International Cooperation, the Evolution of the Nation-State, and Regional Crises

Administrative and Class Notes

• Extra Credit Question: A question was posed regarding an article which stated that citizens in a society need a specific resource referred to as "Vitamin B." The instructor asked for the identification of this substance.
• Audio Recording Quality and Integrity: The instructor noted that several previous lectures were not recorded due to "operator error." These recordings lack full integration with the visual screen content and primarily consists of audio of the instructor speaking. These are suggested for use only in "extreme emergencies," such as when a student cannot obtain notes from a peer or needs a sleep aid, utilizing the sound of the instructor's voice for an hour and fifteen minutes.
• Course Prompts: One major prompt for the course concerns international efforts and attempts to supersede the nation-state throughout history.

Historical Efforts to Create International Cooperation

• The Goldilocks States ($1789$): This term refers to the major powers of the time: Great Britain, France, the Austrian Empire (also known as the Habsburg Empire), Russia (partially obscured on the map), and Prussia (noted as an up-and-coming power).
• The Post-Napoleonic Era ($1820$): Following the Napoleonic Wars, three primary countries that had participated—the Austrian Empire, Russia, and Prussia—continued to engage in international cooperation as enduring states.
• Pre-World War I Context ($1914$): On the eve of the first World War, another attempt at international cooperation occurred. In this instance, the cooperation was aimed at forming military alliances to ensure others would help fight a war.
    - The Central Alliance included the German Empire (into which Prussia had transformed), the Austrian Empire, and the new nation of Italy.
    - The map of Europe significantly changed over the four years following $1914$, specifically impacting the territories of Germany, Austria, and the Russian Empire.

The Interwar Period and World War II

• The League of Nations ($1927$): Established by the "Versailles dream makers," the League was intended as an instrument to ensure members avoided future wars. However, it proved to be an utterly ineffective international organization for preventing conflict.
• Pre-World War II Alliances ($1939$): By this time, states had ceased relying on the League of Nations for security. Instead, they sought protection through alliances with neighbors.
    - England and France formed an alliance.
    - The Soviet Union was allied with various countries, though not with France or Britain.
    - Germany and its allies occupied the central region of Europe.
• German Military Success ($1942$): At the height of World War II, Nazi Germany controlled almost the entire European continent. The instructor noted the map looked similar to the Napoleonic maps but result in far more casualties.

The Post-World War II Order

• The United Nations ($1945$): An international organization created by the winning Allied powers (British, Americans, and Russians) with the theoretical goal of including every country in the world.
    - The Security Council: A special decision-making body comprised of the primary winning powers: the Soviet Union, the United States, France, and Great Britain.
    - Logistics: The UN was designed to have "teeth," meaning it possesses a budget, peacekeepers, and a mandate for members to fulfill treaty obligations.
• The Genocide Convention of $1948$: A key provision of UN membership intended to address the state-sponsored extermination movements observed during WWII.
    - Legal Responsibility: Member states are required by law to stop a genocide if it is occurring.
    - Verbatim Definition of Genocide: "Acts committed with intent to destroy and hold or impart a national ethnic racial or religious group."
    - Obligations: Member states are prohibited from engaging in genocide themselves and are legally obligated to pursue the enforcement of this prohibition.

Cold War Alliances and Evolution of Sovereignty

• The Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): Formed in the West, with the United States as a leading member.
• The Warsaw Pact ($1954$): Formed in the East, comprising countries the Soviet Union conquered during the latter stages of World War II.
• Mutual Defense Obligations: Under both treaties, an attack on one member country is considered an attack on all member countries.
• Collapse and Expansion: Following the $1991$ collapse of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc, the Warsaw Pact collapsed. NATO, however, continued and added new members.
    - New NATO Members: Included countries previously within the Soviet Union (Soviet Republics) such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine—distinguished from states like East Germany or Czechoslovakia.
• The Treaty of West Virginia ($1648$): Established the foundational principle of state sovereignty: "What happens within the borders of a country are the business of the people who live in that country and the rulers of that country only."
• The European Union ($1993$): An economic league demonstrating a shift where modern states abdicate sovereignty in exchange for security.
    - Common Currency: The Euro, though agreed upon in $1993$, did not come into effect until $2002$.
    - Open Borders: Implemented based on the lesson from World War II that trade barriers and tariffs cause political friction.

The Yugoslav Crisis and International Justice

• Prosecution of Crimes: The European Union and international agreements allow for the prosecution of crimes not addressed within sovereign borders.
    - The Hague: Located in the Netherlands, it houses the International Roman Court (International Criminal Court) where genocide and war crimes from the Yugoslav conflict were prosecuted.
• Structural Adjustment and Yugoslavia: The instructor describes Yugoslavia as one of the worst and most tragic victims of the application of "structural adjustment" in the $1990s$.
• History of Yugoslavia: Created after World War I. During World War II, it was the site of a brutal civil war involving partisan groups and the Nazis.
    - Chetniks: Serbian partisan groups.
    - Ustase: Croatian groups allied with Nazi Germany.
    - Post-War Unity: Partisan leader Yosef Kiyo seized power, maintaining peace between the various groups (Serbians, Croatians, and Muslims) from $1945$ until the late $1980s$.
• Conflict Escalation: In the late $1980s$, Westren lenders withdrew support for the socialist model. Media outlets amped up fear by broadcasting historical atrocities from WWII (e.g., reminding Serbians of what the Ustase did) to create ethnic division.
• Resolution: NATO and the United States intervened in $1995$, sending peacekeepers to bring a halt to the violence.

Global Economic Impacts and Commodity Dependencies

• Commodity Reliance: Many independent countries, including Kenya, Ghana, and Rwanda, have economies reliant on one or two commodities.
    - Key Commodities: Coffee, tea, tobacco, gold, and cocoa.
• The $1980s$ Commodity Crash: Global commodity prices crashed during this decade. For instance, countries reliant on cocoa prices faced economic collapse when the market shifted, often exacerbated by structural adjustment efforts.

Questions & Discussion

• Inquiry Regarding Resources: A student asked for the location of the course web pages. The instructor clarified they are linked to the class webpage via the history department website under the instructor's faculty profile and were previously distributed via email.
• Teacher Exchange: The instructor joked with a student that they were becoming an "expert" and could perhaps teach the class.