WEEK 5: THE GLOBAL INTERSTATE SYSTEM

INTRODUCTION

The state has traditionally been the subject of most interest to scholars of global politics
because it is viewed as "the institution that creates warfare and sets economic policies
for 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. 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 or the state
and that other actors are actually becoming more powerful. These actors include
multinational corporations and global civil society organizations, like the 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Is the idea of the nation-state outdated in the contemporary world?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. Next, international
and regional economic bond bodies, such as IMF and the World Bank, must also be
considered as they often push for neoliberal reforms in the world. The third kind of
replacement to the traditional nation-state and the idea of national autonomy comes
from the non-state actors. One of these is the private capital groups, including banks
and groups of people, with money that can determine the well-being of people in a
particular area. Multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations, such as
the Amnesty International, are significant organizations that put into question the
strength of national autonomy and global politics. The emergence of non-state
organizations, like Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and terrors organizations, which seek power to
depose a government and replace the system with their own ideological belief.

Pre-Competency Checklist
Answer the following questions:

1. What is United Nations made for?

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2. Do you believed that even politics are globalized? Why or Why not?
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Global Governance in the Twenty-First Century

There is a 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 void.

A second factor is the vast flows of all sorts of things that run into and often right
through the borders of nation-states. This could involve the flows of digital information of
all sorts through the Internet. It is difficult, if not impossible, for a nation-state to stop
such flow and in any case, it is likely that such action would be politically unpopular and
bring much negative reaction to the nation-state involved in such an effort. For example,
China's periodic efforts to interfere with the Internet have brought great condemnation
both internally and externally.

Then, there is mass migration of people and their entry, often illegally, into
various nation-states. If states are unable to control this flow, then there is a need for
some sort of global governance to help deal with the problem. 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 (Levy and
Sznaider, 2006). In these cases and others, there is a need for some degree of order,
some sort of effective authority, and at least some potential for the improvement of
human life. These are but a few of the things that can be delivered by some form of
global governance.

Another set of issues that has led to calls for global governance involves
horrendous events within nation-states that the states themselves either foment and
carry out, or are unable to control (Nordstrom, 2004). For example, in Darfur, Sudan,
perhaps hundreds of thousands have been killed, millions of people displaced, and the
lives of many disrupted in a conflict that date back to early 2003. The government of
Sudan and its military have been implicated in the conflict between ethnic and tribal
groups and the Sudanese government has been resistant to outside interference in its
internal affairs. One could even go back to WW Il 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 (Bauman, 1998).

Then, there are global problems that single nation-state cannot hope to tackle on
their own. One is the global financial crises and panic that sweep the world periodically,
which nations are often unable to deal with on their own (Strange, 1996). Indeed, some
nations (e.g., the nations of Southeast Asia) have often been, and are being, victimized
by such crises. Unable to help themselves, such nations are in need of assistance from
some type of global governance.

Nation-states have long struggled to deal with problems like these through
various inter-state 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, the conflict, and the resolution of that conflict are
done through the institutions of government established and codified in that particular
state, whether or not through elections. Elections, especially in democratic society,
provide the leadership of the state. In addition, the policy is developed and implemented
in the interest of the people of a state by a specific government. A civil society within a
state can also act as a counterweight or as a supplement to government. Civil society
includes the private economy, educational institutions, churches, hospitals, fraternal
organizations, and other non-profit organizations.

CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL GOVERNANCE

Global governance refers to the various intersecting processes that create this
order. There are many sources of global governance, States sign treaties and form
organizations, in the process legislating public International law (international rules that
govern interactions between states as opposed to, say, private companies), International
non- governmental organizations (NGOs), though not having formal state power, can
lobby individual states to behave in a certain way (for example, an international animal
protection NGO can pressure governments to pass animal cruelty laws). Powerful
transnational corporations can likewise have tremendous effects on global labor laws,
environmental legislation, trade policy, etc. Even ideas such as the need for "global
democracy” or the clamor for “good governance" can influence the ways international
actors behave.

What is an International Organization?

 When scholars refer to groups like the UN or institutions like the IMF and the World
Bank, they usually call them international organizations (IOs). Although international
NGOs are sometimes considered as IOs, the term is commonly used to refer to
international intergovernmental organizations or groups that are primarily made up of
member-states.
One major fallacy about international organizations is that they are merely
amalgamations of various state interests. In the 1960s and 1970s, many scholars
believed that IOs were just venues where the contradicting, but sometimes intersecting,
agendas of countries were discussed-no more than talk shops. What has become more
evident in recent years, however, is that IOs can take on lives of their own. For example,
as seen in Lesson 2, the IM was able to promote a particular form of economic orthodoxy
that stemmed mainly from the beliefs of its professional economists. IOs can thus become
influential as independent organizations. International relations scholars Michael N.
Barnett and Martha Finnemore listed the following powers of IOs.
1. IOs have the power of classification. Because IOs can invent and appIy
categories, they create powerful global standards. For example, it is the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that defines what a refugee is (see
Lesson 10 for more). And since states are required to accept refugees entering
their borders, this power to establish identity has concrete effects.
2. IOs have the power to fix meanings. This is a broader function related to the
first. Various terms like "security or development" need to be well-defined.
States, organizations, and individuals view IOs as legitimate sources of
information. As such, the meanings they create have effects on various
policies. For example, recently, the United Nations has started to define
security as not just safety from military violence, but also safety from
environmental harm."
3. IOs have the power to diffuse norms. Norms are accepted codes of conduct
that may not be strict law, but nevertheless produce regularity in behavior. IOs
do not only classify and fix meanings; they also spread their ideas across the
world, thereby establishing global standards. Their members are, as Barnett
and Finnemore emphasized, the "missionaries" of our time. Their power to
 diffuse norms stems from the fact that 10s are staffed with independent
bureaucracies, who are considered experts in various fields. For example,
World Bank economists come to be regarded as experts in development and
thus carry some form of authority. They can, therefore, create norms regarding
the implementation and conceptualization of development projects.

