Global Interstate System

GE TCW
[ The Contemporary World ]
 Introduction
• For a long time, states have been the dominant actors in
international affairs

• State-centered principles of international system:

sovereignty, territoriality, non-interference

• But at present, non-state actors (e.g. international

organizations, NGOs) take on roles used to be performed by
states alone
 Learning Outcomes
• At the end of this lesson, learners are expected to:

1. Identify the elements of contemporary interstate system;

2. Discuss competing views of interstate system;
3. Elaborate changes in the construct of state, sovereignty and
territory;
4. Explain the emergence and impact of non-state actors; and
5. Evaluate the impact of globalization on the global interstate
system
 The Interstate System
• In the interstate system, the units are the states and their
interactions include war, diplomacy and cooperation

• These interactions are structured according to ordering

principles of sovereignty, territoriality, and non-interference

• Contemporary interstate system can be traced back to

Peace of Westphalia
 Capital and Coercion

Rise of Capitalist “The state makes wars, and

Class war makes the state.”
- Charles Tilly

Capitalist Class
Money Tax collection; Army

security money

Monarchs Bureaucracy
 Theories of International Relations
• Competing explanations on the character of the interstate
system and nature of interstate relations

1. Realism;
2. Liberalism;
3. Constructivism; and
4. Marxism
 Theories of International Relations
1. Realism

– Suspicious about any long-term possibility of peace

– States as rational actors: cost-benefit calculating

– International system as anarchy – absence of central authority

• Self-help system
 Theories of International Relations
1. Realism

– Realists emphasize the role of power

• Be in the form of military capabilities, strong economy, internal
stability, and foreign alliances

– Distribution of power and stability

• Unipolarity
• Bipolarity
• Multipolarity
 Case Study 1.
The Philippines and the Korean War
Realists emphasize that conflicts are
inevitable. In 1950, the Philippines was
among the UN member states to send
military troops to Korea after North Korea
invaded the South. The sending of troops,
known as the Philippine Expeditionary
Force to Korea (PEFTOK), came after the
UN General Assembly passed the Uniting
for Peace Resolution that called upon UN
member-states to unite against the attack
by North Korea. A total of 7,420
combatants was deployed; 112 were killed
in action, while 229 wounded.
 Theories of International Relations
2. Liberalism

– Subscribes to realist assumptions:

• Rationality of states
• Anarchy in the international system

– But optimistic for long-term peace, through:

• International organizations
• Economic interdependence
• Democracy
 Case Study 2.
Philippine Membership with the United Nations
Liberalists emphasize the important
role of international organizations
like the United Nations. The
Philippines became a member of the
UN in 1945 when it signed the UN
Charter in San Francisco. Carlos P.
Romulo (seated) became Chief of the
Philippine Mission to the United
Nations. He eventually became the
first Asian President during the 4th
General Assembly.
 Theories of International Relations
2. Liberalism

– What explains the absence of wars between major powers post

Cold War?

– Regimes – principles, norms, rules, and decision-making

procedures

– Mechanisms
 Theories of International Relations
3. Constructivism

– Breaks with the assumption that states are always rational actors

– Anarchy is also not an inherent condition, but “anarchy is what

states make of it”

– States may change the way they interact

 Theories of International Relations
4. Marxism

– History is one of class struggle

– Capitalism → the world is divided among the core, semi-

peripheral and peripheral countries

– States are poor because they have a role to play in the world
system
 Theories of International Relations
4. Marxism

– Marx’s prediction: capitalism to socialism to communism

– A few states underwent transition, but started with agricultural

Russia

– Perpetuation of capitalism: hegemony

 Theories of International Relations
4. Marxism

– Core capitalist countries: create structures that ultimately protect

capitalist interests

– Creation of World Bank, GATT, and IMF

– Policies of free trade, privatization, deregulation

 State, Sovereignty, and Territory
• Centrality of the constructs of state, sovereignty, and
territory

• Absolutist state 7th C vs. liberal states 19th-20th C

• Sovereignty pre and post French Revolution

• Armed territories in 1st half of 20th C vs. soft boundaries in

the latter half onward
 Case Study 3.
West Philippine Sea Dispute
Territorial and boundary disputes are common. In 2012, a naval stand-
off between the Philippine forces and the Chinese forces happened in
the disputed waters of the West Philippine Sea. The Philippine forces
withdrew as part of an American-mediated deal in which both sides
were to pull back while the dispute was negotiated. Chinese forces
remained, however, and gained control. Four years later, in 2016 the
Permanent Court of Arbitration, which heard the case filed by the
Philippines, gave a verdict claiming that China has no legal basis or
historic claim on the so-called Nine-dash line and asked the Chinese
government to abide by international laws. China refused to participate
in the arbitration, stating that several treaties with the Philippines
stipulate that bilateral negotiations be used to resolve border disputes.
 Case Study 3.
West Philippine Sea Dispute
 Non-State Actors
• Another transformation: growing number of non-state actors

• Examples: intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), non-governmental

organizations (NGOs), multinational corporations (MNCs)

– Examples of IGOs: EU, ASEAN, APEC, NATO

• IGOs: help govern a wide range of issue-areas, including security,

economy, human rights, etc.

• NGOs: Human Rights Watch, Transparency International, Greenpeace

 Globalization and the Global Interstate
System
• States still exist but do different things, do some things less well than
they used to, and also have taken on new responsibilities in exchange

• The state, and the interstate system, continues

• But unlike in the past, states have transformed to cope with emerging
challenges brought about both by internal and external factors,
including globalization