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iNTERNATiONAL RELATiON
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INDEX
Comparative Politics .............................................................................................................................. 15
Comparative Politics and its Evolution: .............................................................................................. 15
COMPARISON BETWEEN TRADITIONAL AND MODERN COMPARATIVE POLITICS: ............................... 17
MODERN COMPARATIVE POLITICS..................................................................................................... 17
SYSTEMS APPROACH...................................................................................................................... 18
STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONAL APPROACH .......................................................................................... 21
POLITICAL ECONOMY......................................................................................................................... 24
POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY ....................................................................................................................... 27
POLITICAL CULTURE ........................................................................................................................... 28
Politics of Representation and Participation .......................................................................................... 31
PARTIES AND PARTY SYSTEM ............................................................................................................. 31
Understanding political parties and party system in brief................................................................... 31
Political system and party system in brief .......................................................................................... 31
Various perspectives on political parties ............................................................................................ 32
Marxist Concept of Parties ............................................................................................................. 33
CLASSIFICATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES ............................................................................................. 33
PARTY SYSTEM................................................................................................................................... 37
Almond’s classification................................................................................................................... 37
Hitchner and Levine classification .................................................................................................. 38
Duverger’s classification ................................................................................................................ 38
One-Party System .......................................................................................................................... 38
Two-party system .......................................................................................................................... 39
ROLE OF PARTY SYSTEMS ................................................................................................................... 40
The role of political parties in a parliamentary democracy ............................................................. 41
In the presidential system of democracy ........................................................................................ 41
Interest groups and pressure groups in brief...................................................................................... 42
Understanding interest groups .......................................................................................................... 42
Certain essential features of the pressure groups. ......................................................................... 42
Relation between political parties and pressure groups/interest groups ............................................ 43
Types of interest groups .................................................................................................................... 44

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Almond’s Classification .................................................................................................................. 44

ROLE OF INTEREST/PRESSURE GROUPS.............................................................................................. 46
Globalisation ......................................................................................................................................... 48
Defining Globalization ....................................................................................................................... 48
Evolution of Globalization .................................................................................................................. 49
1st phase of globalization .............................................................................................................. 49
2nd phase of globalization ............................................................................................................. 49
3rd phase of globalization .............................................................................................................. 49
Approaches to Globalization .............................................................................................................. 50
Skeptical approach to globalization ................................................................................................ 51
Transformationalist perspective of globalization ............................................................................ 51
Marxists perspective of globalization ............................................................................................. 52
Sociological perspective to globalization ........................................................................................ 52
Debating globalization ....................................................................................................................... 53
Support to globalization................................................................................................................. 53
Views against globalization ............................................................................................................ 54
Globalization and state ...................................................................................................................... 59
Impact on state sovereignty ........................................................................................................... 59
Impact of globalization on internal functioning of states ................................................................ 61
Human rights under threat in era of globalization .............................................................................. 64
International contracts as an obstacle ............................................................................................ 64
Direct investment as an obstacle ................................................................................................... 65
Subsidies as an obstacle ................................................................................................................. 65
Weak states as an obstacle ............................................................................................................ 65
Globalization as a challenge ........................................................................................................... 65
Extra-territorial state obligations ................................................................................................... 66
Understanding the Implications of a Global Village ............................................................................ 67
Neoliberal Globalization .................................................................................................................... 71
The Antiglobalization Movement ....................................................................................................... 72
Globalisation in retreat ...................................................................................................................... 74
Globalization 4.0 ............................................................................................................................ 76
Globalization 4.0 – what does it mean?.......................................................................................... 76

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COVID-19: What is the future of globalisation? .............................................................................. 79

Neoliberalism – the ideology at the root of all our problems.............................................................. 79
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 83
Has Globalisation Altered the Role of the State? ............................................................................ 84
Global Capitalism: Crisis of Humanity and the Specter of 21st Century Fascism .............................. 84
Approaches to the Study of International Relations ............................................................................... 90
Realism ............................................................................................................................................. 90
Significant precursor of Realist school: ........................................................................................... 92
Key themes of realism.................................................................................................................... 92
Classical realism................................................................................................................................. 96
Genesis of classical realism ............................................................................................................ 96
Precursors ..................................................................................................................................... 96
Assumptions and Theories ............................................................................................................. 97
Key Debates................................................................................................................................... 98
Criticism to classical realism ........................................................................................................... 98
Neorealism/structural realism ........................................................................................................... 99
Origins ........................................................................................................................................... 99
About neo realism ......................................................................................................................... 99
Scholarly debate .......................................................................................................................... 100
Criticism to neo-realism ............................................................................................................... 102
Notable neo-realists .................................................................................................................... 103
Neo-classical realism ....................................................................................................................... 103
Exponents of neo-classical realism ............................................................................................... 104
Criticism to realism ...................................................................................................................... 104
Inconsistent with non-European politics ...................................................................................... 105
Liberalism ........................................................................................................................................ 105
Sources of influence..................................................................................................................... 107
Liberal institutionalism: ................................................................................................................... 107
Success of Liberal institutionalism ................................................................................................ 108
Issues with international institutions ........................................................................................... 108
Sociological liberalism...................................................................................................................... 108
Functionalism .................................................................................................................................. 110

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Neo-functionalism ........................................................................................................................... 111

Democratic peace theory ................................................................................................................. 111
Interdependence liberalism ............................................................................................................. 113
Golden Arches theory .................................................................................................................. 113
Complex interdependence ............................................................................................................... 114
CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ................................................................................................................... 115
Marxism, neo-Marxism and critical theory ....................................................................................... 116
IN BRIEF ....................................................................................................................................... 116
Dependency theory ......................................................................................................................... 117
World-systems theory.................................................................................................................. 118
Critical theory/ Frankfurt School critical theory’ ............................................................................... 118
Social constructivism/ Constructivism .............................................................................................. 119
Social constructivism’s challenge to realism ................................................................................. 121
Critics of constructivism ............................................................................................................... 121
Post-structuralism ........................................................................................................................... 122
Feminism ......................................................................................................................................... 123
Green politics .................................................................................................................................. 124
Post-colonialism .............................................................................................................................. 126
Key concepts in International Relations ............................................................................................... 128
NATIONAL INTEREST ........................................................................................................................ 128
Definition of National Interest: .................................................................................................... 128
National Interest: Core of Foreign Policy ...................................................................................... 129
MORGENTHAU’S VIEWS ON NATIONAL INTEREST ........................................................................ 129
Components of National Interest ................................................................................................. 130
DYNAMIC NATURE OF NATIONAL INTEREST ................................................................................. 130
Methods for the Securing of National Interest ............................................................................. 131
POWER ............................................................................................................................................ 134
Concepts of political power.......................................................................................................... 134
Categories of power..................................................................................................................... 137
Changing nature of Power: .......................................................................................................... 137
Sources of Soft power for a nation ............................................................................................... 138
Polarity of Power thesis: .............................................................................................................. 139

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SECURITY ......................................................................................................................................... 140

Human security............................................................................................................................ 143
Human security and Foreign policy: ............................................................................................. 144
The relationship between national and international security ...................................................... 146
BALANCE OF POWER ....................................................................................................................... 147
DETERRENCE THEORY ...................................................................................................................... 150
Types of Deterrence: ................................................................................................................... 150
Factors for successful deterrence: ................................................................................................ 150
Criticism of Deterrence theory: .................................................................................................... 151
Relevance of nuclear deterrence and its future: ........................................................................... 152
TRANSNATIONAL ACTORS ................................................................................................................ 153
TRANSNATIONAL COMPANIES AS POLITICAL ACTORS................................................................... 155
NON-LEGITIMATE GROUPS AND LIBERATION MOVEMENTS AS POLITICAL ACTORS ...................... 156
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS AS POLITICAL ACTORS ................................................... 157
Changing International Political Order ................................................................................................. 160
Cuban Missile Crisis ..................................................................................................................... 162
Meanwhile during cold-war ............................................................................................................. 162
Arenas of the Cold War.................................................................................................................... 163
The Cold War: The Atomic Age..................................................................................................... 164
POST COLD WAR PERIOD AND ITS IMPACTS ON INTERNATIONAL POLITICS .................................. 165
The End of Bipolarity ....................................................................................................................... 168
Unipolarism and its impact on Global politics and Growth of US as a Hegemon ............................... 169
Hegemony ....................................................................................................................................... 171
Hegemonic stability theory .......................................................................................................... 173
Neo-Gramscianism, Constructivism, the English School, and hegemony........................................... 174
Neo-Gramscianism, Constructivism, the English School, and hegemony........................................... 174
Neo-Gramscian concepts of hegemony ........................................................................................ 174
Social constructivist concept of Hegemony .................................................................................. 176
English school on Hegemony........................................................................................................ 178
End of American hegemony and challenge by others ....................................................................... 182
Ruins of unilateralism ...................................................................................................................... 182
The end of American world order—a move towards Multiplex world order ..................................... 184

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Rising powers .............................................................................................................................. 185

Global interdependence .............................................................................................................. 186
EMERGENCE OF NEW COLD WAR .................................................................................................... 186
Covid-19 Knocks on American Hegemony ............................................................................................ 188
Non-Alignment Movement .............................................................................................................. 193
NAM ................................................................................................................................................ 193
History and Evolution of Non-Aligned Movement ............................................................................ 193
Genesis of the NAM .................................................................................................................... 193
Governing principles of NAM...................................................................................................... 193
The ten principles of Bandung ..................................................................................................... 193
Evolution of NAM ............................................................................................................................ 194
Aims and objectives of NAM ............................................................................................................ 196
Its early days contribution ............................................................................................................... 198
NAM after end of cold war era......................................................................................................... 198
Is NAM a relic of the Cold War? ....................................................................................................... 200
Question of relevance of NAM ......................................................................................................... 200
Has NAM become irrelevant? .......................................................................................................... 200
India - NAM – some bitter experiences ........................................................................................ 201
Flawed assumptions about NAM.................................................................................................. 201
NAM countries did not come to our help on any of the critical occasions ..................................... 201
Views of S. Jaishankar MEA GoI. ................................................................................................ 202
Non-Aligned Movement in The 21st Century: Relevant or No? ......................................................... 203
NAM’s steadily growing membership ........................................................................................... 203
NAM’s efforts barely go noticed................................................................................................... 203
NAM: What about the UN’s inefficiency in dealing with certain issues? ....................................... 203
Need of the hour: NAM’s revitalisation and not abandonment .................................................... 204
Is NAM a movement in coma ? ........................................................................................................ 204
NAM and Covid-19........................................................................................................................... 204
Importance of NAM for India in 21st century ................................................................................... 205
A Rediscovery of Non-Alignment and Quad ..................................................................................... 206
Alternative Centres of Power ...................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Evolution of the International Economic System .................................................................................. 209

