UNIVERSITY OF DAR ES SALAAM

COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

COURSE INSTRUCTOR: DR RASUL A. MINJA

PS 222: INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS I

YEAR OF STUDY: 2020/2021 ACADEMIC YEAR

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This is an introductory undergraduate course in international relations- the study of political

events, phenomena, and processes which arise in the international system. The course endeavors
to provide students with the analytical tools and intellectual frameworks needed to understand the
behavior of actors and their relationship to each other in the international system. In the first part
of this course students will learn about the historical development of the global order to the end of
the cold war. The second part of the course will focus on key concepts and approaches (realism,
Liberalism, Marxism peace and conflict theories and feminist theories). The expectation is that
students will be able to understand the main arguments of the various theories and capable to
evaluate their relative strengths and weaknesses. The aim in short, is to inform and stimulate-to
get you to pose questions and make conclusions that you may never have thought of before

COURSE PHILOSOPHY

This course is designed to be a participatory learning experience. Lecture and seminar attendance
are mandatory. Seminars are an essential part of learning at the University of Dar es Salaam and
are designed to help students understand course readings and lectures more explicitly. In seminars,
students must be prepared to engage in discussions drawing from the course readings. The major
seminar assignment will be for students, working individually or in pairs, to write a formal seminar
paper. If you miss a seminar (except when excused for reasonable cases of documented medical
or family emergencies), your participation grade will be negatively affected. Students are expected
to do homework on time, read the assigned literature, and critically evaluate the utility of different
perspectives for understanding IR. This is a reading intensive course, so keep up with weekly
readings and follow current events using reputable sources of information

COURSE OBJECTIVES

A goal of this course is to sharpen students’ analytical and communication skills. In today’s
increasingly competitive, unpredictable and internationalized world the abilities to access pertinent
information, systematically analyze problems, and express oneself clearly, logically, and concisely
are valuable assets that students can gain from their university education. Through this course
students will be able to:

1. Understand the historical origins of the existing global order

2. Evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of completing schools of thought for
explaining structures, events, processes and actors interests in the international system
3. Employ key concepts and theories to understand violence in global politics, changes in the
global balance of power, and difficulties resolving the Palestine-Israel conflict

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 4. Conduct research, write formal academic papers, and communicate their ideas orally

OUTLINE OF COURSE

1. INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

 Overview of the course
 Definitions on International Relations
 Introduce the 20th-century origins of international relations as an academic subject
 Highlights of the Great Debates in IR

2. THE GLOBALIZATION OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

 Historical development of the global order to ww2
 Historical development of the global order-post ww2 to the end of the cold war

3. KEY CONCEPTS AND APPROACHES

 Realism
 Liberalism
 Social constructivism
 Marxism, world system theory, dependency
 Feminist theory

4. THE CONCEPT OF POWER

 The nature of state power
 The exercise of state power

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PURPOSES OF THEORY OF IR DISCIPLINE

What they are called is less important than what is set to do and how they differ from one-another

- Theory explains the roles of international politics or recurrent patterns of international

behavior
- Explain and predict behavior or understand the world
- Traditions of speculation about relations between state which focus on the struggle for
power, nature of international society and possibility of a world community
- Theories use empirical data to test hypothesis about the world
- Analyze and try to clarify the use of concept
- Criticize forms of domination perspective which make the socially construction a
changeable
- Reflect on how the world ought to be organized
- Reflect the process of theorizing itself- analyze epistemological claims about how human
beings know the world

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GREAT DEBATE IN INTERNATION RELATIONS

International relations is featured by various debates about what are most features of world
politics and to define them

