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States engage with one another in an environment known as the international system. All states are considered to be sovereign, and some states are more powerful than others. The system has a number of informal rules about how things should be done, but these rules are not binding. International relations have existed as long as states themselves. But the modern international system under which we live today is only a few centuries old. Significant events have marked the milestones in the development of the international system.
The Peace of Westphalia (1648)
In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years’ War between Catholic states and Protestant states in western and central Europe, established our modern international system. It declared that the sovereign leader of each nation-state could do as she or he wished within its borders and established the state as the main actor in global politics. From that point forward, the international system has consisted primarily of relations among nation-states.
Shifting Balances of Power (1600–1800)
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the nation-state emerged as the dominant political unit of the international system. A series of powerful states dominated Europe, with the great powers rising and falling. Weaker states often banded together to prevent the dominant power from becoming too strong, a practice known as preserving the balance of power. Frequent wars and economic competition marked this era. Some nations—notably France and England—were powerful through most of the modern age, but some—such as Spain and the Ottoman Empire—shrank in power over time.
Emergence of Nationalism (1800–1945)
The nineteenth century brought two major changes to the international system:
- Nationalism emerged as a strong force, allowing nation-states to grow even more powerful.
- Italy and Germany became unified countries, which altered the balance of military and economic power in Europe.
The problems raised by the unification of Germany contributed to World War I (1914–1918). In the aftermath of the war, the international system changed dramatically again. The major powers of Europe had suffered greatly, whereas the United States began to come out of its isolation and transform into a global power. At the same time, the end of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires created a series of new nations, and the rise of communism in Russia presented problems for other nations. These factors contributed to the Treaty of Versailles, the rise of Nazism and communism, and World War II (1939–1945).
New World Orders (1945–Present)
The end of World War II marked a decisive shift in the global system. After the war, only two great world powers remained: the United States and the Soviet Union. Although some other important states existed, almost all states were understood within the context of their relations with the two superpowers. This global system was called bipolar because the system centered on two great powers.
Since the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union, the nature of the world has changed again. Only one superpower remains, leading some scholars to label the new international system unipolar. Others point to the increasing economic power of some European and Asian states and label the new system multipolar. To some extent, both terms are accurate. The United States has the world’s most powerful military, which supports the unipolar view, but the U.S. economy is not as powerful, relative to the rest of the world, lending credence to the multipolar view.
|
System |
Number of Nations with Power |
Nations with Power |
Dates |
| Unipolar | One | United States | Post-1989 |
| Bipolar | Two | United States and the Soviet Union | 1945–1989 |
| Multi-polar | Several | United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, Germany, Italy, Japan | Pre–World War I |
| United States, European Union, China, India | Post-1989 |
A Plethora of Politics
Political scientists usually use the terms international politics and global politics synonymously, but technically the terms have different meanings. International politics, strictly speaking, refers to relationships between states. Global politics, in contrast, refers to relationships among states and other interest groups, such as global institutions, corporations, and political activists. Comparative politics seeks to understand how states work by comparing them to one another. While international relations studies how states relate to one another, comparative politics compare the internal workings of a state, its political institutions, its political culture, and the political behavior of its citizens.
