theme one

a key feature of knowledge

that it is always based on community

scholars, experts, students, etc

help assert and validate knowledge

the notion of borders and state identity are

a recent phenomena

to address changes in our planet

we have to work as a collective

the main questions we need to ask when studying world politics

how should we approach the study of world affairs?
how is the world best understood?
what is meant by global politics?
how has international politics been transformed into global politics?
how has global politics changed in recent years in relation to the issues of power, security, and justice?
what is the balance between continuity and change in global politics?

how should we approach the study of world affairs?

the approach has to consider the country and human condition that youre focusing on

when did international politics turn into global politics?

post 1945

what is the balance between continuity and change in global politics?

balancing the past and the future while living in the present
we have to issues to address but we have to preserve the past and face the future

why is the modern state a phenomena?

because after 1945, 100 new states emerged

empires

expanded and colonized before 1945
after, they had to give up colonies because of civil forces or economic reasons
people who kicked empires realized they had to organize

the middle east emerging

the league of nations gave a mandate for french and british colonial powers to teach those in the middle east to become more modern
they instead took over and divided the region between two empires and became a costly game with the people caught in between

syria and lebanon

were altered by the french empire
the french split the tribes into halves in the attempt to draw borders
families were isolated and it led to a rebellion that killed 20,000 people

how were african borders decided?

people came together and drew proper borders

palestine and israel

the british promised the land to the palestinians and the jewish that led to the conflict that still has not ended

the kurds

located across different states like turkey, iraq, iran, azerbaijan, and armenia
they have not been able to make their own state, kurdistan

canada

french speaking canadians established quebec
some want secede to create quebec as a separate state

the scottish

wanted to separate form the uk to make their own state

global politics

the study of states and people

globalization

the whole planet has become one, interconnected place

the world

always changes

outside countries

still play a role in our lives

ukraine

when putin invaded ukraine, people were impacted across the world
for example, people in ethiopa began starving because ukraine supplies fertilizer

jurisdiction

the jurisdiction of state established by a system of laws or political force

example of jurisdiction

the north pole is now under the debate of who's jurisdiction it will be under

what redefines humanity?

markers that are regulated by laws and states that determine our existence
papers, social security, credit history

we cannot escape the power of

states

global interdependence

states depend on one another that we cannot escape

max weber

german sociologist, philosopher, jurist, political economist, and intellectual

the modern state according to weber

is a compulsory association which organizes domination and has been successful in seeking to monopolize the legitimate use of physical force as a means of domination within a territory

we have the ability to...

secede and control our own community

communities rely on...

who is seen as legitimate

legitimacy

determines who support decisions within a community

monopoly

who controls the means of force

territory

a limited border or area of land

when was sovereignty established?

at the peace of westphalia after the 30 years war in europe

peace of westphalia

when leaders, principalities, etc came together to determine territory and allow leaders control what happens within their own borders and ensure that said sovereignty wont be disrupted

just because sovereignty is declared...

does not mean neighbors will respect it or take it seriously

examples of sovereignty not being respect

russia invading ukraine
the us invading iraq

sovereignty

is not as sacred as we think but it still matters

levels of analysis

foreign policy influences
global influences
state or internal influences
individual influences like interests and culture
policy making process
foreign policy decisions

foreign policy loop

global conditions
actors internal characteristics
leader
foreign policy decisions

how the global scale can be broken down

global
international
regional (geographically)
national
ngos and igos
substate

national

the state

ngos

non governmental organization
individual actors that can still impact global politics

examples of ngos

red cross, green peace

igos

intergovernmental organization
international state organizations

examples of igos

united nations, nato, european union

substate

within the state

challenges in world politics

individual passion
difficulty in overcoming challenges
responding to events and questions
the world is full of people who think differently from each other
unresolved issues

ways to fix challenges in world politics

learning about different ways to solve a problem whether its economically, politically, or technologically
remembering other povs
cooperation

a solution without compromise...

wont work unless it is involuntarily forced upon the opponent

assumptions based on ones own ideas

can be clouded

a question to think about when discussing world politics

who defines whats good or bad?

stateless nation

like the kurds
have to ask if degrees of sovereignty are respected and applied

the israeli-palestine conflict

impacted by religious belief

interests in a global conflict

economic factors can determine whos an ally
what stake does a state have
does it matter if they choose a stance
what are they prioritizing

things that impact how a state becomes an ally

economic factors
education/socialization
location
regional ties like sharing borders
history

global politics is replete with...

states of affairs that we object to
example: war, child labor, etc

the centrality of the human is firmly lodged where?

the heart of our thought

man is no longer...

central as gods creation because now man uses reason to decide what to do

the idea of changing whats wrong with the world

implies that we humans are doing the changing, therefore, we have control over the world
also implies that we know how the world should be to make it better

power

is something that happens in all social relations
they can be productive or repressive