Learn: International Relations: Sovereignty, Global Politics & World Order

Mercator Projection (1569)

A 1569 map projection that reflects European imperialist ideas by distorting the relative sizes of landmasses, significantly shrinking Third World nations and disproportionately exaggerating Western nations.

Peters Projection & Equal Earth Projection

Two cartographic alternatives designed to fix the geographical distortions of the 1569 Mercator projection by showing accurate, proportional land area across continents.

US vote on the Equal Earth Projection

The United States was one of the only countries that voted against Africa's international proposal to officially adopt the Equal Earth projection.

Popular Myth of the United Nations

The mistaken belief that the UN functions as a sovereign "World Government" with the authority to pass binding international laws that every nation on Earth must obey.

IR Definition

The study of relations among "states" (sovereign countries).

State (4 Legal Criteria)

A sovereign political institution possessing: 1) A defined territory, 2) A permanent population, 3) An effective government, and 4) The legal capacity to conduct international relations with other states.

State Sovereignty (General Definition)

The principle that a state possesses supreme, independent authority over its recognized geographic territory and its domestic political affairs.

Internal Sovereignty

A state's supreme, ultimate political and legal authority within its own territorial borders.

External Sovereignty

A state's legal independence from foreign nations; no foreign country possesses the legal right to boss, dictate, or interfere in another state's actions.

Billiard Ball Model

A traditional IR model that assumes sovereign states are unitary, impermeable primary actors colliding with one another in the international arena.

Critique of the Billiard Ball Model

It fails to define who or what "the state" actually is: Is it the national leader, the executive branch, the ruling administration/regime, or the national interest?

Global Politics (Central Definition & Question)

Struggles over power at and across all levels. Its central analytical question is: Who has power, how is it exercised, and how is it distributed?

4 Operating Levels of Global Politics

1) International, 2) Regional, 3) Subnational, and 4) Worldwide.

Global / Structural Level of Analysis

Analyzes macro-scale global patterns, including global capitalism and finance, imperial and colonial legacies, technological transformation, global climate, and worldwide production networks.

Systemic / Interstate Level of Analysis

Analyzes interactions between states, treating them like a chess game: alliances, rivalries, distribution of international power, threats, and security dilemmas.

State / Domestic Level of Analysis

Analyzes internal factors within countries: forms of government, economic systems, political parties, interest groups, domestic public opinion, and the media.

Individual Level of Analysis

Analyzes individual leaders' personal psychology, core decisions, strategic choices, belief systems, and worldviews.

John Mearsheimer (Day 1 Mention)

A key thinker in International Relations (often called a father of IR) noted in lecture as having an active YouTube channel discussing systemic geopolitics.

Security Dilemma (Definition)

A structural condition where one state's efforts to increase its own security (e.g., military buildup, bases, alliances) inadvertently causes other states to feel less secure, driving counter-escalation.

Levels of Analysis applied to Russia-Ukraine War

Individual: Putin and Zelensky's beliefs/decisions; Domestic: Internal political/economic pressures inside each state; Systemic: NATO expansion, alliances, unequal power, and security dilemmas; Global: Global capitalism, commodity flows, and worldwide structural winners/losers.

Transnational Actors (2 Types from Lecture)

1) Multinational Corporations (MNCs): Large firms controlling operations across borders (e.g., Nike, Apple, Honda). 2) Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs): Private, nonprofit groups pursuing social/humanitarian goals independent of governments (e.g., Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International). *(Social movements also organize across borders).*

Other Actors in Global Politics (4 Types from Lecture)

1) Intergovernmental Organizations / IGOs (UN, ICC, EU), 2) Armed Resistance / Liberation Groups (Algeria's FLN, Ireland's IRA), 3) Substate Governments (Quebec, California), 4) Individuals and Networks (hackers, influencers, activists).

Why States Still Matter Despite Many Actors

States retain distinct structural monopolies: they control physical borders and territory, levy taxes, imprison citizens, and draft and enforce legal systems.

Thirty Years' War (1618-1648)

A major European war fought between overlapping political and religious authorities, ending with the Peace of Westphalia.

The Westphalian Myth (Critique of 1648)

The traditional IR narrative that state sovereignty abruptly began with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia. Critiques show: 1) The Peace of Augsburg in 1555 had already established sovereignty arrangements, 2) Westphalia was an imperial European regional settlement, not a global inception, and 3) European sovereignty expanded alongside colonial empire.

Anarchy, Sovereignty, and Hierarchy Coexistence

Anarchy (absence of a global world government), Sovereignty (formal, legal independence of states), and Hierarchy (some states holding structural authority over others) all coexist simultaneously in the modern world order.

Strait of Hormuz Conundrum & US Bases in the Gulf

US military bases in West Asian Gulf states challenge traditional sovereignty: Gulf states formally control the soil and even pay the US to host troops, but US naval control over the Strait of Hormuz provokes Iran and reduces the host states' real strategic autonomy.

Digital Lock-In (Roberts)

A condition where host countries act as client states and functional extensions of the US government because US military systems, presence, and technology overpower the host nation's independent judgments.

Residual Hegemony (Roberts)

The persistence of geopolitical dominance where, even after political ideologies, ruling administrations, and leaders change, established military footprints and historical actions continue dictating conditions.

Study on the Greatest Threat to World Peace

A study cited in lecture finding that the global public identifies the United States as the greatest threat to world peace.