Original citation

Sample examination questions 
1. Why has IR been dominated by Realist ways of thinking about the 
international system since the end of the Second World War? 
2. What are the main challenges to Realism? 
3. In what sense was the Cold War a ‘long peace’? 
4. What is the proper subject matter of IR? 
After preparing your answers, refer to the Examiners’ commentaries on 
the VLE for targeted feedback on specific questions.

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27
Part 2: Foundations
Part 2: Foundations

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Notes
11 Introduction to international relations
28

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Chapter 2: Europe and the emergence of international society
29
Chapter 2: Europe and the emergence of 
international society
By 1900 the peoples of Europe and European stock overseas 
dominated the globe. They did so in many ways, some explicit 
and some implicit, but the qualifications matter less than the 
general fact…This was a unique development in world history. 
For the first time, one civilization established itself as a leader 
worldwide.
Roberts, J.M. The Penguin history of the world. 
(London: Penguin, 2007) [ISBN 9780141030425]. p.789.
Aims of the chapter
The aims of this chapter are to: 
• introduce you to the importance of international history for the study 
of IR
• show how IR can be employed to make sense of the past
• critically assess Europe’s impact on the rest of the world.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this chapter, and having completed the Essential reading and 
activities, you should be able to:
• explain some of the reasons why Europe emerged as the main driver of 
world politics by the end of the nineteenth century
• discuss competing explanations of the ‘Long Peace’ in Europe between 
1814 and 1914
• evaluate different explanations of the causes of the First World War 
• assess the impact of the First World War on IR in the twentieth century
• define the vocabulary terms in bold.