International relations of the 20th century

L.1. Perspectives on international relations Marcin Grabowski

Main readings

J. A.S. Grenville - a history of the world

Henry n. Rau - perspectives on international relations
Peter Calvocoressi - world politics since 1945
“Perspective is a paradigm with a set of its
Wayne C. Williams - the world since 1945
Geir lunderstad - east, west, north, south theories. Perspectives are used to
John Young - international relations since 1945 describe causes and highlight facts that
Anthony Best - International History of the twentieth century and beyond matter. There are always competing
Balaam, Dilman - intro to IPE explanations for why an event occured.
Cohn - Global political economy Methods test competing explanations.”
Kissinger - Diplomacy (realist scholar)
J. Nye - Understanding International COnflicts (liberal scholar)

One of the reasons of rusian agression is to prove that they are capable of restoring the empire. Russians may be socialised to
think their president is doing right.
Large power permits to omid some rules, but this has its own implications. Because you are also affected by norms and relations with countries

Rationalist method means the realistic view.

Constructivist method: are we sure that what we see is real? We construct the assessment of reality. Your identity needs to be shaped,
constructed by yoursellf, and everything around doubted.

The Realist Perspective Key Realist Concepts

- Tries to explain war, security, alliances, and great power politics • Anarchy
- Causes are related to power = There is no single legitimate source of power in the system
- Power is usually defined as a state's material capabilities (military, population, resources, etc.) = States engage in self-help
- Power is usually seen in relative terms (how much power a state has compared to other states)
- States' primary goal is power (primarily because power means security) • Balance of Power
= States work to prevent domination of the system

• Security Dilemma
= If a state arms to increase its security, it will threaten other states

The Liberal Perspective Key Liberal Concepts

• Tries to explain cooperation, compromise, and world order • Reciprocity
• Causes are related to interactions = States interact based on the interdependent results produced
= States interact through diplomacy and negotiation by their interactions
= Interdependence increases interactions • Interdependence
= Institutions structure and "lock in" interactions = States have strong ties to each other (primarily economic or
• Focus on "non-zero sum" goals social ties)
= Absolute gains (how much a state gains compared to what it had before) • International Institutions
= Mutual/common gains = Rules (formal and informal) that regularize interactions

The Identity Perspective Key Identity Concepts

• Tries to explain how ideas emerge and how they impact international • Construction of Identities
relations = Process through which actors define themselves and how they behave
• Causes are related to ideas towards others
= How states see "self" and "other" = Constructivism: social vs. agent-oriented?
• Culture and ideology • Distribution of Identities
• Values, beliefs, and norms = Do states' identities converge or diverge?
• Emphasis on constructivist method = Are identities shared throughout the system?
• Ideas and actions cause each other (or are "appropriate" for each other) • Norms
= Ideas that govern appropriate state behavior
 The Twenty Years’ Crisis L. 3. 19.10.23

• Reference to a realist text by Edward Carr in 1930s: first modern realist text
• Optimism after the ww2 - league of nations
• Security dilemma - road to pessimism

Treaty of versailles
• 18.06.1919
• 27 countries, 5 dominion. Some with general interests were US, UK, France, Italy, Japan. With particular interests could only be engaged in
certain meetings.
• Clemencau, Lloyd George, Thomas Wilson (more like Colonel Howers who was present) - three politicians that shaped the future of the world
• GB vs. France. UK: Germany and France should balance each other, Germany should be minor and should not be destroyed economically.
France aimed at weakening Germany after the war
• Demilitarisation of germany (100000 troops)
• Territorial losses (though were not significant. East Prussian territories went to poland. Some of them were not ethnically polish, therefore
specific type of cities “free cities” (Gdansk, Rijeka) were established under LN supervision.
• Colonies - mandate system (ABC) German control territories were divided: some of them became independent, others became semi-colonies

Other treaties

• 10.09.1919 - Saint-Germanin-en-Laye: Austria (12% of empire), 30k soldiers, Danube - International

• 27.11.1919 - Neuilly-sur-seine - Bulgaria:
• 04.06.1920 - Trianon - Hungary - Bela Kun vs. Miklos Horthy (1/3 of country) - a military coup by admiral
• 10.08.1920 - Sevres - Turkey - Partition of the Ottoman Empire (Armenia, Syria, Mesopotamia Hejaz, Asir, Yemen - lost 90%). Caused uprising
in turkey - War for Independence by Ataturk
• 24.07.1923 - Treaty of Lausanne - after the war for independence

League of Nations

• War is still legal (Untill brian kellog treaty)

• Initially 32 states and dominions (max 58 members - 1934-1935 excluding Soviet Russia, US, losers of the war)
• General Assembly - wide competences
• LN Council (GB, France, Italy, Japan) + 4 non-permanent
• Limit armaments
• Protect integrity and independence
• Protect national minorities
• Permanent Court of International Justice

Washington naval conference

• November 1921 - February 1922 (Called by W. Harding)
• Four-power treaty (GB, US, France, Japan)
• Five-Power Treaty (GB, US, France, Italy, Japan) - fleets (capital ships)
• Nine-Power treaty (US, Japan, China, France, GB, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland) - open door policy

Genoa And Rapallo - 1922

• Global economic problems after WW1
• German reparations - GB vs. F. France argued for germany to pay for everything, while GB didn’t want to destroy german economy
• Russian reparations (18.5 vs 39 billion gold rubles)
• 16.04.1922 - Rapallo Treaty (Russia and Germany) - Political and economic agreement (secret military issues)
• French-Polish cooperation (with CEEC countries)
 German reparations
L. 4
1921 - 132 billion gold marks, which led to inflation
1923 - occupation of the Ruhr by Belgian and french
1924 - Dawes Plan - loan and decreasing payment amount per year
1929 - Young Plan prolonging payments deadlines 1980
1932 - Lausanne Conference - end of payments

Locarno conference - 10. 1925

• Stresemann - safety in the West to revise the east.

