Lecture slides for introductory class in International Relations.

1. Lecture 9, Class 10
June 29th 2015
 The National Interest
 The International System:
Part I- Social Fabric, Crisis
Stability

2. Leaders say their policies are “in the national interest.”

3.  Please talk to each other.
 What do you think the “national interest” is?
 Think of specific examples.

4. In fact, EVERYONE says the policies they want are “in the national
interest.”
 Teachers
 Unions
 Businesses, business organizations
 Doctors
 Lawyers
 Women’s groups
 Military
 Environmental groups
 Everyone else who has
ever supported a particular
policy

8.  The way that national and local governments
deal with the country’s domestic needs and
priorities.

9. Thinking about IP and foreign policy:
What does the term “national interest” mean ?
PLEASE DISCUSS

10.  The national government’s goals to achieve
the country’s well-being (security and wealth)
in international relations.
 STRATEGIC INTERESTS: Come from the
national interest and emphasize the economic
and military requirements (i.e. hard power)
necessary for national defense.

11. •At the domestic level, the national
interest refers to power resources
(things that make the country wealthier.)
•At the international level, the NI refers
to the foreign policy choices made by
the state (based on a view of how they
affect the state’s power and security.

12. What is the national interest?
Stephen Krasner: The “objectives sought by
the state…can be called the national
interest.”
 State-centric view (governments decide NI)
 Political (decided by politicians, bureaucrats
and leaders)

13. What affect states’ definition of their national
interests?
Where do you think the answer comes
from…?

14. Two views of the national interest
Realists:
 A state’s position in the international system
determines its national interest.
 Position includes both geography AND power
resources: “geo-politics”
 If we understand a state’s position in the
international system, we can predict its
national interest.
 Japan is a great power but in a “tough”
neighborhood and has no natural resources.
 So…

15. A realist view of Japan’s national interest
 Close economic and military relationship with the
Superpower (to keep balance of power in E. Asia)
 Maintain peace with other great powers. (Avoid
fights with China and Russia.)
 Trade with China but also…
 Have a strong military (自衛隊)
 Peaceful relations with Middle Eastern nations that
produce oil (J. has almost no natural resources)
 Promote Japanese business overseas (protect it at
home)

16. Two views of the national interest
Liberals:
 National interest depends on the type of
state and culture in the society of a state.
 Two different state types in similar
positions will have different national
interests.  Look at the two Koreas

17. A liberal view of Japan’s national interest
(as a democratic country)
 Participate in IOs, esp. ASEAN, UN, WTO
 Trade, including import more goods
 Participate with other democratic countries
to promote democracy peacefully
 Promote Article 9
 Promote human rights

18.  Realists expect states to promote domestic
companies’ interests overseas and protect
them at home.
 These policies may or may not promote free
trade

19. Liberals believe trade is good:
 Trade increases wealth and quality of living
 Trade reduces the security dilemma
 States SHOULD promote fair & free trade for
everyone
 States that want market access should also
GIVE access.

20.  Realists: Maybe (maybe not.) Depends on
the final terms of the agreement. (The same
rules for everyone are NOT necessary: Japan
should negotiate the best deal that it can.)
 Liberals: Yes (As long as everyone follows
the same rules.)
What do you think?

21.  Realism and liberalism provide two
theoretical views of NI. But…
 These are guidelines, based on first principles.
When is it proper to use military force to
pursue or protect the national interest?

22. Basic Interest
Intensity of interest
Survival
(critical)
Vital
(dangerous)
Major
(serious)
Peripheral
(bothersome)
Defense of
homeland
Economic
well-being
Favorable
world order
Promotion of
values
Donald E. Nuechterlein, America Recommitted
(Lexinton: UP of Kentucky, 1991)

23.  DEFENSE OF HOMELAND
 ECONOMIC WELL-BEING
 FAVORABLE WORLD ORDER
 PROMOTION OF VALUES

24.  SURVIVAL: Existence of state or its territory is
threatened by imminent attack.
 VITAL: Serious harm to the state will probably
occur.
 MAJOR: The political, economic and ideological
well-being of the state may be threatened: Force
may be necessary so the issue does not become
vital.
 PERIPHERAL: Well-being of the state is not
threatened but the private interests of citizens or
companies overseas are in danger.

25. Basic
Interest
Intensity of interest
Survival
(critical)
Vital
(dangerous)
Major
(serious)
Peripheral
(bothersome)
Defense of
homeland
Economic
well-being
Favorable
world order
Promotion
of values
•Any issue in international politics involves at least 2
countries.
•For a particular issue, the matrix is useful for
understanding the intensity of each country’s basic
interest.
•If we understand the intensity of the basic interest of
each country, then we can understand how likely the
country is to go to war to protect/promote it.

