Introduction to International

Relations
Dr. Sithara Fernando
Department of Strategic Studies
Faculty of Defence and Strategic Studies
Kotelawala Defence University

International Relations: Theory and

Concepts
Master of Arts in International Relations
University of Colombo

Introduction
The discipline of International Relations (IR) has its
origins in the early 20th Century.
The magnitude of the First World War (1914-18)
prompted intellectuals at the time to think about the
nature of war.
A preoccupation with the nature and causes of war
was one of the founding concerns of the discipline of
IR.
It was believed that a greater understanding of the
nature and causes of war could be promoted through
education.
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First World War

 Accordingly some of the first professorships in the

discipline of International Relations were
established after the First World War.
The Woodrow Wilson Chair of International Politics
was established at University College Wales,
Aberystwyth.
The Montague Burton chairs in International
Relations were established at the University of
Oxford and the London School of Economics.

President Woodrow Wilson

 The subject matter of the discipline of

International Relations can be explored along
three dimensions:
1. Diplomatic and Strategic Relations among States
2. Cross-Border Transactions
3. Globalization

Diplomatic and Strategic Relations among

States
In this dimension the focus of study is the
relations among states.

It gives priority to diplomatic, military and

strategic relations.

The most important unit of international relations

is considered to be the State.

 In international law the State is defined as

follows:
An association of persons, living in a determinate
part of the earths surface, legally organized and
personified, and associated for their own
government.

Thus a State is a legal organization established by

a group of people within the limits of a given
territory for the purpose of governing themselves
and the given the territory.
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 A distinctive feature of the State is Sovereignty.

The attribute of Sovereignty makes a State legally
autonomous.
What this means is that a Sovereign State need
not take orders from any other entity unless the
Sovereign State itself has decided to pool its
sovereignty with that of other States.
In practice some States are in a position to
influence the behaviour of other States but this
ability results from power not authority.
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 The Sovereignty of States makes relations among

States anarchic.
Here what is meant by Anarchy is the absence of
a formal system of government.
In international relations there is no formal centre
of authoritative decision-making such as that
which exists within a State.
This is why in traditional international relations so
much importance is given to diplomacy and
strategy.
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 States as the most important actors in

international relations are placed in a position in
which they have to define their own interests and
pursue them using their own resources.
Security is the most important concern of States
and this is why strategy is so crucial to
international relations.
Inter-State diplomacy and exercise of influence
takes place in a context in which there is some
possibility of the use of force or the threat of
force.
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 The State possesses and disposes of armed force, and

in international relations there is some possibility of
the use or the threat of force, which makes the State
the key actor.
Non-State actors in international relations are
secondary to the State.
The economic, social and cultural interaction that
takes place across state borders are in general
secondary to the diplomatic-strategic relations among
states.
This is why diplomats and soldiers are considered to
be key participants in international relations.
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Diplomatic Negotiation

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Soldiers in the Field

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 Traditional international relations is prone to

security crises.
Even after the Second World War there have been
many inter-state wars such as the following:
1. The India-China border war
2. The Vietnam War
3. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
4. The wars between Israel and the Arab world
5. The wars between India and Pakistan
To repeat, this is why diplomacy and strategy are
so important in international relations.
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Cross-Border Transactions
Cross-Border Transactions is a dimension of
international relations that draws attention to
routine processes.
These include cross-border flows of the following:
1. People (students, businessmen and tourists)
2. Goods (Imports and Exports)
3. Money (Currency transfers and financial
transactions)
4. Information (Mail, Email)
5. Ideas (Academic exchanges)
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International Travel

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International Trade

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 While most of these transactions are harmless and

can strengthen friendly relations between countries,
some of them raise security concerns of a nontraditional nature.
These include the following:
1. Pollution and environmental degradation (Oil Spills)
2. The drugs trade (health and social problems)
3. Arms trade (threatens domestic law and order)
4. International terrorism (threatens internal security)
5. Transnational crime (human smuggling which
threatens border security)