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What is New International Economic Order? ................................................................................... 209

Background and genesis of Global financial system.......................................................................... 210
Global Political Economy ................................................................................................................. 211
Global Political Economy ................................................................................................................. 211
Liberal approach .......................................................................................................................... 211
Bretton Woods System .................................................................................................................... 212
The World Bank Group’s Role in Global Development...................................................................... 212
Bretton Woods ................................................................................................................................ 213
Organization and Operations ....................................................................................................... 213
Criticism of the ‘Washington Consensus....................................................................................... 214
Post-conflict Success Stories ........................................................................................................ 214
The Rise of Alternatives ............................................................................................................... 215
Roles of international financial institutions ...................................................................................... 217
Roles of international financial institutions ...................................................................................... 217
The IMF and the WB policies in the context of the globalization of the contemporary economy .. 218
The role of the World Trade Organization in the globalization process ............................................. 221
The United Nations’ directions of action ...................................................................................... 225
The state and the multinational corporation .................................................................................... 226
BRICS – The End of Western Dominance of the Global Financial and Economic Order ...................... 228
The rise and fall of the WTO ............................................................................................................ 230
Ending the global monopoly of the International Monetary Fund. ................................................... 232
Way forward ................................................................................................................................... 234
COVID-19 and the crumbling world order ............................................................................................. 237
Crumbling world order .................................................................................................................. 237
New-age racism ............................................................................................................................ 239
United Nations .................................................................................................................................... 243
Traditionalist theory of International organizations ......................................................................... 243
Other perspectives to International Organizations ........................................................................... 244
Functionalism .............................................................................................................................. 244
Communication Theory................................................................................................................ 244
Classification of international organizations:.................................................................................... 245
History of UN Foundation ................................................................................................................ 245

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United Nations ................................................................................................................................ 246

United Nations ................................................................................................................................ 246
Principal organs of the United Nation .............................................................................................. 247
Aims of the United Nations: ............................................................................................................. 250
Principles ......................................................................................................................................... 250
Achievements & Failures ................................................................................................................. 251
Peace and Security ....................................................................................................................... 251
Economic Development ............................................................................................................... 251
Social Development ..................................................................................................................... 252
Human Rights .............................................................................................................................. 253
Environment ................................................................................................................................ 254
International Law ......................................................................................................................... 254
Stability and Order in the World's Oceans: ................................................................................... 255
Humanitarian Affairs.................................................................................................................... 255
Health.......................................................................................................................................... 256
Challenges & Reforms...................................................................................................................... 256
UN Administrative & Financial-Resources Challenges ................................................................... 256
Peace and Security issues ............................................................................................................ 257
Security Council reforms .............................................................................................................. 257
Non-Conventional Challenges ...................................................................................................... 258
Criticism of the United Nations ........................................................................................................ 259
Does UN have a future? ................................................................................................................... 262
United Nations Security council ....................................................................................................... 264
All about UN Security Council and India’s non-permanent membership for the 8th time ................. 264
UN Security Council ..................................................................................................................... 264
Responsibilities and powers of the UNSC ..................................................................................... 264
Powers of permanent and non-permanent members................................................................... 265
Questions of UNSC reforms and various views ................................................................................. 266
Questions of UNSC reforms and various views ................................................................................. 266
Permanent seat in UNSC neither necessary nor only way for India to assert its ‘arrival’ on global
centrestage.................................................................................................................................. 266
India and the UN System: Role in UN Peace-keeping; demand for Permanent Seat in the Security
Council. ........................................................................................................................................... 270

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Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 271

India’s contribution as a founding member of UN ........................................................................ 271
Representation in UN Bodies ....................................................................................................... 272
India on the UN Security Council .................................................................................................. 272
Reform & Restructuring of the UN ............................................................................................... 272
India’s bid for UNSC permanent seat............................................................................................ 273
Terrorism ..................................................................................................................................... 273
Human Rights .............................................................................................................................. 274
Development and Economic issues .............................................................................................. 274
India at the 74th UNGA Session (2019-20) ....................................................................................... 275
Significant Achievements (2014-20) ............................................................................................. 275
All about UN Security Council and India’s non-permanent membership for the 8th time ................. 276
UN Security Council ......................................................................................................................... 276
Responsibilities and powers of the UNSC ..................................................................................... 277
Powers of permanent and non-permanent members................................................................... 277
Committees of the UN Security Council ....................................................................................... 278
The challenge of reforming the UN .............................................................................................. 278
UN must go back to its original mandate...................................................................................... 279
What is peacekeeping – an introduction .......................................................................................... 281
UN Peacekeeping is guided by three basic principles:................................................................... 281
Global partnership ....................................................................................................................... 282
Evolution of UN peacekeeping forces ........................................................................................... 283
Issues and scope of reforms ......................................................................................................... 284
India and UN Peacekeeping ......................................................................................................... 285
INDIA AND UN PEACKEEPING AT GLANCE .................................................................................... 287
Ways Forward.............................................................................................................................. 288
75th U.N. anniversary: Surplus of multilateral challenges, deficit of multilteral solutions, says Gutteres............. 290
Regionalisation of World Politics: EU, ASEAN, APEC, SAARC, NAFTA. .................................................... 293
Defining regionalisation of world politics ......................................................................................... 293
In brief regionalization..................................................................................................................... 293
Approaches to Integration ............................................................................................................... 294
Different approaches to integration ................................................................................................. 294

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The Federalist View ..................................................................................................................... 294

The communication Model of Regional Integration ...................................................................... 294
The Neo-Functionalists view of Regional Integration ................................................................... 294
Identifying regions in some basis .......................................................................................... 294
Types of Regionalism ....................................................................................................................... 295
Regionalism and Globalization ......................................................................................................... 296
Does Regionalism challenge Globalisation, or build on it? ................................................................ 296
Impact of regional integration on state ............................................................................................ 297
Impact of regional integration on state ............................................................................................ 297
Effect on the nature and functions of the state ............................................................................ 297
Effect on Sovereignty and Regional Obligations ........................................................................... 298
European Union............................................................................................................................... 300
European Union............................................................................................................................... 300
A history of European Union in brief ............................................................................................ 300
Is the EU a Model of Regional Integration? .................................................................................. 301
The International Impact of Brexit ............................................................................................... 302
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) .......................................................................... 306
ASEAN ............................................................................................................................................. 306
What Is ASEAN? ........................................................................................................................... 306
How ASEAN works? ..................................................................................................................... 306
ASEAN’s History ........................................................................................................................... 307
Economic Progress ....................................................................................................................... 307
ASEAN Regional Forum. ............................................................................................................. 308
ASEAN Plus Three. ...................................................................................................................... 308
East Asia Summit. ....................................................................................................................... 308
Achievements and Challenges Ahead............................................................................................... 308
Achievements .................................................................................................................................. 309
1. ASEAN has preserved peace and stability ............................................................................. 309
2. ASEAN’s political and security achievements ........................................................................ 309
3. ASEAN is focused on building socio-cultural relationships..................................................... 310
Challenges ahead............................................................................................................................. 310
Rising struggle among major powers in the Indo-Pacific region .................................................... 310

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US-China trade war ...................................................................................................................... 311

Humanitarian assistance for the repatriation ............................................................................... 312
Divergent interests and priorities ................................................................................................. 313
Internal and external security challenges ..................................................................................... 313
Other key challenges ................................................................................................................... 313
Way forward for ASEAN ................................................................................................................... 313
NAFTA ............................................................................................................................................. 314
What is NAFTA? ........................................................................................................................... 314
How did NAFTA come about? ...................................................................................................... 314
What did NAFTA change, exactly? ................................................................................................ 315
How does Trump want to revamp NAFTA? ................................................................................... 315
What does free trade have to do with illegal immigration? .......................................................... 316
How did NAFTA affect the U.S. economy? .................................................................................... 317
How did it affect the Mexican economy? ..................................................................................... 318
What was the impact on Canada? ................................................................................................ 319
What’s next for North American trade? ....................................................................................... 321
Contemporary Global Concerns ........................................................................................................... 324
Democracy .......................................................................................................................................... 324
What is democracy? ............................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Why democracy? ............................................................................................................................. 324
Significance of democracy ............................................................................................................... 324
Amartya Sen’s views on Democracy ................................................................................................. 325
Issues in democracy as a global concern .......................................................................................... 325
Clash of civilizations: .................................................................................................................... 325
Dominant form of democracy is neo-liberal ................................................................................. 326
Democracy interventions ............................................................................................................. 326
Democratic deficit in global governance ...................................................................................... 327
Impact of globalization on democracy ............................................................................................. 327
Undermining democracy.............................................................................................................. 327
Reverse wave of democracy. ........................................................................................................... 328
Democratizing Globalization: Agents and Strategies ........................................................................ 328
Scholte’s Postmodern Global Democracies ...................................................................................... 329

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Human Rights ...................................................................................................................................... 330

Human Rights in the Context of International Relations ................................................................... 330
Defects in international human rights .......................................................................................... 331
Globalization and human rights ....................................................................................................... 333
Impact of Globalization on women’s rights .................................................................................. 333
Impact on labor rights, minority rights and poor .......................................................................... 333
Trans-boundary crime.................................................................................................................. 334
Right to privacy in globalized world.............................................................................................. 334
Cultural and linguistic rights ......................................................................................................... 334
Structural Adjustment Programs .................................................................................................. 335
Human rights under Neo-liberal capitalism ...................................................................................... 335
Rolling back of state ..................................................................................................................... 336
Positives of globalization and human rights ..................................................................................... 336

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Comparative Politics

Syllabus
Comparative Politics: Nature and major approaches; Political economy and Political sociology perspectives;
limitations of the comparative methods.

