Download IR.Exam_1b.termsNstates

WHY SPEND TIME TALKING
ABOUT HISTORY?
What is path dependency?
What key features of the present (?) international system
are explained by critical junctures in history?:
• Why is the world organized into states? (Marxism,
realism, and post-modernism/constructivism all can
help us here)
• Why are states treated as sovereign?
• Why is the intl. system one of anarchy?
• Why, at least until very recently, have western states
played the dominant role in the international system?
• What are the differences among unipolar, bipolar, and
multipolar systems? What are examples of these?
WHERE DID STATES COME FROM?
How is a state different from other types of social organization?
• Massive populations, concentrated populations;
political/territorial vs. kinship boundaries, bureaucracies &
the rule of law, and complex systems of hegemony,
specialized labor especially in the area of commerce and
conflict.
Most humans lived in bands 10K years ago? Why do they now
all live in states? (J. Diamond)
Was the modern (15-17th C, European) state inevitable? Five
developments that led to the rise of the west:
• International sailing vessels
• Commercial classes
• Gun power
• Luther
• Gutenberg
WHAT ARE THE DEFINING QUALITIES OF THE MODERN
INTERNATIONAL STATE SYSTEM?
What were the key ideas of the Treaty of Westphalia (1648)?
• Secular authority
• Domestic autonomy
• International sovereignty
• Fixed territoriality
What is collective security? The Concert of Europe (1840)…
League of Nations… UN: GP concerts vs. collective sec.
How did the Industrial Revolution transform the international
political economy (1760s, 1970s?)
How did imperialism and mercantilism transform the intl.
system (1500s, 1800s)
What is nationalism and why is it such an important
idea/principle? (1770s, 1950s, 1990s).
What important questions are impacting the current intl.
system: Do you have a natural right to a nation, what other
human rights do you have? What about WMDs, genocide,
rules of war vis-à-vis civilians?