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Colonialism & Neo-Colonialism in International Relations

colonialism and Newo-Colonialism ini International Relations

Colonialism & Neo-Colonialism in International Relations

Colonialism is an elusive concept. It is a political, a legal, an economic, a cultural and a social phenomenon, which does not lend itself to a short and clear definition. While colonizing states refrained from defining colonialism, many scholars of various disciplines have written about the subject.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the mid-14th century “colonye” was used to describe the Roman settling, creating outposts, or occupying lands outside the Roman city-state. Colonialism emerged around the 19th century to reify a European practice that was becoming prevalent across the world.

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International Relations

Diplomacy in International Relation | CSS International Relations Notes

Diplomacy in International Relations

Definitions of Diplomacy

Diplomacy is the management of IR through negotiations or the method by which these relations are adjusted or managed. Diplomacy tries to achieve the maximum objectives (national interests) with a minimum of costs in a system of politics where war remains a possibility.

There are two major forms of diplomacy. The simplest and the oldest is bilateral diplomacy between two states. Bilateral diplomacy is still common with many treaties between two states, and it is a main concern of embassies. The other form of diplomacy is multilateral diplomacy involving many states.

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Balance Of Power (BOP) Theory in International Relations | CSS Notes

Balance of Power in International Relations

Definitions of Balance Of Power

The equilibrium of power among members of the family of nations as will prevent any one of them from becoming sufficiently strong to enforce its will upon the others.
The power equation between states is based on an assessment of each state’s relative power capabilities and this assessment provides the basis for the conduct of relations between them.

Balance Of Power from a historical perspective

From 1648 (Peace of Westphalia) to 1789 (French Revolution) was a golden age of classical balance of power, when the princes of Europe began accepting BoP as the supreme principle of foreign policy.
Evident use of BoP is also noted in the mid-17th cent., when it was directed against the France of Louis
XIV. Balance of power was the stated British objective for much of the 18th and 19th cent., and it characterized the European international system, for example, from 1815-1914.

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National Interest in International Relations | CSS IR Notes

National Interests in International Relations

National Interest in International Relations | CSS IR Notes

Origins of National Interest

The word interest is derived from Latin and means “it concerns, or it makes a difference to”. In the 1930s, Charles Bear wrote the first book concerning national interest. In following years the notion of national interest in IR has been used to describe the underlying rationale for the behavior of states in a threatening global environment, which preserves and protects one‟s values against another.
Statesmen who are responsible for and to their separate publics, and who operate in an uncertain milieu, often have little choice but to put the interest of their own entity above those of others.
National interest is understood to mean a state of affairs valued solely for its benefit to the nation. National interest often becomes synonymous with national egoism, with its disposition of transferring self love onto the national group.
One cannot speak about national interest without reference to values, even if they are a culmination of those held by some or all members of a given society

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War and its Kinds | CSS International Relations / Current Affairs

War and its Kinds | CSS International Relations / Current Affairs

War and its Kinds | CSS International Relations / Current Affairs

The Geneva Conventions

In 1864, several states created an international agreement that regulated acceptable behavior during war and armed conflicts. Since then, the Geneva Conventions have been amended in 1906, 1929, and 1949 as the nature of war and warfare has changed. The agreements prohibit torture, rape, genocide, mutilation, slavery, and other crimes against humanity. The conventions also state that prisoners of war must be treated humanely and that civilians may not be used as hostages.| CSS International Relations

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The Nation State System: Basic Features of a Nation-State | CSS International Relations

The Nation State System: Basic Features of a Nation-State

The Nation State System: Basic Features of a Nation-State | CSS International Relations

Sovereignty

The concept of sovereignty is permanently associated with a nation-state. It evolved in the 16thc in France, during the conflict between the state and the church.
Many theorists have defined sovereignty. Hobbes focused on its absolutist aspect, while Austin focused on legalistic or juristic notions of sovereignty. The modern doctrine of popular sovereignty has transferred the source of absolute power from the monarch to the people.
The notion of sovereignty is important but it can become rigid unless applied to the evolving pattern of inter-state relations.

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Theories of International Relations

Theories of international relations

Theories of International Relations

A theory of international relations is a set of ideas that explains how the international system works. Unlike an ideology, a theory of international relations is (at least in principle) backed up with concrete evidence.

National Interest

Most theories of international relations are based on the idea that states always act in accordance with their national interest, or the interests of that particular state.

State interests often include self-preservation, military security, economic prosperity, and influence over other states. Sometimes two or more states have the same national interest.

The two major theories of international relations are realism and liberalism.

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THE NATION-STATE SYSTEM | CSS International Relations Notes

Nation-STate-System-for-CSS International Relations Notes

THE NATION-STATE SYSTEM | CSS International Relations Notes

Background and Approaches

A nation denotes a common ethnic and cultural identity shared by a single people, while a state is a political unit with a governance system controlling a territory and its inhabitants.
The nation promotes emotional relationship amongst its members, while states provide political and legal foundation for the identity of its citizens. The term nation-state has been used by social scientists to denote the gradual fusion of cultural and political boundaries after a long control of political authority by a central government. The nation-state plays a dominant role in international relations.

Nation and Government

While governments come and go, a state has more permanence. Students and scholars of international relations can depend upon the continued existence of a state as a viable political entity.

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Approaches to International Relations | CSS International Relations

Approaches to International Relations | CSS International Relations

Approaches to International Relations | CSS International Relations

There are several distinct approaches to the study of IR, these include: the traditional approach, the scientific approach, the behavioural and post-behaviouralist approaches, and the systems approach.

Traditional Approach

In view of the complex variables influencing behaviour of states, the traditionalists focus on the observed behaviour of governments. They explain observable government behaviour on the basis of concepts like balance of power, national interest, diplomacy etc. Traditional realists try to understand and resolve the clashing of interests that inevitability leads to war.
This is an approach to international relations that emphasizes the studying of such disciplines as diplomatic history, international law, and philosophy in an attempt to develop better insights. Traditionalists tend to be skeptical of behaviouralist approaches that are confined to strict scientific standards that include formal hypothesis testing and, usually, the use of statistical analysis.
Traditional theorists regard international relations as a sub-discipline of history and political science. There are historical, philosophical and legal variants to the traditional approach.

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Articles International Relations

The Information Warfare (By: Anum Ibrar)

Information Warfare, Anum Ibrar,

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THE nomadic horsemen –Scythians– who dominated a vast swathe of present-day Ukraine and southern Russia, from the seventh century to the third century B.C. continued to unleash vile atrocities and terrify long after they were gone. According to Herodotus they “ravaged the whole of Asia. They not only took tribute from each people, but also made raids and pillaged everything these peoples had.” Napoleon, also called Russians as: “They are Scythians!” However, the current realm is all about a more subtle yet equally devastating in the form of information warfare.

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