GLOBAL POLITICS

GLOBAL POLITICS

WEEK 11

Introduction to Political Science 2

• What are the differences between ‘the domestic’ and the ‘foreign’?

• What is International Relations?

Kadri Kaan Renda


• Where can we find the historical roots of international relations? – Ancient Greece: City-States– The Treaty of Westphalia (1648): It ended the

Thirty Years War fought between Protestan States and Roman Catholic States started in 1618.

Kadri Kaan Renda


Treaty of Westphalia

• What are the implications of the Treaty of Westphalia for modern international relations?– A new system of state order emerged in Europe.– A system of centralized sovereign states. – The sovereignty of each singing party over its own

territory and people is recognized (The concept of sovereign states)

– All the states have the right to choose their own religion. (No external intervention to domestic affairs)

– The emergence of modern day diplomatic rules and traditions.

Kadri Kaan Renda


• Treaty of Kadesh between Egyptians and Hittites 1200 BC.• Greek City States 800 BC to 476 AD (Greco-Roman

World/Antiquity) • Middle Ages:

– Feudalism– Byzantine Empire, Holy Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire

• Modern Times:– Treaty of Westphalia– The Rise of Imperial Powers and Colonialism– World War One and Two– Cold War

Kadri Kaan Renda


Theories of International Relations

• Idealism• Realism• Pluralism• Marxism

Kadri Kaan Renda


Idealism

• For idealist thinkers, international politics should be based on moral values and legal norms.

• How should states behave in their relations with other states? (Normative Judgements)

• Idealism rests on the vision of international politics regulated by universal principles rather than the interests of each state.

Kadri Kaan Renda


• Idealist thinkers advocate the idea of internationalism and cooperation among states.

• Internationalism rests on the assumption that human nature is peaceful and keen to cooperate with others. Therefore, global cooperation can be the rule not an exception if states respect universal norms such as human rights.

• Socialist internationalism is the belief in the class solidarity formed among the working class of different states.

Kadri Kaan Renda


Kant’s Perpetual Peace

• Kant took this idea of internationalism futher and proposed a vision for the establishment of world government which regulates international relations.

• For him, peace in international relations can only be achieved through universal norms and cooperation among republican states which are based on the principles of representative democracy.

• Only this kind of peace can be permanent.Kadri Kaan Renda


• Liberals also stress the importance of cooperation among states.

• Liberals such as Wood Wilson argued that WWI resulted from the ‘old politics’ of militarism and expansionism.– Wilson’s internationalism is based on the primacy of

international law and the promotion of collective security. • For Liberals, there are two ways to achieve cooperation

and peace in international relations:– Free trade and economic interdependence– International Organizations

Kadri Kaan Renda


Neo-idealism

• Idealism revived in the 1970s with its emphasis on respect for human rights and national independence. (Neo-idealism)

• The emergence of peace movements, reactions to Cold War politics,

• Rejection of war and any forms of violence• Emphasis on settling conflicts through

peaceful, diplomatic means.

Kadri Kaan Renda


Realism

• Realist theory of international politics can be found in the writings of – Thucydides (Peloponessian War) – Sun Tzu (The Art of War) – Nicola Machiavelli (The Prince) – Thomas Hobbes (Leviathan)

– In modern times, (Classical) Realism is influenced by the works of E.H.Carr (The Twenty Years’ Crisis) and Hans Morgenthau (Politics Among Nations).

Kadri Kaan Renda


• Realism puts emphasis on power politics and views international politics as the pursuit of national interests.

• For realist thinkers, the state is the principal actor in international politics.

• Borrowing from Hobbes, Realism posits that international politics resembles a ‘state of nature’. Thus, the international system is anarchic. – Self-interested and self-help.– No higher authority. States are the only autonomous entity

with their internal and external sovereignty.– Uncertainty about what other states can do or not do.

Kadri Kaan Renda


• In order for states to protect their interests and defende their country they have to maximize their power. The pursuit of more power is the principal human goal. (Power politics)

• Maximization of military power• Peace and stability can be achieved if states enter into

alliances with other states to balance the power of other allied states (Balance of power)

• Aggression and war become costly and impracticable as long as there is a balance of power.

Kadri Kaan Renda


• Neo-Realism:– Developed by Kenneth Waltz (1979)– Principal actor is the state. States are self-

interested; therefore, irrespective of their domestic characteristics states remain like units in international politics.

– Survival is the main motive for states rather than power maximization. (Security and Survival)

– The Structure of the International System is based on two principles:• The anarchic nature of international system• The distribution of capabilities among states

Kadri Kaan Renda


– Differences between Classical Realism and Neo-Realism:• For classical realists, power maximization is the

ultimate goal whereas for neorealists security maximization is the ultimate goal. • For neorealism, the structure of the international

system is more influential than the individual goals of each state. The place of a state in the structure of the international system defines its interests.

