Baylis, Smith & OwensThe Globalization of World Politics 5e

Chapter 2

The evolution of international society

What is International Society?

• Any association of distinct political communities that accept common rules, values, institutions

• Central concept of the “English school”

• Originally referred to European state relations

What is International Society?

• Founded on these principles: – Sovereign equality (vs. hierarchical,

hegemonial, imperial)– Non-intervention

• Three key institutions: – Diplomacy– International law– Balance of power

Ancient worlds

• Lacked emphasis on sovereign equality• Various forms:

– Supranational (caliphate, papacy)– Sub- and trans-national mosaic

• Still regulated by treaty, diplomacy, and some norms of conduct

• Ex: Greece: city-state relations (arbitration, Melian dialogue)

• Ex: Ancient China, India, Rome all had distinctive forms of political organization

Christian and Islamic Order

• Medieval Europe’s international society had complex mix:– Supranational, transnational, subnational,

national

• Catholic Church helped elaborate normative basis of society (canon law, just war)

• Islam: community of believers (umma) and treaty law with others

Emergence of Modern International Society

• Key elements:– Domination of Europe by larger states– Protestant Reformation diminished Church

authority --> strengthened sovereign equality

– Exploration of New World– Attempt to develop ordering mechanisms

Modern International Society

• Codified in Peace of Westphalia (1648)– But: “organized hypocrisy”? (Krasner)

• American and French Revolutions + Napoleonic Wars– Emergence of new nations and nationalism– Concert of Europe: joint hegemony

• After Second World War: League of Nations – Attempt to be more organized

Globalization of International Society

• UN intended as improved UN, but largely blocked by cold war

• Decolonization --> spread of European model of international society

• Accelerated by collapse of USSR• Globalization poses challenges for

sovereignty-based international society– New forms of community, failing states, American

hyperpower, resistance to Western ideas, poverty, environment

Case Study

The Iranian Revolution, 1979