TCW 101: The Contemporary World - Structures of Global Interstate System and Global Governance

The Structures of Globalization

The Global Interstate System

Learning Outcomes

• Explain the effects of globalization on governments.

• Identify the institutions that govern international relations.

• Differentiate internationalism from globalism.

Government

• Has sovereignty over its own territory.

• Decisions, conflict resolution, country-wide planning, and development plans are done through government institutions.

• Activities of civil societies (private enterprises, churches, healthcare providers, professional and business organizations, and non-government organizations) supplement the government.

How does globalization affect governments?

• Globalization presents both traditional and new challenges to governments.

Traditional challenges

• External intervention by other countries.

• Internal political challenges.

• Regional organizations challenging state autonomy.

Other challenges

• Challenges from national/identity movements.

• Global economics.

• Global social movements.

Effects of Globalization on Governments

Traditional Challenges

External Intervention

• Powerful nations intervene in weaker nations' territorial integrity or political independence.

  • Example: Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, leading to ongoing conflict.

Internal Political Challenges

• Challenges from a state's own internal dissenters.

  • Example: The Arab Spring in Egypt, which led to the overthrow of the leader and the establishment of a new government.

Regional Organizations Challenging State Autonomy

• Organizations like the United Nations intervene in situations such as the civil war in Sudan, focusing on humanitarian, developmental, and recovery efforts.

• The UN also intervened in the European sovereign debt crisis, specifically Greece's debt crisis.

Challenges from National/Identity Movements

• National or identity movements challenge a nation's cultural and state identity.

  • Examples:

    • The Kurds residing in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey.

    • Scottish nationalism challenging the state sovereignty of Great Britain.

    • Al-Qaeda and ISIS movements based on fundamentalist Islam.

Global Economics

• The global economy demands that states conform to the rules of free-market capitalism.

  • Examples:

    • Governments must comply with global or regional agreements (e.g., WTO, NAFTA, EU, ASEAN).

    • Neoliberal economics diminishes the role of government, threatening a state's economic interest and sovereignty.

    • Economic crises can force governments to subscribe to the terms of the global financial market and other nations to regain economic stability.

Global Social Movements

• Spontaneous movements or those emerging through grassroots organizations.

  • Examples:

    • Human rights movement.

    • Environmental movement.

    • Women's rights movement.

    • Right to personal autonomy (same-sex marriage, gender equality).

    • Immigration.

• International organizations, non-government organizations, and global media expand their roles in challenging state sovereignty.

  • Example: The CNN Effect.

Other impacts of globalization on governments

• Globalization triggers competition or conflict among countries on matters such as economic policy, political systems, human rights, and environmental concerns.

• Governments are dispersed and deal with many stakeholders horizontally (civil society and market players) and vertically (international organizations and sub-national political authorities).

• Citizens, civil society organizations, and corporations seek opportunities beyond their home country borders, while local markets face competition from foreign players.

• Governments must manage local vs. foreign competition and support businesses seeking markets abroad, while also addressing new social and cultural dynamics/issues and migration policies.

International Relations

Definition

• The collective interactions or relationships of the international community.

• Key players:

  • Nations and states

  • Inter-governmental organizations

  • Non-government organizations

  • Multinational corporations

Governing Institutions

• Concerned with:

  • Peace treaties and military alliances

  • Social and economic growth

  • Global economy

• Examples of Institutions

  • Governments of different countries

  • North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

  • United Nations

  • Red Cross

  • Doctors Without Borders

  • World Trade Organization

  • Amnesty International

  • Oxfam

  • Save the Children

  • North American Free Trade Agreement

Individual Contributions to International Relations

• Being aware of current events

• Voting during elections

• Supporting humanitarian causes

• Being a responsible citizen

Internationalism

Definition

• A belief and/or movement that promotes better cooperation among nations in economic, political, and social aspects.

Hegemonic Internationalism

• The idea that the world is being integrated based on unequal terms, with one nation dominating over other nations.