Past year UPSC questions

1. Examining political phenomena through a process of cross-global investigation has become the
fundamental function of Comparative Politics.” Discuss.
2. Do you agree that liberal international theories are essentially ‘Eurocentric’ and not necessarily
imperialist?
3. Morton A. Kaplan’s system theory is contrary to the fundamental precepts of systems approach.”
Comment.
4. Which are the major approaches of comparative politics? Explain in brief, the political economy
approach to the study of comparative inquiry.
5. Do you subscribe to the view that the modern constructs of the State and politics are pre-eminently
Eurocentric and not indigenous an appropriate for the analysis of non-western societies?
6. Critically examine the Marxist aspect of political economy approach to the study of comparative
politics.
7. Explain the Political-Sociological Approach in the field of comparative politics and discuss its
limitations
8. Describe the changing nature of Comparative Politics. Briefly explain the Political Economy approach
to the study of Comparative Politics
9. Elucidate the transdisciplinary nature of modern comparative politics and identify the modern
comparative politics and identify the contributions of political sociologists towards this goal.

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Comparative Politics

Comparative Politics and its Evolution:

 Comparative politics is a field in political science characterized either by the use of the comparative
method or other empirical methods to explore politics within (as opposed to between) countries.
Substantively, this can include questions relating to political institutions, political behavior,
conflict, and the causes and consequences of economic development. When applied to specific
fields of study, comparative politics may be referred to by other names, such as comparative
government (the comparative study of forms of government).

 Scholars of Comparative Politics investigate similarities and differences in patterns of politics

across the world. They engage in within-country, cross-national, and cross-regional research with a
geographic focus outside the United States.

 Comparativists use a variety of methods and often possess deep expertise in particular countries
or regions. This knowledge is important for the purpose of systematic comparison, theory
building, theory testing, and awareness of context specific variables and causal relationships
masked by immersion in our own polities and societies.

 The field of Comparative Politics includes, among others, the study of political institutions and
regimes; electoral behavior and procedures; identity, ideology, and culture; public policy;
political economy; political violence; social movements and organizations; and protest and
revolution.

 Comparative analysis (CA) is a methodology within political science that is often used in the study
of political systems, institutions or processes. This can be done across a local, regional, national and
international scale.

 Further, CA is grounded upon empirical evidence gathered from the recording and classification of
real-life political phenomena. Where-by other political studies develop policy via ideological and/or
theoretical discourse, comparative research aims to develop greater political understanding
through a scientifically constrained methodology.

 Using the comparative methodology, the scholar may ask questions of various political concerns,
such as the connection, if any, between capitalism and democratization or the collation between
federal and unitary states and electoral participation.

 CA can be employed on either a single country (case) or group of countries. For the study of one
country to be considered comparative, it is essential that the findings of the research are
referenced into a larger framework which engages in a systematic comparison of analogous
phenomena. Subsequent to applying a comparative methodology in the collation or collection of
data, established hypothesises can then be tested in an analytical study involving multiple cases

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 Analysis applied to a single-nation case is less applicable on a global scale. For example; studying
the process of democratization in one Latin American country, although it offers important
inferences that can be examined in other countries with a similar set of circumstances, is arguably
insufficient to develop a theory of democratization itself that would be globally applicable. Quite
simply, the singular analysis of an institution or process involving only one country often fails to
provide a global set of inferences to accurately theorise a process

 Comparing and contrasting processes and institutions of two or more countries encourages the
clear revealing of common similarities, trends and causation and the deduction of false
causation.

 Comparison involving multiple nations, especially using quantitative techniques, can offer valuable
empirically-based geopolitical and domestic generalizations. These assist in the evolution of our
understanding of political phenomena and produce great recommendations into how to continue
particular research using the same form of analysis or a different method all together.

Comparative Politics

Evolution of comparative politics:

 Comparative politics is a relatively new field dating from the post second world war period.
However, its traditional form can be found in the works of early Greek Political scholars like
Aristotle.

 R.K. Roberts has classified the historical development of the subject into three phases.

 The first phase includes the contribution made by Aristotle, Machiavelli, Bryce and Weber to
the study of politics. These writers simply utilised the comparative method for the primary
purpose of better understanding the working of political organisations.

 The second phase some important writers like Samuel. H. Beer, M. Hass, Bernard Ulam and
Roy. C Macridis made their contribution to the development of comparative politics. They used

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various strategies of comparison such as area studies, Configurative approach, Institutional

comparison, a problem-based orientation, and with various methodological problems.

 The third phase the contribution of David Easton, Gabriel Almond, James Coleman, Karl
Deutsch, G. B Powell, Robert A. Dahl may be included in this phase. These writers made use of
an interrelated set of concepts for the sake of presenting their contribution on the basis of
comparative analysis.

 In new comparative politics, in the 1970s and 1980s, comparative politics became defined
largely by ideological and methodological debates.

 Aristotle is called the Father of Comparative Politics for his Theory of Constitutions and his
work of compiling the constitutions and practices of 158 Greek city-states.

 Comparative politics is divided into Traditional and Modern comparative politics.

COMPARISON BETWEEN TRADITIONAL AND MODERN COMPARATIVE POLITICS:

TRADITIONAL COMPARATIVE POLITICS MODERN COMPARATIVE POLITICS

 Traditional method used Eg: Legal
institutional method
 Eurocentric: Scope of study limited to the
constitution of the countries of the West
 Excessively formalistic in its approach -
focused on the study of formal institutions
of governance.
 It was essentially non-comparative because
western world was one world with little
difference in their culture, level of political
development and economic development.
 Static in nature: method adopted was the
study of constitutions
 Behavioral method used
 Scope expanded to include non-
western and newly decolonised
countries
 Behavioral approach focussed on the
study of political processes and
political actors
 Modern comparative politics involved
the study of western as well as non-
western states.
 Focussed on understanding the social
and cultural factors shaping the
political system

MODERN COMPARATIVE POLITICS

 Modern comparative politics started after the Second World War. As many countries of
non-western world got independence and they established their own political systems,

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it was realised that the traditional eurocentric comparative method would not be
sufficient.
 In western countries, a gap between theory and practice does not exist unlike the non-
western countries where constitutionalism is absent. In non-western societies, it
becomes important to understand extra-constitutional factors like nature of society,
culture, stage of economic development, level of modernisation.
 Modern comparative politics led to the rise of new methods which made the study a
more vibrant discipline.
 Important methods of modern comparative politics are :
1. Systems approach
2. Structural functional approach
3. Political Economy
4. Political Sociology
5. Political Culture

SYSTEMS APPROACH

 The notion of system was taken from the biological and physical sciences
where the human body or any machine was visualised as a system with
subsystems (organs or parts) which had 'boundaries' but which were
closely interrelated and overlapped.

 Human society was therefore made up of various systems - political

system, economic system etc. each of which performed specialised
functions All societies, it was argued, move from simple to complex i.e.
the roles performed by individuals within them become more specialised
leading to the emergence of distinct systems with clear-cut boundaries
and functions.
David Easton
 Karl Mannheim offered "systematic sociology" in his study of society.
Following him, Charles Merriam wrote about "systematic politics". This search for a systematic
interpretation of society and polity continued by David Easton in his
application of general Systems Theory to the study of political systems.

 Easton’s conceptual framework evolved in three phases. The first phase

is represented by The Political System published in 1953. The second and
third phases are represented by A Framework of Political Analysis and A
Systems Analysis of Political Life, both published in 1965, one after
another.

 Systems analysis was applied to international relations to explain how the

forces of the international system affect the behaviour of states.

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 The central idea of systems analysis is based on an analogy with biology: just as the heart, lungs,
and blood function as a whole, so do the components of social and political systems. When one
component changes or comes under stress, the other components will adjust to compensate.

 David Easton’s The Political System (1953), conceived the political system as integrating all
activities through which social policy is formulated and executed—that is, the political system is
the policy-making process. Easton defined political behaviour as the “authoritative allocation of
values,” or the distribution of rewards in wealth, power, and status that the system may
provide.

 Easton’s conception of system emphasizes linkages between the system and its environment.
Inputs (demands) flow into the system and are converted into outputs (decisions and actions)
that constitute the authoritative allocation of values.

1. Inputs –The inputs are the pressures of all kinds which are exercised on the system. There are
two types of input in the political system and those are demands and supports. They are
received by the system from society. A demand is an expression of opinion that an authoritative
allocation with regard to a particular subject-matter should or should not be made by those
responsible for doing so. Demands are the motive power for the working of a political system.
The people make demands on political systems.

2. Outputs: The outputs of the political system consist of authoritative decisions which either
application or interpretation of rules. Those decisions affect the environment of the political
systems. Output may help to maintain support for the political system.

3. The Feedback: Feedback is a dynamic process through which information about the
performance of the system is communicated back to it. That affects the subsequent behavior of
the system. It is conducive to the persistence of the system. Through feed-back loop, the system
may take advantage of adjusting its future behavior.

4. Conversion Process: The conversion mechanism turns inputs into outputs after some process of
selection, limitation or rearrangement. The process of conversion depends on the capability of
the political system for extraction of resources regulation and control over individuals and
goods, distribution of resources and its capacity for developments.

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Decision-making theory

 Other approaches employing systems analysis flourished briefly in the late 20th century. Decision-
making theory is based on systems theory but also borrows from game theory, which was devised
by mathematicians during World War II.

 Decision-making theory supposes that actors behave rationally to achieve goals by selecting the
course of action that will maximize benefits and minimize costs. This assumption has been
contradicted by some studies, such as Graham Allison’s Essence of Decision (1971), which found that
the decision-making process of the administration of U.S. President John F. Kennedy during
the Cuban missile crisis could not be adequately explained in terms of a strict rational calculation of
costs and benefits; instead, decisions often depended on the standard operating procedures of
organizational actors and the information that subordinates fed to their superiors, which itself was
skewed by “bureaucratic politics.”

