What Has Changed in International Relations since 1900 - Essay Example

?Introduction International Relations as a theory have evolved over the period of time and basically signify a relationship between the nations and outline the role of sovereign states. However, the later complexities in the domain of international relations theory has further expanded this and included the relationships and role of nations, multi-national corporations, inter-governmental organizations as well as non-governmental organizations. From the policy making perspective, international relations are critically important because they define the way the overall foreign policy of a country can be defined. It also outlines as to who will be the friends of a nation and who will be the enemies and where a State will actually act as a neutral player. (Devetak, Burke and George) The era starting from the 1900 till present witnessed a systematic change in the international relations and the overall role of states within the overall global scene. From the rise of the nation-state to the emergence of sole superpower of the world, international relations drastically changed. The advancement in the technology and improvement in the military power coupled with global power of large corporations, international relations are not what they used to be in the 19th century. There has been a gradual shift towards redefining the roles and responsibilities of major nations along with that of the other nations. This paper will discuss and explore as to what changed in international relations since 1900. This paper will explore as to what were the major changes and the causes of such changes taking place at the global stage of international relations. International Relations since 1900 Starting with 1900, Germany started to emerge as one of the leading players in the world stage. With increasing military power, it started to engage with Britain and France, two of the other most important players in the international arena. This tension between the European superpowers was based upon the notion of the nation-state wherein European States, in order to prove each other’s dominance, waged wars and created significant international crisis. (Telo) The first half of the 20th century i.e. the period from 1900 to 1950, witnessed two World Wars besides other smaller scale wars and international crisis. The rise of Germany resulted into the wars between the European superpowers which also resulted into the weakening of the power of the European States. The Balkan Wars, the Bosnian crisis, the outbreak of first and Second World War has created significant change in the international relations. The period after 1919 is considered as an important period in which the World actually made a transition into a new era owing to the efforts of Woodrow Wilson. The creation of League of Nation is considered as one of the most important change in the international relations as it signaled a systematic introduction of the role of global institutions in the overall domain of international relations. The League of Nations started a new direction in the international relations wherein institutions like League of Nations and subsequently United Nations become significant influencing authorities in international relations. (Lawson) It is also important to note that with the weakening of the European Powers due to World War II has resulted into creation and independence of new countries in the world. This has further increase the number of regional players to dominate the regional politics as well as influence the international politics. Countries like India emerged in the mid of the 1900 and quickly became the regional powers with the ability to withstand the pressure from the bigger superpowers of the world. The increase in the number of independent countries has also resulted into further conflicts at the regional level. The issue of Middle East and Palestine emerged as one of the important issues involving many regional as well as global players. Besides, the conflict between India and Pakistan and subsequently between India and China also emerged as the leading international conflicts affecting the international relations. (Wilkinson) Probably the most important change in the international relations occurred with the emergence of cold war between Russia and Pakistan. The proxy war was actually fought by Afghanistan and Pakistan with the help of US with Russia. This war however, resulted into the emergence of single superpower within the world with US dominated the world politics. The Cold War resulted into the emergence of the concept of benevolent hegemony and US started to influence the global politics. It also resulted into an increase tension and further enhanced the threat of nuclear war between the two world powers. Besides, other regional players also emerged as the nuclear powers increasing the overall risk of nuclear war within the world. (Brown) The emergence of globalization especially after 1980s has also further redefined the way international relations were shaped. The economic dependence of countries on each other reduced the chances of war between each other and free trade among nations emerged. Neoliberal economic policies have resulted into an environment of cooperation wherein nations no longer were able to engage in conflict with each other. It is also critical to note that the events of 9/11 in which US was attacked by a terrorist organization reshaped the international relations at the global level. The resulting war on terrorism given US a sole power to strike any enemy within any nation and it was able to wage direct wars in Afghanistan and Iraq besides helping local uprisings in countries like Egypt, Libya and Syria. Conclusion International relations changed drastically after 1900 as many international events actually reshaped the way world actually worked and coordinated with each other. The two World Wars as well as the emergence of institutions such as UN have further redefined the international relations between the States. Besides, cold war between Russia and US has further changed the international relations. At the end of Cold War, US emerged as the sole superpower in the world and world became unipolar. The changes brought through globalization have further changed the way how countries engaged into conflict with each other. The events of 9/11 however, again changed the international relations and further strengthened the role of US in global politics. Works Cited Brown, Chris. Understanding International Relations. New York: Palgrave, 2001. Devetak, Richard, Anthony Burke and Jim George. An Introduction to International Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Lawson, Stephanie. International Relations. Washington: Polity, 2012. Telo, Mario. International Relations: A European Perspective. Washington: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, 2013. Wilkinson, Paul. International Relations. New York: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc, 2010. Read More