Introduction

 Heart of all legal system is the state.

 State
o Maintains relations with others  International relations.
o IR is 
 Considered a set of links between states beyond their borders.
 It’s the relations between states and/or relations between habitants of cities, individuals, exists in
universities (Ex: Paris Sorbonne)
 Field of environmental, economical & cultural questions + new actors (20 th century)  NGO, multinational
firms… They all limit the state’s actions & sovereignty.
(This is why nowadays a more complex term).
 It’s a matter of foreign policy, but also exists independently (individual travels, international educational
programs…).
o Always play central role on the international stage to its foreign policy (ex: military conflicts, alliances, promoting
economic cooperation)
 Sovereign state
o State that exercises authority over its population throughout its territory.
o Independent of external authority.
o All states should have supreme control on their internal affairs, but they’re also still limited by certain
impositions by International Law (Human rights…)
 International Relations
o Expression invented by Bentham (English) in 1789.
o Belief that its history began in 1648 with the Treaty of Westphalia (created to stop the 30 Years War (1618-
1648)).
o Theory 
 It’s question of (1) regulation of inner-states relations; and (2) maintenance of order in international
system
 3 modern theories  R & N-R, L & Rad.

The modern theories

 A. Realism
o Invented in WW1&WW2 interwar
o The concept of seeing things as they are rather than they ought to be.
o Pessimistic view of the human
o States are key actors
o World politics is all about struggle and a quest for power in the international system.
o Belief that aims of political sphere agents  power & self-aggrandizement
o Based on view primarily selfish & power-seeking
o Their theory 
 is that individuals are organized in states who act in unitary way each in pursuit of their own
national interests
 power is defined in terms of material resources to coerce the states
 states exist in an anarchic international system that is characterized by absence of authority
hierarchy.
o Term of Balance of power
  All great powers / states must rely on counter-balancing the power of other states & deterrence
them to keep the international system intact.
 = equal distribution of power among states so no one attacks the other (=peace).
 Use if warfare = nations combine to rebalance the systems if one country grows too powerful
(upsets the balance).
 Rousseau (18th) who disapproved with this principle.
o Father of realism 
 (1) Thucydides  Athenian citizen who wrote History of Peloponnesian War, focused on the
battled between Athens and Sparta in 431 BC.
 His assumptions are that the state is a unitary actor, and that it’s the principal actor as well in war &
politics; that the decision makers in the same of a certain state are presumed to be rational actors (so
they’ll decide for the national interest) & that the states also need to protect themselves from foreign &
domestic enemies by building up their economic progress and forming alliances with other states.
 (2) Hobbes (16&17th)
 Each state has a right to preserve themselves.
 To him, the state of nature of individuals = total absence of rules = always at war with one another. that’s
why there is a necessity to have a social contract = theory established used later on for western political
philosophies  the security lies in the social contract.
 Leviathan  Book he wrote  The population has to give up their own unlimited liberties, autonomy &
power and transfer it to the state  they follow the decision made by the ruler / state (= leviathan) who
will command & protect their security. The state can justify itself because they have a common interest. He
calls the state leviathan not because he thinks the state is evil but to present it as a powerful being, but
that is regardless reasonable & has the goal of strengthening & protecting the lands they live in.
 Support of monarchy  the king has absolute authority in making the law. This king can be rejected only by
an act of rebellion after he has broken the social contract
 Developed fundamental European liberal thoughts: the right of the individual, the equality between men,
artificial character of the political order between civil society & state, that all legitimate political power has
to be based on the consent of the people, and that the liberal interpretation of law allows people to do
whatever they want if it wasn’t forbid by the law.
o Realist thinking
 States are major actors of IR, and they constitution a unite by nature, they’re sovereign,
autonomous of each other. The state is a relation entity that is always seeking to maximize the
national interest and will use force in many ways if needed. The aim of foreign policies is the
security & political agendas.
 Neo-realism
o Invented by Waltz (20th century)
o gives priority to the structure of international system of a state.
o Power politics stems from the structure of the system and not of human nature because that structure is a
force in itself, it forced states to behave in certain ways
o They’re concerned with the combination of cheating and a state’s rational desire to protect their own interest
 it tends to preclude cooperation among states.

Comparison Difference
Realism balance of power is a core BP rely on counter-balancing power
principle of other states
Neo-realism balance of power is a core Balance of power determined by the
principle structure of the system (not the
states).
 Liberalism
o 17th century
o The core is the individual. It’s in favor of democracy & puts personal freedom above all.
o Theory that human nature is good, their rational sides dominates and so they can improve their moral &
material conditions by themselves.
o Humans are flawed but can change it, so bad behavior comes from misunderstandings between leaders.
o Highlights
 Possibility of change
 Centrality of economic relations & markets
 Individuals for human rights
 International cooperation
o Father of liberalism
 John Locke (17th); Kant; Montesquieu; Rousseau; Bentham
 Points that
 (1) supremacy of individual rights in politics and economics
 Need to limit role of states in economic, social, and political conditions favorable to commercial exchange.
o IR in Liberalism can be peaceful if they’re based on capitalism, laws, and democracy (international law & IO
allows settlements & ceases conflicts; they maintain the peace) + democracy prevents risks of conflicts because
the leader is subject of the will of their citizens
 Radicalism
o Belief that society needs to be changed, and those changed are only possible thoughts revolutionary needs.
o Marx (18th) who is German but fled the police and went to Paris. He wrote about propensity for capitalism to
develop world-wide markets.
o Marx says history is the development of the consciousness in the world, and it’s the freedom’s progress
(divided into 3): 1. Primitive stage  relations within family, tribe… 2. Relations of mutual independent:
between exchange of communities, relations characterized by contracting individuals. 3. Social development
realization of the freedom & equality.
o He says economy is a form of human exploitation and class inequality; that the bourgeoisie owns the means
of production, and the proletariat owns only its labor power which it must sell to the bourgeoisie; so, they work
more than they get paid back.
o He argued for a classless society because the rigid class structure stifles any kind of potential for lower classes
& so results in lack of progress.
 States aren’t autonomous = they’re driven by ruling class interest. They seek an expensive economic system and
are in constant need for new markets & more profits
 Capitalists are driven by the interest of bourgeoisie, which leads to struggles between capitalist classes of different
states.

