Professional Documents
Culture Documents
DATE:
States are also referred to as nation-states and a nation can be a particular culture or
ethnic group and modern states can be made up of two or more nations.
In ancient history, civilizations did not have definite boundaries as states have today
In Africa, early dynastic Egypt was the first civilization to define its borders
The Roman Empire (27 BCE - 476 AD) was the first western civilization known to
accurately define their borders.
The modern state as we know traces its origins to the Greek City States (800BC-168BC).
With the collapse of the Roman Empire in 476AD, Europe entered the period known as
Dark ages (476 AD onwards)
The period was marked by a decline in law and order thus conflict and anarchy, a decline
in trade and learning and a decline in population due to war and other pestilences.
Power hungry Kings were quick to tear up the once organized states and as such, power
became fragmented among the petty kings and war lords
Feudalism in the middle Ages (1801 -1400) introduced a semblance of some sort of order
The feudal lords who owned the land had to offer protection to their squatters for the
tribute they paid to them.
The fragmented feudal units for the time united for fear of being conquered by other lords
leading to the formation of a modern state.
lords amassing land and becoming strong kings who conquered more territories which
consolidated to become states
There wasn't really any such thing as lasting income growth from productivity
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Civilization was stuck in the Malthusian Trap. (If lots of people died, incomes tended to
go up, as fewer workers benefited from a stable supply of crops. If lots of people were
born, however, incomes would fall, which often led to more deaths)
The trap explains why by then populations so closely approximated GDP around the
world.
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes that
occurred in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840
Transition included going from hand production methods to machines, new chemical
manufacturing and iron production processes, improved efficiency of water power, the
After the Industrial revolution, the World has not gone back to date. Population power is
(minus Japan) accounts for 60% of the world's population and 30% of its GDP.
There continues to be a demonstration of productivity divergences around the World with
significant technological improvements in Agriculture, roads, railways, textile
Human rights is the idea that all people should have rights. These rights are seen as
universal, which means they are meant for everyone, no matter what their race, religion,
ethnicity, nationality, age, sex (also women's rights), political beliefs (or any other kind
of beliefs), intelligence, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity are.
Right to privacy
To own property
Free Speech
Fair trial
To be a citizen of a country
To be recognized as a person
To vote
To think freely
Education
of other states
Offensive human rights implies a focus on violations by other states as in Cuba & US
Amnesty International
Human Rights International Alliance
Female infanticide; Chinas one child policy has heightened the disdain for female
infants; abortion, neglect, abandonment, and infanticide have been known to occur to
female infants.
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power to deny women custody of their children for the most arbitrary reasons.
Victims of violence; Womens unequal legal rights increase their vulnerability to
violence.
Right to travel; In Syria, a husband can prevent his wife from leaving the country.
Access to education; in many areas of Afghanistan, girls are often taken out of school
when they hit puberty. The enormous lack of female teachers, who are fundamental in a
country where girls cannot be taught by a man after a certain age, is having a negative
Security threats have obtained global proportions. Today, with the deepening of
globalization, countries are more interdependent.
Security is no longer a local issue bearing on individual countries or regions, but a global
one that threatens to impede peace and development of the world.
No country can keep itself out. We are living in an interdependent world. Our common
interests and common challenges have put us in a same boat.
Today, the international peace and development is facing more and more challenges. Old
Security threats have taken on multiple dimensions. Traditional security concerns such
as ethnic or religious conflicts and border or territorial disputes still exist, while non-
The interweaving and mutual conversion between the two kinds of security issues has
brought new challenges to the international peace and security.
Security threats have a complex nature. Non-traditional security threats have complicated
causes and diverse manifestations.
Terrorists go after their goals through violence, their activities are becoming more
secretive, and means more brutal. The use of biological, chemical, cyberspace and other
high-tech means makes terrorists more and more dangerous.
As such, the security issue has split over to a wide range of areas of politics, economy,
military, finance, science and technology.
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Sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard
Price stability
Employment
Sustainable growth
Trade
Tax policies
Infrastructure development
Technology transfer
Inflation
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etc
politics
There is no actor above states capable of regulating state interactions
The international system exist in a state of constant antagonism
Given the goal of survival, states will act as best as they can in order to maximize their
of evil institutions
War and international anarchy are not inevitable
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War is a global problem requiring collective rather than national efforts to control it
Reforms must be inspired by a compassionate ethical concern for the welfare and security
of all people
International society must reorganize itself in order to eliminate the institutions that make
war likely
(b). Criticisms
Realism Theory
Democratic peace theory
Democratic peace theory advocates also that realism is not applicable to democratic
states' relations with each other, as their studies claim that such states do not go to war
with one another.
