Week 1 Introduction to European Security and Origins of Cold War Alliance System

7/29/2019 Week 1 Introduction to European Security and Origins of Cold War Alliance System

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Instructor: Rob Kevlihan, Ph.D


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Introduction to the Course

Different security concepts

Origins of the Cold War Alliance System

Security Provisions in the Early Post-WorldWar II Period


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Course Purposes to expose students to the history of European security

provisions beginning with the early post-1945 period,including discussion of the Cold War

to familiarize students with the significant changes theinternational system experienced in the early 1990s withthe end of the Cold War and the new dynamics in globalsecurity

to explore political, institutional and legal developments

that shape post-Cold War Europe, focusing in depth onthe role of the European Union (EU)

to examine contemporary security issues confrontingEuropean states and to speculate about future cooperativedevelopments in Europe.


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Course Objectives

By the end of the course, students will be:

Equipped with systematic knowledge about

European security issues in the context of globalpolitics from 1945 up to the present

Able to comprehend, identify and assess securityproblems and challenges at regional and

international levels


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Assessment

Group Presentation Country Assessment(20%) to take place during weekly tutorials.

Times for each group to be scheduled with theinstructor

Mid term exam - Week 7 (30%)

Final exam Week 12 (50%) Students are reminded that a minimum

attendance of 80% at both lectures and tutorialsis required to sit the final exam.


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Source: http://www.slideshare.net/kebrooke/europe-maps-1914
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Source: http://www.emersonkent.com/images/europe_1919.jpg
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http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/ralph/ralimage/map36wii.jpg
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/ralph/ralimage/map36wii.jpghttp://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/ralph/ralimage/map36wii.jpg


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Source:http://www.philate

licdatabase.com/maps/europe-map-after-1945/
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Source:http://www.worldatlasbook.com/images/maps/europe-map-political-countries.jpg [Accessed19th August 2013]
http://www.worldatlasbook.com/images/maps/europe-map-political-countries.jpghttp://www.worldatlasbook.com/images/maps/europe-map-political-countries.jpghttp://www.worldatlasbook.com/images/maps/europe-map-political-countries.jpghttp://www.worldatlasbook.com/images/maps/europe-map-political-countries.jpghttp://www.worldatlasbook.com/images/maps/europe-map-political-countries.jpghttp://www.worldatlasbook.com/images/maps/europe-map-political-countries.jpghttp://www.worldatlasbook.com/images/maps/europe-map-political-countries.jpghttp://www.worldatlasbook.com/images/maps/europe-map-political-countries.jpghttp://www.worldatlasbook.com/images/maps/europe-map-political-countries.jpghttp://www.worldatlasbook.com/images/maps/europe-map-political-countries.jpghttp://www.worldatlasbook.com/images/maps/europe-map-political-countries.jpghttp://www.worldatlasbook.com/images/maps/europe-map-political-countries.jpghttp://www.worldatlasbook.com/images/maps/europe-map-political-countries.jpg


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The notion of what we mean by security is a contested one;traditionally it has focused on the security of states. Morerecently a broader notion of human security has becomemore commonly used, focusing more on the humanconsequences of war, insecurity and peace

Questions of war and peace have preoccupied philosophers,historians and social scientists for millennia. Many of thetheories and writings on this subject that are well knownoriginate in or are based on Europes historical experiences

In recent times such questions have been addressed in politicalscience with the fields on international relations and

comparative politics. The sections which follow will providean overview of theories current in international relations.We will review and consider additional contributions fromcomparative politics later in the semester.