 2 concepts: (1) optimist: Marxism believes that society can exist without a state  ; we have to erase the state to step
out of the war cases because violence is a tool created to achieve political power. & (2) pessimist: Hobbes who believes
that the human nature is violent & selfish.

Basic units of international life in the ancient world

 City-state
 New type of unit that emerged, they were larger, more concentrated than other units  lead to more conflicts
between people.
 Early type of state because of its internal structure, its behavior, and ways to use war and diplomacy.
 State
 Main actor in IR
  Appeared 17-18th
 It’s the populated territory of a state, and/or the political body that governs a territory.
 Sovereign, independent, capable of entering in relations with other states.
 Seek political autonomy, and the right to self-government.
 To qualify as state
 Permanent population
 Defined territory
 Effective government
 Auto bound by the principle of international law.
 First civilization
 3000 BC
 Appeared in middle east
 Population of Tigris & Euphrates River unified under the authority of Pharaoh.
 Persia
 Great and vast empire.
 Essence of a modern nation state: centralized authority, bureaucratic management, efficient delivery of the public
services
 City-states of Greece
 8th
 Own political structure
 Some democratic models, other aristocratic models.
 They were either in conflict or trading.
 Sumaria
 Southern Mesopotamia
 Communities: they divided their lands into large plot, administrated by a priest, and they lived in concentrated
settlements focused on the Temple.
 ! bc no longer regulated by kingship.
 There were a lot of conflicts, so 2 solutions to improve security  technical (building walls) and pacts (to undercut
the autonomy of neighborly city-states).
 Imperial stability was in place because of the establishment of Babylonian empire by king Hammurabi around 1700
BC.
 Key to stable empires
 Ideology to consolidate an empire of a coherent entity (but failed by Sumerians because each city-state ruled by
different God)
 Have effective agents & professional army
 Advances in administration techniques: controlling the administration, recourse of written communication.
 Creation of merchant class (helps for distribution of goods inside and outside).
 Assyrian and Babylonian Empires.
 Greek world
 Culture evolved around 8&7th
 ¼ of population lived in city and the rest in countryside.
 Claim that politics could only exist in self-governing city-states.
 How a city is formed (2): 1. Military (people live in a city behind walls as protection) & 2. Political (agree to live
under an authority).
 Aristotle
 Definition of city: form of community that implies the joint involvement of its citizens & is a form of
government
  Politics occur when self-sufficient groups who are free & equal engage in public discussions about laws &
policies & take turns according to their rules at ruling & being ruled.
 Man is a creature intended by nature to live in a city bc city = ultimate form of human organization = exists to
allows humans to best fulfill their potential and satisfy their highest goals of social life.
 Greek city
 based on idea of community & (3 elements)
 Land
 Population
 Will of the individual to accept a communal law
 = own its land and not be economically dependent on another city
 = have the power to choose its political system freely
 Relations between cities
 Hoplites (= distinctive military organization represented by citizens who were able to afford weapons) as a solution
for the wars between city-states.
 Diplomacy was common
 Competitive city-state system
 Existential conflict with Persia
 Decisions of war & peace were made in Athens by the Ekklesia (assembly composed by all the citizens).
 Concept of state-neutrality, and third-party arbitration + use of Proxenoi (cultural officials who were resident-
citizens of a city and in charge to represent the interest of other cities, and their goal was to harmonize the
interests of the 2 cities).
 Leagues = associations of different cities within Greece who fight against a common enemy + & Ionic league.
 Doctrine
 Political animals (by Aristotle)
 Thucydides
 IR = inevitable conflict between ancient Greek city-states because there was a natural & inevitable inequality
between cities.
 Says that cities but adapts because if they do, they survive, and if they don’t, they could be destroyed.
 Decision makers / rulers had a restricted sphere of action available in the conduct of foreign policy, and they
should always think carefully of the consequences of their final decisions.
Underlines ethics of caution & prudence in the conduct of these foreign policies.
 The Peloponnesian wars
 War in 5th between Athens & Sparta
 3 periods
1. Sparta launched invasions of Attica & Athens took advantage of its naval supremacy to raid the coast of
the Peloponnese. It concluded with the signing of the Peace of Nicias in 421 BC.
2. 415 BC: Athens attacked attack Syracuse, Sicily, but the attack failed & destroyed their force.
3. Sparta supported rebellions in Athens's subject states in the Aegean Sea and Ionia. The destruction of
Athens’s fleet in the battle ended the war in 404 BC, and Athens surrendered in the following year.
 Reshaped ancient Greek world  Athens was destroyed & weakened for good vs. Sparta new leading power
of Greece.
 Thucydides work of history of IR 
 1. War was inevitable bc growth of Athenian power = fear to Sparta
 2. Might makes right = Athens argues that they didn’t do anything wrong = Nature’s rule is that the weak
should be subject to the strong.
 3. Melian Dialogue  Dramatic debate T used: extract of invasion of the Island of Melos by Athens (416 BC)
where Athens negotiated that they should surrender, but it failed & Athens conquered the island & enslaved
its inhabitance.
 Justice: isn’t about equal treatment for everyone bc states are unequal.
 1. Recognize strength & weaknesses
2. Knowing our place in the world
3. Adapting to the natural inequality of the world
 => States have obligation to look after their own self-interest & course of actions.
 Thucydides => IR elements on concepts of discipline:
1. rule of human natural in international affairs & exercise of power.
2. security dilemma (strong state to protect itself = threat to other states who take defensive measures).
3. balance of power.
 Natural Law
 = inherent law of all societies.
 universal concept & not based on any culture or customs.
 Greek philosophers = sort of perfect justice given to man by nature  positive law should comfort to these as
closely as possible.
  Natural law is the rights that come from nature and not the rules of society (generally common to all people) vs
positive law = law written by people (that should be as close as possible to natural law).
 Aristotle & the concept of Telos
 = behavior of everything (people, plants, animals, institutions…).
  Teleological = scientific revolution of the 17 th = the discourse on the purpose of things & beings.
  Today: term natural used to describe the way things are when they’re not effected by human activity.
 Difference between ethics & morals