 Allison argued that one key determinant of Kennedy’s decision to impose a naval blockade on Cuba
rather than to invade the island was the delayed flight of a spy plane, which resulted from a quarrel
between the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Air Force over who was to pilot the plane.
(Allison’s view was refuted by subsequent studies that showed that Kennedy had decided in advance
not to bomb or invade Cuba.)

 Bureaucratic-process models, which maintain that policy decisions are influenced by the priorities
of bureaucrats who compete with each other to protect their programs, budgets, and procedures,
became prominent during the 1970s, but research failed to identify a consistent pattern of influence
resulting from bureaucratic infighting.

LIMITATIONS OF THE SYSTEMS APPROACH

 Conceptual inadequacy: Critics have attacked Easton’s work on the grounds of inadequate
conceptualisation. In his work, there is an excessive preoccupation with persistence and stability in
the face of changes and conflict in actual political life. There is too much attention paid to the
central orienting conception of the allocation of values and the boundary.

 William Mitchell criticised the concept of politics as the allocation of values, as leading to misleading
assumptions in theorising politics. It may mean that the political system has a single function of
allocation only. Moreover, the polity does not allocate all values of society. The Economy distributes
income and resources. The question of allocation may be obscured by too much attention to the
demands of interest groups, while in fact the demands of government and ruling classes upon
people may be more important.

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 Preoccupation with boundary was also criticised. It was pointed out that the political system cannot
be isolated from economic, social and cultural-psychological systems.

 Ideological orientations: Easton’s approach has certain ideological orientations. It seems to justify
the status quo. It is essentially a static system of analysis. There is no denying the fact that the
nature of Easton’s methodology makes it relatively easy for it to creep into conservative patterns.A
conservative bias is an inbuilt feature of functionalism from which the systems analysis has been
adopted in political science.The main object of the systems approach, other behavioral paradigms is
to validate the assumptions of the dominant ideology of a liberal capitalist society.

 Narrow View of System: Easton’s concept of political system, identified through its authoritative
allocations, is a narrow concept. Sorzano regards it as a limited hypothesis. Daniel Mou is of the
view that by conceptualising (unfortunately) a political system simply from the point of view of what
it does (or should do?), Easton seems to have rendered this concept of political system less useful.

 Gives no Reason for the Authoritativeness of Political System

Easton fails to answer such questions:

What makes the system authoritatively allocate the values? Why does it convert inputs into
outputs?

Thomson L. Thomson has criticised Easton for dodging answers to such questions.
Easton’s concepts of systemic persistence and change have also been criticised by critics on grounds
of precision. As Evans puts it, Easton talks of persistence as the chief properly of the political system
but he does not refer to the maintenance of specific structure for this purpose.

 Projects the System as an Automatic System: Another serious weakness of Easton’s Systems
Approach is that it hinges on the system’s automatic response to stress. Daniel Mou writes,’
“Reading Easton, one gets the impression that he just does not consider the distinction between the
goals of the individual or groups and those of the system.”

STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONAL APPROACH

 Structural Functional approach is a form of systemic analysis which looks at a political system as a
coherent whole which influences and is in turn influenced by their
environments.

 Structural Functional approach is an improvement upon systems approach for

political analysis. Systems approach was too general and did not elaborate on
the functions of structures.

 Gabriel Almond gave his structural functional approach in the 1950s.His

conceptual framework evolved through three phases. He wrote an article in
1956 in which he said that the system is an "inclusive concept which covers all
of the patterned actions relevant to the making decisions." For him, system Gabriel Almond

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was more important than process because system implied totality, interactions among units within
the totality and stability in these interactions, which he described as" changing equilibrium”.

 Almond relied upon Max Weber and Talcott Parsons in conceptualising the
political system's actions and turned to concepts like structure and roles
replacing the legal vocabulary of institution, group or organisation

 Almond and his collaborators introduced new concepts of comparative politics.

The concept of the political system replaced the state and its legal apparatus.
Structure replaced institution, role took the place of office and function
substituted for power. Almond suggested that all political systems have four
characteristics:
(i) All political systems have structures.
(ii) The same political functions in all political systems.
(iii) All political structures are multifunctional. Max Weber
(iv) All Political systems are mixed in the cultural sense.

Almond then outlined his own categories inputs and outputs:

Input functions: Output Functions

 Political socialisation and recruitment  Rule making
 Interest aggregation  Rule application
 Political communication  Rule Adjudication

 The outputs are functions and correspond to the traditional legislative, executive and judicial
functions. They show a bias towards American and European conceptions of government
showing traditional orientation of comparative politics.

 Almond, however, argued that input functions are crucial in characterising the political systems
of developing countries.

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 Political Socialisation and recruitment : It is the process by which members are provided
information about the political system. They inculcate the values, beliefs, norms of their
community towards the system.
 Interest articulation: Demands are placed by various structures such as peer groups, pressure
groups, interest groups, associations etc. to preserve and further their interest.
 Interest aggregation: It is the process by which demands are translated into policies and
decisions which could be acted upon.
 Political Communication: t is a process by which the components of a political system such as
individuals, groups and institutions transmit and receive information regarding the functions of
the political system. Mass media and lately social media are most suited to perform this action.

These input variables are translated into three output variables:

 Rule making is done primarily by legislature.

 Rule application is done by the executive.Executives function is to implement the laws and
rules.
 Rule adjudication is performed by the judiciary.

LIMITATIONS:

 Almond’s approach has been criticised for the same reasons as the Systems Approach of Easton:
1. Conservative ideology
2. Conceptual confusion
3. Operational limitations

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 Structural functional approach is a good approach for Comparative Politics because it takes into
account the fact that different political systems are at different stages of political development.
 The structural functional approach serves as an important tool in comparative political
analysis.It helps in understanding the political system and structures better.

POLITICAL ECONOMY

 Political economy is an interdisciplinary branch of the social sciences that focuses on the
interrelationships among individuals, governments, and public policy.
 Political economists study how economic theories such as capitalism, socialism, and communism
work in the real world.
 In a wider sense, political economy was once the common term used for the field we now call
economics. Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau all used the term to describe
their theories.
 Political economy is a social science which deals with the interconnections of economic and political
processes.
 Some of the earliest work of Political economy could be found in Kautilya’s Arthashastra

EVOLUTION

 The transformation of Europe from feudalism to a profit-oriented economy of buyers and sellers led
to the school of political economy.
 Adam Smith consolidated these ideas into classical political economy through his work Inquiry into
the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of nations.
 Adam Smith was a supporter of Laissez Faire and gave way to the Liberal school of Political
economy.
 Karl Marx criticised the theory of Adam Smith and led to the inception of the Marxist school of
political economy.
 Thus, there emerged two major schools of political economy:
1. Liberal school
2. Marxist school

LIBERAL SCHOOL

 Liberal school was a product of the breakdown of feudalism in Europe and the growth in its
place of a market or capitalist society.
 Liberalism itself branched into two schools : 1. Classical and Neo-liberalism
2. Social liberalism
 Classical liberals focused on the free-market economy to allocate resources in society. They
advocated an industrialized and market economic order ‘free’ from government interference, in

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which business would be allowed to pursue profit and states encouraged to trade freely with one
another.
 However, classical liberalism came under criticism by Socialism for becoming increasingly
conservative and for ignoring the basic rights of workers in order to maximise profit.

 The threat from socialism led to reforms within the Liberal school, which gave way to Modern
Liberalism or Social liberalism.

 Social liberalism focused on an enabling state (Welfare state) and a managed economy as opposed
to the free market model. Ideas on social liberalism can be found in the works of John Rawls,
Amartya Sen, Joseph Stiglitz

 However, with the limitations of a welfare state coming to the fore, a new more radical school
emerged called the Neo-liberal school which considered the market as the ‘Central nervous system’
and necessary for economic growth. Friedrich Hayek,Milton Friedman etc. has been the key
exponents of this theory.

 The contradictions and limitations of liberalism gave way to the Marxist school of Political economy.

MARXIST SCHOOL

 The Marxist school of Political economy finds its basis in the works of Karl Marx and V.I.Lenin.

 Marx propounded his Theory of Communism and dealt with the study of the exploitative nature of
the capitalist state. For this purpose, he gave the Base-Superstructure model. Marxist studies
focussed on capital accumulation and development and underdevelopment.

 Lenin followed up on the work of Marx and studied the role of capitalism in the global sphere,
stating that “Imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism”.

 Contemporary scholars have formed three traditions in Marxist thought regarding the relationship
of state and class.

1. The first tradition is Instrumentalism:

> The state is regarded as an instrument of the dominant or ruling class.
> Instrumentalism focuses on the class that rules and the ties and mechanisms that link
state policies with ruling class instruments.
> The instrumentalist interpretation of state has been supported by Ralph Miliband and
William Domhoff
.
2. A second tradition is represented by the view state which is advocated by French Marxists.
Nicos Poulanzas elaborated a political side of this Structuralism. He argued that the bourgeoisie
is unable to act as a class to dominate the state. The state itself organises and unifies the
interest of that class. Althusser also advanced a structural view of the state.

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3. A third tradition is rooted in the critical perspectives derived from and Marx. It is carried on by
Herbert and others belonging to the Frankfurt school. This school is seen as defender of
Hegelian re-interpretation of Marxism, very abstract and philosophical and unrelated to
concrete politics.

 Another important concept is that of Dependency

 Lenin was the first to refer to the concept of dependency as a part of his general theory of
imperialism. He understood capitalist imperialism as a manifestation of the struggle among the
colonial powers for the economic and political division of the world.

 Although the colonial powers were sharply distinguished from the colonial countries, formally
independent yet dependent countries also existed. These dependent countries, Lenin said, "are
enmeshed net of financial and diplomatic dependency.

 Contemporary perspectives reveal the contrasting forms of dominance and dependence among the
nations of the capitalist world.