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Theories of International Relations Many theorists of IR take the Peace of Westphalia (1648)

as the starting point of the modern state system, arguingthat the principle of state sovereignty was established in

Europe at this time Under standard approaches to IR, states are taken as the

building blocks of the international system

IR takes as its starting point that states exist in a conditionof anarchy and examine the consequences for states of

such anarchy The focus of IR theory is therefore predominantly

(although not exclusively) on inter-state conflict (conflictbetween states) rather than intra-state conflict (conflictwithin states)


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Background: The Peace of Westphalia (1648) Ended the 30 years war (1618-1648) that embroiled

European states

The war was European in scope but fought primarily in

Central Europe. It focused on the fate of Germany andadjacent territory

The origins of the conflict were related to religiouscompetition and divisions between Catholic andProtestant rulers

The treaty reaffirmed the principle of cujus regio ejus regio(which to paraphrase from Latin means that the rulerdecides the religion of his or her subjects);

After the war Germany was divided into a weakfederation of some 350 states;


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However, The Peace of Westphalia also providedfor non-violent processes for adjudicating religiousdisputes, revitalized the German Holy RomanEmpire (a multinational / transnational political

construct) and made France and Sweden asguarantors of its provisions

So the treaty of Westphalia is not as clear ademarcation of state sovereignty as is often

presented. State sovereignty, if affirmed byWestphalia, was also bound to extra stateinstitutions and relations between states.

For further reading see Osiander (2001)


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There are a number of different IR schools ofthought Realism that human nature or the nature of the system

defines the behavior of states. Often divided into classicalrealism and neo-realism

Liberalism - that domestic state / society relations definestate ends and as such state behavior

Constructivism - that states can define the nature of their

interactions the realist zero sum game is not inevitable. Institutionalism tends to examine and debate the role of

international institutions in international relations


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Characteristics of Classical Realism

Reductive view of power

Rejection of harmony of interests Dark view of human nature

Risk Averse


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Reductive view of power The Greek general and historian, Thucydides, for

example, writing his History of the Peloponnesian War(5th century B.C.) , quotes one of the parties, the

Athenians, as saying (in the Melian dialogues): while thestrong do what they have the power to do and the weakaccept what they have to accept

Rejection of harmony on interests British diplomat EH Carr (1892-1982), writing about the

period between the World Wars, wrote: We musttherefore reject as inadequate and misleading the attemptto base international morality on an alleged harmony ofinterests which identifies the interest of the wholecommunity of nations with the interest of each individualmember of it (Carr, 2001)


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Dark View of Human Nature The English philosopher, Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)

wrote that The life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutishand short. In the absence of an overarching government,man lives in a state of nature.

Hobbes assumes (often violent) competition, conflictdriven by fear and conflict driven by desire for glory; notall people are driven by these impulses but some are andwill use violence to attain their ends - See Williams (2005)for further discussion

Hans Morgenthau (1904-1980): Only through workingwith the forces of human nature, rather than againstthem, by ever balancing interests, that moral principlescan be realized See Morgenthau (1978) for furtherdiscussion.


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Risk Averse

The Italian political philosopher, Niccol Machiavelli(1469- 1527), exemplifies this approach; see, forexample, this quote in his famous book entitled ThePrince: It is better to be feared than loved (SeeNederman, 2009 for more details on this theorist)

Hans Morgenthau - realism aims at the realizationof the lesser evil rather than of the absolute good


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Outcome: the self fulfilling prophesy of realism: Worst case scenario assumption about state intentions leads

states to adopt realist positions

In such circumstances International Relations are dominated byso-called Great Powers. Smaller states are essentially pawns inthe great game played between these larger states

But Some classical realists recognize the importance of morality in

international relations (Carr, Morgenthau) Most realists define what constitutes international relations

quite narrowly: for example, Morgenthau defines international relations as those activities

normally undertaken where power is considered Carr defines politics defined as power politics, with

international co-operation divided into the political and non-political


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Neorealist theories of international relations,developed since WWII, differ from classicalrealism because the focus of theory is on the

implications of anarchy, rather than on humannature.

Neorealism offers a more systematic approachthat is concerned with relative power.

