INR 2001: Intro to International Relations
January 12, 2015
Big Themes in International Relations * Conflict or Cooperation? Pays to Cooperate: Success in business- Don’t shoot customers * Major Actors in Conflicts * Chines, Navy, NATO, and Somali Pirates * States fighting other states * States fighting rebellions within the state * Conflict between non-state actors * Not all conflict is between states, much if not most is below the level of state-state conflict * Conflict maybe driven by man interests- ethnic conflict, material resources, land * Cooperation * Lots of Conflict and lots of Cooperation * Examples * Cooperation focused on economic issues, why? * All sides gain from economic exchange so it literally pays to cooperate * Is cooperation or conflict the natural state? * Economic cooperation mitigates conflict * Globalization or Fragmentation? * France-Germany and the European Union * Free trade agreements and NAFTA * What is Globalization * Examples: * Increasing level interconnectedness * What it means for international relations * More interdependence * Cultural aspects, both positive and negative * Is globalization a new phenomena * Less and less dialogue more usual stuff happening * 50 million died as a result 1918 Spanish Flu and parallels to Ebola Virus * Fragmentation * EU- Lack of defining borders * Europe as example- integration into EU has diminished power of national governments * Regional identities have become stronger: example- Scotland and Wales * Not all peaceful- Yugoslavia * Globalization can lead to integration but also fragmentation