International Relations Theory Evolution of the state system What is

International Relations Theory
Evolution of the state system
GYÖRGY László, PhD
assistant professor
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
http://english.www.bme.hu/
gyorgy@finance.bme.hu
1. What is IR all about?
2. Brief historical sketch of the state system.
3. Characteristics of statehood.
4. Do states survive?
What is a THEORY?
Karl Popper: what shall we expect
from a theory?
1.Describe the empirical world
2.Explain
3.Prognose
4.Advise decision maker to
political action
Galipoli, World War I, British
+1. Only that can be true that is confutable. (Karl Popper)
What if it is not confutable?
Then it is not a theory it is an ideology.
What is POLI…?
1 Policy: content
Politics: process
Polity: rules of political action
2
Politics as the art of power
3
Politics is about ensuring and prioritizing social values
that we (citizens) think important
Security
Freedom
Sovereign state
Order
Justice
Welfare
Definition
Sovereignity/sovereign state: As applied to a state,
sovereignty includes both ultimate internal authority
and external recognition. Internally, a state is sovereign
when it exercises supreme authority over the affairs
and people within its territory; Externally, a state is
sovereign when it is recognized as such by the
international community, i.e., its territorial integrity and
internal sovereignty are respected and upheld.
Presently, the greatest threat to sovereignty is the rise
in prominence of IGOs, NGOs and the global economy
(and globalization in general), all of which increase
state interdependence and accountability.
What is IR All About?
International Organizations
State
State A
State B
State
Society A
Society B
UN, WTO, IMF,
World Bank, EU,
NATO, ASEAN,
NGOs etc.
Citizens
NGOs
Companies etc.
What is IR All About?
Government
MNC, TNC
Society
International
organization, NGO
?
How Would You Prioritize
These Values?
FOCUS
Security
Freedom
Order and justice
Welfare, socioeconomic justice
?
Development
oriented needs
Role of governments
Goal of politics: creating chance
Self-actualization
Deficiency needs
Esteem
Love/belonging
Safety
Physiological
Values provided by the state
(national) security
welfare
order and justice
freedom
IR Values and Theories
FOCUS
THEORIES
Security
power politics, conflict and war
Realism
Freedom
cooperation, peace and
progress, humanitarian sensitivity
Liberalism
Order and justice
shared interests, rules and
institutions
International
Society
Welfare
wealth, poverty and equality,
management of domestic and
international economy
IPE theories (Liberalism,
Realism,
Structuralism,
Neogramscianism)
IR Values and Theories
Definition
Security dilemma: An important paradox inherent in the
state system. A fundamental reason for the existence
of states is to provide their citizens with security from
internal and external threats; however, the existence of
these armed states threatens the very security they are
expected to maintain.
Definition
National security: The policies employed and the actions
undertaken by a state to counter real or potential
internal and external threats and to ensure the safety of
its citizens. This is one of the fundamental
responsibilities of the state to its people, and the
fundamental state responsibility according to the
Realist view of IR. Before the advent of the state and
the state system, security was provided by family, clan,
warlord or another locally-based entity; this
responsibility, among others, was gradually transferred
to the state.