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An empire is a sovereign state made up of several territories and peoples subject to a single ruling authority, often an emperor. A state can become an empire either by a narrow definition through having an emperor and being named as such, or by a broad definition as stated above as an aggregate territory under the rule of supreme authorities such as the Roman Empire.
A state is a polity under a system of governance with a monopoly on force. There is no undisputed definition of a state. A widely used definition from the German sociologist Max Weber is that a "state" is a polity that maintains a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence, although other definitions are not uncommon. A state is not synonymous with a government, as stateless governments like the Iroquois Confederacy exist.
International relations (IR), international affairs (IA) or international studies (IS) is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as war, diplomacy, trade, and foreign policy—and relations with and among other international actors, such as intergovernmental organisations (IGOs), international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), international legal bodies and multinational corporations (MNCs).
World government, global government or cosmocracy is the concept of a common political authority for all of humanity, giving way to a global government and a single state or polity with jurisdiction over the entire world. Such a government could come into existence through violent and compulsory world domination or through peaceful and voluntary supranational union.
International relations theory is the study of international relations (IR) from a theoretical perspective. It seeks to explain causal and constitutive effects in international politics. Ole Holsti describes international relations theories as acting like pairs of coloured sunglasses that allow the wearer to see only salient events relevant to the theory; e.g., an adherent of realism may completely disregard an event that a constructivist might pounce upon as crucial, and vice versa. The three most prominent theories are realism, liberalism and constructivism.
Panarchy, coined by Paul Émile de Puydt in 1860, is a form of governance that would encompass all others. The Oxford English Dictionary lists the noun as "chiefly poetic" with the meaning "a universal realm", citing an 1848 attestation by Philip James Bailey, "the starry panarchy of space". The adjective panarchic "all-ruling" has earlier attestations. In the twentieth century the term was re-coined separately by scholars in international relations to describe the notion of global governance and then by systems theorists to describe non-hierarchical organizing theories.
The concept of balancing derives from the balance of power theory, the most influential theory from the realist school of thought, which assumes that a formation of hegemony in a multistate system is unattainable since hegemony is perceived as a threat by other states, causing them to engage in balancing against a potential hegemon.
In international relations, the security dilemma, also referred to as the spiral model, is a situation where one party heightening security measures can lead to an escalation or conflict with one or more other parties, producing an outcome which no party truly desires. Under the international relations theory of anarchy, actions by a state intended to heighten its security, such as increasing its military strength, committing to use weapons or making alliances, can lead other states to respond with similar measures, producing increased tensions that create conflict.
Regime theory is a theory within international relations derived from the liberal tradition that argues that international institutions or regimes affect the behavior of states or other international actors. It assumes that cooperation is possible in the anarchic system of states, as regimes are, by definition, instances of international cooperation.
Realism is one of the dominant schools of thought in international relations theory, theoretically formalising the Realpolitik statesmanship of early modern Europe. Although a highly diverse body of thought, it is unified by the belief that world politics is always and necessarily a field of conflict among actors pursuing power. The theories of realism are contrasted by the cooperative ideals of liberalism.
In the study of international relations, neoliberalism is a school of thought which believes that states are, or at least should be, concerned first and foremost with absolute gains rather than relative gains to other states. Neoliberalism is a revised version of liberalism. Alongside neorealism, neoliberalism is one of the two most influential contemporary approaches to international relations; the two perspectives have dominated international relations theory since the 1990s.
In international relations, constructivism is a social theory that asserts that significant aspects of international relations are shaped by ideational factors, not simply material factors. In contrast to some other prominent IR approaches and theories, constructivists see identities and interests of actors as socially constructed and changeable; identities are not static and cannot be exogenously assumed. Similarly to rational choice, constructivism does not make specific predictions about international relations; it is an approach to studying international politics, not a substantive theory of international politics.
In international relations, offensive realism is a structural theory belonging to the neorealist school of thought put forward by political scholar John Mearsheimer in response to defensive realism. Offensive realism holds that the anarchic nature of the international system is responsible for the promotion of aggressive state behavior in international politics. It fundamentally differs from defensive realism by depicting great powers as power-maximizing revisionists privileging buck-passing and self-promotion over balancing strategies in their consistent aim to dominate the international system. The theory brings important alternative contributions for the study and understanding of international relations but remains nonetheless the subject of criticism.
In international relations theory, anarchy is the idea that the world lacks any supreme authority or sovereign. In an anarchic state, there is no hierarchically superior, coercive power that can resolve disputes, enforce law, or order the system of international politics. In international relations, anarchy is widely accepted as the starting point for international relations theory.
Daniel Horace Deudney is an American political scientist and Associate Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University. His published work is mainly in the fields of international relations and political theory, with an emphasis on geopolitics and republicanism.
The English School of international relations theory maintains that there is a 'society of states' at the international level, despite the condition of anarchy. The English school stands for the conviction that ideas, rather than simply material capabilities, shape the conduct of international politics, and therefore deserve analysis and critique. In this sense it is similar to constructivism, though the English School has its roots more in world history, international law and political theory, and is more open to normative approaches than is generally the case with constructivism.
International law, also known as public international law and law of nations, is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally accepted in relations between nations. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for states across a broad range of domains, including war, diplomacy, trade, and human rights. International law aims to promote the practice of stable, consistent, and organized international relations.
Theory of International Politics is a 1979 book on international relations theory by Kenneth Waltz that offers a new theory, the neorealist theory of international relations. Taking into account the influence of neoclassical economic theory, Waltz argued that the fundamental "ordering principle" (p. 88) of the international political system is anarchy, which is defined by the presence of "functionally undifferentiated" (p. 97) individual state actors lacking "relations of super- and subordination" (p. 88) that are distinguished only by their varying capabilities.
Complex interdependence in international relations is the idea put forth by Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye that states and their fortunes are inextricably tied together. These complex relationships can be explored through both the liberal and realism lenses and can later explain the debate of power from complex interdependence.
Anarchy is a society being freely constituted without authorities or a governing body. It may also refer to a society or group of people that entirely rejects a set hierarchy. The word Anarchy was first used in English in 1539, meaning "an absence of government". Pierre-Joseph Proudhon adopted anarchy and anarchist in his 1840 treatise What Is Property? to refer to anarchism, a new political philosophy and social movement which advocates stateless societies based on free and voluntary associations. Anarchists seek a system based on the abolishment of all coercive hierarchy and the creation of a system of direct democracy and worker cooperatives.
References
- ↑ "CIAO". www.ciaonet.org.
- ↑ ""International Law in a World of Liberal States," by Anne-Marie Slaughter, European Journal of International Law, Vol.6, Number 4, 1995". Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
- ↑ Deudney, Daniel (2020). Dark Skies: Space Expansionism, Planetary Geopolitics, and the Ends of Humanity. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 307–308. ISBN 978-0-19-090336-7.
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