1. REALISM VS IDEALISM, this great debate is what the study of international relation it is
or should be. Realism arose in the late of1930s and early 1940s arose largely to respond what
was naive thinking (lack of experience and wisdom) of utopians. Realists respond to
utopianism which characterized international politics between the walls. Realism was
attacking utopianism of those believe that it is possible to build international system that
remove competition, conflicts and war between state. The realist message to utopians is that
“you cannot wish war away” and the absence of objective science was one the major reason
for the collapse league of nations. Edward H Carr (E. H Carr) combined purposive thinking
and not naïve thinking and to realist practice must create theory rather than theory create
practice that’s why the League of Nations failed

2. BEHAVIORISM VS TRADITIONALISM, was the real debate in the study of international

relations over how best to engage in real science on politics. This debate bitted (bring together)
traditional realists such Hans Morgenthau who found the power politics in IR. The debate was
how to apply the methodology of science in IR. According to positivism (behaviorist) IR
should be applying natural science whereby they relied only on observable data because it is
only observable data that can be verified while that of traditional realists argue for greater
objectivity of IR. Thus generally the debate was on how to engage on science

3. NEO_REALISM VS NEO_LIBERALISM, the debate dominated IR school ship 1980s.

Neo- liberalism argue that neo-realist underestimate the importance of IR whereby Neo-realists
view IR as competitive relations and accept that IR is anarchical system and state egoism
(Waltz), Neo-realist underestimate the importance of relationship between state A & B. Neo-
liberals accept interrelated entities example policy of national sovereignty

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 4. RATIONALISM VS REFLECTEVISM, IR should be a science. Stand against the realist
position and that of the liberals. A considerable amount of work has been done to show the
idealist-realist debate itself is something myth. To them (rationalism and reflectevism) neo-
liberals and neo-realist and both rationalism and reflectevism are real to understand IR. The
debate between neo-realist and neo-liberalism and both reflectevism and rationalism are the
real heart or foundation of international relations.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODERN STATE SYSTEM.

DEVELOPMENT OF WESTPHALIA SYSTEM OR STATE

THEORIES

REALISM (Political realism)

The theory emphasize the relation among nations as they have been and as they are. Not concerned
with the ideal world

THEORETICAL STRANDS OF REALISM (Approaches of realism)

 Classical realism (Thucydides, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Morgenthau and E H Carr)

 Neo- realism/structural realism

OVERVIEW OF REALISM IN IR

 Pessimistic view of the world

 Explain IR in term of power

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 It provide the most powerful explanation for the state of war
 Power to each other is often called realpolitik or power politics
 State are the most actors in the international system
 Security of the state is the primary motivation for a government’s actions
 International politics is the struggle for power
 International politics is conflictual and this conflict is resolved through international war

1. CLASSICAL REALISM

MACHIAVELLI

 He was an Italian philosopher

 He wrote a book called “the prince”- means ruler , which concentrate on how to stain
power and pay attention to war more than anything
 To him a ruler must has power (must be a lion) in politics and must be deception (fox)
in diplomatic matter. Thus lion and fox are essential for the conduct of politics. A ruler
should be a lion and fox
 The responsibility of ruler is to seek the advantage and to defend the interest of the state
and to ensure its survival. One advice of Machiavelli to the ruler is “be aware of what
is happening, do not wait for things to happen. A prudent leader acts toward off any
thrust to the state’s interest and survival. Do not wait for others to act, act before they
do so”
 The prince should be prepared for engage in war

THOMAS HOBBES

- He was much associated with human nature on his literature called Leviathan
- To him human beings by nature are bad and evil whereby in the state of nature is all against
all

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 - Life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short because of the constant fear of aggression
and the need of prevent it. In the state of nature people live in extreme insecure condition
in which every man is against all man
- In a state of nature there is nothing to regulate people’s behavior

To avoid the state of nature Thomas Hobbes provided the recommendations

 To get out of the miserable state of nature, people enter into a contract and make leviathan
sovereign
 Create a state in which men and women agree not to harm one-another in order to
overcome their mutual fear

E H CARR

His work was called “The twenty year’s crisis. He believed that willing world peace was not the
same as achieving world peace

