POLS1006 WK 2

Concepts and Theory I

States, Sovereignty and the International System

Written assessment
 800-words
o Francis Fukuyama article
o Title page, no outside citing or research
o Bibliography only one given source
o Write in essay form, but answering all questions (link questions)
o No long introduction, simple and addressing questions directly
o Justify your opinions
Important concepts
 The state (origin, concept, role)
 Sovereignty (origin and importance)
 International system

Introduction
 Rapid growth in number of states
o Big countries become smaller countries
o Affects stability, development and state interactions
 Number of states
o WWII- 50
o Post-Cold War- 191
 Nation: presumed sense of shared culture and identity based on language, religion,
common ancestry, common history
 State: a territorial entity
Origins of the state
 State as the product of two separate but interconnected factors
o State as an “organisation”/bureaucracy
 State as an organisation long pre-dates state as a concept or entity
 TILLY: “War Made the State”
 So that the State could make war
 Accounts for apparatus of the State
o State as a sovereign entity (era of the modern state)
 Idea of “state” as concept of sovereign entity emerges later
 1648: Treaty of Westphalia
 End result:
 Establishment of firm territorial boundaries
 Recognition of right to exist by all members, idea of equal
standing from one to another
 Extended provision of religious toleration and protection of
religious minorities within each state
 Autonomy: agreement to not meddle in other’s affairs
 Works only on reciprocity
o Origins of sovereignty
  What is a state
o Subjective, contested concept
o Most agree on three basic requirements
 A territory
 Assumption: “that a limited geographical area is the
responsibility of a single state alone”
 Historically biggest source of conflict amongst states: two (or
more) states simultaneously claiming same territory
 Some leeway in this criterion
 A population
 Simply, you need a subject population
 Increasing numbers of individuals who no longer wish to
remain the population of a given state
 Creation of “new” states OR lack of full government control of
a region
 Ethnic conflict- loyalty to “nation”, conflict between nations,
within states
 EUR countries “divided” up the Ottoman Empire (and the
Middle East) as spoils of war
 A sovereign government
 Also, many claim that recognition is as important
 Simply- in order to be a sovereign state, another sovereign
state must recognise you as such
o Others argue it must also include ideas of common culture, identity and
stability
 Purpose of a state
o Different rationales for its existence
o Regardless, most accept it is an important piece of machinery geared towards
achieving certain ends
o Some ideas
 Promotion of international order
 As means of survival/ security
 Protection of a way of life or ideology
 Defence of dominant class interests
Origins of Sovereignty
 Exclusive and final say over a territory as well as the population and resources that
lie within
 Requires a tremendous amount of organisation, provided by governments
 It represents that state, through FP acts in its interests
 Any encroachment of said territory is also violation of sovereignty, an act of war
 Question- can sovereignty be overridden (or lost)?
States at the End of the Cold War
 Changes in the last 25 years have had profound consequences for Statehood
o State creation and viability
 New states, weakening of old states, emergence of “quasi-
states”/failed or fragile states, nationalist violence
 o Changes to ideas of non-interference
 Increasingly accepted in theory (but reality?), 9/11 “stretched” self-
defence aspect
o Integration into World Economy
 Globalisation
 Idea of sovereignty
o Increase in number and scope of IO’s
Fragile States- A Growing Problem
 Fragile state index
o Somalia lowest on index for 8 years in row
 Various indicators
o Mounting demographic pressures
o Massive movement of people/refugees
o Vengeance seeking group
o Uneven economic development
o Sharp or severe decline in economics
o Absence of government legitimacy
o Progressive deterioration of public services
o Violations of human rights
o Security challenges
o Rise of factionalised elites
o Intervention of foreign actors
The International System
 Arena for IR
o Where states or others interact with one another
 These interactions are what we call IR
 Field of IR
 Studies interactions among and between states (and non-state
actors) and the workings of the int. system as a whole
 Elements and processes at work
o Cooperation and conflict
 Political actors proactively working together
 Cooperation is broader concept than peace
 Peace- absence of war
 Conflict= war?
 Cooperation and conflict are not mutually exclusive
 One relationship, different for different issues
o Globalisations vs fragmentation
 Globalisation- world being pulled together
 Fragmentation- pulling apart or breaking into smaller pieces
 Questions- link between globalisation and fragmentation?
o Natural or controllable?
o Anarchy vs order
 How we characterise the int. system
 Predictable or chaotic?
 Can this be managed?
Tutorial
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