The Relevance of History to the Study of IR

1. The Relevance of History to the Study of IR PO 325: International Politics

2. The Importance of History to IR • Theory important; but to what set of phenomena are theories applied? • What historical processes shaped the context in which these phenomena occur?

3. The Importance of History to IR – Specific Puzzles • How did Historical Processes Transpire to Make the State the Central Actor in the International System Today? • How Are Our Theories Shaped by the Development of the International System? • How Could the Development of the International System Have Turned Out Differently, and How Could Those Differences Have Changed the Modern System?

4. Civilizations to 1500 • Eastern Mediterranean (Greece, Mesopotamia, Egypt) • Earliest Civilizations • Basis of Rediscovered Western Thought • China • Highly Sophisticated Isolation • Leader in Naval Technology • Development of Gunpowder • Japan • Sophistication to Shogun Period • Isolation After Meiji

5. Civilizations to 1500 • Arab/Ottoman Empires • Birth of Islam/Rapid Expansion • Refinement of philosophy and science • Europe’s Rise to World Power • Renaissance • Italian City States (naval conquest; territorial states/ruler)

6. The Great Power System • 16th Century – the Development of Sovereign, Autonomous States • Thirty Years’ War/Treaty of Westphalia: End of Feudal IR and Beginning of Centralized Monarchy • Large, Independent States Begin to Engage in Power Politics • Industrial Revolution (1750s) • Increase State Power Capacity • Utterly Destroys Feudal Way of Life (Dislocation) • Britain Becomes Naval Power; Russia and Prussia increase, Ottomans, Swedes, Spanish decline

7. The Great Power System • The Napoleonic Wars • Internal Revolution in France (Overthrow of Monarchy) • Napoleon – Import French Democratic Values by Conquest of Monarchies • Defeated by Large Coalition – Congress of Vienna Reestablishes Principles of State Sovereignty • Concert of Europe – five major powers work together to avoid Major War (UK as Balancer)

8. The Great Power System • Rise of Prussia/Germany • Defeats France (1870); Unifies • Continues to Build Power, Rivaling Great Britain • WWI and WWII

9. The Great Power System • Cold War – Rival Blocs based on Ideological Differences • Competition without Major War • Prospect of MAD • Proxy Wars Fought Instead • Post Cold War – More Cooperative Major Power Relations

10. Other Important Historical Processes • Nationalism • Nation / State / Nation-State • Nations Can Create States, But States Can Also Become Nations • Strong in 19th and 20th Centuries; Reinforced by Symbolism / Patriotism • Allows for Mobilization • Can Diminish Caution on Road to War

11. Other Important Historical Processes • Imperialism (through 1890s) • Develops with Ocean-going Sailing Ships; Exploration Gives Way to Quest for Security, Wealth, Power • Slave Trade; Decimation of Indigenous Cultures • Decolonization

12. Other Important Historical Processes • Economy • Industrialization • Coal Power • British Domination of World Trade Via Exports • US Takes over in 20th Century • Depression • Post-WWII Division of Capitalist and Command Economies • Chinese “Capitalist Autocracy” • Technology and New Growth

13. Counterfactual Exercise • How Could Today’s System Be Different if its Development Had Been Different?