HANS MORGENTHAU (1904-1980)

 He was immigre
 His work titled “politics among nations” which by the first time was published in 1948
 He believed that once you understand a country’s interest, you can easily predict his foreign
policy moves
 He defined national interest in term power
 He believed that “international politics like other politics is the struggle for power”
whereby “men and women by nature are political animals, they are born to pursue power
and to enjoy the fruits of power”
 In 1948 he came up with a publication that called “animus dominandi- the human lust for
power” which bring men and women into conflict with each other
 He came up with 6 principles in realism which called Morgenthau’s 6 principles of realism

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MORGENTHAU’S SIX PRINCIPLES OF REALISM

 Politics is governed by objective laws- which have their roots in human nature
 The key to understand international politics is the conception of interest defined in term of
power
 The forms and nature of state power will vary in term of time, place but the concept of
national interest remain consisted
 Universal moral principle do not guide state behavior,
 There is no universally agreed set of moral principles
 The political sphere is autonomic from other sphere of human concern whether legal or
economics.

These Morgenthau’s principles were designed as an antidote to utopianism

In nutshell, for Morgenthau, international politics was the struggle for power between state and
the pursue of national interest was a normal unavoidable and desirable activity

FORMS OR STRANDS OF REALISM

 Offensive or aggressive realism, the primary attention of offensive realism is centered on

security. They believed that states generally do and sure their security. Offensive realists
argued that state should expand their resources by coercive means and if a state fail to do
so then other states will use coercive means and find or expand their power. The country
that loose this opportunity its security has to be threaten and may lose resources. A key
supporter of the strand is John Mearsheimer

 Defensive realism, the major focus of defensive realists emphasizes state’s maintain the
security. States do not use a coercive means for enlargement of their resources. Maintain
military capability to ensure minimum credible deterrent power. Major player of the form
is Kenneth Weltz

SIMILARITIES OF OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE REALISM

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  Both strands of realism accept the reality of international relations is influenced by
human nature.
 Each state gives its priorities to the promotion and protection of national interest
 Both strands believed that national interest are protected through power

2. NEO- REALISM OR STRUCTURAL REALISM

Kenneth Waltz “theory of international politics, 1979” concerned with the structure of
international system. Structure of the system in IP particularly view on the relative distribution of
power as the central focus of analysis. Agreed that IP is the struggle for power and not agreed on
human nature that IP is influenced by human nature. Attribute security competition and interstate
conflict to the lack of overarching authority above state. According to Kenneth power is the means
to end of security.

WALTZ’S THREE (3) ELEMENTS

Kenneth Waltz describe international politics in three elements

 Organizing principle, identify organizing principles- anarchy, which corresponds to the

decentralized realm of inter politics and hierarchy which is the basis of domestic order
 Differentiation of unity, unity of international system are functionally similar sovereignty-
meanwhile all state are at the same unity level, unity is irrelevant to explain international
outcomes
 Distribution of capabilities, power distribution is important to understand international
outcomes, that is why issues like war, peace, politics and balance of power look on
distribution power

JOHN MEARSHEIMER (THEORY OF OFFENSIVE)

The structure of international system contain forces that seek to maximize their relative power
position. Under anarchy agreed that self-help is key basic principle of action. Mearsheimer argue

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that not only do state possess offensive military capability, but there is great deal of uncertainty
about intentions of other state. State recognize that, the best path to peace is accumulate more
power than anyone else (unlike Waltz)

3 CORE Ss’ OF REALISM

 Statism (state), idea of the state as the legitimacy representative of collective will of the
people (Westphalia treaty). Legitimacy means to exercise authority outside of the state.
Anarchy exist because no security and absence of authority above the state. International
politics takes place in an area that has no overarching central authority above the individual
sovereign. Thus, international politics is distinguished as
- Lack of central authority
- Anarchy compete for power and security
- Nature of competition is viewed as zero sum (one benefit while other suffer)
- Struggle for power. Power for realist is man’s control over the minds and actions
of others (Morgenthau). One does not exercise power in a vacuum

 Survival, primary goal of the state looks on its survival. Concern of the state is security and
without security survival of the state cannot guarantee. All state wishes to perpetuate the
survival. Principle of action in an anarchical system where there is no global government
to restraint individual behavior.

