GE 3 (The Contemporary World)

[5] Structures of Globalization: The Global Interstate System

Intended Learning Outcomes:

 Identify the challenges of global governance in the twenty-first century.
 Explain the effects of globalization on governments.
 Identify the institutions that govern international relations.
 Differentiate globalization and globalism.
 Articulate a personal definition of global citizenship.

In this chapter, we will discuss the third structure of globalization – global interstate system. The interstate
system refers to the relationship of states, the processes, and how the states interact with each other.

A. Introduction
State is viewed as “the institution that creates warfare and sets economic policies for a country.” It is
also defined as a political unit that has authority over its own affairs – meaning, its borders are recognized by
other countries. Based on the Treaty of Westphalia of 1648, which established the notion of “nation-state”
and “state sovereignty”, 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 that other entities that cross national boundaries are becoming more powerful than the
state. These entities include multinational corporations and global civil society organizations (e.g. Red Cross).
In this chapter, we will look at regional alliances and worldwide organizations of states. This manifests
the efforts of countries and governments in the word to cooperate and collaborate together.

B. Global Governance in the Twenty-first Century

While it is common knowledge that countries must govern their own people, the need to oversee
each states – how each interact with other states and international organizations – is also important because
of globalization. The essence of global governance is not clear. For some users, it means unified action against
specific threats or merely a framework of rules and norms. Others also see global governance as nothing more
than a contemporary way to refer to international institutions. For the purposes of discussion, let us define
global governance as “a purposeful order that emerges from institutions, processes, norms, formal
agreements, and informal mechanisms that regulate action for a common good” (Benedict, 2001).
There are factors behind the emergence of global governance:
1. Declining power of nation-states

2. Vast flows of all sorts of things that run into and often right through the borders of nation-states.
Examples:
 Flow of digital information through the Internet – it is difficult 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
reaction to the nation-state involved in such an effort. For instance, China’s periodic efforts
to interfere with the Internet have brought great condemnation both internally and
externally.

 Mass migration of people and their entry, often illegally – 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.

 Flow of criminal elements and their products (e.g. drugs, laundered money, etc.) – a strong
factor in the call for global governance. 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.

3. Horrendous events within nation-states that the states themselves either formant and carry out,
or unable to control.
- Example: In Sudan, hundreds of thousands have been killed, millions of people displaces,
and the lives of many disrupted in a conflict that date back to early 2003. The gov’t of

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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.

4. Global problems a single nation-state cannot hope to tackle on their own.

- Example: global financial crises – some nations like those in 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.

C. Effects of Globalization to Governments

Government is one of the key aspects of state sovereignty. A government is a group of people who
have the ultimate authority to act on the 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.
A civil society within a state can also act as a counterweight or as supplement to government. Civil
society includes:
 private economy (i.e. innovators, entrepreneurs, activists),
 unions and other collective-bargaining groups
 cooperatives and collectives
 educational institutions,
 churches and other faith-based organizations,
 hospitals,
 fraternities and sororities,
 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other nonprofits
 online groups and social media communities, and
 grassroots organizations.
More about the civil society is discussed below.

 4 challenges to the government and ultimately to state economy

1. Traditional Challenges – the three (3) challenges governments have experienced since then are:
o External intervention in the autonomy of the state:
- Invasion by other countries – Ex: When Saddam Hussein was the ruler of Iraq in 1990,
he invaded Kuwait and took over its oil fields. As a result, he was dislodged by an
international coalition led by the United States.
- Intervening in the affairs of people – Ex: After the Soviet era, Ukraine became a
sovereign state but some people in Crimea (a place in Ukraine) wants to become part
of Russia. Russia intervenes with the people in Crimea then, Crimea declared its
independence from Ukraine and re-affiliated with Russia. Ukraine argues to have
autonomy to determine the case for Crimea. As a result, there is current conflict
between Ukraine, not recognizing Crimea’s sovereignty, and Russia, not recognizing
Ukraine’s sovereignty over Crimea.

o Internal political challenges – Examples:

- In Egypt, a new constitution was created and a government was elected. That
government was more fundamentalist and rejected the notion of plural society that
included religious diversity. The military staged a coup that deposed the government in
order to restore stability.
- In Syria, the original rebellion against Assad came from the country’s own internal
dissenters who wanted to replace the government even though they were also Syrian
nationals.

o Regional organizations challenging state autonomy – Example: the United Nations

intervened in Sudan because of the several years of civil war. Another, European union
interfered Greece due to the Greek debt crisis.