Ethics
= Greek word ethos (character).
= individual value when one must take a decision in front
of a novelty (science…).
 Ethos used by Aristotle = it’s a prominent social fact
held to explain things which can’t be explained by
individual action or state of mind.
Morals
= Latin word mores (customs).
= regards the past. Set of principles inherited from
family
 What someone is doing / what they’ve been taught
 Passes down from generation to generation

Chronological history 

 Autonomous Greek CS crumpled by 4th-3rd century  Macedonian domination of King Alexander the Great after
he defeated king Darius III (last king of Persia) in 332 BC. He built a universal empire that was a unitary state that
regardless had many governing practices & local customs.
 He died  Empire turned into several military regimes that coexisted in anarchic competitive system. All were
unstable & vulnerable to the Roman Republic that was expanding.
 Roman Empire
o Built 753 BC
o Monarchy & contracted the concept of Dubois because such a state in his opinion can lead to war.
o The roman empire was a concept of political authority = it’s above all a territory which is rule by a single
sovereign person (the Emperor). But, could we say that the roman empire was a state? If we open it,
o First government by kings from Etruria (north Italy)
o 509 BC  Revolution expelled kings & republic founded ruled by magistrates.
 Roman Empire turned into the Roman Republic
o 3 elements of governments ruled it

(1) Democratic power (2) Aristocratic power (3) Monarchic power

takes the form of legislative assemblies. takes the form of the Senate. takes the form of magistrate.
 The roman assemblies elected magistrates,  Not elective body   Elected officials of the
 enacted legislations, declaration war / peace, members of Roman Senate Roman Republic.
and sometimes dissolved Treaties. appointed by Censor  Each magistrate was
 There were 2 types of Legislative assemblies in (Roman legislate). destined with a degree of
Rome, In both of these assemblies organized  Passes decrees called power: for example, the
on different basis: familial groupings, military Senatus Consula, or advice, dictator had the highest
purposes, or tribes. usually followed by level of power;
1) Comitia  all Roman citizens (only free men) magistrates.  They’re consuls ruled the
(patricians + plebeians). Divided in 3 types of  Their focus => foreign policy. states (the praetors
assemblies.  But!  power of Senate administered civil law);
2) Concilia Plebis  composed only of plebeians. expanded over time as ruled the repubic
-> Plebs = political movement in opposition to the power of legislative  Praetores would say the
patricians. assembly declined. law (what is right &
wrong).
 that highlights the difference between Empire (Principate & Emperor who decided the law and it came from him. So
we had a sovereign law inhabited by the Emperor which has a common interest, but then we also have their customary
laws that they get to keep = their ancient customs) but the Republic had different elements.

 Punic wars (3rd century BC) (2) (or 264–146 BCE ?)

o War between Roman republic & the city of Carthage in Tunisia (that was defeated)  Rome expanded its
influence in the East part of the Mediterranean Sea.
o Until 27 BC  Rome master of Mediterranean bassine.
 27 BC  end of Roman Republic & beginning of new political regime = Principate
o Octavius
o = Latin Princeps (= chief / first) = state government by only one person.
o Last until 3rd century BC bc of increasing pressure of borders of the Empire (West & East).
 End of 3rd BC  evolvement of Dominate
o Latin of dominus (=master) = government of 1 master.
o Power concentrated in hands of Emperor who is source of the law.
o 364 AD  Split of the Empire
 West: Rome is capital. Dissapeared in 476 AD with barbarian invasion.
 East: Constantinople as capital. Survives until 1453.

Par2. International institutions.

 War
o = it’s true institution in Rome.
o Organized with strict formal & religious procedure (specially for declaration of war).
o Fetialis (priest) sent to the enemy to demand reparation of harm / prejudice (sometimes fictious) (it’s the
cause of the war) suffered that enables them to blame & attack the enemy in accordance with the law.
o  Goal: war should be a Just war so it’s justified in the eyes of Gods & according to Roman Law, and so it
legitimates the sanctions against the vanquished (properly declared fetialis).
o Ultimate goal = enemy surrendering 
 Place oneself in trust of Rome = enemy surrenders to Rome to avoid destruction.
 Enemy loses legal identity, can’t have international actions & is dominated by Rome.
 Treaties (what happens after defeat).
o Decision to sign it was first given to people, then later to Emperor.
o Agreement 
1) End war
2) Foedus ((Latin of Fides = trust).
 define their relationship. It creates alliance between people = societas (society).
 Usual considered unequal treaty / gives inferior positions
  Aim  provide military assistance when necessary; force to provide Rome with battleships,
soldiers, or even money.
3) Hospitium (hospitality).
 Awarded by Roman people to individual / foreign community
 Given to those associated with Roman empire in treaty
 Advantages are: 1. Freely reside in roman territory. 2. Access to medical treatment. 3. Access to
roman courts of law (where Roman law is applied).
4) Pax Romana (roman peace)
 During Principate regime
 Central concept because it allowed a peace & stability in Roman Empire for over 200 years.
 Imposed & maintained by force of arms
 Aim  guarantee law, order & security within the empire.

