INTLSTD 101 Lecture 5: Class 5
22 Mar 2017
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Document Summary
Main point: the sovereign state system helps to solve some issues in world politics, while making it harder to solve others. States are the fundamental political units of modern world politics. States have internatl autonomy with a monopoly on the legitmate use of force. States respect one another"s territorial integrity and have boundaries. In reality, internal and external autonomy of states have often been compromised. Self determination: the idea that every nation should have its own state. The sovereign state system gives states responsibility for many human concerns. Whether the state addresses these concerns depends on its internal politics. Leaders answer to the politically relevant portion of society and provide goods to hold their loyalty. Who is politically relevant and how many are needed to retain power. This means leaders have conflicting interests in international cooperation. Cooperation can deliver benefits to their supporters they cannot realize otherwise. State leaders are first and foremost agents of those they answer to.