 Dependency theory is the notion that resources flow from a "periphery" of poor and
underdeveloped states to a "core" of wealthy states,
enriching the latter at the expense of the former. It is
a central contention of dependency theory that poor
states are impoverished and rich ones enriched by the
way poor states are integrated into the "world
system". ( Immanuel Wallerstein’s World Systems
Theory

 "World-system" refers to the inter-regional and

transnational division of labor, which divides the world into
core countries, semi-periphery countries, and the
periphery countries. Core countries focus on higher skill,
capital-intensive production, and the rest of the world
focuses on low-skill, labor-intensive production and
extraction of raw materials. This constantly reinforces the
dominance of the core countries.

 A.G Frank provided another framework for dependency theory. He emphasised commercial
monopoly rather than feudalism and precapitalist forms as the economic means whereby national
and regional metropolises exploit an appropriate surplus from the economic satellites. Thus
capitalism on world scale promotes developing at the expense of underdeveloping and dependent
satellites.

 The theory of dependency attempts to show that the relationship of dependent countries towards
the dominant countries cannot be changed without changing their domestic structure and foreign

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relations. structure of the dependency leads dependent countries to underdevelopment as the

multinational corporations extract more and more surplus value from the backward economies.

 Samir Amin also sees capitalism as a world system upon which national entities may be dependent.

 Political economy has thus evolved through several phases: classical political economy, utopian,
socialism, Marxism neoclassical economics and Keynesian economy.

 Political economy deals with such issues as imperialism, development, underdevelopment, state and
class, examining economic and political dimensions.

POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY

 Political sociology is a discipline primarily concerned with the relationship between the State and the
society. The discipline looks at how major social trends can affect the political process.
 Political sociology lies at the intersection of the disciplines of political science and sociology.
 R.Bendix and S.M.Lipset state that political sociology starts with society and examines how it affects the
state.
 Political sociology seeks to understand the process of interaction between government and society,
decision-making authorities and conflicting social forces and interests.
 Aristotle is known as the Father of Political Sociology because of his Theory of Revolution.
 Karl Marx, on the other hand, is considered as the Father of Modern Political Sociology.
 Like Political economy, Political sociology also is divided into two prominent schools: Marxist school and
the Weberian school.
 Marx suggests that politics can be understood only by understanding the basic structure of society and
the relations between classes.
 Within Marxism, there are two schools : Instrumentalist school and Structural school
 Instrumentalist school suggests that state is an instrument of dominant class while the
Structuralist school suggests that in some situations state gains relative autonomy.
 Gramsci has highlighted the role of civil society through his concept of Integral state. Marxist
scholars analyse class structure of the society, nature of state, revolution, protest etc.
 Max Weber was a critic of Karl Marx and a supporter of Capitalism. He has challenged the
following assumptions of Marx:
> Economic structure is a determinant of all that happens in superstructure.Weber
criticised it as a monocausal explanation.
> Weber does not believe in Marx’s concept of Class antagonism and his division of
society into Haves and Have Nots. On the contrary, he believes that there will be
Proliferation of classes( growth of middle class )
> Weber was an admirer of Capitalism unlike Marx and considered it most rational.

 Thus a new school of Political Sociology started with Max Weber. His contribution includes Method
of Ideal types, The Concept of Authority, Theory of Bureaucracy, The Concept of Political Parties.
 Among prominent sociologists using Weberian approach are Andre Beteille and Christophe Jaffrelot
studying Indian Politics.

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 The main areas of research of Political sociologists are Caste, Class, Ethnicity, Authority, Revolution,
Political parties, Pressure groups, Bureaucracy.
 The emergence of Behavioural school after the second World War gave a boost to field survey and
quantitative data for promotion of scientific research.
 Although, Political sociology approach proved to be the most relevant in the context of study of
developing areas, political scientists saw it as a threat to political science.
 Thus, scholars like Theda Skocpol suggested ‘To bring the state back in’ and uphold the centrality
of state in the discipline of Political science.

POLITICAL CULTURE

 In the 1980s, the concept of Political culture became a part of modern political analysis. This term
has been popularised by the American political thinkers like Ulam, Beer, Gabriel Almond and it is
now being used frequently to compare the different political systems.
 It is political culture which explains satisfactorily the phenomenon why parliamentary democracy
has succeeded well in Great Britain but not succeed in most of the counties of Africa and Asia.
 The pioneer comparative effort to construct a theory of political culture was Gabriel Almond and
Sidney Verba's Civic Culture, which was based on a survey of the attitude of citizens toward their
nation in the United States, Great Britain,Germany, France, Italy, and Mexico.
 Political culture consists of beliefs, symbols, and values that define situations in which political
action occurs.
 Types of political culture characterized systems are Parochial, Subject, and Participant political
cultures.These types of political cultures reflect the psychological and subjective orientations of
people toward their national system.

Different kinds of Political Culture

Almond and Verba present a classification of Political culture into three ideal types. They are:

1. Parochial political culture -The people have no understanding of the national political
system, do not possess any tendency to participate in the input process and have no
consciousness of the output process, such type of political culture called parochial
political culture. e.g. African Tribes Eskimos.
2. Subject Political culture -This type of political culture is found in the subject countries
and monarchies. There the people are aware of the governmental systems whether they
like it or not. In this type of culture people are not taught to participate in the input
functions.Sometimes they are not allowed to do so.The people find it difficult how to
influence the working political system.

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3. Participant political culture -In this type of Political culture

people take active part in the political sphere by considering
themselves as an active member of the polity. They are well
conscious of their rights and duties.

 Almond and Verba have also given the concept of Civic culture.
 Civic culture is neither traditional nor modern, but partaking of
both pluralistic culture based on communication and persuasion, a
culture of consensus and diversity, a culture permitted to change but
moderated it.

 Professor S.E Finer suggests three variables of political culture:

1. Mature Political Culture – As obtaining in Britain, America, Australia and the Netherlands, it
shows that the political consensus and its degree of organization are very high; the need of
the government for counting on the support of the armed forces is at a minimum; and long
habituation to this situation has brought not only the public but even the armed service to
an almost unquestioning belief in the principle of civil supremacy.

2. Developed Political Culture – It refers to a society where the public is highly organized,
though, from time to time, it becomes sharply polarized on either the legitimacy of its
institutions and procedures or on the incumbents who hold office as a consequence of
these. Countries like Egypt, Algeria and Cuba can be placed in this category.

3. Low Political Culture – It is found in countries with narrow and weakly organized publics,
often self – divided on the legitimacy of the regime or the incumbents in office. In such
countries, public opinion is too feeble or self-divided or both to offer any sustained
resistance to authoritarian rules. Countries like Vietnam, Iraq, Syria, Bhutan, And Indonesia
are examples of this category.

Almond and Powell realized that the approach of political culture to the political system is inadequate.
Critics have pointed out that the following are the drawbacks of political culture analysis.

a) The concept is merely a new label for an old idea

b) Its definition is vague. Various political writers have given it a meaning of their own. So,this
concept conveys conflicting ideas

c) It is difficult to distinguish those elements which contribute to political culture from the
elements which are generally found in the political culture

d) It is not clear whether political institutions and practices are part of the political culture or are
its products.

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Politics of Representation and Participation

Syllabus
Politics of Representation and Participation: Political parties, pressure groups and social movements in
advanced industrial and developing societies.

Past year UPSC questions

1. How did the struggle for representation increase the level and quality of democracy in the industrial
societies?
2. Evaluate the nature and distinctions of anomic and associational interest groups in the pressure
politics of developing countries.
3. Examine the significance of ideological and policy aspects in the structural growth of modern political
parties.
4. Is the rise of social movement a sign of opening up of popular space in political process or decline of
representative politics? Examine.
5. How big a role does identity play in determining political participation in developing countries?
Discuss your answer with suitable illustrations
6. What is the difference between interest Groups and Pressure Groups? Are the Pressure Groups in
India in a position to fully protect or promote the interests of their members?
7. Comment on the decline of political parties and examine whether slew social movements shall be
alternative strategy for establishing link between government and society.
8. Do interest groups help to promote democracy or to undermine it? Give your opinion
9. How big a role does identity play in determining political participation in the developing countries ?
Discuss your answer with suitable illustrations

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Politics of Representation and Participation

PARTIES AND PARTY SYSTEM

Understanding political parties and party system in brief

 Politics is the struggle for power, and in this struggle organised groups can surely be more
effective than unorganised mobs. Government requires leaders, who in turn must be supported
by organised people instead of mob.
 According to Edmund Burke “Party is a body of men united for promoting by their joint
endeavours the national interest upon some particular principles in which they are all agreed.”
 R.M. Maclver defined a party as “an association organised in support of some principle or policy
which by constitutional means endeavours to make the determinant of government.
 R.N. Gilchrist had written that, “A political party may … be defined as an organised group of
citizens who profess to share the same political views and who, by acting as a political unit, try
to control the government.”
 As Zoya Hasan says, a party is “a keystone political institution in representative regime”, and
parties regularly fulfil three crucial functions. These are: nominating candidates for public
offices, formulating and setting the agenda for public; and mobilising support for candidates and
policies in an election.
 According to Giovanni Sartori Parties link people to the government.
 According to A.H. Somjee political parties distinguish from other institutions because they
create a substantive connection between the ruler and the ruled.
o Political parties are essential to the functioning of democracy.
o They perform different functions within and outside the realm of politics.
o Their leadership and policies, internal practices, and the patterns of interaction with
other parties and institutions can have profound consequences for the system of
governance.

Political system and party system in brief

Nature of any political system largely depends on the features of its party system.

There are different types of party systems but the two-party system is prominent one as it provides for

 Two clear alternatives before the electorate

 Stable government which is responsible
 An opposition which keeps the ruling party under constant vigil and check.
 Democratic process is not allowed to derail.

However, many countries have multi-party systems with a large number of parties.

 These parties provide wider choice to the people

 But often lead to instability of government.

