DHS 2025 International Relations Part 2 (Lecture Notes)

1 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS PART 2 CONFLICT AND RESOLUTION Definitions: ● Disputes refers to a situation where 2 or more nations or groups within nations perceive their interests to be incompatible, leading to disagreements, rivalry, or even warfare. It can manifest in diverse forms, from diplomatic disputes to armed conflict. ● Armed conflict refers to an armed confrontation between governmental authorities and other states or organised armed groups. International relations theory helps to analyse the causes and dynamics of conflict, while international law provides the framework for managing and resolving conflicts. Types of Armed Conflict (Gelditsch et al, 2002) (A) External conflict/Interstate: involving 2 or more sovereign states (B) Internal/Intrastate: involves home government and domestic opposition groups (which can take on international dimension once other country come into play) ○ Factions fighting over territorial control or to establish a government ○ Ethnonationalist movements fighting for autonomy or recognition ○ Domestic strife like genocide ○ Terrorism Causes of Conflict Political scientist Kenneth Waltz puts forth 3 causes fuelling conflicts: 1. Primarily due to the nature and behaviour of human beings 2. Some states have war prone internal structures due to how they are organised politically (eg. dictatorships) 3. When there is no world government or authority to prevent it (ie. anarchy) PART 1: PREVENTING CONFLICTS Recall traditional theories of International Relations: Realism Liberalism ● Gained momentum in WW2 ● States are seen to be insecure, selfish and power seeking ● States live in the context of anarchy ● ‘Utopian’ theory ● Anarchic nature of the international system is mitigated by interdependence among the states Preventing armed conflict: Realist point of view Realists see international relations as fluid, often dangerous and unpredictable. They point to the frequent history of international relations worsening rapidly and see no indication of an amicable new world order.

2 (A) Balance of power From the realist’s point of view, preventing war largely revolves around making the prospect of war so ___________(and the losses incurred so high) that belligerent states are less likely to launch any kind of offensive. States do this primarily by enhancing their military capability and entering into strategic alliances, while undermining the capabilities of others. This generates a ‘balance’ where theoretically, no state is permitted to get too powerful within the international system. However, this balance of power between states is neither static nor permanent. States continually accrue power to match gains made by its rival, potentially leading to arms build -up and other forms of escalation. Additionally, it is impermanent as there is no guarantee that states will be able to keep up with its rival(s), and it is believed that imb