The Discipline of International Relations

Chapter – 1

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Harshit Sharma

Alumnus (BHU)

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HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

  • International Relations (IR) is an important academic discipline, primarily the study of relations among nation-states, though its scope is broader.
  • Contemporary IR covers a wide range of subjects, but its basic understanding is grounded in the relationship between nation-states.
  • The systematic study of IR began after World War I, with universities in West Europe and the US offering courses from the 1920s.
  • The study of relations among states or pre-state political systems is ancient, with the Peace Treaty of Westphalia (1648) marking the birth of the modern nation-state system.
  • Pre-state political systems like the Sumerian city-states (Kish, Karsa, Ur) and Greek city-states existed long before the Treaty of Westphalia.
  • The history of pre-state IR is debated due to the sporadic and contradictory nature of interactions between early political systems.
  • The Treaty of Westphalia recognized territorial sovereignty and led to the rise of independent nation-states, but no structured system of international relations emerged immediately after it.
  • Modern international relations began to develop as the European nation-state system spread globally through colonialism.
  • Several developments like the rise of capitalism, Industrial Revolution, French Revolution, American War of Independence, and colonialism influenced the evolution of the nation-state system until the end of the 19th century.
  • Since the 20th century, major events like the World Wars, decolonization, nationalist movements, globalization, and the IT revolution have shaped the nation-state system.
  • Nation-states have evolved but retained the basic nature of a sovereign territorial unit with shared nationalism since the Treaty of Westphalia.
  • IR as a system of interactions among nation-states has undergone changes but remains focused on state interactionsand their role in the global system.
  • IR now includes the study of non-state actors such as international organizations, multinational corporations, and non-governmental organizations, along with emerging issues like environment, globalization, terrorism, and energy.
  • After World War I, IR gained importance as a structured academic discipline and was taught in universities by the 1920s.
  • After World War II, IR matured as a discipline, especially with decolonization, the creation of new states, and the end of the Balance of Power system.
  • The Cold War era (1945–1991) saw the emergence of two nuclear superpowers (US and Soviet Union) and significant global issues like energy, environment, terrorism, and globalization.
  • Post-Cold War, the world became unipolar, with the US as the only superpower, but the international order became more interdependent due to globalization, trade, information technology, terrorism, and environmental degradation.
  • States increasingly seek cooperation with other states and non-state actors to adjust to the new global order.
  • As an academic discipline, IR addresses globalization, cooperation, and other emerging issues with greater articulation post-Cold War.

NATURE AND SCOPE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Nature

  • The controversy over whether International Relations (IR) is an independent academic discipline existed for a long time, particularly from its emergence in the 1920s until the 1960s.
  • Some scholars were reluctant to recognize IR as a separate discipline, viewing it as dependent on subjects like political science and history.
  • This controversy has largely disappeared, and IR is now recognized as an autonomous academic discipline.
  • For a discipline to be autonomous, it needs a systematic body of theory, an appropriate methodology, and a distinct subject matter.
  • IR is now capable of fulfilling these criteria, enabling it to thrive as an independent field of study.
  • Political science focuses on the politics of individual states (e.g., India, Britain, China, Australia), while IR studies the relations between these states (e.g., India and Britain, China and Britain).
  • These relations in IR are not limited to political aspects; they include economic, security, cultural, and environmentalissues.
  • An IR scholar would focus on the foreign policies of states and their impact on international relations, whereas a political scientist would study the domestic politics of the state (e.g., government systems, party systems).
  • While there is some overlap between IR and political science, the separation is clearer today, and interdisciplinary collaboration is more for scholarly input rather than reliance on each other.
  • IR scholars also differ from economists and historians, with distinct areas of interest, methodologies, and approaches.
  • Over time, interactions between IR and other social science disciplines have increased, but IR’s dependence on them has significantly reduced.
  • This reduction in dependence has helped IR emerge as an independent discipline with its own set of theories, methodology, and subject matter.

Theories and Methodologies

  • There are four major theoretical traditions in International Relations (IR): liberalism, realism, international society approach, and international political economy theories.
  • Recent approaches countering earlier theories form the ‘post-positivist’ position in IR.
  • These theories have helped establish IR as an autonomous discipline.
  • Methodologies in IR can be broadly classified into four types: traditional/classical, behavioural, positivist, and post-positivist.
  • Traditional/classical methodology focuses on historical, philosophical, moral, or legal questions, relying on knowledge and experience rather than testable hypotheses.
  • Traditional methodology draws from disciplines like history, political science, philosophy, and international law.
  • Behavioural methodology seeks to base IR on scientific analysis, emphasizing verifiable hypotheses and quantifiable data.
  • Behaviouralists focus more on the explanatory rather than the normative approach.
  • Example: Traditional methodology might accept the statement that ‘democracy leads to peace’ based on experience, while behavioural methodology would question ‘does democracy lead to peace?’ and test it through data from different democracies.
  • Positivist methodology inherits from behaviouralism but uses more sophisticated techniques, asserting a precise empirical approach with logically related hypotheses that can be tested through scientific methods like statistical or mathematical analyses.
  • Game theory in IR is an example of positivist methodology.
  • Post-positivist methodology critiques behavioural and positivist approaches, arguing that IR is not just about techniques or scientism, but a vast area of knowledge with no narrow agenda.
  • Post-positivism is a broad umbrella covering approaches like critical, postmodern, constructivist, and normativeapproaches.
  • The normative approach within post-positivism aims to revive classical methodology in IR.
  • Methodologies in IR are diverse and form an interesting area of study, further reinforcing IR’s status as an academic discipline.