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An Oil Spill

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Environmental Degradation Caused by an Oil

Spill

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Human Smuggling

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 States attempt to regulate cross-border flows through

peaceful means such as the following:
1. Issuing of passports and visas to regulate international
travel.
2. Signing treaties to manage trade flows, copyright and
crime.
3. Setting up international institutions to mange
international finance or prevent environmental disasters.
In this dimension regulation rather than force is the
primary concern of States.
Here government agencies other than the Ministries of
External Affairs and Defence also engage in international
activities.
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Globalization
Globalization refers to the acceleration and
intensification of mechanisms, processes and
activities that are supposedly promoting global
interdependence.
It involves a growing consciousness of the world
as a single place.
This consciousness is reflected in widely used
phrases such as the global village and the
global economy.

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 The spread of air travel has made it easier for

people to travel to distant parts of the world.
The spread of the internet has made accessible to
a growing number of people a global information
superhighway.
While in 1980 there were 1 million international
travellers per day, in 2000 there were more than
3 million.
This represented a 200% increase in the number
of international travellers per day.
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 The new information and communication technology

has improved access to overseas markets and
globalized the production and distribution of goods
and the currency trade.
States and people are becoming more dependent on
each other because problems such as global warming,
the international drugs trade and terrorism can only be
managed through greater global cooperation.
Globalization is also said to be erasing cultural
differences.
Sociologists refer to this as the Coca-Colaization or
McDonladization of global culture.
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 Globalization is said to weaken the ability of the

Sovereign State to act independently.
This trend can be seen particularly in the area of
economic policy.
In the area of economic policy domestic economic
decision-making is often said to be subject to
global market forces.
It is very difficult for any individual state to
regulate the global market forces.

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 The causes of what is referred to as Globalization

today is liberal capitalism and the revolution in
information and communication technologies (ICT).
Liberal capitalism refers to the confluence of liberal
values such as freedom and individualism with an
economic system based on the market.
This resulted in an international environment
conducive to the free movement of capital and
goods.
The revolution in ICT facilitated the creation of a
global market in capital and goods.
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 But Globalization is not without its critics.

The objective of global free trade that was meant

to be facilitated by the World Trade Organization
(WTO) has not been realized.

Instead what we are seeing today are regional

trade blocs in North America, Europe, South Asia
and Southeast Asia.

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 The dictates of global capital threaten the

democratic accountability of States to their
citizens.
The globalization of the trade in agricultural
products has threatened the domestic market of
local farmers in developing countries.
The globalization of the production sector has
resulted in unemployment for factory workers in
the developed countries.

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 The fact that phrases such as Coca-Colaization

and McDonaldization are taken to represent a
global culture indicates a predominance of
American influence in the process of
Globalization.
In other words Globalization in the cultural sphere
could simply be a synonym for the
Americanization of global culture.
This is why cultural specialists think that
Globalization is harmful to local cultures.

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Global Brands

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Anti-Globalization Protest

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Conclusion
Compared with other disciplines in the Arts such
as Philosophy and History, International Relations
(IR) is a relatively young discipline.
In the 100 years or so that IR has existed as an
academic discipline it has done much to improve
our understanding of international relations.
The subject matter of international relations can
be explored along the dimensions of diplomatic
and strategic relations among states, crossborder transactions and globalization.

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 The discipline of IR has traditionally tended to

prioritize diplomatic and strategic relations
among States.
This is because a primary goal of the Sovereign
State is considered to be security and diplomacy
and strategy are seen as means for reaching that
goal.
Cross-border transactions are routine processes of
international relations.
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 States seek to regulate cross-border flows both

individually and collectively.
Some cross-border flows such as ideas through
travel and academic exchanges can promote
international understanding.
However, other flows such as human smuggling
threaten both the security of individual human
beings as well as the security of state borders.
Globalization threatens not only a States ability to
regulate what crosses its borders but also what
happens within those borders.
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DISCUSSION

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VIDEO CLIP on International

Relations

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DISCUSSION

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