Module 4: Global Interstate System

Introduction
The state has traditionally been the subject of most interest scholars of global politics
because it is viewed as “the institution that creates warfare and sets economic policies of a
country”. Furthermore, the state is a political unit that has authority over its own affairs. In
other words, its borders are recognized by other countries. It is assumed that whoever is in
charge of those borders has the right to determine exactly what is going to happen in their
country. The treaty of Westphalia of 1648 established the notion of the nation-state and the
idea of state sovereignty. Today, the globalization of politics created an atmosphere where
the ideas of the nation-state, state sovereignty, government control, and state policies are
challenged from all sides.

With globalization, some scholars suggest a decrease in the power of the state and
that other actors are actually becoming more powerful. These actors include multinational
corporations and global civil society organizations, like Red Cross, that cross national
boundaries.

Is the idea of the nation-state outdated in the contemporary world? If so, what is it
that we need to think about as “replacements”? In this chapter, we will look at regional
alliances and worldwide organizations of states. This manifests the efforts of countries and
governments in the world to cooperate and collaborate together.

Learning Outcomes
1. Explain the effects of globalization on governments;
2. Identify the institutions that govern international relations; and
3. Differentiate informationalism from globalism

Discussion
Global Governance in the Twenty-First Century
There are series of specific factors behind the emergence of global governance. The
first on the list must be the declining power of nation-states. If states themselves were
“highly contingent and in flux” (Cerny, 2007, p.854), it would open the possibility of the
emergence of some form of global governance to fill the world. A second factor is the vast
flows of all sorts of things that run into and often right through the borders of nation-states.
Another set of issues that led to calls for global governance involves horrendous events
within nation-states that the states themselves either foment or carry out, or an unable to
control (Nordstrom, 2004).
  Levy and Sznaider, 2006 – the flow of criminal elements, as well as their products
(drugs, laundered money, those bought and sold in sex trafficking, etc.), is a strong
factor in the call for global governance.
 Nordstorm, 2004 – another set of issues that has led to calls for global governance
involves horrendous events within nation-states that the states themselves either
foment an carry out, or are unable to control.
 Bauman, 1998 – one could even go back to WWII and argue that the Holocaust
could have been prevented, or at least mitigated, had there been a viable form of
global governance to put pressure on Nazi Germany and ultimately, to intervene in a
more material way, perhaps militarily.

Nation-states have long struggled to deal with problems like these through various
interstate systems (e.g., alliances such as NATO), but the more recent trend is toward the
development of more truly global structures and methods of dealing with various sorts of
issues and problems.
Effects of Globalization to Governments
One of the key aspects of state sovereignty is the government. It is a group of people
who have the ultimate authority to act on behalf of a state. Each state has its own right to
self-determination and that other country should not intervene in the affairs of that state
unless there are extraordinary reasons to do so. Other countries must recognize sovereignty
or the right to govern one’s own territorial borders. Each state is autonomous unto itself and
responsible within its own system of government to those who are governed. The decisions,
and the conflict, and the resolution of that conflict are done through institutions of
government established and codified in that particular state, whether or not through
elections.
There have been several challenges to the government and ultimately, to state
autonomy. We can divide these challenges into four: traditional challenges, challenges from
national or identity movements, global economics, and global social movements.

 Traditional Challenges

External intervention can generally described as invasion by other countries. These days
we can see external intervention in other forms. Russia’s external intervention into the affairs
of Ukraine, a sovereign state in the post-Soviet era, is another instance of intervention in the
autonomy of the state.
Internal political challenges can also happen. There are also regional organizations
challenging state autonomy. The United Nations intervened in Sudan because of the several
years of civil war. More recently in Europe, specifically in Greece, it also interfered in the
Greek debt crisis.

 Challenges from National/Identity Movements

It is important to know that a nation has cultural identity that people attached to, while a
state is a definite entity due to its specific boundaries. However, different people with
different identities can live in different states. The Catalans live primarily in Spain but we can
also find some of them in France. Scottish nationalism is another example that challenges
the traditional notions of state sovereignty.
 Global movements, such as the Al-Qaeda and ISIS, are another example of national or
identity movements. In this case, they are structured around the fundamentalist version of
Islam.

 Global Economics

Global economy demands the states to conform to the rules of free-market capitalism.
Neoliberal economics or neoliberal capitalism started in the 1980s. It focuses on free trade
and dismantling trade barriers. It requires a state to cooperate in global market through free
flow of capital, the privatization of services, and fiscal austerity or constraint.
A specific example to expand global economic influence is the use of IMF and the World
Bank in forcing government reforms in poorer country. Furthermore, the regional economic
development efforts focused on expanding free trade and market liberalization. Business
from developed countries put their factories and pays people to build factories and produce
goods in developing countries worldwide.