• F, GB, B, I, D (PI, CS)
• Seven agreements
• Rheineland Pact - D, F, B + GB, I. Securing west german borders
• Arbitration conventions with F and B and treaties with PI and CS
• France - conventions with PI and CS

Briand-Kellog Pact
• 1926 - Germany in the League of Nations (permanent member)
• 27.08.1928 - renunciation of war as an instrument of policy
• Legally banned war
• 15 states (63 till 1939)
• Entered into force in Jul. 1929
• Litvinov (comissary of foreign affairs) protocol - Feb. 1929 - with central european countries

Pan-European movement

• 1923 - Pan- Europe - Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi

• United states of Europe (initially customs union)
• 1924 - pan-european Union (economy, peace, minorities)
• Vienna and brussels congresses (E. Herriot, A. Briand)
• 1930 - Briand - Political cooperation

Regional Alliances

• Little Entente (informal), 1920 - 1921 - CZ, RO, YUG (bilateral agreements), 1933 - formal agreement and organs
• Baltic Entente - 1932 - Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia
• Balkan Entente - 1934 - Greece, YUG, RO, TR - to oppose Germany and Italy with support of GB and F
• Eastern Entente - 1937 - Iran, AG, Iraq, Turkey (Middle-East Pact

Great Depression

• Speculation bubble at NYSE

• Black Thursday (24.10) or Black Tuesday (29.10) 1929
• 1929-1933 - Great Depression
• 1930 - Smooth Hawley Act - Protectionism act, increasing import tariffs by 50%.
• Keynesism vs. Monetarism. USA had pendulum towards Keynesism. Today it is monetarism since 70s
• Roosevelt and New Deal. Pension system, support for farmers, banks, jobless, but also increased inflation rate.

Towards the War

• Jan 1933 - Hitler - Chancellor of Germany • 1935-1936 - Italian-Abyssinian war

• 1933 - Mussolini - Pact of Four, not ratified by D and F
• 1935 - Saarland to Germany
• Mar. 1935 - remilitarisation of Germany
• Mar 1936 - Rhineland remilitarised
• Jul 1936 - Berlin-Rome Axis
• 1936-1939 - civil war in spain
• Nov. 1936 - German-Japanese Anti-Comintern pact (italy joins nov. ‘37)
• Mar. 1938 - Anschluss of Austria
• Oct. 1938 - Munich Conference
• Mar. 1939 - Annexation of Czech and Creation of Slovakia
• 23 Aug. 1939 - Molotov-Ribbentrop pact
 Cold war with china? The Cold War - Introduction

Explain the cold war? There were blocs. Soviet Union that enforced its allies, colonised some countries. But the US despite being democratic in its
core, tried to disrupt democracy in South America

The nonaligned movement

Jugoslavia
India
Egypt
Indonesia
Ghana

Causes:
Traditionalists: USSR and Stalin (no forces reduction, CZ, Berlin Blockade, Korea)
Revisionists (W. Williams) - US (Stalin was moderate in occupied countries, and had weaker economy. Truman was a confrontationist,
broke the lend-lease act, used atomic bomb, expanded economically)
POST-REVISIONISTS: John Lewis Goddis. - International system had a vacuum of power that had to be filled by US and SU and
balance each other

Security dilemma - if you let the other develop more, you will lose your dominating power

Origins of the cold war

• Feb. 1946 - Stalin ascertains that coexistence of communism and capitalism is impossible
• Feb. 1946 - ‘long telegram’ of G. Kennan
• Mar. 1946 - Churchill’s speech in Fulton
• Sep. 1946 - U.S. James Burnes in Stuttgart - U.S. will stay in Germany, Oder and Lusatian Nesse border is temporary. He was the one who
declared the Cold War
Mar 1947 - Doctrine of containment
May 1947 - Princeton commencement speech about the divided world, and US being responsible for capitalist rules
1947 Bernard Baruch introduces Cold war term
Walt Lippmann - Cold war book - a period of confrontation between former allies had begun
Jul. 1947 - X article (the sources of soviet conduct) - long term containment of the SU

Nuclear weapons

• Manhattan Project - Oppenheimer

• H. Stimson - Share with the UK and the SU
• B. Baruch - 1946 - International Atomic Development Authority - A-Bombs destruction. But they already had technology. Whenever they would
want, they’d create a bomb again
• AEC - Outstrip the SU - 1952 - H-Bomb
• 1949 - SU - A-Bomb
• 1952 UK
• 1960 France
• 1964 China
• 1974 Israel
• 1998 Pakistan
• 2006 North Korea

1955 - Russel-Einstein Manifesto

1957 - Pugwash (Cyrus Eaton)
1957 - IAEA
1963 - Partial Test Ban Treaty
1968 - Nuclear NPT
1996 - CTBT - Comprehensive test ban treaty