ESSENTIALS OF
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Chapter 5
The State
When Is an Entity a State?
• Defined territorial base
• Stable population
• Government to which the population has allegiance
• Is recognized diplomatically by other states
Legal Criteria Are Not Absolute
• Territory not always well defined
• Population changes with migrants and immigrants
• People not always obedient to government
• Unclear how many states need to grant diplomatic
recognition
A Nation Defined
• Group of people who share common set of
characteristics:
 Common language, history, ethnicity, customs or
lifestyles
• Concept spread with technological advances
• Some nations seek to tie together nation and state;
some do not
Relationship between
State and Nation
• Nation-state: Denmark, Italy
• Nations spread in several states:
 Kurds in Iraq, Turkey, Iran
 Somalis in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti
 Germans in Eastern Europe, Russia
Relationship between
State and Nation
• States with several nations within state borders: India,
Russia
• Common identities evolve without common religious,
ethnic, or cultural similarity: United States, Canada
Should Israel and the
Palestinian Territories
Be Divided into Two Separate
States?
• YES
 Palestinian state reinforces commitment to selfdetermination principle
 Can provide regional stability
Should Israel and the
Palestinian Territories
Be Divided into Two Separate
States?
• YES
 Palestinian state would encourage return of
refugees
 Palestinian state would frustrate more extreme
factions such as Hamas or Hezbollah
Should Israel and the
Palestinian Territories
Be Divided into Two Separate
States?
• YES
 Shift burden of governing from Israel to the
Palestinians
 The only moderate solution likely to end hostilities
and enjoying international support
Should Israel and the
Palestinian Territories
Be Divided into Two Separate
States?
• NO
 Israel’s security would be jeopardized by
Palestinian state’s military capability
 Separate states result in population transfer,
making war more likely with increased ethnic
tensions
Should Israel and the
Palestinian Territories
Be Divided into Two Separate
States?
• NO
 Israel’s internal security could be compromised by
right-wing extremists
 Separate states can only be maintained with a
third-party buffer state
 Too many issues still need to be resolved
Realist View of the State
• The state is:
 An autonomous, unitary actor
 Constrained only by the anarchy of the
international system
 Sovereign
 Guided by a national interest that is defined in
terms of power
Liberal View of the State
• The state is:
 A process, involving many contending interests
 A reflection of both governmental and societal
interests
 The repository of multiple and changing national
interests
 The possessor of fungible sources of power
 No single explicit or consistent national interest
Radical View of the State
• The state is:
 The executing agent of the bourgeoisie
 Influenced by pressures from the capitalist class
 Constrained by the structure of the international
capitalist system, which drives the state to expand
Constructivist View of the State
• The state is:
 A socially constructed entity
 The repository of changing national interests
 Shaped by international norms that can change
preferences
Constructivist View of the State
• The state is:
 Influenced by changing national interests that
reshape identities
 Socialized by intergovernmental organizations
(IGOs) and nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs)
The Nature of State Power
• What is power?
 The ability to not only influence others, but to
control outcomes, producing results that would not
have occurred naturally
 Multidimensional, dynamic, and situational
Hard Power:
Tangible Sources of Power
• Industrial development
• Level of infrastructure
• Economic diversification
• Characteristics of military
• Favorable geography
• Natural resources
• Population (size, education; etc.)
Soft Power:
Intangible Sources of Power
• National image—views of self as exceptional or weak
• Public support and cohesion—strong or weak
• Public morale—strong or disaffected
• Leadership—visionaries, pragmatic, poor, corrupt
• Quality of government—not type, but effectiveness
• Soft power—ability to attract others because of
legitimacy of state’s values or policies
Constructivist View of Power
• Includes tangible and intangible sources, plus:
 Importance of ideas and language
 Ideas and societal norms shape how state
identities and nationalism are forged and
changed
The Exercise of State Power
• Power not only to be possessed, but utilized through:
 Diplomacy
 Economic statecraft
 Force
The Art of Diplomacy
• Influencing the behavior of others by negotiating
• Taking a specific action or refraining from action
• Conducting public diplomacy using positive images
• Requires credible parties with believable statements,
likely positions, and ability to back up positions with
action
• Complicated by Putnam’s two-level games and as a
culture-bound activity
Diplomatic Tools
• Expressing unhappiness with policy choice of another
• Threaten that negative consequences might follow if
changes are not made
• Turning to multilateral legitimization for support
• Give state diplomatic recognition, foreign or military
aid
Public Diplomacy
• Emerged with increased reliance on new
communications technologies
• Targets foreign and domestic public and elites
• Tries to improve a state’s overall public image to
increase likelihood of policy success—“hearts and
minds” approach
• Example: 2003 Iraq War and Al Jazeera
Diplomacy and Human Security:
A View from Canada
• Niche diplomacy: concentrate resources in select
