INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IEP Rennes Yves Lavarde
Course introduction « The best way to make peace is to make business.» MONTESQUIEU • Business is a peace-maker in IR : ex. European Union is based first on business. • Business can be also a war-maker : economic war for oil, for information, etc. (ex. Prism, Echelon Program…)
5 lessons for understanding the new IR. • Lesson 1 : New economical and political structures in IR. • Lesson 2 : New process of globalization in IR • Lesson 3 : New powers in IR. • Lesson 4 : New conflicts. • Lesson 5 : New importance of regions & crisis : Brittany in IR.
1. Changing production systems, changing political systems: what impact on international relations? IEP Rennes – CEP Program 2013-2014
Introduction • « production systems » : market economy • « political systems » : State-Nation • Context : – « information revolution » (Internet, mobile technology) : the whole world is connected and changing.
– Consequence : - New production systems : market economy is still the most relevant system ? – new political systems : State-nation is still the best level of governance ?
• Problem : how the information revolution is changing the international political systems ?
Course Plan I. Changing production systems A. The two industrial revolutions B. The third industrial revolution
II. Changing political systems A. The making of the State-Nations at XIX and XX B. The making of metropolis at XXI?
III. Changing international relations ? A. New economical relations B. New political relations
Conclusion
I. Changing production systems A. The two industrial revolutions • First industrial revolution : Steam engine (WATT, 1776) : Railway Steam boat
steel industry textile
Mettre carte Europe industrialisation - textile : Manchester/Roubaix - Sidérurgie : Le Creusot - Transport : carte réseau ferré / toile Turner (bateau+train) + Monet (gare de Saint-Lazare).
Consequences of the first industrial revolution • New social group: the working-class • Urbanization • Reduction of distance : – globalization /colonization
2. Second industrial revolution - Born in the US - 2 main innovations : - Combustion engine - Electricity
- New society : mass consumption - Fordism - welfare state : boom of services
- Consumer society
I. Changing production systems A. The two industrial revolutions birthlpla Date ce
First industrial revolution
Second industrial revolution
Innovation
Leader sectors
Social impact
How to explain those industrial revolutions ? • Economic cycles – Expansion – Contraction (depression or stagnation) – Ex. « Kondratieff waves »
Cycles
Beginning
Expansion
Crisis
Depression
1. Kondratiev
1789/1790
1780-1814
1810-1817
1814-1849
2. Kondratiev
1844-1851
1870-1873
1870/1875
1873-1896 GreatDepression
3. Kondratiev
1890-1896
1896-1929 Belle époque
1928-1932
1929-1945 Great Depression
4. Kondratiev
1941-1950
1945-1973 Trente Glorieuses
1973-1975
1975-?
How to explain those economic cycles ? • The role of innovation (Schumpeter) – « creative destruction » – ex. railway and the diligence.
• The role of « Innovative entrepreneur » : – ex. Edison : inventor (1093 patents) & businessman (14 companies, included GE).
Course Plan I. Changing production systems A. The two industrial revolutions B. The third industrial revolution
II. Changing political systems A. The making of the State-Nations at XIX and XX B. The making of metropolis at XXI?
III. Changing international relations ? A. New economical relations B. New political relations
Conclusion
B. The third industrial revolution • Based on innovation : – Microprocessor – Moore’s law : the power processor is doubling every 2 years.
• Based on new infrastructures – Internet network – Technopoles and Silicon valleys
What is the impact of information revolution ? • Social impact : – Information society – « collaborative economy » (carsharing, couchsurfing) and «peer production » (Wikipedia, Linux), crowdsourcing
• Political impact : – Creative Common : the end of copyright ? – Which intellectual property ? Videos sharing on Megaupload, music-sharing on Deezer, Youtube…
• Geographical impact – Transnational networkls (Anonymous, WikiLeaks) – New site for innovation Ex. Silicon Valley (conséquence : brain drain).
• Creative common • Covoiturage
Conclusion - Part I. • « knowledge economy » – New power : information, innovation – New structures : social networks….
Transition : changing production systems provoke changing political systems
Course Plan I. Changing production systems A. The two industrial revolutions B. The third industrial revolution
II. Changing political systems A. The making of the State-Nations at the XIX and XX B. The making of metropolis at XXI?
III. Changing international relations ? A. New economical relations B. New political relations
Conclusion
II. Changing political systems. A. The State-Nations building • « State » : a population + a government + a territory (CARRE MALINVAUD, 1921) • « State-Nations » : since the end of the 18th century (French revolution).