 Self-help, rationalist do not believe that it is good or prudent for a state to entrust its safety
and survival on another actors. State should not depend to another state for its security.
Under self-help once a state maintain its security it might be resulting a security dilemma.
Security dilemma- occur when military preparation of one state create on uncertainty in the
mind of another as to whether those preparation are defensive (when the state make security
it can cause insecurity to another state.

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 LIBERALISM

- Influential philosophical tradition during enlightenment

- Champions rationality, freedom and human progress
- Emphasizes individual rights, constitutionalism, democracy and limitation of
power of the state (believe the limitation of government’s power)
- Argue that market is the best path to promote the welfare of all by the most
efficiency allocation of scarce resources

BASIC ASSUMPTIONS OF LIBERALISM

 Take positive view of human nature, champions on government phase in human

reason, for liberals human being by nature is not evil rather it is good. Believe that
rational principle can be used in international politics. Self-help, they share many
interest thus they can cooperate and collaborate in action domestically and
internationally
 International relations can be cooperative rather than conflictual, war and conflict
are not inevitable. People employ their reason where they can achieve mutually
beneficial cooperation
 Believe on human progress, the progress focus on individual progress. Core
concern is the happiness and contentment of individual human beings. All human
are equal, possess certain right ie right to education, access to free place and
religious toleration. Basic dimension to human liberty the right to own property
 View the state as constitution entity that establishes and enforces the rules of law.
This entity respects the rights of citizens ie right to life, liberty, property etc.
Jeremy Bentham one among of liberals view constitution state based on reason
could use international law for peaceful relations with others

LIBERALISM AFTER THE FIRST WORLD WAR

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After the first world war of 1914-1918, a key player to the study of liberalism in international
relations was US president called prof. Woodrow Wilson who wanted to make the world safe,
peace and fit to live. Wilson came up with fourteen (14) principles and one of them was the
establishment of League of Nations which became a watchdog for maintain peace and security all
over the world but later the League was demised and the reasons behind for that demise is that
Wilson own country never join the institution has created which arose unanswered questions,
Soviet Union (1935-1945) and Germany (1926- joined & 1935 kept out) were kept out of the
League, and Hitler’s aggressive policy and militarism effectively exposed the League of Nations
weakness leading to its demise. Thus, after the Second World War utopianism/liberalism fall.

STRANDS OF LIBERALISM

 Sociological liberalism, international relation is no about state to state relation, but it is also
about transnational relations- means relationship between people, groups and organization
belongs to different country. Transnational is the key important aspect of international
relations. Scholars who are belonging to this strand are

i. JAMES ROSENAU, in 1980 Rosenau belong to sociological liberals. He defined

transnationalism as the process whereby international relations conducted by
government have been supplemented by relations among private individuals,
groups and society that can and do have important consequences for the course of
events. Relationship between people is more cooperative and supportive to peace
than national relations or relations among states

ii. KARL DEUTSCH (1957), leading author in the study of transnational relation. To
him a highly degree of transnational relations ties between societies led to peaceful
relations. He came up with the concept of security community- means the group
of people which has become integrated (sense of community has been achieved).
People have come to agree that their conflict and problems can be resolved without
using physical violence. Deutsch argue that such community has emerged in

