THE GLOBAL INTERSTATE

SYSTEM
 STATE

It has traditionally been the subject of most interest to scholars of global

politics. It is viewed as “the institution that creates warfare and sets of
economic policies for a country.”
It is a political unit that has authority over its own affairs. Its borders are
recognized by other countries.
 STATE

The Treaty of Westphalia of 1648 established the notion of nation-state and the
idea of state sovereignty.
However, due to the presence of other international actors such as multinational
corporations and global civil society organizations, like the Red Cross, that cross
national boundaries, some scholars suggest that the power of the state in
decreasing. This chapter will present the different international actors as
replacement to the notion of nation-state.
 GLOBAL GOVERNANCE IN
THE 21ST CENTURY

Global governance emerged due to a series of specific factors. It refers

to political cooperation of international actors like regional and
international organizations and states in order to negotiate problems that
affect more than one state/country.
 GLOBAL GOVERNANCE IN
THE 21ST CENTURY
The first is the declining power of nation-states. If states themselves were
“highly contingent and flux(dependent and fast changing)”, 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 flow of digital information of all sorts through
the internet.
 GLOBAL GOVERNANCE IN
THE 21ST CENTURY

Another factor is the mass migration of people and their entry, often
illegally, into various nation-states. If the states are unable to control
this flow, then there is a need for some sort of global governance to
help deal with this problem. This flow usually lead to the flow of
criminal elements such as drugs, laundered money, those bought and
sold in sex trafficking.
 GLOBAL GOVERNANCE IN
THE 21ST CENTURY

Another, is the fact that global financial crises and panic that sweep
the world periodically is something that nations are often unable to
deal with on their own. There are nations that are in need of
assistance from some type of global governance.
EFFECTS OF GLOBALIZATION
TO GOVERNMENT
 EFFECTS OF GLOBALIZATION TO
GOVERNMENT
➢ One of the key aspects of state sovereignty is the government.
Government refers to the group of people who have the
ultimate authority to act on behalf of a state. They have the so-
called self-determination so other country should not intervene
in the affairs of that state unless there are extraordinary reasons
to do so.
➢ Election especially in a democratic state provides leadership of
the state.
 EFFECTS OF GLOBALIZATION TO
GOVERNMENT

➢ There have been several challenges to the government and

ultimately to state autonomy.
➢ These challenges can be divided into four: traditional challenges,
challenges from national or identity movements, global
economics and global social movements.
 TRADITIONAL
CHALLENGE

External intervention can generally be described as invasion by other

countries. An example is when Saddam Hussein who was the ruler of
Iraq decided to invade the oil fields of Kuwait but was dislodged by an
international coalition led by the US.
 TRADITIONAL
CHALLENGE

Internal political challenges can also happen.

For example, after the Arab Spring in Egypt, a new constitution was
created and a new government was elected. That new government
rejected the idea that there are different religion in the country. As a
result, the military staged a coup that deposed the government.
 CHALLENGES FROM
NATIONAL/IDENTITY
MOVEMENT
A nation has a cultural identity that people attached to. However, different
people with different identities can live in different state (due to migration
or overseas workers).
Example is the Scottish nationalism wherein it challenges the traditional notions of state sovereignty. In
2014, Great Britain had a vote in Scotland to decide whether Scotland was going to become its own
autonomous state apart from the Great Britain. They voted against it but Scotland has a significant degree
of autonomy now.
 CHALLENGES FROM
NATIONAL/IDENTITY
MOVEMENT

Global movements such as 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 ECONOMICS

Global economy demands the states to conform the rules of free-

market capitalism. Government austerity comes from
development of organizations that cooperate across countries
such as WTO and regional agreements like ASEAN. This means that
every state seems need to conform with the free-market capitalism as it is the
basic economic policy of these organizations. Free-market means reduction of
barriers such as tariffs and quotas.
 GLOBAL ECONOMICS

Neoliberal economics or capitalism started in the 1980s which focuses on

free trade and removing barriers. It made sure that government did not
impose restrictive regulations on corporate presence as well as on the free
flow of capitals and jobs. It requires states to cooperate in the global market
through the free flow of capital and privatization of services. As a result, the role
of the government diminished as it relates to the market. It is being seen as a threat because
state cannot protect its own economic interest as sovereign state.
 GLOBAL SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

Social movements are movements of people that are spontaneous or that

emerge through enormous grassroots organization. These are
transnational movements which means they occur across countries and
across borders. Therefore, states have less control over these transnational
movements. For example, is the stand of US towards death penalty. There
is an international consensus against death penalty. This means that if
there is someone sentenced by death penalty and somehow he is in the
country around the world, there are rules against that state extraditing into
the US.
 THE RELEVANCE OF STATE AMID
GLOBALIZATION

State is a distinctive political community with its own set

of rules and practices. It has four elements such as
people, territory, government and sovereignty.
 THE RELEVANCE OF STATE AMID
GLOBALIZATION

Permanent population or people refers to the people living within

the borders of each state. Territory on the other hand has clear
boundaries. It is effectively controlled by the third elements which is
the government. Government regulates relations among its people
and with other states. Sovereignty on the other hand is the
recognition of other countries and its citizens so that the
government may control its own state.
 THE RELEVANCE OF STATE AMID
GLOBALIZATION