The neorealist system is defined by the mostpowerful states in the system


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Kenneth Waltz (1923-2013) is the father of neo-realist theory, as set out in his now classic book,The Theory of International Politics Waltz discusses continuities in international relations

with a balance of power as the ultimate outcome

Forces are shaped by the very existence of other states aswell as interactions between them and will persist as longas none of the competing units can convert the anarchicinternational system into a hierarchic one

socialization and competition are the two invisible handsof the international system that lead to a persistence inoutcomes

State capabilities in the balance of power system are vital,with the number of strong states defining the nature ofthe international system

States follow a self help approach to ensure state survival


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Alliance formation in the realist system Stephan Walt (1955 - ):

Balancing or band-wagoning behavior likely from smallstates in response to the system of balance of power;

Not just a question of power: states will ally with oragainst the most threatening power.

As a result aggregate power, proximity, offensivecapability and offensive intentions all play a role indeciding state behavior

See Walt (1985) for further details


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Liberalism includes a more diffuse set of theories thathighlight the importance of domestic factors ininfluencing the foreign policies of states and byextension the nature of international relations.

The most important contribution of this literature is theidea of the Democratic Peace

First laid out by Emmanuel Kant (1724-1804) in a piecewritten in 1795 entitled Perpetual Peace for Kantperpetual peace could be guaranteed if a number ofconditions were met; included amongst them was the

First Definitive Article for Perpetual Peace that thecivil constitution of every state should be republican The modern version of the democratic peace theory

argues (based on empirical evidence) that democraciesare unlikely to go to war with each other.


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Constructivism considers how states and theinternational system are constructed andmeaning and understandings on the nature of

the international system are maintained Key text is Alexander Wendts (1958- ) Social

Theory of International Politics Wendtargues that anarchy is what states make of it.

Anarchy is not a given, but the product ofcertain kinds of relations between states and isnot inevitable.


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There are many different varieties ofinstitutionalism within the social sciences.However in international relations institutionalismfocuses on inter-governmental organizations and

how / why they work US theorist Robert Keohane (1941 - ) wrote a

seminal piece in 1984 entitled After Hegemony,Co-operation and Discord in the World Political

Economy that argued that internationalinstitutions reduce transaction costs between statesand reduce uncertainly by allowing more efficientsharing of information


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WWII fought in Europe from 1939 1945 It pitched Allied versus Axis powers In Europe, the primary Allied powers included Great

Britain, the USSR (from June 1941 onwards) and the

USA (from December 1941 onwards). Other countriesincluded many attacked and occupied during the warincluding France, Norway, Denmark, Holland,Belgium, Italy (after 1943), Greece, Poland, as well asBritish Commonwealth countries such as Canada andAustralia and other countries

The primary Axis powers in Europe were Germany,Italy (from 1940 until 1943), but were also allied to

Japan, who fought in Asia. Other Axis countriesincluded Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria,Croatia and Finland


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The split within the Allied camp reflected bothideological differences and security concerns betweenthe socialist USSR and capitalist western powers

Both sides remained suspicious of the other; Russian

and Soviet history included precedents of foreigninterference;

Stalin was determined to prevent another futureinvasion though the creation of a buffer zone in easternEurope

France and the UK, the traditional Great Powers ofEurope (along with Germany) were severelyweakened. Only the US had the ability to crediblydefend Western Europe.


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Key outcomes of WWII included: A divided Germany

Forced population movements, particularly of ethnicGermans from eastern Europe together with the loss of

millions through conflict, mass killings and genocide Soviet dominance of eastern Europe (agreed at the Yalta

conference in 1945 before the end of the war)

US assistance for the reconstruction of Western Europeanstates and a continued commitment to the defense of

these states (Temporary) US dominance with respect to atomic

weapons because of their sole possession of nuclearweapons until the Soviets acquired same in August 1949


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Source: http://www.awesomestories.com/assets/map-depicting-how-germany-was-divided [Accessed 19th August 2013]
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Initially divided into four zones, eachadministered by one of the four major alliedpowers US, USSR, UK and France

1946 - moves by the US and UK to re-establishindustrial production and economicdevelopment in their zones; end of 1946 bizoneof US and UK created; later joined by the

French


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Economic devastation, widespread societalbreakdown , occupation by Allied forces

The Nazi led genocide (termed the Holocaust orShoah in Hebrew) led to the killing of 11 million

people, including approx. 6 million European Jews(two thirds of Europes Jewish population). Moregenerally even greater military and civilian lossesbecause of the war