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Various perspectives on political parties

Sigmund  Political party is representative of social interests which acts as a bridge, a link, between
Neumann the individual and the society.
 The success of democracy depends on the efficient working of parties.
 Whether the government is parliamentary or presidential democracy, it cannot succeed
in the absence of parties.
 An unorganized mob of people cannot govern the state. Its organised form is a political
party.
One-party system
o In a one-party system there is total absence of competition and distinct policies
and programmes. Party must have a second part, or a competitor, which is
missing in one-party states.
o Consequently in one-party system, the party becomes totalitarian. Once it
manages to acquire power, it retains it by one means or the other

According to  Objective of the parties is to acquire political power, or to share the exercise of such
Maurice power.
Duverger  Evolution of political parties coincided with the growth of parliamentary system and
electoral processes. Members of the legislatures holding similar views and beliefs in
similar ideologies came together leading to the birth and growth of political parties.
 While common ideology became the basis of parties in Britain and other European
democracies that was not the case in the United States.
o The American political parties do not have clearly distinct ideologies.
o These parties came into existence as an outcome of the process of selection of
presidential candidates, managing their campaign, raising campaign funds and
selecting candidates for numerous other electoral offices in the United States.
o These parties are even now more concerned with electoral processes, rather than
ideologies.

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Marxist According to Marxist

Concept of
Parties  Marxist held that parties are manifestation of classes.
 Parties represent class interest.
 Bourgeoisie parties represent bourgeoisie interest and hence not representative of
larger interest and hence not democratic.
 They assert that the party that represents the working people alone has the right
to exist, because they represent larger public interest.
 The Marxist ideology unites the working people and the party, and its organisation
makes it all-powerful.
 According to Marxist interpretation of political parties, the parties in capitalist countries
represent the class interests.
 Thus, they are instruments of protection of different classes. They become source and
leaders of class conflict. In the capitalist countries, the communist parties protect the
working people against capitalist exploitation.
 They propagate revolutionary ideas, and prepare the proletariat for revolution. Once the
revolution succeeds, the communist parties ensure its protection.

According to Lenin

 A party is a well-organised group of chosen elite intellectuals and political activists, they
are trained to be totally loyal to the party and a cause of revolution.
 It propagates revolutionary ideas, imparts training of the art of revolution and assists the
working classes in the achievements of its objectives.
 Prior to the revolution, during the bourgeois period, the party must play a vital role. The
party is required to be instrumental in the destruction of capitalist order, and
establishment of dictatorship of the proletariat.
 The party is vanguard of the working people which has a pivotal role in class
consciousness, and is ever ready to make sacrifices in the interest of the proletariat.
 The objective of the party is to protect the interests of the proletariat. The Communist
Party alone knows what is in the interest of working people.

CLASSIFICATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES

Maurice Duverger classified parties as (i) the elitist or traditional parties, and (ii) mass partie and this
classification is largely accepted.

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Parties

Elitist Mass
parties parties

European American Socialist Communist fascist

Type Type parties parties parties

Elitist European  These parties emphasise quality rather than numbers. They seek
Classification Type support of prominent and influential persons. The wealthy people
of Parties Parties do not occupy prominent place in these parties.
have their  Party whips have a major say in maintaining discipline in these
support parties inside the legislative bodies. Members of legislatures
Maurice among the invariably vote according to the party whips, and often even speak
Duverger masses and according to wishes of party leadership. Those who defy the whips
classified represented in Britain or India may be punished by the party which may even
parties as by elite class include expulsion of defiant members.
and which are  Legislators in many other countries are free to vote as they wish.
(i) the elitist not cadre
or They do not care for party discipline. The disciplined parties may be
based are described as ‘rigid’, whereas others can be called ‘flexible’ parties.
traditional elitist parties.
parties, and  It is generally believed that elitist parties are flexible while mass
(ii) mass Membership parties are rigid.
parties. or entry in However, elitist parties in Britain, being disciplined, are exceptions.
these parties is  The British parties are symbols of liberal democratic system. With
exclusive and the growth of mass parties, even British parties tried to expand
not open for their membership. In the modern electoral fights, large number of
all. workers is required by the parties.
 Therefore, they admitted large number of members, yet they did
They are not change their basic features.
classified as

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(a) the The  The U.S. parties are essentially election-oriented.

European American  American parties are led by professional politicians, many of whom
Type and Type are not democratically elected.
 American parties have closer to the masses because of dual
(b) The
process of strengthened party structure and increasing influence of
American
the people
Type.
 An important feature of contemporary US parties is that their local
committees have become very powerful; state committees enjoy
lesser powers; and the central organisation is rather weak.
 Another feature of American system is lack of party discipline
among the members of the
Congress. They speak and vote according to their individual
decisions. In this respect they are closer to some of the multiparty
democracies rather than the British parties.

Socialist  These parties believe in socialism to be brought about by the

Mass Parties peaceful democratic means of parliamentary process.
Parties which  They believe in rule of law, rather than violence or revolutionary
emerged with methods.
popular  They sought to abolish capitalism through legislative measures.
support base  Socialist parties accept the superiority of the parliament.
especially Therefore, they respect their members of parliament.
from common  Many countries in the world had or have socialist parties as
man, they are important actors in the liberal democratic processes.
mass parties.
 British Labour Party was described as the pioneer of the socialist
People’s parties.
movement are
But, with the commencement of rapid liberalisation in the decade of
more likely to 1990s, the talk of destruction of capitalism suddenly gave way to
become mass
adoption of a capitalist path even by democratic parties including the
parties. For
British Labour Party.
example
Several parties
in the newly Communist  They are based on the ideology of Marx and Lenin and they seek
independent parties: close contacts with the masses.
third world They are much better organised and disciplined as compared to
countries are other parties.
generally mass  Communist parties follow the principle of ‘democratic Centralism’,
parties. which implies
democratic participation of members in party structure, but
centralised decision making and supervision.

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 They are organised at places of work and these parties attract

workers and peasants.
 The primary units, or cells, maintain close contacts with the
members in their workplaces. This makes it easier for them to
convey the party directions and to have them implemented.
Besides, the problems of members of a workplace are common.
They enthuse greater unity
 Liberalisation and opening up of economy in China has altered the
pattern, though it still swears by Marxist ideology. Communist
parties in liberal democracies, as in India, still keep on insisting on
the relevance of Marxism-Leninism.

The Fascist  Fascism is totally opposed to communism. Unlike the communist

Parties parties, fascists advocate an all-powerful state.
 Fascists talk of mass-base, but they use armed forces to inculcate
military discipline and impart military training to the masses.
 The fascist leader takes the route of force to assume power, even
as pretension of democratic process may be propagated.
 Fascism comes to power with the support of capitalists and big
business houses. It is vehemently opposed to communism, and
destructive of democracy.
 Violence and wars have been important part of fascist programme.

Critics to communist concept of democracy

 Critics say that there is hardly any democracy in these parties, as all decisions are made by a
handful of top leaders, who ensure strict obedience and discipline.
 At different levels in the party, discussion does take place, but directions of the leadership can
never be violated or defied. All information about views expressed in these discussions is
conveyed to the party leadership.
 No other party anywhere in the world, except perhaps the Fascist parties, is so rigidly based on
ideology as the communist parties are. They try to strictly follow the Marxist-Leninist ideology.

Similarities between communist and fascist parties

o Both believe in one-party rule, and in destroying the entire opposition.
o They both use force to implement their policies.
o The fascist parties support open competition and capitalism, but they, like the communists,
blindly follow one leader.

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o The disobedience to the leader may mean elimination of members. The Italian Fascist
dictator, Mussolini had himself said that his party wanted to follow the communist
techniques.

Intermediate Type Parties

Maurice Duverger has states third category of political parties to which he described as the intermediate type.
These are:

1) Indirect Parties: Number of big or small committees perform political

functions leading to the setting up of a political party. This may be described as an indirect party.
2) Parties in Developing Countries

o Large number of political parties have come into existence in the third world developing countries,
post-Second World War period.
o In some of the developing countries, the parties followed the pattern of the United Kingdom or the
United States, while in some others one party was established following the Soviet example.
o In some of the African countries two parties each were formed in their own style.
o All of them have been described as intermediate type because they were yet to be fully organised as
disciplined parties.
o In post-independent India many parties have been formed. Some of them could not last long.
o For example: The Swatantra Party was a breakaway group of the right wing of the Congress, but it
disappeared.
o Very large number of small parties or regional parties came into existence. But after a while two or
more of them merged into one party, or formed their own party.

PARTY SYSTEM
A comparative study of different party systems enables us to understand the political systems of the
countries concerned.

Almond’s classification

Almonds 1. Authoritarian Parties

classificat
ion 2. Dominant Non-Authoritarian (democratic) parties

3. Competitive two parties

4. Competitive multi-parties

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Hitchner and Levine classification

Hitchner & 1. Competitive two-party systems

Levine
classification 2. Competitive multi-party systems

3. Dominant non-authoritarian systems

4. Authoritarian party systems

5. States without party system

Duverger’s classification
Duverger 's
classification of
party system

Pluralistic party systems one-party systems

Multi-party one-party
systems systems

Two-party dominant
systems party systems.