26. Basic Interest
Intensity of interest
Survival
(critical)
Vital
(dangerous)
Major
(serious)
Peripheral
(bothersome)
Defense of
homeland
Economic
well-being
Favorable
world order
Promotion of
values
Order of
importance to
any country;
most (top) to
least (bottom)
Perceived threat to basic interests:
Left right = Most dangerous  Least dangerous

27.  1981-1986: Libya government of Muammar
Quaddafi sponsored terrorist attacks
(bombings, hijackings) on cruise ships,
airlines and discos used by Americans
 April, 1986: US President Ronald Reagan
decides to bomb military targets in Libya

28. Actors: Libya, US, UK, France, USSR
 US asked UK and France to help indirectly.
◦ Both UK and France had experienced an
increase in terrorism.
 UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
allowed US to use bombers based in the UK

29.  France did not let the US planes fly
over French territory (nor did Spain)
 France was not pro-terrorist, or pro-
Libya, but had trade and investments
in Libya and North Africa.
 USSR had sold military equipment to
Libya and had hundreds of advisors
there

30. Soviet
advisors leave
before attack
Route
taken by
US
planes

31. Countries involved
 Libya, US, UK, France, USSR
Country Role
Libya Attacked
US Attacker
UK US ally, cooperates with US
France
US ally, but does not cooperate due to
business interests in Libya, N. Africa
USSR
Does not get involved even though it
had been advising Libyan military and
giving military assistance

32. Basic Interest
Intensity of interest
Survival
(critical)
Vital
(dangerous)
Major
(serious)
Peripheral
(bothersome)
Defense of
homeland
Libya --
US
France
UK
USSR
Economic
well-being
-- --
Libya
France
USSR
US
UK
Favorable
world order
--
US
UK
Libya
France
USSR
--
Promotion of
values
-- Libya
US
UK
France
USSR

34. The international system is anarchic but
not chaotic.
Anarchy = No government above states
Chaos = No order
There is order in the international system
even without an international government.
 Relationships among states are regular and
predictable

35. Why is the international system not chaotic?
 The international system is social.
◦ Rules for trade and conflict
◦ Customs and traditions
◦ Diplomacy
WHY?

36. 2 reasons why the international system is
stable
1. “Social fabric” of international society is
strong
Social fabric = social context
Social fabric =
normative threads +
institutional threads
fabric: 織物
thread:糸
normative: 規範的

37. 2 reasons why the international system is stable
Social fabric: normative threads
 Every hour of every day there is
communication, exchange and travel
among leaders and people around the
world
 So, we become used to each other and
generally like each other

40. 2 reasons Why the international system is
stable
Social fabric: institutional threads
 There are institutions where leaders
meet to talk, argue peacefully and
make agreements (Today)
 There are institutions for international
trade (Next week)

41. Liberals believe that three things create world
peace: democracy, trade and international
institutions.
Today we will focus on the largest international
institution, the UN.
Next week we will talk about other large IOs.

42.  International cooperation takes many forms,
for example:
◦ State to state (diplomacy)
◦ Company to company (business)
◦ NGO to NGO (shared values)
◦ Person to person (friendship)
…….or any version of these
 There are many types of organisation that work
internationally in a great variety of ways – politically,
socio-economically, culturally
 These organisations use lots of acronyms! (頭文字)
What are IOs, ROs, IGOs, MNCs……..?
 We look first at IOs - international organisations
 Most important IO is the UN, the United Nations
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43.  Governments of all states are welcome to join UN
General Assembly (国連総会)
 To preserve world peace, Security Council (国連安全保障理事会)
was created with enforcement power (執行権力)
 Security Council has five permanent members (常任理事国)
– US, Russia (Soviet Union), UK, France and China, with veto
power (拒否権)
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44.  The UN has five major organs (機関) with these missions (使命) :
◦ Security Council – issues of war and peace
◦ General Assembly – main decision-making organ
◦ Economic and Social Council – quality of life worldwide
◦ International Court of Justice (ICJ) – decides legal disputes
◦ Secretariat (事務局) – executive organ, led by the Secretary-
General
(事務総長)
 Main headquarters in New York; ICJ in The Hague,
Netherlands
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45.  On the east side of Manhattan Island, New York
 It is an international zone belonging to all Member States.
 The United Nations has its own security force, fire department and
postal service.
 The Headquarters consist of four main buildings
◦ the General Assembly building,
◦ the Conference Building,
◦ the 39-floor Secretariat building,
◦ and the Dag Hammarskjold Library, which was added in 1961.

