Historical Foundations and Evolution of the International System

Flashcards covering the evolution of the international system, pre-1500 global societies, the rise of European hegemony, the Cold War, and contemporary international relations dynamics.

PLS2153 Learning Objectives

To identify and discuss key historical events, processes, actors, and influences that shaped the global system, and demonstrate an understanding of how European powers influenced contemporary patterns and norms.

A Birds Eye View of World History

A book by father and son historians McNeil and McNeil, part of the Hew and Webb series, recommended for understanding the fit of global historical events.

Pre-1500 Power Centers

Regions located throughout Africa, Asia, and The Middle East that dominated trade, exchange, and conflict before the emergence of Europe on the world scene.

Southeast Asian Sea

A name suggested by scholar Edmund Lin for the South China Sea to avoid the implication of Chinese ownership, reflecting its contemporary geopolitical ramifications.

Silk and Spice Routes

Land and sea-based trading networks that connected Asia, Central Asia, The Middle East, Africa, and Italy prior to 1500.

Islamic Trading Credit System

A system developed in The Middle East for pre-positioning funds to purchase goods, functioning like a credit system without being a traditional loan.

Alandales (Muslim Spain)

The period of Islamic dominance in Spain between 711 and 1492 of the current era, ended by violent Spanish resistance after several hundred years.

Timbuktu

A significant center of learning located in Northern Africa during the era of the Islamic kingdoms and trade networks.

Slavery in Global History

A feature of societies worldwide since 'day dot'; the Islamic slave trade took as many Africans into the Middle East as those taken to the New World.

Barbary Pirates

Pirates from Northern Africa who conducted slave missions into Europe before Europeans established their presence in Africa.

Old World

Territories that could be reached without long-distance seafaring, including Africa, Asia, and Europe.

New World

Territories including the North and South American continents, the Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand that required long-distance seafaring vessels to reach.

Columbian Crop Exchange

The movement of crops like tomatoes, potatoes, maize (corn), and cassava from the New World to the Old World, leading to significant population explosions.

Syphilis

A devastating disease that was transmitted from the New World back to the Old World during early global contact.

South American Silver

The resource that allowed Europeans to participate in Old World trade networks; China was a net beneficiary as they insisted on silver for payment.

Tokugawa Shoguns

Japanese rulers who initiated a process of withdrawal from international affairs in the late 16th century to protect Japanese culture from Spanish and Portuguese missionary influence.

Voyages of Zheng He

15th-century Chinese maritime expeditions to Southeast Asia, India, and Africa intended as 'soft power' to gain recognition for the Chinese empire.

Qianxia (The Heavenly Kingdom)

A Chinese concept of nationalism where China is viewed as the center of the world and all others are considered barbarians.

Tribute System

A hierarchical international order where states acknowledged China as the leader and paid regular tributes to engage in favorable trade.

Mughal India

An empire established in Northern India that faced difficulties subjugating the south, creating entry points for European mercantilism and eventually British colonization.

European Hegemony (19th Century)

A period of global dominance by European powers driven by industrialization, seafaring capacity, and colonization efforts.

Semi-colonialism

A term describing the status of countries like China that lost port cities and specific territories to European powers but were not fully colonized.

Treaty of Westphalia

The agreement following the Thirty Years' War that helped establish the grounds for the concept of the balance of power in international relations.

Concert of Europe

A 19th-century system where Europe's great powers distanced themselves from weaker states and set the rules for international relations.

Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points

A peace plan following World War I that promoted enlightened idealism, liberalism, and the system of collective security.

League of Nations

An attempt to form a global government after World War I to prevent future conflicts through collective security.

Balfour Declaration

A problematic outcome of the World War I era where different ethnic groups were promised the same territory in parts of the Middle East.

Appeasement

A policy associated with Neville Chamberlain involving concessions to totalitarian dictators to avoid war, though later viewed as 'buying time' for rearmament.

Bipolar World

The division of the world during the Cold War along ideological lines: the Capitalist West (led by the US) versus the Communist East (led by the USSR).

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)

A Cold War doctrine where the possession of nuclear arsenals by the US and USSR meant direct conflict would lead to global annihilation.

Sino-Soviet Split (1956-66)

A major falling out between China and the Soviet Union that signaled the end of strict bipolarity in the international system.

Nixon Doctrine/Guam Doctrine

A policy introduced following the Vietnam War stating that US allies must be primarily responsible for their own defense and security.

Glasnost and Perestroika

Policies of 'openness' and 'restructuring' introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985 that eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

European Union (1992)

The creation of 'One Europe' as a regional entity with the potential to be a global economic and political force.

First Gulf War (1990-91)

A conflict where a 'coalition of the willing' liberated Kuwait from Iraqi invasion, demonstrating sophisticated US war-fighting capabilities.

Non-state Actors

Entities involved in the post-9/11 world, such as transnational terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda, which challenge traditional state-based conflict.