 Roman Empire -> international community or unit of international life (difference between Empire & State).
o Empire (Political dimension = Latin imperium = power / authority, & Territorial dimension = country under
the government of Emperor / king).
 2 definitions = 1) empires of antiquity were pluralist societies = preservation of the diversity of the
vanquished (=legal heterogeneity) ≠ Ancient empires = governed by exploiting & managing the diversity.
 ! No levelling in the Empire = management of diversity = don’t impose their institutions / laws or
languages.
o Nation-states
 Promote institutions, infrastructures & cultures on all their territories / populations.
 ! Distinction

(1) State that has an Empire (2) State that is an Empire

 French colonial Empire  Population seen as homogonous
 Theoretical equality = anyone who’s a citizen is equal before the law. (legally), only have social differences.
 Impose their own institutions on the vanquished.  Diversity in laws / languages…keeps
 Citizenships can be (1) Full (all the rights); or (2) incomplete (certain heterogeneity.
rights are missing).
If we had citizens from a different religion who want to live together, want therefore to create a nation, not a state. The
nation therefore appears before a state.

 Early republic (5th-3rd century): familiar relationships of a competitive state system / Interstates relations in the
Roman period as comparable to that of the classic Greek cities-states systems.  Rome achieved primacy in Italy
through diplomacy (150 Treaties by 264 BC through war & intimidation).
o Late Republic & Early Empire of Rome  using military superiority at first, then diplomacy to settle things.
- Polybius (hostage in Rome)  Rome relies on force in all undertakings. The Republic is superior to all
form of government because of the monarchy, aristocracy & democracy mix.
 Comparing the Roman Republic to the state as we know it today = possible to say they had an international system
inside of it; between the cities  Maiestas Populi Romani = Roman Empire considered a modern state (went to war
without help / decision of allies) that seek her superior interests.

 Diplomacy of today didn’t exist in Roman world:

o = various means used by nations to manage their relationships with one another using international
mechanisms and institutions related to numerous tasks (cultural exchange, economic, war…).
o Unlike today, Rome had no permanent representatives that represented it outside, and likewise foreign
states didn’t have representatives in Rome. But the absence of those permanent standing diplomatic
 institutions, it became more and more important to have diplomates, otherwise communication between all
those cities would’ve been impossible.
 Early Years of Empire  Provinces that had their own law of constitution (Senates loosely supervised it and agreed
on it) & provided with a governor (theory supposed to last 1 year but practice always extended their terms).
o Augustus = hierarchy of provinces development  some are senatorial administrated by governors
appointed by the senates, other imperial, governed by magistrates appointed by the emperor.
o Provincial law: (1) status of cities within the province (freedom). (2) rights of inhabitance (which law they
used). (3) Borders. (4) Types & levels of taxations required to be paid.
o Provinces made of civitates (cities), and many were peregrini (=citizens of Roman provinces but without
roman citizen’s rights).
 Importance of communications between Rome & its subjects 
o Importance of negotiations  Rome rested on provincial cities’ administrations to conduct empire because it
didn’t have enough important administration to manage things. Provincial cities expressed needs to the
Roman (through provincial governor, or directly to the senate).
o Diplomacy  was a part of civic life for Provinces / part of services expected to be provided by citizens.
 Lex Irnitana 
o Discovered in 20th century, elaborated during end of 1 st century AD.
o Small constitution which manages all aspects of the urban life (comes from Irni, city in south of spain).
o Documents that organized different aspects of daily civic life of the cities.
o Ambassadors were sent by the small cities to Rome to get help.
 ! Elite = prominent citizens who rule the city & hold the magistrature & had particular duties (office
holding…). They were expected by the states to fulfill their mandatory citizen duties (munus)
without anything in return (except honor of being a good citizen).
≠
Today where we expect something from the states.
 Senatorial Provinces in the Republic time
o Held important political power
o Negotiator of everything
o Holds authority on political life
 Senate & Diplomacy in the Empire time
o Diplomacy then = sending & receiving ambassadors corresponding with roman social realities.
o Senate dominated diplomatic formalities.
o Senator important thing: personal contact is central for social & political life because communications &
negotiations had to be done in person (morning salutation where he received at his home everyday visitors
seeking aid).

 “International diplomacy” existed between Rome & its cities, but diplomatic practices weren’t a thing, only
formalities between independent foreign powers (most important mechanism for internal communications between
all actors of Rome).

