Intro to World Affairs

States that Change 

• Legitimacy: mutual understanding of others and individuals 

  • acknowledge unity, identification of community 

  • you need their actors to acknowledge others “acknowledge being acknowledge” (through a micro/inner and macro/outer level) 

• The general belief that a government, leader, or political system has the right to rule or hold power

  • if people accept a government is fair, lawful, or rightful, even if they don’t like everything else = legitimate 

  • helps governments keep order and avoid conflict because people are more likely to follow laws and support the system 

Sovereignty

• Acknowledgment whoever rules the state, rules only the state  

• a country’s full and independent control over what happens inside its borders 

  • if a country can make its own laws, decisions, policies without being told what to do by another country = sovereign

  • it is the basic idea behind international relations, every country is equal and has the right to govern itself without interference

• Obligations: the duties or responsibilities that countries, governments, or people are expected to follow 

• What a country or government must do, like protect human rights, follow international laws, or keep treaties

  • helps countries work together stay peaceful and act fairly eg. united nation or international agreements 

The European conflict between Christians and Protestants (reformation) Major Religious Wars

• Split in Christianity into Catholics and protestants 

• European countries fought over religion, power control, with rulers picking and choosing sides 

How it influence politics 

• The war ended in peace 

• countries should not interfere in each others international affairs 

• each country could choose its own religion 

• helped shaped modern ideas of sovereignty, national borders, rules that state independence and equality for every state 

Conflict is key component to political affairs, politics is born off of conflict and allows shared understanding 

• Eg. war (did hey fight for the same reason? No one wanted to die, fight for justice, etc..,) 

Development of Nation State: eg. Canada includes many nations 

• How it developed: medieval Europe, power in the state was divided between kings, the church, and local lords

• after peace of Westphalia, countries began to be recognized as sovereign each with control over its land and people 

• people wanted governments that represented their shared identity 

• Napoleonic Era

  • rose to power in France and Reshaped Europe 

  • Napoleon became ruler after French Revolution (bringing military success and major political changes) 

  • spread ideas like equality before the law, merit-based governments and nationalism across Europe 

• era helped end feudalism, encouraged growth of nation-states, inspired movements for democracy and independence around the world 

• utility of unity as resource and currency eg. Having citizenship 

  • was it ruled by a monarchy? Individuals didn’t have much connection to their state 

  • became a resource from the people = unity to become citizen 

  • helped mobilized military + economy for war 

  • war became a diplomatic sport (only done by professionals)

  • What determines war? Like a game of conflict 

    • bigger military = win, if enemy has more power = lose

    • other states began nationalizing their states to use as benefit and utility resource for the war 

Groping State Actors 

• Industrialized state 

  • eg. Canada, USA are rising economic structures (shared interest resource economically) eg. Continue innovating and leading

• has strong economy based on factories, machine, large scale production instead of farming or small crafts 

• advanced tech and infrastructure

• high in urbanization 

• strong manufacturing and service

• high income and living standards 

• industrialized states have more global influence, strong economies and amour influence in international politics and trades

Former COmmunist county

• A state that once had a communist system of government (typically characterized by one party rule, state ownership of the means of production and economic planning then transitioned to different political-economic system; either democratic and/or capitalist 

• First World: Wester capitalist bloc (Us, Western Europe, Japan, etc…) 

  • modern: developed, high-income countries (Us, Canada, Germany) 

• Second World: Communist bloc (USSR, China, Eastern Europe) 

  • modern: term isn’t as relevant 

• Third world: developing bloc (India, most of Africa/Asia/Latin America) 

  • modern: developing or low-income countries 

• the understanding cam from Cold War and frameworked political, economic, and ethics 

Developing states

• Industrialized states (not as far as industrialized as other countries but are working on it) 

  • eg. Solidifying law enforcement, handling monopoly

• Still working on industrialization to be able to evolve to better economy 

  • eg. Incentivizing their resources for something else vs. A country who wants to incentivize nuclear weapons 

At risk states

• States that are collapsing, problems don’t stay within

  • will eventually be globally known, what is the root cause for its collapse

    • eg. Food and water = a low resource eg. Involved in the war 

• lead actors in international system 

  • influence of Cold War defined most o the world 

  • French and British weren’t able to rule as much during second world war

  • when states have power… how did the progress to gain that power

    • eg. China, fast and advanced economy (no one expected them to rise)

• Non-state actors: MNC (multinational corporations) IGO (International governmental organizations)

  • each organization is represented by a person from state 

    • eg. United Nations comprised  of representatives from all states 

• non governmental organizations (NGO): isn’t/ doesn’t have to be restricted to states eg. Red cross foundation

  • can include multinational organizations eg. Apple, Walmart, Google 

Kenneth Waltz

• Understanding many phenomenons eg. Understanding war , war as individual, economical, social, state) 

  • emphasis on individual, state and system (focus from a micro-macro approach)

  • how an individual can impact a macro event eg. A dictator in play of war eg. Kings and Queens, how states political-culture explains how they play in war 

  • understanding what is happening in the system to see problems or issues in different perspectives