Based on these classification we are broadly classifying parties as:

1. One-party systems
2. Two-party systems
3. Multi-party systems

One-Party System

One-Party System Critics to one party system

 In one-party system there exist only one party in a
country, therefore, no opposition.
 Parties other than the ruling party are either
constitutionally debarred, or they are crushed by the
rulers.
 Many western writers refuse to describe
one-party rule as a system, for there can
be no party system until there are at least
two competing parties.
 The western writers place all one-party
systems in one category of non-

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 Ideologies such as Marxism or Fascism normally do
not allow the existence of any opposition party.
 This system originated with the establishment of the
rule of the Communist Party of the USSR after the
Bolshevik Revolution. While the critics deplored the
system as authoritarian rule of the Communist Party,
the USSR claimed it to be the rule of the working
classes.
 Mustafa Kemal Pasha’s one-party rule in Turkey was
claimed to be democratic, while Fascist Party in Italy
(1922-43) and Hitler’s Nazi rule in Germany (1933-
45) were typical examples of the dictatorship of one
man who led the only party permitted by him. All
other parties were banned and crushed. Their
leaders were thrown in the jails or even executed.
 Several countries adopted a one-party rule after the
Second World War. East European countries, such as
Poland, Rumania, Bulgaria and Hungary came under
the rule of their communist parties.
 In China, Communist Party acquired complete power
after the success of revolution in October 1949.
 Later, a one party communist regime was set up in
North Korea. This example was followed later by
Vietnam and Cuba.
 But, certain other countries adopted non-communist
one-party regimes. This was done in Tanzania, Chad,
Ivory Coast, Niger and Liberia in Africa.
Two-party system
Merits
 It ensures stability of government.
 It is relatively easy for the Prime Minister to form
the Cabinet. Once a person is chosen as leader of
the majority party he selects the ministers and
entrusts portfolios to them.
 In a disciplined two-party system the task of the
Prime Minister is easy, unless there is a weak
leader and unless the party is faction-ridden.
 There is no room for violence or revolution to
bring about change of government. People can
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democratic regimes. James Jupp has
described three different forms of one-
party rule. These are liberal one-party
systems, narrow one-party regimes and
authoritarian or dictatorial one-party
regimes.
 In a liberal one-party rule there is internal
democracy in the party, leadership is
willing to listen to its criticism, and local
governments enjoy certain amount of
autonomy. Thus, this may be called
democratic one-party system.
 In the rigid or narrow one-party rule the
party is under absolute control of a
leader, and there is no internal
democracy.
 Elections are not permitted even for
party units.
 The regimes set up as a result of military
coups are also rigid one-party states.
 One-party rule is simply authoritarian.
The regimes of Hitler in Germany,
Mussolini in Italy and of Stalin in the
Soviet Union were all described as
dictatorial.
Demerits
 They say that this system presents just
two alternatives to the voters. Many
voters can hold views which are not
represented by the two parties. They do
not get opportunity to have their true
representation in the legislature.
 The majority party can have any
legislation adopted by the legislature on
the basis of its absolute majority. The
opposition does get an opportunity to
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easily withdraw their mandate at the time of next express its views, but the power of the
election. Parliament is, in effect, limited.
 The task of voters is easy in a two party system,  Members of legislature merely carry out
as they have only two alternatives to make their the wishes of party whips, and their
choice. initiative is often checked
 Since there is a strong opposition, its voice is
carefully heard by the ruling party, and its views
taken into serious consideration.
 The ruling party remains vigilant, and the
opposition knows that it may be called upon to
form the next government. Therefore, it makes
only workable suggestions.

Multi-party system

 It is more democratic, as it offers wider choice to the people.

 Different sections of people find their voice through their representatives.
 In most of the cases, coalition governments are formed which are based on compromises
on the policies of various parties.
 Consequently, ideology often goes into the background.

Merits Demerits

 It is more democratic, and none of the
parties can become arbitrary or
authoritarian.
 The respect of legislature is enhanced as its
decisions are taken after due deliberations
on the floor of the House; they are not
arrived at in the party caucus and then
rubber stamped by the legislature.
 This system ensures representation to all
minorities, and also protects their interests.
 Multi-party system breeds indiscipline, and
leads to frequent formation and collapse of
coalition governments.
 The leadership has to make compromises, and
the government often suffers from indecision.
 Instability and lack of discipline are major
shortcomings of the multi-party system.
 This system is most unsuitable for crises, when
quick decisions are required, but cannot be
taken because of the involvement of several
parties, ideologies and leaders.

ROLE OF PARTY SYSTEMS

The role of a party depends largely on the type of polity in which it functions.

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The role of political parties in a parliamentary
democracy
 The competitive parties formulate public
opinion, select candidates and seek election to
secure maximum number of seats in the
Parliament, so that they are in a position to form
their governments.
 The party or parties that fail to secure majority
of seats sit in the opposition and offer
constructive criticism.
 Two-party system is best suited for the efficient
working of parliamentary democracy.
 Normally, in a multi-party system no single
party may secure a clear majority, but a
number of parties enter into coalition to form
the government; the others occupy the
opposition benches.
 One-party system is normally found in
totalitarian states. It consists of only one party
that is often identified with the state. There is
lack of opposition which makes the rulers
authoritarian.
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In the presidential system of democracy
 Parties have relevance only at the time of
presidential election.
 They do not count in the formation of
government. In the United States, the
directly elected President is neither
responsible to, nor removable by, the
Congress.
 Members of the Congress vote freely
without affecting the fortunes of the
executive. France and Sri Lanka have
combined the parliamentary system with a
powerful executive President. This has
limited the role of parties in these
countries.
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INTEREST GROUPS, PRESSURE GROUPS AND LOBBYING

Interest groups and pressure groups in brief

 People having common interests often get together. When they organise themselves to protect and
promote their interest they are known as interest groups.
 Hitchner & Levine define “An interest group is a collection of individuals who try to realise their
common objectives by influencing public policy.”
 David Truman defines “Pressure groups are attitude groups that make certain claims upon other
groups in the society.”
 Interest groups are not political parties as they do not participate in electoral politics, and on their
own have no direct role in the governance of the country.
 However, if necessary, in their interest, they may support one political party or the other, and try to
influence legislation and executive decisions by using various methods of exercising pressure on the
government of the day.
 When a group carries on its function of pressurising members of the legislature by contacting them
in the parliamentary galleries, the practice is known as lobbying.
 Without being political parties, without contesting elections in their own name, and without
seeking government jobs or entering the legislatures, the interest and pressure groups do play a
vital role in contemporary democracies in the decision-making process.

Understanding interest groups

 Interest articulation: “The process by which individuals and groups make demands upon the
political decision-makers we call interest articulation.”
 Interest articulator may be as varied as an unorganised mob or a well-organised systematic
organization
 According to Almond and Powell ‘interest group’is an association of people to achieve
certain specific objectives, and for this purpose it may even pressurise the institutions of the
state.

Pressure groups

 Pressure groups try to bring about changes in policies of the government either by influencing
its institutions, or even otherwise. However, the pressure groups do not enter the legislature
on their own.
 S.E. Finer defined “…the pressure groups are, by and large, autonomous and politically neutral
bodies, which bargain with the political parties and the bureaucracy irrespective of the
political complexion of the government in power.”

Certain essential features of the pressure groups.

o Pressure groups are part of the political process of a country

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o They attempt either to strengthen or change the direction of government policy.

o They do not seek, as pressure groups, to directly capture political power and run the
government.

Relation between political parties and pressure groups/interest groups

Pressure group/interest group Political parties

 They seek to influence public policy-makers, but
without attempting to take over directly the
control and conduct of the government.
 Pressure groups are the representation of
homogeneous interests seeking influence.
 Interest group is strong and effective when it has a
directed specific purpose.
 Pressure groups on the contrary, do not
participate directly in the acquisition of power or
in its exercise; they act to influence power while
remaining apart from it… they exert pressure on
it…
Pressure groups seek to influence the men who
wield power, not to place their own men in power,
at least not officially…
 The interest/ pressure groups are essentially non-
political associations. Their primary functions may
be economic, social, religious or humanitarian.
Pressure is not their main business. They do so if
necessary for the promotion of the interests of
their members.
 Political parties are primarily concerned with
governance – to contest elections and try to
secure majority of seats in the legislature, or the
office of chief executive, and govern the country.
 Political parties, seeking office and directed
towards policy decisions, combine heterogeneous
groups.
 Political parties strive to acquire power and
exercise it—by electing—mayors and deputies,
and by choosing cabinet ministers and the head of
state.
 As Professor S.R. Maheshwari wrote, “It is the task
of a political party to reconcile and aggregate their
competing demands of interest groups and put
them into coherent programmes and action plans.
Thus viewed, political parties prevent the interest
groups from directly dominating the decision-
making apparatus and process in a country.”
 Parties are committed to a wide-range of issues
and policies; their goal is political power.

 The relationship between the parties and pressure groups is not the same everywhere.
Each political system has different nature of parties and groups, as also their relationship.
 In the United States and Britain, the interest groups articulate demands, seeking to
transform them into authoritative policies by influencing the political processes. While the groups
are functionally specific and differentiated, the parties play the aggregative role.
 France and Italy offer a different type of relationship. In these two, and some other countries,
both the parties and interest groups exist as fairly well organised entities, but not as autonomous
systems.
 The parties control the groups in various ways. Thus, one finds communist-controlled or socialist
party-controlled trade unions. In such a situation, “the interest groups get prevented from

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articulating functionally specific, pragmatic demands, for their activities have become highly
political.” When groups allow themselves to become affiliates to parties, they, in turn, weaken the
capacity of parties to aggregate various interests.
 In several third world countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, neither the parties nor the
pressure groups stand very well differentiated.
 Gabriel A. Almond, “Associational interest groups such as trade unions and business associations
may exist in the urban westernised parts of the society, but in the village and the countryside
interest organisation takes the form of lineage, caste, status, class, and religious groups, which
transmit pressure demands to the other parts of the pressure structure by means of information
communication.”
 In many of the Third World countries, parties tend to be ad hoc arrangements, without clear
policies and without grassroots organisation. Almond argued “… the significant political groups are
neither the parties, nor the associational interest groups, but elements of cliques from the
bureaucracy and the army.

Types of interest groups

Almond’s Classification
According to Almond, the interest groups are of following types:
i) Institutional Interest Groups;
ii) Anomic Interest Groups;
iii) Associational Interest Groups; and
iv) Non-Associational Interest Groups.

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Institutional  Institutional interest groups are closely connected with various institution, and even
interest political parties.
groups  These groups also exist with in the legislatures, bureaucracies, churches, corporations
and even armed forces. They are very active in the bureaucracy, for it is there that most
of decision-making is done.
 They are equally close to legislatures. They form part of a highly organised structure,
but this structure has been created for purposes other than what these groups
articulate. These groups do not need any other organization to articulate their
demands.
 As Almond said, institutional interest groups are “formal organisations, composed of
professionally employed personnel, with designated political and social functions other
than interest articulation.
 But, either as corporate bodies or as smaller groups within these bodies (such as
legislative blocs…). These groups may articulate their own interests or represent the
interest of other groups in the society.” Such groups are very influential and powerful.
 These are exceptions. These groups are generally concerned with better conditions for
their members.

Anomic  The anomic interest groups, Almond said, are “more or less spontaneous penetrations
interest into the political system from the society.” These groups often appear when normal
groups means of expressing dissatisfaction prove ineffective.
 They may be concerned with religious or linguistic or ethnic disturbances, or
demonstrations, even assassinations and hijackings. They are generally characterised by
unconventional, usually violent means.
 Such groups may influence the political system in numerous unconventional ways. They
are occasionally found even in the western developed nations.