Kadri Kaan Renda


Criticisms of Realism

• Obsession with power-seeking behaviour, national security and military power.

• Legitimizes immoral behaviours in the name of national interests

• Thus, power politics and balance of power brought the whole world to the edge of a nuclear war. (Mutually assured destruction)

Kadri Kaan Renda


Pluralism

• Pluralism is a theory that is built upon the assumption that politics is conducted among a number competing groups at the domestic and international levels.

• States are not as much autonomous as realists claim. State sovereignty on foreign policy is challenged by several other domestic and international actors.

• Pluralists emphasizes that international politics is shaped by a much broader range of interests and groups such as NGOs, MNCs.

• Pluralists denounces the billard ball analogy on which realism rests.

Kadri Kaan Renda


The Billard Ball Analogy

• Regardless of their domestic differences states are the same in the international arena.

• States act like billard balls.– They collide with other balls.– React to external factors/pressures.– No other kind of interaction between states.

For Pluralists, international politics is better defined as a cobweb of interactions between different actors. Interdependence between states will lead to cooperation and integration.

Kadri Kaan Renda


Marxism

• Marxist approach to international politics stresses on economic power and the role of international capital.

• For Marxism, solidarity among the working classes in each state can only lead to international peace.

• For Marxism, the international system based on capitalist economic structures are prone to conflict and war rather than peace. (Profit maximization)

Kadri Kaan Renda


• Lenin’s criticism of Imperialism: Lenin argued that imperial expansion resembled the domestic capitalists quest for more profit played out at the international level among capitalist powers.

• Difference between classical marxism and neo-marxism is that the latter focuses attention on the development of a global capitalist system whereas classical Marxists emphasized rivarly between different national capitalisms.

• For neo-Marxists, MNCs and TNCs do not challenge states as long as their interests are not threaten by states actions. In some cases, states and TNCs colloborate to spread and maintain the capitalist system all over the world.

Kadri Kaan Renda


World Order in the Post-WWII

• The international system after the Second World War– The United Nations is established in 1945.• The Security Council is made of five permanent

members and 15 rotating members.• Permanent Fives (P-5): China, France, UK, USA, USSR

Kadri Kaan Renda


The Cold War

• Between the Western bloc (NATO) and the Eastern bloc (Warsaw Pact)

• Between Western democracies and Eastern totalitarianism

• Between Capitalism and Socialism

• It was a militaristic competition between two superpowers, namely USA and USSR.

Kadri Kaan Renda


• Great power: A state deemed to rank amongst the most powerful in a hierarchical state system.

• Superpower: Greater than a great power with their global outreach, military capacity (nuclear capabilities), economic and ideological leadership.

• Hyperpower: A power thant commands much greater power than any of its potential rivals.

Kadri Kaan Renda


Bipolarity:The tendency of the international system to revolve around two poles.

Unipolarity: The international system in which there is only one great power (hyperpower or hegemon)

Multipolarity: The international system in which there are more than two power centres.

Unilateralism v. Bilateralism v. Multilateralism

Kadri Kaan Renda


• The origins of the Cold War:– Soviet’s expansionist ambitions – Ideological clash between capitalism and socialism– US interventionist policies and its goal to expand

its political and economic sphere of influence

• Begins with the Truman Doctrine in 1947– Principles of Truman Doctrine: • USA declared that it would give economic and military

aid to Greece and Turkey in order to prevent the spread of communism and contain the Soviet Union.

Kadri Kaan Renda

The End of the Cold War

• End of the Bipolar World Order• Reasons for the demise of the USSR– USSR could not cope with the arms race (USSR’s defeat

in Afghanistan) – Central planning economy did not work because it

caused corruption and resulted in inefficiency– The rise of human rights and peace movements– Gorbachev’s belated reforms

• Perestroika: Restructuring within the Communist Party• Glasnost: Openness and transparency in government

institutions

New World Order in the post-Cold War

• End of History: Francis Fukuyama’s theory• The Clash of Civilizations: Samuel Huntington’s theory• The Global Hegemony of the USA in world politics. The birth of a

unipolar system.• Ethnic conflicts and Civil Wars in the Balkans (Bosnia) and Africa

(Rwanda, Somalia)• The rise of international terrorism and rogue states. • Increase in the emphasis on human rights and peace and

interdependence among states. • Increase in military interventions by Western countries in the

name of protecting human rights and preventing ethnic cleansing.


The Clash of Civilizations

• Samuel Huntington’s article published in Foreign Affairs and his book with the same name.

• There would be conflicts between nations and groups from different civilizations.

• The major civilizations are Western, Chinese, Japanese, Hindu, Islamic, Buddhist, Latin American and Orthodox Christian.