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2. Challenges from National/Identity Movements

• A nation has cultural identity that people attached to, while a state is a definite entity due to
its specific boundaries. But different people with different identities can live in different
states.
• Examples: the Kurds reside in several different countries including Iraq, Iran and Turkey. The
Catalans live primarily in Spain but we can also find some of them in France.
• Global movements, such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS, are other examples of national or identity
movements. In this case, they are structured around the fundamentalist version of Islam.

3. Global Economics
• Global economy demands the states to conform to the rules of free-market capitalism.
Government austerity comes from developments of organizations that cooperate across
countries such as WTO and regional agreements (e.g. NAFTA, EU, ASEAN).
• Neoliberal economics or neoliberal capitalism that started in the 1980s focuses on free trade
and dismantling trade barriers. No restrictive regulations on corporations and free flow of
capital and jobs are imposed. Neoliberal economics requires a state to cooperate in the global
market through the free flow of capital, privatization of services, and fiscal austerity or
constraint.
• In turn, the government’s role is diminished as it relates to the market. Neoliberal economics is
seen as a threat, in general, because a state cannot protect its own economic interest as a
sovereign state.
• Examples:
 Use of IMF and World Bank in forcing government reform in poorer country.
 The regional economic development efforts focused on expanding free trade and
market liberalization. Businesses from developed countries put their factories and
pay people to build factories and produce goods in developing countries worldwide.
• Economic crises can force government to subscribe to the terms and conditions of the global
financial market and of other nations that can help them regain economic stability.

4. Global Social Movements

• Social movements – movements of people that are spontaneous or that emerge through
enormous grassroots organization. These social movements are transnational governments
which means they occur across countries and across borders. Thus, states have less control over
them.
• Examples of Social Movements:
- Human rights movements create a public sentiment, value and agenda. The idea is that
there are certain rights that states cannot neglect or generally, what we call human rights.
If a country decides that they are going to have a particular policy and if that policy
violates the international standard of human rights, there is a challenge to the ability of
states to fully implement it.

- Environmental movement is related to public policy – sample case is Blockadia or the

state where social movements emerging in local areas fight back as a response to the
controlling efforts by the apparatus of gov’t to protect the interest of neoliberal
capitalists.

- Consensus on women’s rights – arguably the biggest conflict between the West and
fundamentalist Islam is over the role of women in society.

- Rights of personal autonomy – includes issues on homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and

gender equality.

- Increased role in international organizations (e.g. UN, UN International Criminal Court in

Hague), role of non-governmental organizations (e.g. Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty
International), and role of global media.

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D. The Relevance of the State amid Globalization

State is a distinctive political community with its own set of rules and practices and that is more or
less separate from other communities. There are four (4) elements of a state:
1. people (permanent population),
2. territory (has clear boundaries),
3. government (regulates relations among its own people and with other states) and
4. sovereignty

o Difference bet. nation and state:

- Nation refers to a people rather than any kind of formal territorial boundaries and institutions. It
is a collective identity grounded on a notion of shared history and culture. Ex: Philippines as a
nation refer to our collective notion of democracy, our history and our collective identity.
- Philippines as a state refer to the Philippine government, territory and its internal and external
sovereignty.
- Nation is a cultural concept while state is a political concept.

o Nation-state – a territorially bounded sovereign institution that governs individuals sharing a

collective history, identity, and culture.

o Some see that nation-states continue to be major players on the global stage – that is, they retain at
least some power in the face of globalization and that they vary greatly on how they handle the
globalization processes.
- Nation-states also have greater roles in addressing problems brought about by globalization:
o terrorism,
o outsourcing and downsizing pressures, economic crisis by economic globalization,
o threats to national identity due to immigration, and
o spread of global diseases such as AIDs and COVID-19.