International Relations or International Politics?

  • The terms ‘international relations’ and ‘international politics’ are sometimes used interchangeably, causing confusion about the ‘name’ of the discipline.
  • It should be clarified that international relations is the globally accepted and recognized term for the discipline.
  • International relations is broader in scope and more comprehensive than international politics.
  • International relations covers a wide range of interactions among states, as well as contributions from non-state actors to the international order.
  • International politics, on the other hand, refers only to political events and interactions among nation-states.
  • International relations is primarily seen as the study of relations among states, but this view is oversimplified and inadequate.
  • This discussion sets the stage for a proper definition of the discipline.

Definition of International Relations

  • Defining International Relations (IR) is challenging, as it covers a wide range of topics.
  • States and their interactions form the primary focus of IR, but the discipline also concerns many other issues.
  • Key areas include non-state actors, international political economy, international security, globalization, terrorism, area studies, and military studies.
  • While relations among states cover many of these issues, they may extend beyond state interactions and involve non-state actors.
  • Viewing IR solely as interactions among states is an oversimplification, though it helps in basic understanding.
  • A broader definition of IR includes relations among nations and other issues like non-state actors, international political economy, international security, foreign policies, globalization, international terrorism, international environment, and area studies.
  • The scope and subject matter of IR have expanded significantly, unlike earlier times when it mainly focused on nation-states and their interactions.

Scope of International Relations

  • International Relations (IR) lacks definite boundaries, covering a broad area of study.
  • Artificial boundaries are unnecessary in modern social sciences, as inter-disciplinary exchanges enrich all disciplines.
  • The scope of IR has expanded beyond its initial focus on government-to-government relations to include international political economy, international security, and environmental issues.
  • In 1947, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) identified five major areas of IR study:
    • The nation-state system and its operation
    • Factors affecting the power of a state
    • The international position and foreign policies of the great powers
    • The history of recent international relations
    • Building a more stable international order
  • Contemporary IR has moved beyond these five areas and now includes:
    • Nation-states and their relations, the core of international politics and study in IR.
    • Non-state actors, such as multinational corporations (MNCs), international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), and inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), which influence international relations today.
    • International Political Economy (IPE), which studies IR through economic activities and analyses, gaining renewed interest since globalization in the 1980s.
    • International security, including concerns such as non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and reducing tension among states, continues to be a primary focus in IR.
    • Foreign policies of important powers, such as the US, China, Russia, Japan, and India, which drive international relations.
    • Globalization, particularly its economic impacts on political and social spheres, has gained significance in IR since the rise of liberal economies in the 1980s.
    • International environment, with environmental issues gaining importance due to industrialization and technological progress. Environmental concerns contribute to the interdependence of states and affect international relations.
    • International terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, which involves citizens of multiple countries and has transnational impacts, is a growing issue in IR.
    • Area studies, which focus on specific geographic regions (e.g., West Asia, South Asia, Central Europe) to study political, security, and economic issues from a regional perspective.
  • The expanding scope of IR has led to concerns that the discipline lacks a clear conceptual framework and is becoming unmanageable.
  • This concern is considered pessimistic, as IR now has a useful theoretical framework supporting research in various areas.
  • The broad scope of IR may promote more research, greater specialization, and a more defined and enriched branch of modern social science.
  • The expanding scope of IR is not a drawback, as it mirrors the growth of other disciplines like political science, physics, and history, which have benefitted from broader scopes.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN EVERYDAY LIFE

  • International Relations (IR) is often perceived as disconnected from daily life and domestic politics, seen as relevant only to governments and leaders.
  • This perception is misleading; IR is closely linked to both domestic politics and daily life.
  • Studying IR enriches academic knowledge, broadens views on global affairs, and helps understand daily life and domestic politics.
  • International security and international political economy are connected to daily life.
  • For example, war affects daily life by restricting movements, limiting freedom, and causing price hikes in markets.
  • A rise in petroleum prices impacts daily life, raising cooking gas prices, which can influence domestic politics.
  • Job prospects are affected by international economic and political conditions. In times of economic recession or political turmoil, there may be fewer jobs.
  • In the era of globalization, international crises can impact job opportunities worldwide and disrupt daily life.
  • International treaties can directly impact citizens’ lives.
    • A bilateral treaty on water sharing, such as the Ganga River Water Accord between Bangladesh and India in 1996, affects local populations and diplomatic relations.
    • Multilateral treaties like SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Agreement) or AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Agreement) influence the economy and daily life of participating states.
  • Such treaties can spark controversies in domestic politics, like the Ganga River Water Accord and the India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement (CNA), which generated heated debates in both countries from 2005 to 2008.
  • Ordinary citizens also participate in international relations, often unknowingly.
    • Voting in parliamentary elections indirectly involves citizens in the formation of foreign policies, which impact international relations and national interests.
    • Participation in international cultural or educational projects sponsored by organizations like UNESCOconnects individuals to international development efforts.
  • IR is not a distant subject; it influences ordinary citizens’ lives and is impacted by them in a symbiotic relationship.

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