areas
• Diplomatic themes reflect Canadian values and ways
to differentiate itself from the United States
 Support human rights by concentrating on human
security
 Train and participate in multilateral peacekeeping
Diplomacy and Human Security:
A View from Canada
• Diplomatic themes reflect Canadian values and ways
to differentiate itself from the United States
 Examples: outlaw land mines; support elimination
of child soldiers; support women’s rights and
measures to end global warming
Use of Economic Statecraft
• Positive sanctions—offers a reward for moving in
desired direction
 Grant trading privileges—most-favored nation
(MFN) status to China
 Permit trading in sensitive products
Use of Economic Statecraft
• Negative sanctions—threaten or take actions that
punish state for undesirable move
 Freeze target state’s assets—United Nations
against Libya
 Boycott goods and services—South Africa
boycotted
 Impose trade limits – Arab states and United
States
Debate over Economic Sanctions
• Often viewed as not effective
 Public rallies around leaders
 States change economic policies
 Difficult to maintain international cohesion in long
term
• In 1980s, South Africa case shows some success
• In 1990s, increased use of smart sanctions
Use of Force/
Threat to Use Force
• Compellence — threat or use of force to get target
state to do something or undo an act already
undertaken
 Example: prelude to 1991 Gulf War—try to change
Saddam’s behavior by escalating threats
• Deterrence—threatening or actually punishing a target
state if it takes an undesired action
• In both cases, intentions must be communicated;
credibility is essential
Democracy and Foreign Policy
• Kant: democracy changes international politics by
eliminating war; public restrains leaders
• Major finding: democracies do not fight each other
• Potentially divergent findings:
 Democracies are not overall more pacific than
nondemocracies
 Autocracies are just as peaceful with each other
as are democracies
Explaining Divergent Findings
• Different assumptions by the authors
• Different operationalization of concepts (democratic
government; war)
• Different time periods
• Question for thought: Is more study required to explain
the various findings?
Rational Model
Most Appropriate When:
• Crisis situation
• Short time to react
• Incomplete information about decision making in other
state
• National security issues
The Realist Perspective on
State Power and Policy
Nature of state
power
Emphasis on power as key
concept in international
relations; geography,
natural resources, population
especially important
Using state power
Emphasis on coercive
techniques of power;
use of force acceptable
How foreign
policy is made
Emphasis on rational model
of decision making; unitary
state actor assumed once
decision is made
Determinants of
foreign policy
Largely external/international
determinants
Characteristics of Bureaucratic/
Organizational Model
• Organizations: importance of standard operating
procedures and processes within different
organizations
 Decisions depend on precedents
 Decisions apt to be incremental
• Bureaucratic: pull and haul of different interests
among departments, groups, or individuals
• Most often in non-security issues
Bureaucratic/Organizational
Outcomes
• Organizational:
 Decisions depend heavily on precedent
 Major changes unlikely
 Conflict can occur between groups with different
goals and procedures
Bureaucratic/Organizational
Outcomes
• Bureaucratic:
 Decisions emerge from “tug-of-war” between
departments, groups, or individuals
 Outcomes depend on relative strength of players
The Liberal Perspective on
State Power and Policy
Nature of state
power
Multiple power sources;
tangible and intangible
sources
Using state power
Broad range of power
techniques; preference for
noncoercive alternatives
How foreign
policy is made
Organizational/bureaucratic
and pluralist models
of decision making
Determinants of
foreign policy
Largely domestic
determinants
Pluralist Model Outcomes
• Bargaining among domestic actors
 Example: interest groups, public, mass
movements, multinational corporations (MNCs)
• Most often emerges in non-crisis, economic situations
• Time allows mobilization of media and public opinion,
lobbying, organizing transnational networks, direct
contact with government officials
The Radical Perspective on
State Power and Policy
Nature of state
power
Economic power organized
around classes
Using state power
Weak having few instruments
of power
How foreign
policy is made
States having no real choices;
decisions dictated by
economic capitalist elites
Determinants of
foreign policy
Largely external determinants;
co-opted
internal elements
Challenges to State Power
Forces
Effects on the State
Globalization —
political,
economic,
cultural
Undermines state sovereignty;
interferes with state exercise of
power
Transnational
crime
State is unable to curb due to
expansion of communication
networks
Transnational
movements
Religious/ideological
Political
Seek loyalty and commitment of
individuals beyond the state; want
to transform the ideology of the
state
Change state behavior on a
specific problem or issue
Challenges to State Power
Forces
Effects on the State
Ethnonational
movements
Seek own state; attempt to replace
current government with one
representing the interests of the
movement
Challenges to the State
• Globalization—growing integration of world in terms
of economics, politics, communications, culture
• Transnational crime
• Transnational movements—religious or ideological
movements, believers united by wanting to change
states and society
• Ethnonational Movements—national subgroups
have demands; some want autonomy, others want
separation