Kadri Kaan Renda


Criticisms of Huntington

• Civilizations are not as homogenous as Huntington thinks.

• There have been interactions between different civilizations throughout history.

• Globalization have already blurred cultural differences in many parts of the world.

• Even if there is a conflict between civilizations this may resulted from perceived economic and political injustice than cultural differences.

Kadri Kaan Renda


The implications of 9/11• USA launched the Global War on Terror policy in the aftermath of 9/11. • The Axis of Evil: Iraq, Iran and North Korea (Syria, Libya and Cuba) • Bush Doctrine:

– Based on neoconservatist foreign policy approach– US hegemony has to be maintained (Military buildup)– US-style democracy has to be spread throughout the world– Interventionist foreign policy: A process of regime change through

military means. – Preemptive attack: Military actions taken to prevent a possible future

aggression. It is a form of self-defence by anticipation. • NATO-led military intervention to Afghanistan to topple the Taliban

regime.• US-led military intervention to Iraq to overthrow the Saddam regime.

Kadri Kaan Renda


Criticisms of War on Terror

• Strategic and tactical failure in Iraq and in the Middle East • Iraq turned into a new Vietnam for the USA• Military failure and incapabilities to encounter guerrilla warfare

tactics. • The US strategy of exporting liberal values and imposing

democracy from above failed. • The transition to democracy led to the rise of anti-Western and

anti-American political parties to come to power. • War on terror did not bring a long-lasting solution for the

Palestinian question. • US display of its miltary and hard power damaged its image and

its soft power all around the world. Kadri Kaan Renda


• Noam Chomsky criticized US military intervention and neoconservative foreign policy on two grounds:– US foreign policy is dictated by imperialist ambitions

aimed at safeguarding US political and economi interests– US interventions in the Middle East are another way of

extending American political and economic influence in the Middle East.

– War on terror is used to create a new enemy for the US in the post-Cold War world in order to consolidate US hegemony.

Kadri Kaan Renda


Globalization

• Globalization is the emergence of a complex web of interconnectedness among societies and individuals.

• Increased direct interaction between the global and the local. The global subordinates the national and the local.

Kadri Kaan Renda


Dynamics of Globalizaiton

• The emergence of a multipolar world order in the 21st century– The rise of China, India and other new powers– The growing power of nonstate and transnational actors– The changing nature of power and power relations– Traditional political borders become permeable. – Redefinition of space and time in the global world. – Increasing range of connections between individuals make

territory and distance meaningless or at least less influential. – Rapid dissemination of information due to the advancements

in telecommunication technologies

Kadri Kaan Renda


• Economic globalization: Refers to the emergence of a global economy based on free trade, internationalized production and free flow of capital between countries.

• Cultural globalization: Refers to the emergence of a global culture that tends to flatten out cultural differences between nations due to the global flow of particular products.

• Political globalization: Refers to the growing importance of international organizations.

Kadri Kaan Renda


Trends in Globalization

Homogenization: The tendecy for all countries and societies to become similar or identical.

Localization: Refers to the growing importance of local actors and their interactions on a global level.

Regionalization:Refers to the increase in regional integration among countries in the same region.

Indigenization: The process of through which alien goods and practices are absorbed by being adapted to local needs and circumstances.

Kadri Kaan Renda


Theories of Globalization

• Globalists:– Globalization understood as the spread of global

capitalism which is considered better than national capitalism because in this case more people in more countries will prosper and be better off.

– Globalized economic and cultural patterns are inevitable, driven by new information and communications technology. (Hyperglobalism)

Kadri Kaan Renda


• Anti-globalists:– Sceptical about the nature and benefits of globalization– Globalization is a new face capitalism and imperialism

in which case rich become richer and poor becomes poorer. (Increased inequality, widening gap between developed and underdeveloped countries)

– Globalization leads to the shift towards labour flexibility, tendency to decrease labour wages for the sake of global competition, weaker trade unions, foreign imposed controls on public spending and foreign pressure on reforming national legislation on social policy, trade policy and competition policy.

Kadri Kaan Renda


The North-South Divide

• The north-south divide is based on the idea that prosperity and peace is concentrated in the hands of industrialized countries whereas poverty and conflict define the economy and politics in underdeveloped countries.

• There is a growing gap between industrialized North and udnerdeveloped South in terms of economic growth, wages, living standards and technological advancements.

Kadri Kaan Renda


World System Theory

• Proposed by Immanuel Wallerstein• Based on the Marxist view of capitalism • According to Wallerstein, the world order is

based on growing inequality defined in terms of a country’s role in world economy.– Core states– Semi-peripheral states– Peripheral states

Kadri Kaan Renda


Downsides of Globalization

• Globalization has also produced risks, uncertainty and instability.

• Economic decision-making is increasingly influenced by global financial markets. A financial crisis in one country affects the economy of other countries.

