1. CHAPTER 1 Understanding International Relations
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Seventh Edition
Joshua S. Goldstein
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

2. College Students and International Relations
Voting in an election
Working on a campaign or for an interest group
Buying a product or service traded on world markets (check where your clothes are made)
Watching the news

3. Different Theoretical Perspectives
“Each is a lens through which the world looks different and different things seem important,” (pg. 8)
Choosing concepts to emphasize leads to different conclusions

4. Conservative, Liberal, and Revolutionary World Views

5. The Actors on the World Stage
The State: A territorial entity controlled by a government and inhabited by a population—no higher authority
Non-State Actors: Many examples, from multi-national corporations to international organizations, such as the United Nations

6. Levels of Analysis Individual Level Domestic Level Interstate Level
Global Level

7. Levels of Analysis

8. Different Regions The North-South Gap and Nine Regions
The North: (1) North America, (2) Western Europe, (3) Japan/Pacific, and (4) Russia and Eastern Europe
The South: The rest of the world, including (5) China, (6) the Middle East, (7) Latin America, (8) South Asia, and (9) Africa

9. Nine Regions of the World

10. Comparisons Illuminate Data
What data should be used?
Commonly, the Gross Domestic Product is used to measure an economy’s strength
GDP is the total annual economic activity of a country
Also, per capita income or average income is used to compare a country’s wealth

11. Comparison of World Regions, 2003

12. The Most Fundamental Lesson
Knowing the location of each country
Identifying a country’s location will tell a great deal about a country
Study a country’s geography, such as its relation to the equator, its neighbors, its access to water, and its size to begin an analysis of a country

13. World States and Territories

14. States and Territories with Estimated Total 2003 GDP

15. States and Territories with Estimated Total 2003 GDP (cont.)

16. To Understand Today, We Must Examine History
Examining history offers an explanation for current relations among countries and inequalities
Western Europe expands and rises to world dominance

17. World Civilizations,

18. The Rise of Western Europe
1492, Columbus sails the ocean blue
An examination of Western Europe’s rise is very instructive in learning about the world in which we live today

19. The Modern International System
, Thirty Years’ War and the Treaty of Westphalia
, Napoleonic Wars
, World War I
, World War II
, The Cold War

20. The Great-Power Systems, 1500-2000

21. Imperialism,

22. The World Economy,

23. The Rise and Fall of Western Europe
Although many Western European countries controlled distant parts of the world, competition would lead to destruction
The United States and the Soviet Union would be left to define the international system after World War II

24. The Two World Wars,

25. The Cold War The Soviet Union v. the United States
U.S. policy: Containment
Limited Warfare: The Korean War, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and other proxy wars
Nuclear weapons lead to summit meetings between countries
The collapse of the Soviet Union

26. The Cold War,

27. 1990-2005, The Post-Cold War Era New Relationships Gulf War NATO
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Somalia
September 11, 2001
Terrorism
The Rise of China