Why do States Cooperate and Compete with Each Other?

• states compete for many reasons

  • control of territory

  • access to trade and resources

  • influence over other states

• to further their goals, states may form alliances with others

• during the Cold War, many states joined military alliances

  • resulted from the emergence of the superpowers of the US and USSR

• after the Cold War, most alliances were economic

  • violence and wars came from terriorists rather than from states

Cold War Competition and Alliances

• during the Cold War era, organizations were established to prevent a third world war

• afterward, they changed their goal or withered away

Era of Two Superpowers

• during the Cold War era, the US and USSR were the two superpowers

  • could quickly deploy armed forces around the world

  • established military bases in other countries to maintain strength in other territories

  • demonstrated they would use military force to prevent an ally from becoming too independent

    • ex. Soviet Union sent armies to Hungary and Czechoslovakia to install more sympathetic governments

    • ex. US sent troops to the Dominican Republic, Grenada, and Panama to ensure they remained allies

• before the Cold War, there used to be more than 2 superpowers

• before WWI, there were 8 superpowers

  • Austria

  • France

  • Germany

  • Italy

  • Japan

  • Russia

  • UK

  • US

• when a lot of states ranked equally powerful, no single state could dominate

• major powers joined together to make temporary alliances

balance of power: a condition of roughly equal strength between opposing alliances

• post-WWII balance of power was bipolar between US and USSR

  • the world comprised two camps, each under the influence of one of them

  • other states lost the ability to tip scales in favor of one or other superpower

    • were relegated to a new role

Cuban Missile Crisis

• Soviet Union secretly constructing missile-launching sites in Cuba in 1962

• President John F. Kennedy demanded that the missiles were removed, and ordered a naval blockade

• Soviet Ambassador Valerian Zorin denied the accusations at the UN

• US Ambassador Adlai Stevenson showed aerial photographs of Cuba

• Soviet Union dismantled the missiles because of the irrefutable evidence

Military Cooperation in Europe

• after WWII, most European states either joined NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) or the Warsaw Pact

• NATO was a military alliance among 16 democratic states

• Warsaw Pact was a military agreement among Communist Eastern European countries

  • 8 members joined when it was founded

  • Hungary used its troops to crush an uprising against Communist control

  • also invaded Czechoslovakia to depose a government committed to reforms

• both alliances were made to maintain a bipolar balance of power in Europe

  • NATO allies’ goal was to prevent the USSR from overrunning West Germany and other small countries

  • Warsaw Pact allies’ goal was to provide the USSR with a buffer of allied states between it and Germany to discourage a third German invasion

• once Europe was no longer dominanted by military confrontation between two blocs, the Warsaw Pact disbanded

  • most Warsaw Pact members joined NATO

• NATO offered alllies a sense of security against any future Russian threat, and participation in a united Europe

Economic Alliances in Europe

• during the Cold War, two economic alliances formed in Europe

  • EU (European Union)

    • formed with 6 members in 1958 (Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and West Germany)

    • designed to heal Western Europe’s scars from WWII

  • COMECON (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance)

    • formed with 10 members in 1949 (8 states from Warsaw Pact + Cuba, Mongolia, and Vietnam)

    • designed to promote trade and sharing of natural resources

The EU in the Twenty-First Century

• expanded from 6 countries to 27

• most recent additions are former COMECON members, who disbanded after the fall of communism

• Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Iceland, Turkey, and Albania may join the EU

• main task is to promote development within the member states through economic and political cooperation

  • European Parliament is elected by people in the member states

  • subsidies are provided to farmies and economically depressed regions

  • most barriers to free trade was removed

• this has created Europe into the world’s wealthiest market

Eurozone Crisis

• a single bank (the European Central Bank), was given responsibility to set interest rates and minimize inflation throughout the eurozone

• a common currency (euro) was created

  • France’s franc, Germany’s mark, and Italy’s lira, have disappeared

  • 23 countries use euros

• European leaders think that every country in the region would be economically stronger if it used euros

• however, Greeze, Ireland, Italy, and Spain, are forced to implement harsh and unpopular policies

• economically stronger countries like Germany have to subsidize the weaker states

Cultural Integration in Europe

• crossing state borders is easier and more cultural than political, like crossing borders between states in the US

• much of EU’s budget used translating documents into other languages

• the biggest obstacle in European integration is the multiplicity of languages

• residents display increased tolerance for cultural values of their neighbors

• opposition has increased to the immigration of people from the south and east

  • especially those who have darker skin and adhere to Islam

• immigrants from poorer regions fill low-paying jobs that other Europeans aren’t willing to do

• Europeans fear the immigration will transform their nation-states into multiethnic societies