• Risk Society: Ulrich Beck suggested that rising individualism, weakening of established institutions, consequences of rapid economic and social changes produce a risk society even in developed countries.

• Globalization leads to environmental crisis and destruction. • Undermines nation states

Kadri Kaan Renda


The Globalization Paradox

• Rodrik advocates regulated globalization.• Dani Rodrik (2011) argues that in order for

countries to succeed in a globalized world a balance between three dynamics has to be reached– Democratization– National determination– Economic globalization

Kadri Kaan Renda


Regionalization• Regionalization is the tendency for patterns of economic and

political cooperation to develop between states in the same region.

• As the nation-state is seen to be less effective in delivering security, stability and prosperity, these goals are increassingly achieved through cooperation with other neighbouring states.

• Growth of economic interdependence between states in the

same region.

• Increasing economic rivalry between different regional organizations.

Kadri Kaan Renda


Regional Economic Blocs

• North American Free Trade Agreement (1993)• Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (1989)• Association of South-East Asian Nations (1967)• Mercosur • Free Trade Area of the Americas (1994)

Kadri Kaan Renda


The European Union

• The origins of the idea of European cooperation– Supranational Authority of Papacy– 18th and 19th century European thinkers such as

Rousseau, Saint-Simon, Mazzini and Hugo. – 20th century political thinkers such as Cont

Coundenhove Kalergi (founder of the International Paneuropean Union)

– European Federalist: Altiero Spinelli– Churchill’s United States of Europe (We’re with you,

but not of you’)

Kadri Kaan Renda


• Historical circumstances in post-1945 Europe:– The need to rebuild Europe after war– The desire to preserve peace in Western Europe– The need to deal with the German problem– The desire to safeguard Europe from the threat of

Soviet expansionism– USA’s economic and political interests in the

prosperity, welfare and security of Europe

Kadri Kaan Renda


Timeline of European Integration

• The Schuman Plan (1950) • The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)

– Treaty of Paris (1951) – Community established in 1952– Common market for coal, iron and steel – Expired in 2002

• The European Economic Community and Euratom– Treaty of Rome (1957)– Established in 1958– Common market for goods, services, capital and workers– Expired in 2002

Kadri Kaan Renda


Timeline (continued)• Merger Treaty (1967):

– Merging the ECSC, EEC and Euratom– Establishment of European Communities

• Schengen Treaty (1985):• The Single European Act (1986): Establishment of the Single Market• Treaty of Maastricht (1992)

– Signed in 1992, came into force in 1993– Establishment of the European Union

• Treaty of Amsterdam (1997)– Signed in 1997, came into force in 1999

• Treaty of Nice (2001)– Signed in 2001, came into force in 2003

• Treaty of Lisbon (2007)– Signed in 2007, came into force in 2009

Kadri Kaan Renda


Enlargement of the European Union

• The First Enlargement (1973): UK, Ireland and Denmark

• Greece in 1981• Spain and Portugal in 1986• German Reunification in 1990• Austria, Finland and Sweden in 1995• 2004 Enlargement: 10 new members• 2007 Enlargement: Bulgaria and Romania• 2011 Enlargement: CroatiaKadri Kaan Renda


The Schuman Plan

• Declared in 9 May 1950• Franco-German production in the Ruhr area of

coal and steel as a whole be placed under a common High Authority.

• Two motivations:– The need for economic reconstruction and

economic growth – The need to preserve peace between France and

Germany

Kadri Kaan Renda


• Zollverein: German Customs Union founded in 1834. – Ruhr area: • Flourished as a result of the development of coal

mining. • First coal mine opened in 1847. • The German Heavy Industry was centred around the

Ruhr area.

Kadri Kaan Renda


The ECSC

• Founded in 1952.• Members: Italy, France, Germany and Benelux

states (Original Six)• Started as an initiative of Jean Monnet, adviser to

French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman• The debate between Federalists, functionalists

and the supporters of a Union of nation states. • The European project commenced as an

economic cooperation in coal and steel industry.

Kadri Kaan Renda


• Functionalism: Regional integration on specific areas of economy is necessary in order for governments to provide basic human needs.

• Neofunctionalism: Regional integration in one area generates pressure for further integration in other areas and eventually results in political integration through the mechanisms of spillover and transfer of loyalties to supranational institutions.

Kadri Kaan Renda


Organs of the EU

• European Commission• Council of Ministers• European Council• European Parliament• European Court of Justice: Do not confuse ECJ

with ECHR

Kadri Kaan Renda


Intergovernmentalism Supranationalism

Interaction between states Existence of a Higher authority over member states

National Independence Shared sovereignty

Unanimous decision-making Qualified majority voting

Each state has veto power Limited veto power

Centralized decision-making The principle of subsidiarity

Kadri Kaan Renda

Documents

GLOBAL POLITICS