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 western community especially North Atlantic area. Under security community Karl
listed the number of conditions that are conducive for emergence of security
community namely increase social communication, greater mobility of
persons/people, stronger economic ties, wider range of mutual human transactions

iii. JOHN BURTON (1972), developed a book called World Society which proposed
Cobweb model of transnational relations in 1972 to demonstrate how any nation-
state consist of many different groups of people having different types of external
ties and different interest. Burton implies that cobweb model- the world is driven
more by mutual benefit cooperation than antagonistic conflict because individuals
belong to different groups and conflict will be muted or suppressed. Cobweb model
was against Billiard model
In nutshell, international relations is about not only the study of international
relations between national governments, but also scholars study relations between
individuals, groups and societies, overlapping interdependent relation between
people abide to be cooperative than relations between states, because states are
exclusive and a world of a large number of transnational networks will thus be more
peaceful.

 Interdependence liberalism, it highlight mutual dependence- people and government are

affected by what happens elsewhere by the action of counterpart in other state. High level
of transnational relations between countries means a high level of interdependence

a) RICHARD ROSECRANCE (1980), throughout history, states have sought power

by means of military force and territorial expansions. However for highly
industrialized countries economic development and foreign trade are more
adequate and less costs. Currently matter is highly qualified labor force and access
to information and financial capital are key to success. Thus economically
successfully nations of post-war period are the trading state such as Japan and
Germany

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 b) DAVID MITRANY, came up with “functionalist theory of integration” in 1966.
Greater interdependence in the form of transnational ties between countries could
led to peace and to him cooperation should be arranged in technically by expert and
not politicians because experts would devise solution to common problem

c) ERNST HAAS, his popular theory is called Neo-functionalist theory of

international integration. He rejected the idea that technical matter can be
separate from politics. He defined integration as the process whereby political
actors are persuaded to shift their loyalties toward a new center whose institutions
possess or demand jurisdiction over the pre-existing national states. The function
process of integration depends on the notion of spillover- means increase
cooperation in one area led to increase cooperation in the other area.

d) ROBERT KEOHANE AND JOSEPH NYE, JR, developed complex

interdependence theory in power and interdependence 1977. Modernization
increase the level and scope of interdependence between states. Under
interdependence transnational actors are increasingly important, military force is
less useful instrument.

 Institutional liberalism or liberal institutionalism, main focus is on institutions.

Cooperation between states can be organized through institutions. Viewed institutions in 2
terms, firstly institution as a set of rules or regimes- set of rules, principles, norms and
decision making procedures, secondly institution as International organization is the set of
rules which govern state action in particular area. Institution can be universal or regional
i.e. UN, AU. The function of these institutions are help to promote cooperation between
states, help to reduce state’s fear of each other, they foster cooperation between states for
their mutual benefit, provide forum for negotiation between the state

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  Republican liberalism, liberal democracy are more peaceful and law-abiding than any other
political system. Republican liberals argue that democracy do not fight each other. They
developed “Democratic Peace Thesis or Theory”- means democracy never fight each other.
Observation was first articulated by Immanuel Kant. On his articulation Kant gave the
reasons as to why as democracy cannot fight each other, firstly, the existence of domestic
political cultures, based on peaceful conflict resolution (most democratic government are
controlled by its citizens, secondly, democracies hold common moral values which led to
the formation of what Kant called a pacific union, and lastly, peace between democracies
is strengthened through economic cooperation and interdependence. Thus, republican
liberals are optimistic that peace and cooperation will eventually prevail in IR, based on
progress towards a more democratic world

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM/CONSTRUCTIVISM THEORY

 Focus on human awareness or consciousness and its place on world politics

 Argue that the most important aspect of IP is social and not material- fundamental structure
of IP is social and not material
 IP is constituted by ideas and material forces
 Constituently, the study of IR must focus on ideas and beliefs

ALEXANDER WENDT (constructivist scholar)

Rejected the neo-realist position of anarchy necessarily leading to self-help that cannot decided
a prior of cooperation rather it depends on interaction between states. On their interaction, the
identities and interest of the state are created. To constructivist materials facts enter the picture
but they are secondary to ideas. Constructivists hold that these state identities are complex and
changing and arise. For constructivists “anarchy is what states make of it”.