E. Institutions that Govern International Relations

1. Peace Treaties and Military Alliances: The UN and NATO
- Global politics entails relationships of countries and different governments and non-
governmental organizations.
- United Nations (UN) is one of the leasing political organizations in the world where nation-
states meet and deliberate. But it remains an independent actor in global politics. It was
established after WWII.
- UN functions in 4 areas: military issues, economic issues, environmental issues, and
human protection
- UN was designed to be a place where countries could come to discuss issues without
resorting to violence and war. Maintaining peace and building friendships is the no. one
goal of the UN, and providing a forum where countries could gather to discuss global
issues.

2. Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)

- NGOs are not tied to any country, this allows them to operate freely throughout the
world. They provide emergency relief such as food, water, and medical supplies for those
whose homes or towns have been destroyed by disaster or war.
- Examples:
- Red Cross (Red Crescent in Muslim countries) – they remain neutral and would help the
wounded from both sides of war. It is important that they remain neutral so gov’ts let
them come into their countries to help.
- Doctors Without Borders – provides free emergency healthcare in disaster areas.
- Oxfam – fights famine and disease
- Amnesty International – speaks out for human rights and political prisoners
- Save the Children – helps kids get health care and education.

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GE 3 (The Contemporary World)

3. Global Economic Associations: WTO and NAFTA

- WTO: made up of 162 countries around the world and was created with the goal of
increasing free trade.
 Countries under WTO can buy and sell goods from one another without placing
taxes on imports or tariffs. Tariffs are used to protect businesses and companies
inside their country.
 Criticism: they are more about helping large companies and corporations than
about helping people.
- NAFTA: an economic treaty between US, Canada and Mexico in which they trade freely
without taxing each other.
 Criticism: American autoworkers protest this because factories of automobiles
moved to Mexico where labor is cheaper.

F. Globalization and Globalism

o Globalization is the “increase or decline in the degree of globalism”.
o Globalism refers to the “network of connections that transcends distances of different countries
in the world.”
o The links among countries and people are better associated with globalism while the speed in
which they become linked with one another is globalization.
o These terms can also be differentiated in terms of its “thickness.”
- Globalism is thin. As it becomes thicker, globalization happens.
- This means that being able to connect countries in the world through a more dynamic
and faster way is globalization.

G. Global Citizenship
Citizenship is associated with rights and obligations – e.g. the right to vote and the obligation to pay taxes.
Both rights and obligations link the individual to the state. It has to do with our attitudes. We need to be
willing to engage and to spend time and effort to the community of which we feel part of.
Global citizenship could be defined as “a moral and ethical disposition that can guide the understanding
of individuals or groups of local and global contexts, and remind them of their relative responsibilities within
various communities” (Van Peski as cited in Baraldi, 2012). Global citizens are the glue that binds local
communities together in an increasingly globalized world. They might be the new type of people that can
travel within these various boundaries and somehow still make sense of the world.
Global citizenship today may be characterized by the growth of global civil society movements. People
join civil society groups as a way to create an impact to society and to help solve the problems. Civil society is
the part of society that was not the state but the mercantile/capitalist class which worked for its private
interests. It banded together to protect itself from the power of the state. Examples of well-known civil society
organizations are Red Cross, Greenpeace, and World Wide Fund for Nature. Moreover, it is observed that civil
society groups are coming together because of a deeper awareness of the world’s problems on a national,
regional or global scale. They do this to respond to problems, whether they are directly affected by them or
not. Furthermore, civil society organizations are important for democracy because through them, human
beings could stand before the power of entities (like the state or the corporate bodies that control the market)
that tend by nature to be oppressive.

References:
Aldama, P.K.R. (2018). The Contemporary World. Manila, Philippines: Rex Book Store. pp. 56-75.
Benedict, K. (2001). Global Governance. In Smelser, N.J & Baltes, P.B. (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social &
Behavioral Sciences. Elsevier. https://www.sciencedirect.com/referencework/9780080430768/international-
encyclopedia-of-the-social-and-behavioral-sciences.
Carter, A. (2001). “Global Civil Society: Acting as Global Citizens” in The Political Theory of Global Citizenship. London:
Routledge, pp. 147-176.
Shaw, K. (2020). Social Change: What's the Role of Civil Society?. MissionBox. Retrieved 19 October 2020, from
https://www.missionbox.com/article/418/social-change-whats-the-role-of-civil-society.