developed countries.
 A nation backed by highly developed and advanced technology alone can be recognized
as a developed nation. Now nuclear technology has emerged as an important source
of power and influence in international relations.
 Leadership

 National Power really means the ability of national leaders and decision-makers.
Leadership of a nation is an important human element of national power. National
Power is basically the power of the leaders, statesmen and diplomats of the nation to act
strongly in international relations.
 Civil and Military planning is a function of the political leaders. To make and implement
foreign policy is the responsibility of the leadership.
 The quality of leadership determines the nature and extent of power that a nation can
use for securing its national interests.
 Efficient, devoted and mature leadership can be a source of national power in the sense
that a judicious use of power can surely increase the national power and its
operational effectiveness.
Organization and Quality of Government

 The mere possession of material and human resources cannot lead to national power if
government is not efficient and effective enough.
 It is the business of government to coordinate direct, control men and material
resources for securing power for fulfilling goals of national interest.