How to build State-Nation ? • « National novel » (Ernest GELLNER) thanks to : – history : national myths (Vercingétorix, Charlemagne, Jeanne d’Arc… re-written by Michelet) – Art : Wagner (The ring of Nibelung, Parsefal) – Religion : orthodoxy for Serbs – Folklore : hungarian legends for Hungary…
Two visions of Nation in Europe • Extensive vision (jus soli) – France – Ernest Renan : « Nation is a desire to live together ».
• Exclusive vision (jus sanguinis) – Germany – Fichte, 1808 : « Nation is based on objective facts : a same language, a same culture… ».
Nation building in history • 19th century – Italian unification – German re-unification
• 20th century : «self determination » -W. Wilson – Fall of European Empires (Austrian, Ottoman) – Fall of colonial empires
• End of 20th century : – « Balkanization », ex. Monténégro, Kosovo, Bosnia… – « Failed states » : ex. Somaly => Somaliland, Pountland.
The State-Nation : a weakening concept ? • Limited at supranational level – Regional organization : EU – International organization : IMF
• Limited at infranational level – Provinces with new ambitions : Scotland, Catalonia – Metropolis… Transition : Passage of world based on the states, to a world based on metropolis and metropolitain area ?
Course Plan I. Changing production systems A. The two industrial revolutions B. The third industrial revolution
II. Changing political systems A. The making of the State-Nations at the XIX and XX B. The metropolis-building at the XXIth?
III. Changing international relations ? A. New economical relations B. New political relations
Conclusion
B. The building of metropolis • Etymology : « mothercity » in relation with colonies. • In history : the Greek city that establishes colonies outside the Greek world. • Now : « a city that concentrates economic and politic functions ».
What is metropolisation ? • How to build a metropolis ? – marketing : creation of identity, to make the city attractive – International connection : highspeed railway, international airport – Metropolitan facilities: opéra, metro
A new political actor? • In History « City-States » are old – Mesopotomian cities – Greek cities – Italian cities : Venice/Genoia
• « Global Cities » (Saskia Sassen) – « center of globalization » – 3 Global cities : NY, London, Tokyo…
Consequence of metropolisation • Dispersion of low-level activities – Specialization of small towns. Ex. Vitré
• Over-concentration – Population : Tokyo -35million – High level activites: R&D, management, strategy consulting
• New « outskirts » : - forgotten region of Globalization - FN vote in suburbs located far from metropolitan centers). Transition : what these economic and political changes cause in International relations ?
Course Plan I. Changing production systems A. The two industrial revolutions B. The third industrial revolution
II. Changing political systems A. The making of the State-Nations at XIX and XX B. The making of metropolis at XXI?
III. Changing international relations ? A. New economical relations B. New political relations
Conclusion
III. Changing international relations A. New economic and politic relations • Disapearance of economical intermediaries ? – Market crisis ? – more and more direct selling (against markets) in agriculture (CSA – or AMAP in French), in Internet (Leboncoin) – « Local Food Movement » : consumer buy products 200km around
Direct-selling in CSA
The end of intermediaries ? • Media more and more criticized – Homosexual marriage in France : massive use of social networks (Twitter, Facebook) for organizing against demonstrations… – Arab spring – Conspiracy theories : 9/11 Truth Movement
The end of polical intermediaries ? • Crisis of representative democracy – « divorce between power and politics » Zygmunt BAUMAN. – Abstention
• Direct democracy is still possible ? – Local votation in Switzerland
Course Plan I. Changing production systems A. The two industrial revolutions B. The third industrial revolution
II. Changing political systems A. The making of the State-Nations at XIX and XX B. The making of metropolis at XXI?
III. Changing international relations ? A. New economic and political relations B. New international relations
Conclusion
B. New international relations • New transparency ? – PRISM, WikiLeaks : all comes out in one day… – In France : Jérôme Cahuzac – Eric Schmidt, 2009 : « If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing in the first place »
B. New international relations • Transnational movements – Terrorist movements : Al Qaeda – Revolutionary movements : Arab Spring – NGO Networks
Arab spring
Conclusion • History is full of revolutions : Agricultural revolution
Around 10,000 B.C.E (Neolithic)
Revolution of writing
Around 3,200 B.C.E (History)
Invention of printing
Around 1450 (Renaissance)
Industrial revolutions
Mid.18th.
Information revolution
End of 20th Entry in a New World ??
• « The World is flat » (T. Friedman) : transparent and horizontal world… But flat doesn’t mean boring. It’s an exciting and moving period. The « Belle Epoque » ?
Surf this wave or sink ?