 Global Social Movements

Most of the time, they are not seen as a threat but definitely challenge state sovereignty.
Social Movements are movements of people that are spontaneous or that emerge through
enormous grassroots organization. These social movements are transnational movements
which means they occur across countries and across borders. Therefore, states have less
control over them.
For example, human rights movements create a public sentiment, value, and agenda.
The idea is that there are certain rights and states cannot neglect or generally, what we call
human rights. The environmental movement is another example of global social movements
related to public policy. A specific case is the so-called Blockadia or the state where social
movements emerging in local areas fight back as a response to the controlling efforts by the
apparatus of government to protect the interest of neoliberal capitalists.
The Relevance of the State
The state is a distinctive political community with its own set of rules and practices
that is more or less separate from other communities.
Four Elements of a State
 Permanent Population (People) – this population does not refer to a nomadic
people that move from one place to another in an indefinite time. It is
strengthened by the second element of a state, a defined territory.
 Territory – has clear boundaries. It is effectively controlled by the third element of
the state, government.
 Government – regulates relations among its own people and with other states.
 Sovereignty – state is formally constituted sovereign political structure
encompassing people, territory, and its institutions on the one hand, and
maintaining its autonomy from other states on the other hand.

It is important to differentiate the idea of nation and state. Nation refers to a people
rather than any kind of formal territorial boundaries or institutions. It is a collective identity
grounded on a notion of shared history and culture. State refers to the Philippine
government, the Philippine territory, and its internal and external sovereignty. This brings us
the concept of the nation-state. It is a territorially bounded sovereign institution that governs
individuals sharing a collective history, identity and culture.

 Gilpin, 2001 - variety of arguments are made including that nation-states

continue to be the major players on the global stage.
 Conley, 2002, pp. 378-399 – “retain at least some power in the face of
globalization”
 Mann, 2007, p. 472 – “their efficacy in the face of globalization” and that the
rumors of the demise of the nation-state are greatly exaggerated.
 Beland, 2008 – argued that “the role of the state is enduring – and even
increasing – in advanced industrial societies” (p. 48).
 Glassner, 2000 – the state does not only respond to these threats, but may
also exaggerate or create dangers, thereby making its citizens more insecure.
 Isikoff and Corn, 2006 – the United States even claimed that Iraq could kill
millions by using offshore ships to lob canisters containing lethal chemical or
biological material into American cities.

Institutions That Govern International Relations

There are several international organizations that governments of countries around
the world and individuals participate in. These include the United Nations, the International
Court of Justice, NAFTA, and NATO. There are also non-governmental organizations
promoting social and economic growth.

 Peace Treatise and Military Alliances: The UN and NATO

The United Nations is one of the leading political organizations in the world
where nation-states meet and deliberate. Generally, it functions in four areas: military
issues, economic issues, environmental issues, and human protection.
 Military Issues – the Security Council tries to be the arbiter in ceasefires
between two sides. They can pass sanction like block trade with another
country as a punishment. The UN is not all about fights. It has a program
called UNICEF or United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund. Its primary
goal is to help children around the world.
 Economic Issues – the main focus of the UN is the reduction of global
inequality. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cover a range of
concerns for the improvement of all aspects of life.
 Environmental Issues – such as pollution and hazardous waste, are
addressed through United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
 Human Protection – UN promotes human rights through different
organizations and mechanisms. Since 1948, human rights have been brought
into the realm international law. This is reflected in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights.

The UN is being criticized as being weak and is unable to stop wars. Because of this, the
next institution that we are going to discuss continues to play a big role in foreign conflicts.
This is NATO. It is a defensive treaty or military alliance between the United States, Canada,
and 25 European countries. This treaty and international organization is based on the idea of
collective security. The countries in this organization basically agreed to combine their
militaries and announce to the world that if a country messes with one of its members, the
other countries will come to their defense.

 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

Another example of an international organization that was developed out of

war is the Red Cross (Red Crescent in Muslim countries). It is considered as a non-
governmental organization (NGO). NGOs are not ties to any country. They provide
emergency relief such as food, water, and medical supplies for those whose homes
or towns have been destroyed by disaster or war. They also monitor the treatment of
prisoner of wars and go to conflicts to make sure that no war crimes are taking place.
The big Red Cross worn by NGOs is the identification that they are not soldiers.

In addition to the Red Cross, there are many NGOs dedicated to helping
people around the world. Doctors without borders provides free emergency
healthcare in disaster areas; Oxfam fights famine disease; Amnesty International
speaks out for human rights and political prisoners; and Save the Children helps kids
get health care and education.

 Global Economic Associations: The WTO and NAFTA

 WTO

It is made up of 162 countries around the world and was created with the goal
of increasing free trade. Countries, therefore, can buy and sell goods from one
another without placing taxes on imports or tariffs. In addition, tariffs are used to
protect business and companies inside their country. Though good in nature,
WTO is not without criticism. In fact, a protest in Seattle at 1999 WTO
Conference led to a major riot as some said that WTO was more about helping
large companies and corporations than it was about helping people.
 NAFTA

This is an economic treaty between the United States, Canada, and Mexico in
which the three countries trade freely without taxing each other. NAFTA is not
without critics either. Some American autoworkers protested against NAFTA as
several car companies moved their factories to Mexico in search for cheaper
labor. NAFTA, like WTO, represents the challenge in America of keeping
manufacturing factories.