47.  The General Assembly is is composed of all UN member states and
meets in regular yearly sessions under a president elected from
among the member states.
 At the start of each session all members have the opportunity to
address the assembly over a two-week period.
 When the General Assembly votes on important questions, a two-
thirds majority of those present and voting is required.
 Examples of important questions include: recommendations on
peace and security; election of members to organs; admission,
suspension, and expulsion of members; and, budgetary matters. All
other questions are decided by majority vote.

48.  Each member country has one vote. Apart from approval of
budgetary matters, resolutions are not binding on the members.
 The Assembly may make recommendations on any matters within the
scope of the UN, except matters of peace and security that are
under Security Council consideration.
 The one state, one vote power structure theoretically allows small
states to pass a resolution by a two-thirds vote.

50.  The official task of the UN Security Council (UNSC)
is to maintain peace and security among nations.
 While other organs of the United Nations only make
recommendations to member governments on
peace and security issues, the UNSC has the
power to make decisions that member
governments must (supposedly) obey under the
United Nations Charter.

51.  The UNSC is made up of 15 member states: Five permanent
seats and ten temporary seats.
◦ The permanent five are China, France, Russia, the United
Kingdom, and the United States (i.e., 4 Great Powers +
the Superpower)
◦ These members can veto substantive but not procedural
resolutions: A permanent member can block a resolution
but not block debate of it.
◦ The ten temporary seats are held for two-year terms with
member states voted in by the UN General Assembly on a
regional basis.
◦ The presidency of the Security Council is rotated
alphabetically each month.

52.  The decisions of the Council are known as
Resolutions.
 To pass, a resolution must get at least 9 votes
and must not be vetoed by a permanent
member.
◦ For example, if the vote is 14-1 in favor, but
the 1 vote against is a permanent member,
then the resolution fails.

53. Does Japan deserve a
permanent seat on the UNSC?

54. ◦ In contrast to League of Nations, UN does not only focus
on war and peace – it has many other functions
◦ 40 UN agencies address variety of economic, educational,
health, scientific and social issues:
 Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) (国連食糧農業機関)
 World Health Organisation (WHO) (世界保健機関)
 World Bank (世界銀行)
 International Monetary Fund (IMF) (国際通貨基金)
 UNESCO, UNICEF, UNHCR, UNITAR……..
 International Civil Aviation Organisation (国際民間航空機関)
 International Telecommunications Union (国際電気通信連合)
 World Meteorological Organization (世界気象機関)
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55. 55

56.  UN has been criticised (批判した) many times since 1945:
◦ People say UN is “weak, indecisive (決断力のない), inefficient (無能),
expensive, bureaucratic (官僚的)”
◦ And worse……………. “UN is useless………….”
◦ Couldn’t prevent Cold War, Vietnam War, Balkan Wars
◦ Couldn’t prevent genocide (集団虐殺) in Cambodia and Rwanda
 Some of these criticisms are TRUE – the UN has failed many
times
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57. Why has the UN failed many times?
 We need to understand what the UN is, but also what it is
not
 UN is not world government – it is under state sovereignty
 UN is not separate world power – it has no separate territory,
financial resources or military forces of its own
 It is a collection of the views, resources and personnel given
to it by the states
 Therefore: the UN is not separate from
the state system, but a reflection of it
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58. The UN can only solve problems that states want it to solve
 If powerful states (usually Security Council members) don’t want
UN help, they can refuse it, or prevent it by using their veto
◦ Cold War – Soviet Union and US used veto many times
◦ Taiwan, Palestine UN membership……….? – China, US threaten veto
◦ 2011-2013 Syria Crisis – Russia and China have used veto
 Key UN abilities:
1. UN can solve problems between less powerful states, this is
UN peacemaking
2. Through its agencies, UN can improve socio-economic,
educational, medical and cultural conditions for people
around the world
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59.  Negotiated ceasefires to stop fighting:
◦ War of independence between Indonesia and Netherlands, 1948
◦ Wars over Kashmir between Pakistan and India, 1948 & 1966
 Oversaw ceasefires in war zones:
◦ Cyprus, 1974; Namibia, 1989; Angola, 1991; Mozambique,
1993
 Supervised (監督した) free elections in former war zones:
◦ Cambodia, 1993; El Salvador, 1994; East Timor, 2002;
Democratic Republic of Congo, 2006
 Assisted reconstruction in war-torn (戦争に荒廃した) countries,
this is UN nation-building:
◦ Haiti, from 1993; Cambodia, from 1993; Sierra Leone, from
1998;
East Timor, from 1999; Kosovo, from 1999; Iraq, from 2003
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60.  UN has negotiated over 200 peace settlements around the
world:
◦ Iran-Iraq War, 1988
◦ Oversaw Soviet military withdrawal from Afghanistan, 1988-89
 UN peacekeeping troops, “soldiers without enemies”,
keeping the peace in many dangerous parts of the world:
◦ Golan Heights, Syria/Israel, 1974 ~
(UNDOF – United Nations Disengagement Observation Force)
◦ Kosovo, 1999 ~ (UNMIK – United Nations Mission In Kosovo)
◦ Darfur, Sudan, 2007 ~ (UNAMID)
 Lightly-armed troops – no tanks, warplanes
 Troops provided by less powerful states:
e.g. India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Brazil
 Therefore: troops are trusted by all sides
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61. 61

