Unit 4: The Global Interstate System

When you put together a group of people in a place where they would live and interact with each other

day after day, what do you get? Of course, they will have opinions on each other, some bad, and some

good. They would notice some of the things that their neighbors would do and will base their

interaction with them through such observations. And if they are close enough, or if they think that it is

necessary, they would speak about such observations to the ones they are witnessing it from. For

example, if a person observes that the other person dumps his or her garbage in front of their

neighbor’s backyard, then the one who observed may talk to the one who is doing such an act,

reminding him or her that that is not nice. Of course, there are many ways that that person may accept

such a reminder. He or she may just ignore it, shout at the one who was reminding him or her, or

consider it. He or she may think of it as an advice, or a threat to his or her freedom to do anything he or

she wants.

Let’s have another example, one that may be closer to our hearts as children once (though

probably some of us are already parents): a few parent disciplining his or her child. If a neighbor saw

that a child was being struck repeatedly by a stick on the butt by the child’s parent, what would he or

she do? He or she may talk about it to the neighbor. He or she may report it to the police. He or she

may also ignore it. Consider then what would be the reaction of the parent if his or her neighbor talked

about it with him or her, or reported him or her to the police?

Now, as with globalization comes the intensified movement of goods, people, information,

ideas, and many other things, nations or states are now more aware of their neighbors in the home we

call “Earth”. We now know instantly what Taylor Swift released as her new song from the other side of

the globe. We now know, at least some of it, about what is happening in Afghanistan. And the world,

relatively recently became aware of the fact about how the number of drug-related persons being killed

increased in the Philippines. Of course, some states and international organizations criticized such
increase, seeing it as problem in terms of human rights, particularly the right to live and justice or to

undergo the right process to find out if he or she is really guilty of a crime. Now, the Philippine state,

particularly the president, may take it as a threat to our freedom as a state to do whatever we want or

need to do in our own territory, or consider it also and reflect on what needs to be improved. What then

is my point? No, I’m not trying to tell you that President Duterte is wrong and that he should listen to

EU or the America, or anything. I leave that to you to ponder upon. But what I’m trying to say is that

since almost all of the states around the world are now interconnected, states, particularly their

government, may now be also more influenced by each other. Sure, like people, the government of a

state today may choose to ignore the opinion of other countries about its actions, but it cannot be ruled

out that that government at least became aware of what the other countries think about it. And it is not

only other states that can influence other states, but also international organizations like the United

Nations or World Health Organization. Take for an example, the approval of certain vaccines by the

WHO is also a go signal for states like the Philippines to use them like what is the case with Sinovac.

If there would be a greater cooperation between neighbors, particularly the existing states of our

planets, then Internationalism would be realized. But of course, as in real life, in such closer and more

frequent interactions, some people may become dominant in a group (Hegemonic Internationalism), be

the cause of a conflict within a neighbor’s family (Revolutionary Internationalism), or maybe such

bring more peace and harmony in the neighborhood (Liberal Internationalism). And thus, there is this

idea that every action of a state or its government must be also decided and done while keeping in mind

that other states are observing it, and this is what we call as “Globalism”. States must keep in mind in

what they do in their business transactions with other states (Economic Globalism), what they dump in

the ocean or air (Environmental Globalism), what weapons they make or test (Military Globalism), and

how their citizens relay their culture and other information to other countries (Social and Cultural

Globalism).
 There’s a temptation to think that every influence from other states is negative or simply foreign

and therefore must be taken not that readily. But then we must also look at how our national hero, Dr.

Jose Rizal, also managed to get his idea of a Philippine state and its citizens’ rights and liberties (the

concept of Philippines as a unified country was not really that thought of during his time) by the ideas

rising in the countries he visited. He also based a book of his from Alexandre Dumas’ “The Count of

Monte Cristo”. (Please read the book and Rizal’s book if you have time to see what I mean—along

with the author’s name if I got the spelling right [laughs]). I know, we already have our hands full in

solving our own internal problems like rebels just as people also have their hands full in trying to find

the answer to their personal problems, and that these other people talking to us may sound like another

noise to add in our life, but sometimes listening may provide us with the answers we are looking for.