 Time of Augustus (1st century BC) 

o Anarchic independent system abolished.
o Interactions via diplomacy between them involves emissaries (messengers, negotiators, temporary resident
ambassadors that were protected by Code of safe conduct & exchange of gifts).
 Principate period (1-3 century AD) 
o Foreign policy in hands of Emperor; he’s the source of law.
o IR no longer prerogative of the senators.
o Foreign policy is less defensive & more imperious (even pretense of reciprocity is gone).
Part2. IR from Frank period to State’s renaissance (XIIIth century).
 Western Empire disappeared in 476, concept of state is gone with no politic emerging as replacement 
o decentralization of power & authority in Europe  No common authority exists to unite the lands to
determine rules, only archipelago controlled their inner land.
o 3 civilizations emerged from it 
 Arabic civilization (religious & political domination of Islamic Caliphate)
 Byzantine Empire (around Constantinople near core of old Roman Empire. United by Christianity).
 Rest of Europe (divided into Germanic kingdoms with all different languages + slow emergence of
feudal institutions  feudality  new political order after Rome’s fall. This system is a political,
economic & social one where the main bond is the relationships between Lord & others. They had a
contract, inseparable from the proprietary relationships. Its center was the doctrine of tenure (land
owned by lord) that was granted to a subject in return for his services).
 Feudalism was born from a economic standpoint; it was a gradual transfer of power as Rome began
falling apart. and can be a political system. It was based on roman law, not on anarchism (so they’re
not the same).
 Rediscovery of classical thoughts (Aristotle) during Medieval period + Consolidation of church power with the 12 th
century events.
 External Empires.
o 4th century  roman = military state with armies that gain influence + roman cities decade.
o Emperor Constantine move the imperial capital of the roman empire from Rome to Constantinople in 330 
leading to Eastern & Western split.
o 380-450  Roman Empire faces sudden migrations + threatening of the Goths who in 410 destroyed Rome 
Western Empire fall => all tribe in it had a patrimonial concept of power & ignored concept of states = all things
belonged to the king = no distinction between public & private interests.
 Ulpianus (roman jurist 2-3 AD) defines public interest & divided private law (law concerning interests of
individual citizens) and public law (law concerning position of the roman states.
 Disappearance of security & order in former Roman Empire resulting into the splits of local & self-
sufficient fragments.
o Eastern Empire remains unified (until 1453) because is repelled Germanics with armed forces & diplomacy.
 Byzantium
o Continuation of Roman Empire.
o Christian religion & Greek language & culture
o Christians saw their Emperor as the world’s supreme ruler
o Constantinople largest city (1M inhabitance by 10 th).
o developed arts of wars &diplomacies to deal with the constant invasions.
o Personal army attached to the emperor to fight Germanics
o Stocked classical literature in the libraries (example: Digest of Justinian) 
 Corpus Juris Civils  collection of landmark works in jurisprudence.
Body  Digest (codification of all roman laws until the time of Justinian in 6 th, finalized in 533 AD.
Extracts writing of roman jurists & deals with family law, private law, contract law…) + Code & Novellae
+ Institutes (student textbook).
o Roman Law important  elements of practiced law in Europe through history: secular law + conflict-resolution
centrality + private law + specialists in law emerging that elaborated & translated everyday life concepts into
legal formulations.
 Diplomatic practiced in Byzantium (4) to weaken enemies 
1. Encourage rivalries between enemies
2. Winning friendship of neighboring nations
3. Convert neighbors to Christian phase
 4. Marry byzantine princess to foreign kings
o Warfare & diplomacy religiously informed because religion influenced the Byzantine life.
o Life, civil & religious institutions linked together:
-> Patriarch (bishop) head of Constantinople’s church appointed by the emperor (considered a
representative of God & so head of the church and state).
 International practices existed in Byzantium empire but informed by little or no theory.
 Muslim world
o Islamic world = one community based on  Dar Al Islam (house of Islam) + Ummah (community).
o Ummah = nation of people = worldwide Muslim community that identifies as people without defined borders
or territory but united by their submission to God’s law & linked by the Quran.
o Ummah more tenacious & tangible than the Ideal of Universal Christendom.
o Middles Ages  creation of vast Islamic world by the Arabic conquest in Spain, Persia & India.
o Islamic empires allowed community of other religions of DAI (≠ medieval west empires) + willingness by their
leaders to negotiate with rules outside of the Dar.
o + Dar al Harb (realm of war) = territory that doesn’t have treaty of non-aggression or peace with Muslims + Dar
al Sulh = non-Muslim territory that concluded armistice with Muslim government agreeing to protect them &
their clients in the territory.
o Baqt treaty (651) = earliest treaty = peace concluded between Christian kingdom of Nubia & Islamic conquerors
of Egypt.
o Because of the rapid expansion of the Muslim world, Abbasid & Umayyad dynasty established rules regulating
their relationships with their neighbors 
1. Dar Al Islam (=government by rules of Islam)  country = Islamic if relies on Sharia law as basis of legal
system or has aspects of it in secular law.
- can also be countries of Muslim majorities that don’t have sharia law (Egypt / Syria).
- territory where they have peace & security.
2. Dar Al Harb (house of war)  no treaty of non-aggression / peace with Muslims.
- depends on safety of Muslims there & freedom to practice their religion.
- countries that attack / conquer Muslim lands.
 Includes concluding treaties / initiating official relations (ex: warfare between BZ & Islamic empires
but still trading & entered diplomatic relations.
 Non-Muslims were either residents of the house of war, or temporary visitors to the house of
Islam.
o Doctrine of Early Islam  nationality didn’t exist = individual status based on basis of religion.
 Crusades  series of religious wars (1099 until end of 13th century).
o 1099  first crusade with Destruction of Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
o Europe = archipelago of small cities = no states.
o 1st crusade = beginning of first international operation.
o Parallel about Just war = if it is just to fight for the holy sepulcher.
o needed heavy diplomatic efforts by the Chancery.
o Important role 
1. ! role for affirming the spiritual supremacy by the pope inside the church, whose authority was always
challenged by bishop (matter of who has the true power).
- Back in the Roman Empire, bishops were religious leader of cities & were considered the true power of
the church. ≠ pope wants to appear as universal power.
2. Conflicted relations with Byzantium empire  promised to give back conquered territories of
Constantinople, but all the crusades = last crusade led to the creation of series of emerging Latin kingdoms
in Middle East because Byzantine failed to provide assistance to the Crusader army
 Generated important diplomatic activity between pope, eastern emperor, Christian armies vs Islamic
forces.
 Feudalism  contract / structured society between / around powerful individuals (Lords) who hold lands in
exchange for military service / labor / economic services from subject populations (vassals).
o Unequal exchanges because Vassals must be obedient to the Lord and give him aid & services.
o Hierarchy systems leads to  Minor lords can be vassals of great lords  there can be a mega-lord master of all
lords (who them are masters of their vassals).
-!!  system can’t have indirect connections (mega-lord has no influence on vassals).
o Mega-lord doesn’t have any sovereignty.
o Feudal principalities are controlled by lords who impose authority to raise taxes & legal authorities.
 After 11th century  commercial activities expanded into larger geographical areas = underlines the
decentralization of feudalism + universalization of Christianity in Europe.
 Frankish Kingdoms  territories rules by Franks (late antiquity – early middles ages).
o Franks = confederation of west Germanic tribes.
o First established by King Clovis (France). 2 nd by Emperor Carolus Magnus (Holy Roman Empire).
o State embodied by king = IR around monarch who also conducted diplomatic negotiations.
o Absence of sovereign power = disagreements resolved with arbitration or mediation.
o Lack of political conception of sovereignty  Kings didn’t have fiscal base or military power to enforce claims.
o 814  disintegration of FK after Charlemagne’s death.
 Europe under the rule of Lords who had authority over their seigniory .
o Can claim labor or military services.
 The Christian church = measure of unity, order & order during the medieval period.
o Pope 
 Considered not only a religious leader but also political player at the head of universal state (since no
borders in Europe at the time)
 Live in Rome at head of Bureaucracy (who had Legates = officials sent by the church for the royal
administration’s matters because they were educated (finance & justice matters).
o Above all Christians
o Empire with only spiritual materiality.
o (1) Thinkers  pope = only real ruler bc inherited powers from God  should be > to King.
 Secular & ecclesiastical rulers receive authority from God, but pope > king because pope = church = ultimate
judge of what’s in accordance to God’s law (Law that King must obey to).
o (2) Thinkers  Pope = real ruler = > the king because Dictatus Papae (compilation of 27 statements of powers
arrogated to the pope)  decree denied kings right to nominate / depose bishops + pope can depose kings who
disobeyed order of God & free their vassals.
o (3) Thinkers  ≠ of (1) & (2)  rejection of Papal supremacy  Church = State  Pope is authority for spiritual
matters, but king is authority for temporal matters that pope needs to not interfere in.

