YASH KARUNAKARAN

Topic : Scope of IR, players involved, Discussion of Projects, overview of course, Date: Week 1 Class Number – (1-4)
orientation to Map work.
Presentation Key Points to be taught Additional information What kind of questions
(Lecture, PPT, (Notes, Web sites, /Debatable/ponderable / points be raised as
Discussion) Audio visual material a consequence of presentation : one or two
etc.)

The teaching  International politics as the precursor to International  Notes made and  How has IR developed out of
method shall relations. referred to are International Politics?
include a handout  What is International relations and how has it developed. attached below.  Differentiate between IR and
for students and  Different definitions of international relations. International politics.
shall also make use 
 What common thread can be drawn among the developing What are the different actors and how
of a short can they be broadly classified?
definitions of IR.
PowerPoint
 IR as a broad field that includes various other disciplines.  Is state the most important actor in
presentation and
 Actors in IR and the various classifications they fall under. IR?
short video.
 State actors – nations as primary actors under IR.
 Non- state actors – IGOs, INGOs, Socio cultural groups,
economic groups, regional organizations, collective
security organizations, et cetera.
 MAP Work discussed.
 Projects discussed.
 Paper format discussed.
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Rough notes for Week 1:

Discussion on scope:

Up to fifties, it was mainly known and studied as international politics.

It is a state dominated view in as much as definitions under this category lay emphasis on the study of politics and relations among the
nation states. It considers nation states as chief actors of international politics and focuses on their political and official relations.

Harold and Margaret Sprout define international politics as, those aspects of interactions and relations of independent political
communities in which some element of opposition, resistance or conflict of purpose or interest is present.

According to Thompson,
“International Politics is the study of rivalry among nations and the conditions and institutions which ameliorate or exacerbate these
relationship”.

Defect of these two definitions is that they include only the conflictual and oppositional interactions between the states and not
the cooperative and friendly one.

“International Politics” according to Quincy Wright is

the art of influencing, manipulating or controlling major groups, so as to advance the purposes of some against the opposition of others. It
is the process b which power is acquired maintained and expanded, He further explains, As a discipline, it includes expositions instructing
in the practice of this art, predicting the consequences of its application, evaluating it, and narrating its history.

Mahendra Kumar who is one of the few pioneer Indian scholars has analysed the theoretical aspects of international politics and
presented his own definition. In his words, international politics is a process in which nations a to serve their national interests, which may
be in conflict with those of other nations by means of their policies and actions.

— WHAT IS IR THEN?

Use of the term international relations in preference to international politics as it encompasses all the relevant actors, contents and
relationships. No doubt, some of the definitions under the above category also cover areas other than mere politics among nations. But the
following definitions are more comprehensive as they include state, international system, international organizations, other transnational
and supra national agencies, non-state entities, groups and relevant individuals as actors and basic unit of analysis. At the same time they
also cover larger areas of relationship.

both conflictual and cooperative, friendly and unfriendly, power relationship and peace relationship, governmental and people-to-people
relationship etc. The contents and forms of relations among the different actors are varied such as political, economic, social, cultural,
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educational, scientific and technological etc. All these are part of international relations. Scholars of international relations have also used
comparatively sophisticated and scientific tools of investigation. The use of the term international relations is considered appropriate as it
covers all those essentials included in international politics and over and above many other current trends and terms that make it broader
and more relevant.

Difference? Similarities?

In the words of Quincy Wright,

“It is not only the nations which international relations seek to relate. Varied types of groups nations, states, governments, peoples, regions,
alliances confederations international organizations, even industrial organizations, cultural organizations, religious organizations.”

include such partial studies as international politics, international law, international organization, international economics, international
ethics, the psychology and sociology of international relations, world history, political geography, political demography and technology.

The discipline of international relations is concerned with the factors and the activities which affect the external policies and the power of
the basic units into which the world is divided.

State is, by all standards, the most important, but shall also include within the field of its study other important groups (race, private or
cultural bodies, regional organizations like NATO) to the extent that they influence interaction among the major groups, i.e. the sovereign
States. The study of inter-state relations primarily include power or opposition relations and to some extent certain cooperative relations.

International relations is mainly the study of nation-states their political and non-political relations, their foreign affairs and policies, their
interaction with each other and with various other political and non-political groups-alliances, regional and international organizations, sub-
national, trans-national and supra-national agencies. It also includes, to some extent, the study of international history, international law,
international society and other psychological, cultural and strategical factors that influence the interactions and relations among states and
groups.

Actors: include state, international system, international organizations, other transnational and supra national agencies, non state entities,
groups and relevant individuals as actors and basic unit of analysis.

Non-State Actors

INGO
The INGOs can be defined as private and interstate non-profit organisations composed of individuals others than representatives of states
or governments.
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IGOs
International organisations are entities established by formal political agreements between their members that have the status of
international treaties

Regional Organisations

These IGOs are open to members placed in a specific region of the world, membership being limited to States placed in those regions.
These include the European Union (EU), the African Union (AU), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Association of South-
East Asian Nations (ASEAN), etc.

Ethno-cultural organisations
Open to members sharing a common cultural, linguistic, ethnic, religious or historical background. These organisations include, amongst
others, the Commonwealth of Nations (CoN), the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the League of Arab States (LAS), the
Organisation International de la Francophone (OIF), etc.

Economic organisations

The economic organizations are IGOs composed of sovereign States (with the possibility of limited membership of other IGOs) and that
have as their primary goal that of promoting certain economic objectives. These organizations include the International Monetary Fund
(IMF), The World Bank (WB), World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD), amongst others.

Collective Security Organisations

These organisations have as primary objective the prevention of and counteraction to military threats or attacks to its members. These
organisations are composed by States and are usually based on the principle of mutual support in case of military aggression. As
a consequence, if a third State or party attacks one of the members of the organisation, all other Member States are committed to support
the attacked member, the degree of commitment depending on the organisation. The list of Collective Security Organisations includes the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Collective Security
Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), etc. Additionally, some global or regional IGOs may have
a security dimension, as is the case of the United Nations or the European Union.

Media
The role of media is essential to shape national/transnational public opinion. Coverage of events may modify the awareness and attitude of
public opinions worldwide, which in turn may influence international actors. The coverage of certain events by broadcasters such as CNN
has influenced their development.
It is important to keep in mind that traditional media have been in the last years complemented, and to some extent replaced, by social
networks such as Twitter, Facebook, etc.
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Other non-State actors
These include criminal, ethnic and religious groupings.

Is State the most important actor?