• Europeans believe Africans and Asians will continue to maintain the high CBR and constitute a higher percentage of the populution in the future

Alliances in Other Regions

• Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)

  • 56 members

  • founded in 1975

  • became a forum for countries concerned with ending conflicts

  • it can call upon member states to supply troops if necessary

• Organization of American States (OAS)

  • all 35 states in Western Hemisphere are members

  • Cuba is a member but was suspended from most activities in 1962

  • Washington, DC, is the headquarters

  • promotes social, cultural, political, and economic links among member states

• African Union (AU)

  • established in 2002

  • 53 countries in Africa

  • replaced an organization called Organization of African Unity

  • places emphasis on promoting economic integration

• Commonwealth

  • includes the UK and 52 other states that were once British colonies

  • seek economic and cultural cooperation

Terrorism by Individuals and Organizations

terrorism: the systematic use of violence by a group in order to intimidate a population or coerce a government into granting its demands

• characteristics of terrorists include

  • trying to achieve objectives through organized acts that spread fear and anixety

    • bombing, kidnapping, etc.

  • viewing violence as a means of bringing widespread publicity to goals that are not being addressed through peaceful means

  • believing in a cause so strongly that they don’t hesitate to attack knowing they’ll probably die

• terror was first used during the Reign of Terror

• political leaders have been assassinated without being considered terrorism

  • 4 US presidents

  • Roman Emperor Julius Caesar

  • Archduke Franz Ferdinand

• terrorism differs from assassination and other political violence because its attacks are aimed at ordinary people rather than military targets or political leaders

• military actions like bombing can kill ordinary citizens, but they are unintended victims, unlike in terrorism

Terrorism Against Americans

• 12/21/1988

  • bomb destroyed a plane over Lockerbie, Scotland

  • killing 270

• 2/26/1993

  • car bomb in the underground gagarge damaged NY’s WTC

  • killing 6, injuring 1000

• 4/19/1995

  • car bomb in the Alfed P. Murrah Federal Building

  • killing 168

• 6/25/1996

  • truck bomb in an apartment complex in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

  • killing 19 US soldiers and injuring 100

• 8/7/1998

  • US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed

  • killing 190 and injuring 5000

• 10/12/2000

  • USS Cole was bombed in the port of Aden, Yemen

  • killing 17 US service personnel

• Theodore J. Kaczynski (Unabomber)

  • killed 3 people and injured 23 by sending bombs in the mail

  • targets were academics in technological disciplines and executives in businesses who he considered to be adversely affecting the environment

• Timothy J. McVeigh

  • was behind the Oklahoma City bombing

  • Terry I. Nichols assisted him and was convicted of conspiracy

September 11, 2001, Attacks

• 93 people died on the plane that crashed into the North Tower

• 65 people died on the plane that crashed into the South Tower

• 2605 died on the ground around the towers

• 64 died on the plane that crashed into the Pentagon

• 125 died at the Pentagon

• 44 died on the plane that crashed in a random spot, preventing another attack

• the al-Qaeda network, founded by Osama bin Laden, was responsible

• bin Laden

  • used his father’s inheritance to fund the network and unite opposition fighters

  • moved from Afghanistan to fight against the Soviet army

    • called it a holy war (“jihad”)

    • recruited Muslims from Arab countries

  • after the Soviet Union withdrew, he returned to Saudi Arabia

    • was expelled for opposing the government for permitting the US to station troops there during the Iraq war

  • moved to Sudan

    • expelled as well for instigating attacks against US troops

  • returned to Afghanistan

    • lived as a “guest” of the Taliban-controlled government

  • declared war against the US because of its support for Saudi Arabia and Israel

  • argued Muslims have a duty to wage a holy war against the US because it was responsible for maintaining the Saud royal family as rulers of Saudi Arabia and a state of Israel dominated by Jews

Al-Qaeda

• 5/8/2002: 13 deaths

• 5/12/2003: 35 deaths

• 11/15/2003: 29 deaths

• 11/20/2003: 32 deaths

• 5/29/2004: 22 deaths

• 7/7/2005: 56 deaths

• 7/23/2005: 88 deaths

• 11/9/2005: 63 deaths

• 9/28/2008: 54 deaths

• 12/15/2009

  • one of the members tried to detonate explosives sewn into his underwear

  • passengers put out the flames

  • he was sent to 4 life terms and 50 years in prison

• Al-Qaeda isn’t a single unified organization

• number of people involved is unknown

• bin Laden was advised by a council

• also encompasses local franchises concerned with country specific issues

• Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist activities

  • 10/12/2002: 202 deaths

  • 8/5/2003: 12 deaths

  • 9/9/2004: 3 deaths

  • 10/1/2005: 26 deaths

  • 7/17/2009: 9 deaths

• other terrorist groups have also been loosely associated with al-Qaeda

• its use of religion to justify attacks has posed challenges

• Americans and Europeans have the challenge of distinguishing peaceful but unfamiliar principles and practices of Muslims and the misuse and abuse of Islam by terrorists