3 IDEAL TYPES OR CULTURE OF ANARCHY.

Wendt suggest three major ideal types of anarchy namely Hobbesian, lockean and Kantian.

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 Hobbesian culture, state view each other as enemies. The logic of Hobbesian anarchy
is war of all against all
 Lockean culture, state consider each other rivals, but there is also restraints. State do
seek to eliminate each other, they are recognizing other state’s right to exist
 Kantian culture, state view each other as friends, settle disputes peacefully and support
each other in the case of threat by a third part.

MARXIST THEORY

Marxist theory is the only perspective theory in international relation named after the
person Karl Marx. Marx and Engels were not primary concern with the formation of the
state or even interaction between those states, rather concern of IR was industrial
revolution. Historical materialism assets that human beings including relations with each
other and environment are determined by material condition in which they can survive and
reproduce

CRITICISM

 Historical materialism has been failed to give world history, a criticism came up
from Waltz who challenged that Marxism was the second image account on
international relation which believe that the rise of socialist as oppose to capitalist
regime would eliminate conflict between state
 It is idealist aspiration will be dashed (defeated) because the struggle for power and
security is as inescapable consequences of inter anarchy which only third image of
analysis can explain
 Another criticism was from Martin Wight, Lenin wrote imperialism- the highest
stage of capitalism that might see the study of IP, but it was too far pre-occupy with
the economic aspect of human affairs to be taken as the serious contribution of
international politics. Marx has underestimated the crucial importance of
nationalism, the state and war and the significant of balance of power, diplomacy
and international law in the structure of international relation

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 PIVOTAL THEME OR ASSUMPTION

 In historical materialism is that individuals must first satisfied their most basic
material needs before they can do anything else. In practice this estimate that
human in order to survive needs to surrender control of their labor to those own
instrument of production
 Class struggle has been the principle formal conflict in the whole of human
history
 Political revolution had been the main agent of historical development while
technological innovation had been the driving force behind social change

IMMANUEL WALENSTEIN (world system theory 1974)

Distinguished 3 groups of region or namely core, semi-periphery and periphery.

The aim of Wallenstein was to understand how states were developed since 16thC in relation to
each other. Thereby creating relations of dependence between those groups of state. These
relations of dependence required the understand of the world through broader unit than the state

KEY POINTS OF WORLD SYSTEM THEORY (4pts)

 The primary unit of analysis is the world system, a unified capitalist global economy which
is divided into sub-system place into concentric ribs around a core center
 Whatever happens in the sub=system is explained by contradiction that appear in the
system as the hole
 The external forces are dominant of forces of what happen within each sub-system
 The sub-system are related and connected by relation of each state or stage.

Nutshell, together the core, periphery and semi-periphery never met the geographical
dimension of the world economy.

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 FEMINISM OR FEMINIST THEORY

Feminist theorist has challenged women’s near complete absence from IR theory practice. This
absence is visible both in women marginalization from decision making and the assumption
that the reality of women day-to-day lives is not impacted by or important to IR. Feminist
contribution to IR can also be understood through de-construction of gender both as socially
constructed identity and as powerfully organizing logic. Rather traditional IR was gender-
neutral. Gender and IR were separated spheres that did not impact on each other. Feminist
theory shown that tradition IR is in fact is gender blood. Feminist scholarship, therefore, takes
both women and gender seriously and in doing so it challenges IR’s foundation, conception
and assumptions

CONTRIBUTION OF FEMINIST THEORY TO IR.

 Making women visible, women were routine exposed to gender violence, in making
violence against women visible an international system that tacitly accepted a large
amount of violence against women as normal state affairs…… for example former
UN secretary general Ban Kin Moon’s UNiTE campaign to end violence against
women estimated that 7 women out of 10 will experience violence at some point in
their lives

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