week 1: stave vs. nation

define a state

a territorial entity controlled by a government and inhabited by a population - no higher authority

theoretical assumptions of a state

• state gov exercises over its territory

• recognized as sovereign by the states

• population forms a civil society; group identity

• seat of gov with a leader - head of gov or head of state

name the three key principles that the peace of westphalia established governing international politics

territoriality, sovereignty, and autonomy

territoriality

states controlled particular geographies

sovereignty

only one “sovereign authority” is recognized as governing that territory, and has supreme legal authority over domestic affairs

autonomy

people should have the freedom to make use of the benefits of sovereign (closely associated with 20th century ideas of “self-determination”)

do other actors other than states possess those characteristics?

no

• ex: anatartica isn’t a state bc it doesn’t have a working gov and people

• ex: colonies aren’t states bc they’re governed by other states rather than a sovereign gov

name issues that the UN an address

education, health, employment, environmental polution

• but the states can tell international orgs to back off so they can rule over their people

highest authority

the state

• the world acts in an anarchical system, which makes international law finicky

what are the effects of living in an anarchical world?

states participate in a global community with different levels of power and authority

• the US, russia, and china have great powers

• countries like andorra and gambia have much less power and influence

polarity

balance of state power, affected the history of global politics in the 20th century (e.g. the cold war)

nation

shared state of mind or shared characteristics such as beliefs, language, religion, traditions, customs, and cultures (kinda like a sports team)

• the people

• expresses the soul of the people

• emerges a feeling of belonging

• an imagined political community

• exists when people want self government

self determination

the power to control one’s own affairs

• national self-determination is the power of people within a nation-state or nation to make their own decisions about what is in their interest

other actors that play increasingly significant roles in global politics

• international orgs

• intergovernmental orgs (IGOs)

• nongovernmental orgs (NGOs)

• multinational corporations (MNCs)

describe one of the reasons why capturing the venezuelan pres is such a bad idea

ww2 agreement: leave the country borders alone, no more imperialism

name the reasons why the US wants greenland

• framed as a strategic and security issue

  • golden dome: security shield to protect the US, greenland would complete it

  • reagan bluffed saying that they had something like this back in the day, so russia spent million building one themselves and it went wrong

• rare earth minerals in greenland

• new routes through the arctic

north atlantic treaty organization

• founded in 1949

• collective defense and political coordination

• defensive alliance grounded in the UN charter

why was NATO created?

post ww2: european insecurity

• fear of soviet expansion

• goal: bind US power to european security

• involve the US completely, stay invested

how does NATO work?

• one member, one seat

• decisions by consensus, not voting (all decisions unanimous)

name and describe three of the most important articles in the doctrine

• article 4: consultation when a member feels threatened

• article 5: collective defense (one country attacked, everyone feels attacked

• article 10: enlargement by unanimous consent

NATO military structure

• allied commend operations (europe)

  • allied command transformation (US)

  • forces remain under national control

  • supreme allied commander europe

    • always held by a US four-star general or admiral

    • general alexus g. grynkewish, US air force

cold war deterrence (1949-1991)

• prevented great-power war in europe for over four decades

• anchored US security guarantees to europe

• deterred soviet aggression without direct combat

article 5 credibility

• invoked only once (after 9/11)

• demonstrates restraint an creidibility rather than instant escalation

post-2014/post-2022 deterrence

• forward deployment in baltics and poland

• rapid reaction forces and enhanced readiness

• clear signaling to russia without triggering war

NATO’s greatest hits: bosnia (IFOR/SFOR - 1993-1995)

• enforce dayton peace accords

• first major NATO peace enforcement mission

• stabilized post-conflict europe

NATO’s greatest hits: kosovo (1999)

• coercive air campaign halte ethnic cleansing

• no NATO combat fatalities

• demonstrated effectiveness of airpower

NATO’s greatest hits: afghanistan (ISAF) 2003-2014

• largest and longest NATO operation

• article 5 invoked

• tested alliance cohesion and burden sharing

NATO’s greatest hits: libya (2011)

• rapid multinational intervention

• prevented imminent civilian massacre

greenland’s political status

• part of the kingdom of denmark

• denmark retains defense and foreign affairs

• has US bases

• member of NATO through denmark

more reasons why taking over greenland is a terrible idea

• would violate danish sovereignty

  • contradicts international law

  • undermines alliance trust

• denmark is a NATO member

  • coercion between allies breaks alliance norms

  • creates legitimacy and credibility crisis

• challenges existence of NATO itself