• Muslims face the challenge of being able to express disagreement with the policies of governments in the US and Europe and also disavow the use of terrorism

State Support for Terrorism

• states in the Middle East have supported terrorism by

  • providing sanctuary

  • supplying weapons, money, and intelligence

  • planning attacks using terrorists

Sanctuary for Terrorists

• Afghanistan and possibly Pakistan have provided sanctuary for al-Qaeda

Afghanistan

• US attacked Taliban-controlled Afghanistan in 2001 for sheltering bin Laden and other al-Qaeda members

  • bin Laden escaped

• the Taliban had gained power in 1995 and installed strict Islamic law

  • treated women harshly

• 6 years of Taliban rule temporarily suppressed a civil war

  • had started when the king was overthrown in a bloodless coup by Mohammed Daoud Khan

  • Daoud was murdered and replaced by military officers sympathetic to the USSR

  • USSR sent troops when people started a rebellion against pro-Soviet government

  • the rebels won and the Soviet-installed government fell

  • after infighting, Taliban gained control

• removal of the Taliban government created another struggle for control among the ethnicities

• when the US focused on Iraq and Iran, the Taliban regrouped and rebelled against the US-backed government

Pakistan

• war on terrorism spilled from Afghanistan

• western Pakistan is inhabited where Taliban are mainly in control

• US intellience thought bin Laden was there, but were wrong

• bin Laden was killed at Abbottabad

• US believed that Pakistan security had been aware that he’d been living in the compound for at least five years

  • it was heavily fortified, with high walls and barbed wire

• Pakistani officials were upset that the US attacked the compound without their knowledge

Supplying Terrorists

• Iraq and Iran have been accused of providing material and financial support for terrorists, though the extent of it is controversial

Iraq

• US attacked Iraq in 2003 to get rid of Saddam Hussein, their president

  • justification was that he created biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction

  • those weapons could get to the terrorists, because of the close links between the government and al-Qaeda

  • UK and some other countries supported the attack, but most didn’t

• since he became president, Hussein’s behavior had raised concerned

  • 8 year war with Iran

  • nuclear reactor, where nuclear weapons to attack Israel were allegedly being made, were later destroyed by Israeli planes

  • used poison gas against Iraqi Kurds, killing 5000

  • invaded Kuwait, even though the international community opposed it

• Operation Desert Storm drove Iraq out of Kuwai, but didn’t remove Hussein

  • the operation was heavily supported because it was to end one country’s unjustified invasion and attempted annexation of another

• few countries supported US attack in 2003 because most countries didn’t agree that Iraq still possessed weapons of mass destruction or intended to use them

  • the assessment that Hussein had close links with al-Qaeda was also challenged

• US ambassador showed air photos to prove that Iraq possessed weapons at a UN meeting, but they weren’t clear evidence

• US argued that Iraq needed a “regime change”

• US invaded and removed Hussein

  • Iraqis were not enthusiastic

  • it started a new, violent struggle among the tribes to get in power

Iran

• hostility with the US began when a revolution got rid of pro-US Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

  • its Shiite population demanded more democratic rule and opposed the Shah’s economic program that made social unrest

  • supporters of an exiled Shiite fundamentalist proclaimed Iran an Islamic republic and rewrote the consitution

  • militant supporters of the ayatollah seized US embassy and held them hostage

• Iran and Iraq had fought a war over the Shatt al-Arab waterway, and Iran won

• during Iran’s revolution, Iraq seized it, but a winless 8 year war went on after

  • it only ended once they accepted a UN peace plan

• US accused Iran of harboring al-Qaeda members and trying to gain influence in Iraq

• Iran also had an aggressive development of a nuclear program

  • it claimed it was for civilian purposes

  • other countries thought it was to build weapons

• long negotiations went on to have Iran’s nuclear capabilities dismantled

State Terrorist Attacks: Libya

• the government was accused of sponsoring a bombing of a nightclub

• relations between Libya and US were already poor

  • Libya viewed the Mediterranean Sea as their own

  • US considered it international territory

  • US performed exercises over water, and was attacked by Libyan warplanes

  • US shot the warplanes in return

• US bombers attacked in a failed attempt to kill Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi

• Libyan agents were found to have planted bombs on planes

• UN put economic sanctions, and terrorist suspects were tried

• Libya renounced terrorism in 2003 and have provided compensation for victims

• UN sanctions were lifted when Libya was no longer considered a state sponsor of terrorism