Difference between Christian Empire & Islamic World vs Roman Empire.

Roman Empire Islamic World

1. Had no levelling (they had diversities of cultures
& languages).
2. Infrastructure use to keep Empire connected.
3. Seeks expansion of wealth, power & regional
influence
1. Islamic empires tended to force Islamic conversions on the
conquered territories.
2. Weren’t defined by the borders or territories, only the religion
defined them as “part of the Islamic world”.
3. Seeks expansion of the Islam religion mainly.

Roman Empire Christian Empire

1. Spiritual and political leader is the emperor, 1. Struggle between who’s the true leader  Spiritual power is
 he embodies both.
2. Universal Roman Law in the Empire:
concentration of citizenships (Caracalla),
allowing inhabitants to keep their customs,
but use the Roman Law.
ruled by the Pope, and the political power is supposedly at the
will of the king.
2. Pope ruled an Empire without clear market borders = it’s a
spiritual empire, but with a common law = the cannon law.

 Canon law’s influence on IR

o law of the church.
o Settles international affairs & relationships between Christians)
o Sources:
 Bible
 legislations/decisions of church councils (bishops)
 Papal decision
 Writing of church’s fathers (early sayings).
o Gratian’s decretum gratiani (1150) = compilation of all the sources organized.
o Church had its own court of justice  allowed bypass of royal jurisdiction.
o ! Different laws  canon law (pope), law by the king, customary law (inhabitant’s practices)
o Church = international organization in legal matters 
 Articulate laws governing the society (because diversity of kinds of laws in these)
 Articulate a guidance to guide Christian rulers for their relations with Christian & non-Christian rulers.
o Contributes to organization of IR while keeping peace 
1. Pax ecclesia (=Peace of church) (10th century)  excommunication to commit violence against
innocent people.
2. Truce of God (11th century)  suspension of hostilities on behalf of God.
o Goal  maintain peace & forbid fighting
o Peace influenced Christian morality = universal vision of human community.
 duty to defend Christianity.
 The rule of the church  does the church become an international player.
 The rule of the church  does the church become an international player  peace of god is a kind of
law, but it’s a general law = this peace will be mandatory for all the inhabitants of the realm, so this
mean that with this type of decision the pope / church acts like a sovereign ruler.
If we compare with customary law which is only mandatory for the inhabitance of a small part of the
realm. So there is a difference between the local rule (customary) & the decisions obligatory between
everyone.

 the second one is the crusade  the church acts as an international player = have their own
agendas = their own international diplomacy. They’re two important facts. The church is the real heir
of the Roman Empire (important act), it isn’t the king, he’s rather a “vassal”, but the pope is heir; he
had the same type of administration (his power relies on the local cities within Europe). IT has his own
jurisdiction + its own law (canon law).
 Crusades
o = armed expeditions + religious ventures
o Clash between Christian west & Islamic East.
o Pope provided the justification for crusades = based the foundations on natural law. Natural law transcend
positive law, while positive law is something that changes.
o Caused Muslims to coordinate armies + invest further resources for military forces
o Cause Christians to develop powerful states.
o = international operations  armies operate according to intercontinental strategies because they share a
common goal / public interest that is the origin of the union between European states.
 o Transformation of new type of army based on payment for services (mercenaries) which replaced the old type
of feudal system of raising armies (based on personal obligation).