 Globalization and Globalism

 Globalization – increase or decline degree of globalism (Nye, 2002, p. 1). It is

thicker than globalism; this means that being able to connect countries in the
world through a more dynamic and faster way is globalization.
 Globalism – refers to the network of connections that transcends distances of
different countries in the world. Globalism is thin. As it becomes thicker,
globalization happens.
 This is where globalization comes in. If we look at the global trade today, it has reached
a greater number of people around the world. Although, globalism and globalization are
often understood in terms of economy, Nye (2002) gave “four distinct dimensions of
globalism: economic, military, environmental, and social” (p. 2). Like economic globalism, the
three other dimensions also become thicker and faster as globalization intensifies. The
enormous speed of potential conflict and threat of nuclear war is an example of military
globalism.
In terms of environmental globalism, global warming continues to accelerate. The last
dimension, social and cultural globalism, “involves movements and of people who carry
ideas and information with them” (Nye, 2002, p. 2).
With the advent of modern mass communication, computers, and social networking
sites, it seems that the connections made through the exchange of information create a new
kind of network in this contemporary world.

 Informationalism

Globalism is tied to the notion of networks. For Castells (2000), “networks

constitute the fundamental pattern of life, of all kinds of life” (p. 3). It was previously
mentioned that in the present and even in the past, the world is connected. The
difference between Globalization and Globalism is the speed and thickness or
intensity of connections.

The question now is about the type of connection that exists and begins to
increase in the contemporary world. The answer lies on the growth of binding force
among people, things, and places around the globe. This technological paradigm,
associated with computer science and modern telecommunication that replaces
industrialism is called informationalism (Castells, 2004). These are technology, the
media and the internet.

This is not to say that we do not need to produce material goods such as
factories, clothes, and food; rather, exchanging information and knowledge, which is
clearly immaterial goods, becomes central in the contemporary world (Hardt & Negri,
2000). This is due to the “three of the most cutting-edge aspects of the social world in
general and globalization in particular” (Ritzer, 2015, p. 134), technology, media, and
the internet.
The creation of the world’s first container ship in 1995 and the expansion of
airfreight greatly hastened the transport of goods all around the world. But a notable
example of technological advancement is the founding of Federal Express (FedEX,
1970s). It makes use of computer technology in its deliveries.

Computer technology is used to check our health through the intervention of

magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs), ultrasound, and CT or CAT scans. Space-
based technologies were also made possible through the use of computers, (Ritzer,
2015). The launching of satellites for military surveillance, the use of global
positioning systems (GPS), and the operation of global navigation systems (GNS)
are some remarkable examples.

McLuhan and Fiore (2005) argued that in the New Media Age, the importance
lies in the medium, the way in which the message is transmitted, not necessarily in
the content presented through the medium. This means that televisions, radios, the
 newspapers have been shaping “individual subjectivity and culture, not only locally
but globally” (Ritzer, 2015, p. 143).

In addition, the French social theorist Guy Debord (1994) emphasized in his
idea of media spectacle the sophistication and ubiquity of spectacular visual in
televisions. This made TV news form of entertainment. Although content matters in
television broadcasts, visual spectacle or significance is an important element and
perhaps the primary key to catxh the attention of the audience.

When one mentions online social networking, spam, and computer viruses, it
is the Internet that binds them all. The internet is a mark of the contemporary world.
According to Ritzer (2015), “The Internet has prompted a flat world thesis; anyone
can be involved in it, at least theoretically” (p. 150). Having a computer today in our
homes, our schools, our workplaces, and accessing the Internet through our personal
cellphones allow us to be connected with the rest of the world. We can gain
information by accessing different websites, such as Facebook and Wikipedia,
through the internet. In the same manner, the information about ourselves that we
share is also exposed. In order to control Internet access and use, there are
mechanisms such as personal passwords or in the case of Chinese government, the
“Great Firewall.”

While globalization allowed the expansion of information, access to modern

technologies is not a universal matter that is available to every person around the
world. The internet and other technologies are limited by certain barriers. These
barriers include lack of electricity, illiteracy, weak financial systems, and government
regulations.
Activity
1. Cite specific effects of globalization to governments?

2. Compare and contrast globalism and informationalism;

3. Differentiate globalization from globalism.

Flexible Teaching Learning Modality (FTLM) adopted

Online (synchronous) - LMS
Remote (asynchronous) - Module
References
Aldama, Prince Kennex R. (2018). “The Contemporary World”. Rex Book Store, Sampaloc,
Manila.
Alporha, Vernonica and John Lee Candelaria (2018) Readings in Philippine History. Rex
Book Store Inc., Sampaloc, Manila
Zaide, Sonia M. (2000) The Philippines: A Unique nation, History of the Republic of the
Philippines, Cubao, Quezon City.