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GO131: International Relations Professor Walter Hatch Colby College. How Americans See the World. What in the world is “IR?”. One of four fields in political science Had been the study of bipolar relations In late 80s, focused on international political economy
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GO131: International Relations Professor Walter Hatch Colby College
What in the world is “IR?” • One of four fields in political science • Had been the study of bipolar relations • In late 80s, focused on international political economy • After 9/11, refocused on security
Studying IR after 9/11/01 • States still matter • State = territorial entity controlled by a government and inhabitated by a population • State does not = nation • State exercises sovereignty; answers to no higher authority • IR deals with relations between sovereign or mostly sovereign states
Origins of Interstate System • Warring city-states • Modern system grew through centralization of power • Thirty Years War (1618-48)
The Westphalian System • Treaty of Westphalia (1648) • 1700s: Industrialization (Great Britain, France, Prussia or Germany) • Napolean • Congress of Vienna (1815)
The System Fails • Imperialism • Continued great power conflict
Explaining IR:Levels of Analysis (Waltz) • First Image: The individual • Second Image: The State • Third Image: The international system
IR Theories • Realism • Liberalism