Table Of ContentHistory of
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International Relations K
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International Relations
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A Non-European Perspective G
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RIK INGMAR
A Non-European Perspective
Exis� ng textbooks on interna� onal rela� ons treat history in a cursory fashion and perpetuate a
Euro-centric perspec� ve. This textbook pioneers a new approach by historicizing the material
tradi� onally taught in Interna� onal Rela� ons courses, and by explicitly focusing on non-European
cases, debates and issues. H
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The volume is divided into three parts. The fi rst part focuses on the interna� onal systems that s
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tradi� onally existed in Europe, East Asia, pre-Columbian Central and South America, Africa o
and Polynesia. The second part discusses the ways in which these interna� onal systems were r
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brought into contact with each other through the agency of Mongols in Central Asia, Arabs
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in the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, Indic and Sinic socie� es in South East Asia, and
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the Europeans through their travels and colonial expansion. The concluding sec� on concerns I
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contemporary issues: the processes of decoloniza� on, neo-colonialism and globaliza� on – and
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their consequences on contemporary society. e
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History of Internati onal Relati ons provides a unique textbook for undergraduate and graduate
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students of interna� onal rela� ons, and anybody interested in interna� onal rela� ons theory, t
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history, and contemporary poli� cs. o
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As with all Open Book publica� ons, this en� re book is available to read for free on the publisher’s l
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website. Printed and digital edi� ons, together with supplementary digital material, can also be
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found at www.openbookpublishers.com
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Cover image: Al-Idrisi, Tabula Rogeriana (1154), Bibliotheque na� onale de France (MSO Arabe n
2221). Cover design: Anna Ga� . s
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ebook and OA edi� ons
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also available RIK INGMAR
OPEN
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www.openbookpublishers.com
OBP
HISTORY OF
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
History of
International Relations
A Non-European Perspective
Erik Ringmar
https://www.openbookpublishers.com
© 2019 Erik Ringmar
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0). This
license allows you to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work; to adapt the work and to make
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Erik Ringmar, History of International Relations: A Non-European Perspective. Cambridge, UK: Open Book
Publishers, 2019. https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0074
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Digital material and resources associated with this volume are available at https://doi.org/10.11647/
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Every effort has been made to identify and contact copyright holders and any omission or error will be
corrected if notification is made to the publisher.
ISBN Paperback: 978-1-78374-022-2
ISBN Hardback: 978-1-78374-023-9
ISBN Digital (PDF): 978-1-78374-024-6
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DOI: 10.11647/OBP.0074
Cover image: Al-Idrisi, Tabula Rogeriana (1154), Bibliotheque nationale de France (MSO Arabe 2221).
Wikimedia, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TabulaRogeriana.jpg
Cover design by Anna Gatti.
All paper used by Open Book Publishers is sourced from SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) accredited
mills and the waste is disposed of in an environmentally friendly way.
Contents
The Author vii
Acknowledgments viii
This book ix
1. Introduction 3. India and Indianization
Comparative international 2 Vedic India 46
systems
Classical India 52
Institutions, rules, 3
Indianization 58
and norms
The Mughal Empire 64
Stateless societies 5
India as an international system 67
Walls and bridges 6
Timeline 69
Further reading 10
Short dictionary 70
Think about 11
Think about 70
2. China and East Asia
4. The Muslim Caliphates
The Warring States period 14
The Arab expansion 74
The development of the 19
The Umayyads and the 78
Chinese state
Abbasids
The overland system 30
The Arabs in Spain 81
The tribute system 33
An international system of 86
A Japanese international 36
caliphates
system?
The Ottoman Empire 91
Further reading 40
Further reading 96
Timeline 41
Timeline 97
Short dictionary 42
Short dictionary 98
Think about 43
Think about 99
5. The Mongol Khanates 7. The Americas
From Temüjin to Genghis Khan 102 The Maya 152
A nomadic state 103 The Aztecs 160
How to conquer the world 106 The Incas 163
Dividing it all up 112 North America 170
An international system of 116 Further reading 174
khanates
Timeline 175
Further reading 122
Short dictionary 176
Timeline 123
Think about 177
Short dictionary 124
Think about 125
8. European Expansion
A sea route to India 180
6. Africa
Europeans in the “New 182
The Nile River Valley 129 World”
North Africa 131 A commercial world 186
economy
The kingdoms of West Africa 133
An industrial world economy 189
East Africa and the Indian 139
Ocean The apotheosis of colonialism 194
An African international 144 Decolonization 197
system?
Further reading 200
Further reading 146
Timeline 201
Timeline 147
Short dictionary 202
Short dictionary 148
Think about 203
Think about 149
Afterthoughts: Walls and Bridges 205
The Author
Erik Ringmar is professor in the Department of Political Science and International
Relations at Ibn Haldun University, Istanbul, Turkey. He graduated from Yale
University in 1993 with a PhD in political science and has subsequently worked at
the London School of Economics and as professor of international politics at Shanghai
Jiaotong Daxue in Shanghai, China.
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to the students who have taken my course on comparative international
systems over the past years. They were the first ones to be exposed to the chapters
that follow. It is more than anything their questions and objections that have forced
me to think harder and explain better. Thanks also to Jorg Kustermans and Victor
Friedman who tried out the material in their respective courses and provided feedback.
Downloaders and commentators at Academia.edu helped improve the argument as
did suggestions from Klara Andrée, Magnus Fiskesjö, Jonas Gjersø, Ville Harle, Markus
Lyckman, John Pella, Frank Ejby Poulsen, Diane Pranzo, James C. Scott, Farhan Hanif
Siddiqi and Max de Vietri. Thanks also to Alex Astrov, Gunther Hellmann and Iver
B. Neumann. The indefatigable librarians at the Internet Archive and Library Genesis
provided all the books I needed. Thanks to Julie Linden for proof-reading, to Luca
Baffa and Anna Gatti for layout and design, and to Alessandra Tosi for believing in the
project and for guiding the text into print. As always, I am indebted to Ko Jenq-Yuh
and Hong Ruey-Long.
This book
Names of people and places are generally given in the original language but other
versions are included for ease of identification. Hence “Kongzi,” but also “Confucius,”
“Palashi,” but also “Plassey.” All years given refer to the Common Era, “CE” or Anno
Domini, “AD,” except when indicated. All years associated with names of rulers refer
to the length of their reign.
In addition to the main chapters there are a large number of boxes in which
more specific topics are introduced. Many of these topics expand on the story told
in the main chapters, but some introduce new themes. The purpose is to show the
contemporary relevance of the historical material, but also to provide a sense of the
culture and traditions of each respective part of the world.
The book is accompanied by a dedicated website: http://ringmar.net/irhistorynew/.
Here you will find links to more material, primary sources and a complete bibliography,
as well as podcasts to listen to and video clips to watch. Look out for the Read More
call-outs, which link to specific resources in the irhistory website (direct links and QR
codes for each webpage are provided for ease of access).