Just war theory in the crusades

3 principles of the theory: just cause, legitimate authority + right intention.
(1) Just cause  Destruction of Hoy Sepulchre = act of aggression that needed to be defended.
(2) Legitimate authority  authority that had power given by God to invoke war. Here, we can say that it is
the pope or legitimate secular leaders.
(3) Right Intention  the motivation was the duty to defend Christianity (Truce of God agreement).

+ Idea of justice today  if it is in accordance with the law… there is a difference between “justice in accordance with
the law” and “natural justice” which if needed would oppose the law if deemed unjust.
 Holy Roman Empire (basis / geographical Germany)
o Create after Charlemagne’s death  9th century
o Multiethnic complex of territories in central Europe.
o Multitude of diverse political entities.
o Emperor status was elective
o Voltaire mocked it  true because it was more of a political solution after the Peace of Westphalia treaty as
an attempt to create sovereignty within central Europe.
o Aggressive diplomacy & asserted powerful & secular authority (Quint, German Emperor who sacked Rome &
held pope hostage in 1527).
o Fell in 1806.
 Feudalism
o = system where warrior hold land from lord in exchange of military, political services, or just payment of fees.
o = private contract between 2 people/
o Structure of system based on land.
o Limits authority of emperor / monarch 
 Privatizing realm (local power where lord build castled & exercise authority on lands)
 Privatizing prerogatives of sovereign (administraton of justice, justice and so on)
o Kingdom composed of competing regional seignory & local rulers = no sovereignty here.
o Relies on lands = Fief (=land which lord bestowed upon his vassal in return for services)
 Amalgam of 
 conditional property  land came with social obligations for both parties = lord’s freedom
of action is limited
 private authority  rights of jurisdiction above the inhabitants of land resides in its ruler.
o Highest lord even was limited & restricted by authorities.
o Feudal law
 Identified lords & duties
 Defined how individuals became vassals / what they owed to their masters
 Focused on issues of access & use of land + inheritance.
 Medieval Europe  archipelago of political arrangements.
 Diplomacy
o Tradition of (special) invoice & negotiations (so contact) (bc of late antiquity) between different authorities,,
even if Medieval period didn’t have unitary sovereign state.
o Common between territorial regimes + church & wester/eastern empires.
o  IR still exists.
o Negotiations in political & social life of feudal world
o Was for communications, dynastic marriages, or trades.
o Most authorities had relations with allies & enemies (invoice)
 Non-states actors
o Warfare / trade & commerce influenced IR
o Merchants concludes contracts exchanges beyond their territories  private treaties (exchange contracts).
o Merchant banking (11th century) in northern Italian cities  De Medici Family
 Intellectual revolution across Europe in Middles Ages  Reason > faith in Christian thoughts because cultural,
economic & political factors
o (Growth in urbanization / of cities / high artisanal & raise of (3) entrepreneurs didn’t belong to church or
state= educated.
o Happened because of rediscovery of pre-Christian texts (antiquity) + universities & libraires of Byzantium
Empire + discoveries in the Arab world Al-Andalus by Christians (11 th century).
 Concept of supra-state organization = new Christian community under one ruler
o (1) Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
 Associated Aristotle’s philosophy to his own + Christian phase.
 Summa Theologica (1265-1274)  complicated to read (questions + answer + sub questions + answers
etc.…).
 4 kinds of law
1. Eternal law = god’s conception of the end of creation
2. Natural law = whatever the human beings obey by nature.
principles that rational being recognize & obey by nature.
 Humans are inclined to goodness = self-preservation + goodness are laws of nature.
3. Divine law = God’s commands in the scriptures.
4. Positive law = laws formulated by the government of a community to guide the individuals
towards perfection. To promote the virtuous life.
 States
 Have moral purpose
 Maintain justice & promote virtuous life
 Ideal form of government limited monarchy (natural law would allow that)
 Limit set by reason to the forms of legitimate political constitution (legitimate constitution only when
law is dictated of reason in the ruler, that reason limits his powers).
 Conception of different forms of laws  God’s law is particular because it’s the only one that needs to
be interpreted. Between the text & the inhabitance, there should be a interpreter between these two
(so the priest, precisely a pope).
 Constitution only legitimate when each law is dictated of reason in the ruler = so it needs to be
connected with the reason in the ruler
 State (according to Aquinas)
 Consequence of his saying that perfect community (Cicero’s definition of Populus) but individuals
can resist the government if it becomes too oppressive (for example Tyranny)
 Include concept of natural law in IR (Aquinas tried 2 do it) by :
o Discussing the absorbability of princes to divine authority = limit sovereign power
o Rules of just dealing between states
 Supreme purpose of political authorities = maintain order & peace across Europe
 Aquinas says that war destroys more than it produces & so he rejects it.
 Says that a just government’s aim is to promote common good, but in certain cases, princes have the right to go to
war to protect their society from any harms or if going to war will allow peace to settle again (peace conducts to
the wellbeing of the community) because killing is unlawful unless it’s for the benefit of the common good.
 War is justified if:
(1) It’s official & declared by someone authorized to do so (private revenge isn’t a justification).
(2) Just cause of war (self-defense)
(3) Right intentions (restoring peace) = intend the advancement of good or avoidance of evil.