Because of these immense powers, IOs can be sources of great good and great
harm. They can promote relevant norms like environmental protection and human rights.
But, like other entrenched bureaucracies, they can become sealed-off communities that
fail to challenge their beliefs. For example, the Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph
Stiglitz famously criticized the IMF for using a "one-size-fits-all" approach when its
economists made recommendations to developing countries."

The United Nations

Having examined the powers, limitations and weaknesses of IOs, the spotlight will
now fall on the most prominent IO in the contemporary world, the United Nations (UN).
After the collapse of the League of Nations at the end of World War II, countries that
worried about another global war began to push for the formation of a more lasting
international league. The result was the creation of the UN. Although the organization is
far from perfect, it should be emphasized that it has so far achieved its primary goal of
averting another global war. For this reason alone, the UN should be considered a
success. The UN is divided into five active organs.
1. The General Assembly (GA) is UN's "main deliberative policymaking and
representative organ." According to the UN charter: "Decisions on important
questions, such as those on peace and
security, admission of new members, and
budgetary matters, require a two-thirds
majority of the General Assembly. Decisions
on other questions are done by simple majority.
Annually, the General Assembly elects a GA
President to serve a one-year term of office. All
 member states (currently at 193) have seats in the GA. The Philippines played a
prominent role in the GA's early year when Filipino diplomat Carlos P. Romulo was
elected GA president from 1949-1950.
2. Although the GA is the most representative organization in the UN, many
commentators consider the Security Council (SC) to be the most powerful.
According to the UN, this body consists of 15 member states. The GA elects ten
of these 15 to two-year terms. The other five-sometimes referred to as the
Permanent 5 (P5)-are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United
States. These states have been permanent members since the founding of the
UN, and cannot be replaced through election. The SC takes the lead in determining
the existence of a threat to the peace or an act of aggression. It calls upon the
parties to a dispute to settle the act by peaceful means and recommends methods
of adjustment or terms of settlement. In some cases, it can resort to imposing
sanctions or even authorizing the use of force to maintain or restore international
peace and security. Because of these powers, states that seek to intervene
militarily in another state need to obtain the approval of the SC. With the SC's
approval a military intervention may be deemed legal. This is an immense power.
Much attention has been placed on the SC's P5 due to their permanent
seats and because each country holds veto power over the council's decisions. It
only takes one veto vote from P5 member to stop an SC action dead in its tracks.
In this sense, the SC is heir to the tradition of "great power" diplomacy that began
with the Metternich/Concert of Europe system (see the previous lesson). It is
especially telling that the P5 consists of the major Allied Powers that won the World
War II. The Security Council will be further discussed in the next section.
3. The third UN organ is the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which is "the
principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue, and
recommendations on social and environmental issues, as well as the
implementation of internationally agreed development goals. It has 54 members
elected for three-year terms. Currently, it is the UN's central platform for
discussions on sustainable development.
 4. The fourth is the International Court of Justice whose task "is to settle, in
accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by states and to
give advisory opinions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and
specialized agencies." The major cases of the court consist of disputes between
states that voluntarily submit themselves to the court for arbitration. The court, as
such, cannot try individuals (international criminal cases are heard by the
International Criminal Court, which is independent of the UN), and its decisions are
only binding when states have explicitly agreed to place themselves before the
court's authority. The SC may enforce the rulings of the ICJ, but this remains
subject to the P5’s veto power.
5. The secretariat consists of the “Secretary-General and tens of thousands of
international UN staff members who carry out the day-to-day work of the UN as
mandated by the General assembly and the organization’s other principal organs.”
As such, it is the bureaucracy of the UN, serving as a kind of international civil
service. Members of the secretariat serve in their capacity as UN employees and
not as state representatives.

Learning Resources
These are the learning resources that you can use for the wider understanding of
this topic:
1. Aldama, Prince Kennex (2018), The Contemporary World. The Rex Book Store
Inc.
2. Claudio, et, al., (2018) The Contemporary World. C & E Publishing, Inc.
3. https://www.google.com/search?q=carlos+p+romulo&sxsrf=ALeKk00ru6_HdwkM
0ZqC_wNyVEG8De-
5Xw:1612419060905&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiVpeqKyc_
uAhVByYsBHTyiAFQQ_AUoAnoECBMQBA&biw=1500&bih=675#imgrc=TleXHY
HCQwsagM (reference for image)