  • Example: The British Empire from the 16th to 18th century.

Revolutionary Internationalism

• The concept that conflicts arise within societies due to international factors and alliances.

  • Examples:

    • French Revolution

    • Feminism

    • Environmentalism

Liberal Internationalism

• The concept that promotes the achievement of common goals such as world peace, poverty eradication, and sustainable development through greater cooperation among nations.

  • Example: UN Sustainable Development Goals; health care and life-saving causes of the Red Cross.

  • Humanitarian aid.

Globalism

Definition

• The idea that events in one nation cannot be separated from those in another and that economic and foreign policy should be planned in an international way.

• According to Joseph Nye, there are four distinct dimensions of globalism:

  • Economic

  • Military

  • Environmental

  • Social and cultural

Dimensions of Globalism

Economic Globalism

• Flows of goods, services, and capital (commerce).

  • Examples: Export and import of goods, e-commerce.,

Military Globalism

• Deployment of potential conflict or threats of force or war.

  • Example: "Balance of terror" between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Environmental Globalism

• Activities such as manufacturing, travel, transport of goods, and utilization of natural resources that pollute the land, sea, and air.

  • Example: Global warming.

Social and Cultural Globalism

• Movements of ideas, information, and people.

  • Example: Fusion in cuisine, fashion, and arts.

Internationalism vs. Globalism

Internationalism

• Supports individualism of nations.

• Focuses on nation-to-nation ties without impeding on the sovereignty of the nations.

• Stresses solidarity and cooperation among nations to benefit one another.

Globalism

• Treats nations as a global or single unit.

• Common interests are more important than individual differences.

• Emphasizes the interconnectedness of the world.

• Ideology based on the belief that people, goods, and information should be able to cross national borders unrestricted.

• It is not universal; some parts of the world experience connectedness more than others.

Global Governance

Definition

• As defined by Young (1999), global governance is the formal and informal arrangements that produce a degree of order and collective action above the state in the absence of a global government.

Key Actors

• International Governmental Organizations (IGOs)

• International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs)

• State & Non-State Actors

International Governmental Organizations (IGOs)

• States come together to form an organization, establishing a structure based on a formal instrument of agreement.

• Examples:

  • ASEAN – Association of the S.E.A. Nations

  • EU – European Union

  • World Bank Group

  • IMF – International Monetary Fund

  • UN – United Nations

  • WTO – World Trade Organization

International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs)

• Generally private, voluntary organizations whose members are individuals or groups of people, usually created to address specific issues.

• Examples:

  • Greenpeace – Environmental group

  • World Wild Fund – Wild Animal Protection

  • Amnesty International – Human Rights

Goal of Global Governance

• To provide (global) public goods, particularly peace and security, justice and mediation systems for conflict, functioning markets, and unified standards for trade and industry.

United Nations

Background

• An international organization founded in 1945, in the wake of the Second World War, to prevent future conflicts on that scale.

• Currently made up of 193 member states and serves as the primary organization for international cooperation, peace, and security.

UN Charter

• The constitutional basis of the United Nations.

• Created in October 1944 by the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in Washington DC.

• Lays down the rules which govern the organization and functions of the UN and all its organs.

• Consists of:

  • Preamble

  • 19 chapters

  • 111 articles

Purposes of the United Nations (Article 1 of the UN Charter)

1. To maintain international peace and security and to take adequate steps to avert wars.

2. To develop friendly relations among nations on the basis of equality.

3. To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character.

4. To be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.

Principles of the United Nations (Article 2 of the UN Charter)

1. All the member states are equal.

2. The member states shall fulfill their obligations to the UN honestly.

3. The member states shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means.

4. The member states shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against any other states.

5. The member states shall give to the UN every assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the UN Charter.

6. The states which are not member states of the UN should also act with the principles for the maintenance of international peace and security.

7. No member state shall interfere in the internal affairs of any other states.

6 Principal Organs of the United Nations