 Pierre Dubois (French Jurist King Philip IV the fair)
o 13-14th century
o Wrote De Recupertione Terrae Sanctae = on the recovery of the holy land = how to obtain peace & stability in
Europe
o Supported concept of a federation of Christian states & this concept is important because:
(1) He recognized the raise of territorial states in Europe (new conception) happening in the end of the Middle
Ages
(2) European states behave in independent of egoistical ways
(3) War is almost guaranteed if there’s an attempt to unify these states.
o He’s against the idea of rebuilding a new Roman Empire.
o Propose council of states who would be responsible of resolving state’s disagreement through arbitration
 Concept of international organization introduced by King Georges Podebrady of Bohemia.
o Organization who’s a legal entity with its own treasury, currency & civil servants.
o Responsible for
(1) Providing military support for members against 3 rd parties
(2) Responsible in a war against a member state to give support when accepted.
o Would be an assembly (permanent body) that’ll change every 5 years, and each sovereign delegates groups by
legion would have a seat, & each with one vote. Decisions are according to the majority.
 Aim = make decisions for conflicts between member states & those foreign to the league.
 Feudal international law
o Discusses law, theology & public sphere
o Takes in account medieval law + cannon & customary law + church doctrines + medieval theology.
o Highlighted importance of theology: it’s because it provided a scholarly unity (built on political discussions) to an
entire continent that was divided into smaller regions & seignories.
 Church = a forum (= place 2 exchange ideas) that unifies languages for discussions of concepts, ideas &
arguments.

o Important because this is the origins of the IR theory + it also considers the role of an emerging public sphere (=
public nation’s rights).

Conclusion (Long one with analysis) 

 When Empire & Christendom became synonymous with a spiritual community vision, that’s when roman jurists &
Christian thinkers focused on the idea of the unity of the roman empire + concept of universal society.
 During rule of roman Emperor  point where Empire became more of a broader community to which Rome has
responsibilities.
 Citizenships granted to all inhabitants of the Empire (212) = way to ensue social cohesion (important).
 BUT idea of unity fell apart firstly because of barbarian invasions but also with transfer of the seat of the emperor
from Rome to Constantinople + Christianity becoming the official religion of the roman Empire. (4 th century)
 5ht century  Broader focus of unity was introduced especially considering the Western Empire became bunch of
small states whose political power depends on personal relations (lord & vassals)  Introducing of Christendom.
 Christendom was more of a spiritual unity (whose symbol is the pope) & unity in which secular rulers were
considered subordinate.
  Patchwork of competitive authorities (roman church & HRE who wanted authority but neither had sovereign
authority).
 New political organization during feudal anarchy era  based on personalities’ obligations (private contract),
roman church or emperor, and kings, barons, cities exercised authority in Europe.
 because no controlled territory & no clear conception of the nation of national interest so values were different
= they were looked after by different organizations, all operation at different levels of social life.
 Freedom  was for feudal rulers & clients // cities & towns (so not for individuals of nations).
 Order  limited responsibility of the emperor & kings.
 Medieval Europe = there was a discord at all levels of society + Division of power was difficult to distinguish for
international & internal cases  there was international players such as different feudal jurisdictions, kings, lords,
vassals… who all were actors that exchange diplomatic missions, settled disputes by negotiations & arbitrations &
conclude formal treaty.
(Very different from modern international society where mostly states are international legal persons.)
 Creation of nations-states (13th century to 1648 POW) (end of conclusion + introduction in part 3)
o Idea of exclusive territorial sovereignty was finally introduced with the creation of nation-states & thus the
appearance of the modern states in the 13 th century thanks:
- rediscovery of antiquity texts (led to military technology & administration organization advances allowing
territorial sovereigns to reinforce their claims to authority + define their rights + articulate principles of
statecraft that allowed the new international system.
- rise of important cities in Europe
- rise of nation class (bankers).
 Early Modern era
o European rulers freed themselves from dependence on barons & local rulers (specially in military power) + from
religion political authority of Christendom.
 this allowed them to concentrate both power & authority in their hands: they became the supreme authority
 which means they became defenders of their own sovereignty against internal disorder & external threat 
they rule territory with borders & have responsibility to protect it from outside interference.
o They won’t depend anymore on the emperor and the pope.
o (extra not written)
 Sovereignty (developed during 16th century)
- first formulated by Jean Bodin (French jurist)
- Six Books of the Commonwealth (or 6 livres de la repubique)
- sovereignty is “the absolute and perpetual power vested in a Commonwealth”.
 sovereignty doesn’t pertain to individuals but to states.
 it isn’t a property owned by any individual
 quality vested only in commonwealth (depending on the type of commonwealth).
- the king will die but the state won’t  main difference between state & king.
- sovereignty have many limits (natural law, law of God…)
- Pacta Sunt Servanda (agreements must be kept).
- First book = identify the best workable regime type for his time.
2nd = what is a good state (monarchy, aristocracy & democracy description).
3rd = the most orderly & stable commonwealth in the world (essential structure of a just & effective government).
4th = historical changes.
5th = continuity & order.
6th = question of the best form of government  theory of sovereignty which enables the state to act freely in the
field of IR & the creation of limits to the sovereign power such as the respect of the rulers of international
conventions (= Pacta sunt Servanda, but other limits exist).
- Different sorts of commonwealth or postulate to highlights:
 Sovereignty without limit = it’s invested in commonwealth (three types of states exist)
it’s perpetual = remains vested in commonwealth & unaffected by the comings and going of individuals.
 is absolute = unconditional & irrevocable. Inside commonwealth exists the source of power and authority.
 (copy the rest)
 Each have their own soveriengty = they can conclde treaties & go to war.
 Vested only by one person which is the representative of the state.
 The sovereignty of all countries are equal to one another.