At the end of the war, approx. 13m ethnic German

previously living in eastern Europe were eitherexpelled or fled and were resettled into WestGermany

Polish borders were redrawn


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Yalta (Feb 1945) and Potsdam (July 1945)conferences held close to and immediately afterthe end of WWII between the USSR, USA and

the UK confirmed a Soviet sphere of influencein Eastern Europe

Soviet control was consolidated in thefollowing years (Yugoslavia excepted, which

was aligned with Moscow but had someindependence of action)


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Key events in consolidating Soviet control in theimmediate post war period included: Lublin government installed in Poland Communist regimes installed in Romania, Bulgaria and

Hungary by 1947 after ouster of initial coalitiongovernments

Cominform established by the Soviets in Sept 1947 torevive institutional links among European communistparties and tighten control over party activities

Soviet backed coup in Czechoslovakia in 1948 toppled a

democratically elected government there Yugoslavia retained some autonomy as communist

partisans under Tito liberated the country withoutassistance from the Red Army


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"From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain hasdescended across the Continent. Winston Churchill, March 1946. Forfull text of this speech, seehttp://history1900s.about.com/od/churchillwinston/a/Iron-Curtain.htm

In the light of the above, it will be clearly seen that the Sovietpressure against the free institutions of the western world issomething that can be contained by the adroit and vigilantapplication of counter-force at a series of constantly shiftinggeographical and political points, corresponding to the shifts andmaneuvers of Soviet policy, but which cannot be charmed or

talked out of existence US Diplomat George Kennan, writingunder the pseudonym X in magazine Foreign Affairs, 1947. Seehttp://www.historyguide.org/europe/kennan.html for the fulltext of his speech.
http://history1900s.about.com/od/churchillwinston/a/Iron-Curtain.htmhttp://www.historyguide.org/europe/kennan.htmlhttp://www.historyguide.org/europe/kennan.htmlhttp://history1900s.about.com/od/churchillwinston/a/Iron-Curtain.htmhttp://history1900s.about.com/od/churchillwinston/a/Iron-Curtain.htmhttp://history1900s.about.com/od/churchillwinston/a/Iron-Curtain.htm


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The Truman Doctrine (March 1947) In response to a civil war in Greece: America would aid free

peoples to resist threats by armed minorities or by outsidepressure. America would also help such free peoples maintaintheir national integrity against totalitarian regimes for the

full text of President Trumans speech, seehttp://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/trudoc.asp; for further discussion, see

Marshall Aid (European Recovery Program) Program initiated by the US in 1947. Lasted until 1952. Offered

to all European countries but refused by eastern bloc.

Main beneficiaries include UK, France, Italy, Austria, Belgium,Luxembourg, Netherlands, Scandanavian countries, Austria,Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Ireland etc. Seehttp://www.marshallfoundation.org for more information,including a recording of the speech itself.
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/trudoc.asphttp://www.marshallfoundation.org/http://www.marshallfoundation.org/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/trudoc.asp


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The US was the sole atomic power from theend of the war until August 1949

US possession of this weapon was not a

surprise to the USSR Despite the existence of this weapon, the

military balance of power was less clear-cutduring these years

Neither side wanted out right conflict, butUSSR was not intimidated by atomic power(See Week 2 reading, Geddis, Chapter 4)


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The United Nations established in San Francisco in1945. The UN included a security council with theUSA, the USSR, the UK, France and China aspermanent members with vetoes.

The US also sponsored the establishment of other

bodies designed to support recovery including theBretton Woods institutions the InternationalMonetary Fund and the World Bank (agreed 1944,established 1945) see http://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/BrettonWoodsfor further details

Brussels Pact, April 1948 signed between the UK,France, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg forcollective self defense

NATO subsequently established in 1949
http://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/BrettonWoodshttp://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/BrettonWoodshttp://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/BrettonWoodshttp://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/BrettonWoodshttp://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/BrettonWoods

Documents

Week 1 Introduction to European Security and Origins of Cold War Alliance System