Federalism
Conflict and disagreement should be resolved through peaceful means rather than
through coercion or war.
Feminism
Realism equates the state with being the "protector", while its people with being the
"protected". Such terminology is historically gendered, with men traditionally seen as the
protectors, and women as the protected.
Criticisms of Liberalism
Cooperation is teamwork.
Terrorism e.g. Cuba, Iran, Syria and Sudan supporting acts of international
Technology
Education and research
Resolving insurgence
Health
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The international system unlike the state system does not possess either consensus or
any institution which holds the monopoly of the means of violence in the world at
large.
Consequently, war and the expectation of war and the diplomatic and strategic
behavior consequent upon it, become the very stuff of international relations.
Change of government
Civil war
Difference in Ideology
Resources and their allocation to different conflicting interest groups
Territorial disputes
Natural resources
Decolonization
The military factor
underdeveloped.
Underdevelopment means that there are inadequate social and economic structural
changes to give the economy of African economies a balanced integrated and sustaining
of the world and this is because the poverty and underdevelopment are on the increase.
More significantly is that of the GDP derived world manufacturing output, Africa only
Even these are unevenly distributed among the regions. North Africa e.g. produces the
bulk of African manufactures and with in North Africa, production is concentrated in
Egypt.
The rest of Africa manufactures are concentrated in particular areas. In West Africa, it
concentrated in Nigeria and Ivory Coast. In East and central Africa, Kenya and DRC
(Zaire)
Heavy manufacturing plants e.g. petrochemicals, basic mineral and fabricated mineral
Nigeria
Since all African countries rely on agricultural export receipts for their import of food as
well as capital and manufactured consumer items and since they are competing in the
production of these export crops for a world market that is increasingly finding synthetic
Contemporary societies are integrated into a single world economic system. I.e. the
capitalist system
In regard to African states, the theorists argue that:
African states and all other underdeveloped states are dependent on the capitalist world
for technology, capital finance and monetary systems and for trade.
This is because the capitalist state has a virtual monopoly over the means of production.
Dependence and monopoly means control and exploitation.
All countries that are underdeveloped in the world are exploited by the others and
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multinational corporations with their headquarters in the core which dominate in control
the leading economy of the periphery.
As a result of this incorporation, African states cannot exist without their dependence but
Individual-level analysis is based on the view that it is people who make policy. It
analyzes the policy-making process by examining how people (as a species, in groups,
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The human nature approach examines basic human characteristics, including the
cognitive, psychological, emotional, and biological factors that influence decision
making.
The organizational behavior approach studies such factors as role (how people act in
State-level analysis assumes that since states are the most important international actors,
world politics can be best understood by focusing on how foreign policy is influenced by
the political structure of states, the policy-making actors within them, and the interactions
political system, the type of situation, the type of issue, and the internal factors involved.
States are complex organizations, and their internal, or domestic, dynamics influence
of a nation.
Another set of internal factors centers on the policy-making impact of various foreign
policy making actors. These include political leaders, bureaucratic organizations,
legislatures, political parties and opposition, interest groups, and the public. Each of these
influences foreign policy, but their influence varies according to the type of government,
To be successful, countries usually must make policy choices within the context of the
realities of the international system. Therefore, system-level analysis examines how the
structure.
Another structural characteristic is a systems frequency, scope, and level of interaction.
The current system is becoming increasingly interdependent, with a rising number of
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Give the roles of international organizations relating them to solving security, economic and
social issues of the World. Give examples to support your answers
Roles of international organizations
Supervision
lending out technical cooperation to the member countries
Environmental issues
Human rights
Health
Price stability
Employment
Sustainable growth
Trade
Tax policies
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Infrastructure development
Technology transfer
Inflation
etc
Major security events are; the war in Iraq is over, but order has not returned. The Middle
security threats.
Security threats have taken on multiple dimensions. Traditional security concerns such as
ethnic or religious conflicts and border or territorial disputes still exist, while non-
The interweaving and mutual conversion between the two kinds of security issues has
brought new challenges to the international peace and security.
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