62. 62

63. 63

64.  UN is a forum for debate – rival leaders can discuss
not fight
 UN can provide third-party mediation to solve
conflicts
64

65. 1. WHO and UNICEF campaigns to eradicate disease
(病気を撲滅する)
 Smallpox (天然痘) eradicated worldwide, 1980
 Polio (ポリオ) eradicated in western hemisphere (西半球), 1994
 Immunization against preventable diseases (予防接種) –
80% of all children worldwide by 1995
2. Famine relief (飢餓救済) provided for 230 million people
in
100 countries
3. Relief for refugees - food, shelter, medical aid and
education provided for millions by UN High
Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) (国連難民高等弁務官
事務所)
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66. 4. Conferences and treaties to tackle global warming:
 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
(国連気候変動枠組条約), 1992
 Kyoto Protocol (京都議定書), 1997
UN programmes to:
5. Prevent deforestation (森林伐採) in 90 countries
6. Provide safe drinking water (飲料水) for 1.3 billion
people
7. Prevent pollution and overfishing (乱獲)
8. Raise women’s literacy rate (識字率) in developing
countries 36% (1970)  56% (1990)  68% (2000)
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67.  The UN is by no means a perfect organisation – it
has many serious weaknesses
 But it also does a great amount of good in
countries all around the world
 ‘The United Nations was not created in order to
bring us to heaven, but in order to save us from
hell.’
Second Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dag
Hammarskjöld (1905-1961)
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68. There are many connections between peoples
and states and at many levels (leader-
leader, office-office, school-school, etc.)
These connections prevent violent conflicts
and would be very expensive and take a lot
of time to repair if they were broken.

69. 2 reasons Why the international system is
stable
2. High level of crisis-stability
Crisis-stability:
The ability to keep control over events in a
tense, dangerous situation and avoid war.

70. Low crisis-stability:
There is a strong incentive for one state to attack
another state during an international crisis.
The state’s leaders believe there is a good chance
to survive and to win
OR
They believe they MUST be the first to attack in
order to survive.

71. What low crisis-stability looks like.

72. High crisis-stability:
There is a strong incentive for BOTH states to
avoid attacking each other.
The states’ leaders believe there is a good
chance that even if their attack is
successful their state (and the people in it)
would be destroyed.

73. What high crisis-stability looks like.

74. Why is high crisis-stability good for the international
system?
1. War is so destructive that even the winner would
be destroyed. So…
2. Countries will look for peaceful solutions to
conflicts.
*Read Nye’s example of the locked room full of
gasoline: Whoever lights a match will destroy
enemy but also himself.

75. The Cold War and crisis-stability.
Why was there no war between the US and the USSR?
M.A.D.
Mutually Assured Destruction
相互確証破壊

77.  What is the UN?
◦ Largest IO, with many parts, representatives from all states in the
world
 Why was it created?
◦ After WWI the ‘League of Nations’ was created (1919-1939) to
prevent another terrible war………………… but it failed
 1943 – ‘The Big Three’ (Stalin, Roosevelt & Churchill) agreed to
create new, stronger organisation to preserve world peace
 UN created at United Nations Conference on International
Organization,
San Francisco, 25th April – 26th June 1945
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78. Diagram of Robert Art’s
argument for how force
undergirds the post-war
international economy.
(Shows spillover effects)

79. Diagram of Robert Art’s
argument for how force
undergirds the post-war
international economy.
(Shows spillover effects)

80. Diagram of Robert Art’s
argument for how force
undergirds the post-war
international economy.
(Shows spillover effects)