The term nation is different from the 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. On the other hand, state refers to the government, the
territory and its internal (recognition from its people) and external
(recognition from other states) sovereignty.
 THE RELEVANCE OF STATE AMID
GLOBALIZATION

State is more of a political concept since there should be formalized

institutions and boundaries while nation is a cultural concept since it
involves the identity. There can be one nation living in the two states
like the North Korea and South Korea ( Both Koreans but they have
different government and territory. There is also one nation living in
different states like in the case of Kurds who are living in Iraq, Iran,
etc.
 THE RELEVANCE OF STATE AMID
GLOBALIZATION

The concept of nation-state which was established by the Treaty of

Westphalia on the other hand refers to a territorially bounded
sovereign institution that governs individuals sharing a collective
history, identity and culture. The Philippines, although formally a
state has a variety of ethnic traditions that is why it is difficult to think
of a nation which has the same identity.
 THE RELEVANCE OF STATE AMID
GLOBALIZATION

The following arguments simply means that the role of these nation
states is still present in the face of globalization: 1. Nation-states
continue to be the major players on the global stage. (Gilpin, 2001)
2. Nation-states “retain at least some power in the face of
globalization. (Conley, 2002) 3. They vary greatly in “efficacy in the
face of globalization” (Mann, 2007)
 THE RELEVANCE OF STATE AMID
GLOBALIZATION

4.“The role of the state is enduring-and even increasing-in

advanced industrial societies.” (Beland, 2008) This means that there
is a greater demand being placed on the state because of the four
major sources of collective insecurity;terrorism, economic
globalization leading to problems such as outsourcing and
economic crisis, threats to national identity due to immigration and
the spread of global diseases such as AIDS
 THE RELEVANCE OF STATE AMID
GLOBALIZATION

5. States does not only respond in solving these four sources of insecurity but
also may exaggerate or create dangers, making its citizens more insecure (
Glassner, 2000) The role of this state in terms of exaggerating the threat is
present in the midst of globalization. An example is the threat posed by the Iraq
through the leadership of Saddam Hussein had a weapon of mass destruction.
US and UK claimed that it could kill millions of people in the. The collective
insecurity created by outrageous claims of these two states helped foster public
opinion in favor of invading Iraq and overthrow Saddam Hussein.
 PEACE TREATIES AND MILITARY
ALLIANCES: THE UNITED NATIONS (UN

United Nations (UN) is the leading political organizations in the

world where nation-states meet and deliberate. The premise of its
establishment was the restructuring of the world after the World War
II. The term “United Nations” was coined by US Pres. Franklin
Roosevelt in 942. This organization began on Oct. 24, 1945 with 50
representative countries.
 PEACE TREATIES AND MILITARY
ALLIANCES: THE UNITED NATIONS (UN)
UN has functions which can be grouped into four areas.
1. Military issues
2. Economic issues
3. Environmental issues
4. Human Protection
 PEACE TREATIES AND MILITARY
ALLIANCES: THE UNITED NATIONS (UN)

It is made up of close to 200 countries from around the world. The

UN with its headquarters in New York City, was designed to be a
place where countries could come to discuss their issue without
resorting to violence and war.
The General Assembly is the gathering of all these countries. It is
held in an auditorium where speeches are given. Representatives
from different countries can vote on issues.
 PEACE TREATIES AND MILITARY
ALLIANCES: THE UNITED NATIONS (UN)
Aside from the General Assembly, the UN has what is known as the
Security Council. This council is in-charged of maintaining the international
peace and security. It decides what to do when two or more countries are
waging war or on the verge of fighting. There are five permanent member
of this council which are known for having strong military power.

These are United States, Britain, Russia, China and France. In

addition to this 5 permanent member, 10 additional countries joined
them for 2-year terms, making a total of 15 countries.
 PEACE TREATIES AND MILITARY
ALLIANCES: THE UNITED NATIONS (UN)

Security Council tries to be the arbiter in ceasefires between two

sides. They can pass sanctions like block trade with another country
as punishment. They can send troops or observers and can use
military force. The 5 permanent members have a veto power,
which means that one member can stop the entire council from
taking action against a country.
 PEACE TREATIES AND MILITARY
ALLIANCES: THE UNITED NATIONS (UN)

When it comes to human protection, UN has a program called

UNICEF or the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund. Its
primary goal is to help children around the world. They collect funds
to distribute emergency relief. It also provides education programs
in areas where there independently and rely on fundraising.
 PEACE TREATIES AND MILITARY
ALLIANCES: THE UNITED NATIONS (UN)

In terms of 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. Sustainable development encompasses economic
prosperity, social well-being, and environmental protection.
 PEACE TREATIES AND MILITARY
ALLIANCES: THE UNITED NATIONS (UN)

Environmental issues such as pollution and hazardous wastes are

addressed through United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP). Another is the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) took efforts that can mitigate climate
change like assessment of climate science, facilitation of climate
agreements, and giving assistance to countries to reduce
emissions.