Associational  The associational interest groups are closely associated with formally organized
interest institutions.
groups  They are functionally specialised, and they articulate the interests of specific groups,
such as management, labour, business and agriculture.
 These groups are found in those countries where right to association is constitutionally
recognised. Some of them have regular paid employees on their roles to influence the
concerned institution.
 These groups are generally concerned with economic interests.
 The Federation of Economic Organisations, and the Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce and Industry are some of the examples of associational groups.

Non-
associational  The non-associational groups are based on factors like kinship, ethnicity, status and
groups religious.
 They articulate the interests informally and irregularly.
 They do not have any permanent organisation.

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ROLE OF INTEREST/PRESSURE GROUPS

 The role of pressure groups depends to a large extent on the type of government that a country has.
Their role in the presidential system, as in the United States is more significant than that in
parliamentary democracies, like Britain and India.
 Their role is minimum, or non-existent, in one-party states, and particularly in authoritarian systems.
 Their role is highlighted by Henry Ehrmann, while discussing the merits of pressure groups. He says:
“The interests which they represent link their membership with community values. Hence groups
are likely to reflect more accurately than do other bodies, the concerns of the society in which
they operate.” Further, where the formal system of representation proves inadequate, interest
groups, represent community values more realistically than do parties.
Interest groups employ all conceivable methods to promote their interests.
 They request and cajole, they bribe and entertain. The most popular method of pressure politics,
called lobbying, was developed in the United States.
 Lobbying is only one of the methods of pressure politics, yet it is the most effective. Lobbying is,
peculiarly American practice, and its practitioners try to directly influence the lawmakers and other
officials.

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Globalization

Syllabus
Globalisation: Responses from developed and developing societies.

Past year UPSC questions

1. “Human Rights constitute the Third Generation of Rights.” Analyse the range and complex dimension
of Human Rights in the globalised era.
2. What is ‘global village’? Elaborate its main characteristics and also factors that contributed to its
growth. (15 Marks, 2014)
3. Is globalization essentially a process of ‘universalization’ of capitalist modernity? (10 Marks, 2015)
4. How is it that economic and neo-liberal globalization is being interrogated from inside even in
developed countries? What are the economic consequences of such globalization? (15 Marks, 2015)
5. Discuss the impact of globalization on internal functioning of the state. (10 Marks, 2016)
6. Critically examine the Globalization in past 25 years from the perspectives of Western world. (10
Marks, 2017)
7. How has development of Global capitalism changed the nature of socialist economies and developing
societies? (15 Marks, 2017)
8. Explain the relevance of Marxist approach in context of Globalization. ( 20 Marks, 2019)
9. ‘Transnational actors have become driving forces of global politics’. Elaborate.

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Globalisation

Defining Globalization

 Globalization is a concept for which no standard

definition can be given. This is because it stands for a
tremendous diversity of issues and problems and has
been interpreted from a variety of theoretical and
political positions.

 The term globalization became popular in social science in the 1990s. It derives from the
word globalize, which refers to the emergence of an international network of economic systems.

 Theodore Levitt is credited with popularizing the term and bringing it into the mainstream business
audience in the later half of the 1980s.

 Globalisation can be described as the widening, deepening and speeding up of worldwide

interconnectedness in all aspects of contemporary social and political life.

 Robertson has defined globalisation as "a concept that refers to the compression of the world and
the intensification of the consciousness of the world as a whole."

Globalization is generally understood in terms of two distinct processes:

a) Globalization as a process that has made communication instantaneous and has encouraged
people to think in more global terms; and
b) Globalization which tends to combine a market ideology with a corresponding material set of
practices drawn from the world of business.

 In other words, globalization not only refer to an economic system in which inter-national
boundaries do not pose 'unnatural' restriction on international trade, it also refers to ideological
and cultural globalization through communication media, computers and satellites.

 In fact, it is due to the communication media, computers and satellites that the "new' globalization
has come to acquire such features which distinguish it from the old one(s).

 Thomas L. Friedman popularized the term "flat world", arguing that globalized
trade, outsourcing, supply-chaining, and political forces had permanently changed the world, for
better and worse. He asserted that the pace of globalization was quickening and that its impact on
business organization and practice would continue to grow

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 Manfred Steger identifies four main empirical dimensions of globalization: economic, political,
cultural, and ecological.

Evolution of Globalization

 In the 15th century due to war, trade etc. internal politics has been affected by events and
developments and interdependence of states has been stressed. This is reflected in the writings of
Groitus and Kant who argued that states existed within a 'society of states' and 'international law'
and focussed upon cooperation and co-existence of states.

 However what we are experiencing today is a qualitatively new phenomenon:vast networks of

global interaction and financial flows over which individual states have very-limited control,
tremendous growth in communication, emergence of international organisations and regimes,
transgovernmental action, global military order and a re-ordering of the very idea of distance due to
the internet.

 Globalisation is the end product of a historical of capitalist expansion that originated in

Europe and has covered the world. While there is no agreed starting point, certain historical
epochs over which it has developed can be identified.

1st phase of First major expansion of world trade and investment took place in the late century
globalization following the Industrial Revolution in Europe, which made these countries producers of
manufactured goods.

2nd phase of The end of the Second World War brought another great expansion of capitalism with the
globalization rise of Multi-national companies which internationalized production and trade.
 In the economic field, the new Bretton Woods system helped in the rise of
international financial markets.
 In political terms, decolonization created a New World Order with the emergence
of a number of new states.

3rd phase of Triumph of global forces dates from the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the
globalization Soviet Union, which ended the Cold War between the forces of capitalism and socialism,
leaving the former triumphant. With this globalization has become a reality for people
living in all parts of the world.

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Approaches to Globalization

Approaches to understanding the ongoing process of globalisation can be identified in the

current literature.
Hyperglobalist Proponent -- K. Ohmae,
s approach
 This approach see globalization as irreversible process, and define globalization as a new epoch
of history in which traditional nation-states have become 'unnatural, even impossible business
units in a global economy'.
 According to this view, the borderless economy reduces national governments to little more
than transmission belts for global capital, or simple intermediate institutions sandwiched
between increasingly powerful local, regional and global mechanisms of governance.
 In this view international markets and multi-national corporations, have become strong and
impersonal forces driving the world. Consequently the power of states is correspondingly
declining.
 According to this view states have lost their earlier authority and legitimacy and have little
control over what is happening within their borders.
 They believe that economic globalization is creating new forms of social and political
organizations - international civil society and supra-state government - which will eventually
replace the traditional nation-state as the primary political and economic unit of world society.
 Thus, the old north-south divide, or the core-periphery based international relations, is
disappearing and a more complex architecture of economic, political and social power is
emerging. In this situation, states that do not or move with the times, it is held, will be behind.
Older welfare state policies or social democratic models of governance are now of no use.

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Skeptical  According to them globalization as described by the hyperglobalists is a 'myth'.

approach to  They held that it is not the market that rules, but the state that regulates all economic activity.
globalization The forces of globalization are themselves dependent upon the regulatory power of national
governments to make states globalize, and privatize. Thus, politics and not economics alone are
important determining the relations among states in an increasingly interdependent world.
 The sceptics also point out that increased economic activity has led to "regionalisation"of the
world economy the emergence of three main financial blocs: Europe, North America and Asia-
Pacific. This means that the world economy is actually less integrated or global than earlier, as it
stands on more pillars.
 This school also argues that there is no evidence of a new, less state-centric world. Rather, states
are playing a more central role in the regulation and active promotion of cross-border economic
activity; they are shaping the global system.
 In fact, some feel that globalization is a by-product of the multi-lateral economic order created by
the United States in the post Second World War period; others feel that it is a new phase of
western imperialism in which there has been intensification of world trade and investment by the
western states have emerged as the agents of monopoly capital.
 Finally, the sceptics point out that there has been no re-structuring of the world economy, most
trade and investment still favours the North and marginalizes the South, as a result of which
inequalities between the two areas are increasing, and the old international division is becoming
stronger. In fact, they feel that it is these rising inequalities, which are leading to fundamentalism,
ethnic resurgence and aggressive nationalism rather than a world civilisation and
internationalism.
 Instead of cultural homogenization what we are witnessing is re-emergence of local identities.
 There is no global governance, only western dominance, which hides behind a convenient slogan
of globalization.

Transformatio Proponents Anthony Giddens and Ulrich Beck

nalist  They believe that globalization is 'transforming' the world and they see it as a driving force
perspective of behind the rapid social, political and economic changes that are reshaping modern societies
globalization and a world order.
 Globalization is conceived as a powerful transformative force, which is responsible for a
'massive shake-out' of societies, economies, institutions of governance and world order.
 It emphasise globalisation as a long-term historical process that is inscribed with
contradictions, and significantly shaped by factors.

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Marxists  Neo-marxists describe it as a new form of Imperialism, they see it as an extension of the neo-
perspective of liberal conservative policies practiced by the advanced western countries to put their own
globalization economies in order as well as overcome global depression following the oil crisis of the 1970s
and 80s.
 While these policies helped the advanced countries, it did not help the developing states on
whom there is tremendous pressure today to liberalise and privatise internally, and externally
to open their economies to the forces of globalisation.
 For the developing world, globalisation is of the Debt Crisis of the 1980s which led to
Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs). Many of them, with the drying up of officials aid in
this period, borrowed heavily from commercial Multi-National Banks, which were flush with
petro-dollars.
 Inability to repay debts by some countries such as for example, Mexico in 1982, led to
'conditionalities' by the IMF which was able to introduce changes such as rolling back of the
state, removal of trade barriers and emphasis on export-led growth, regional price controls
etc., which introduced a complete change in direction within the of Mexico.
 In the political field the conditionalities on the developing states have taken the shape of
insistence on maintenance of Democracy, Good Governance and Human Rights.
 These developments have led to introduction of competitive market forces and dismantling
of welfarism within the developing states, leading to greater class and regional inequalities
within them, leaving large sections of the population such as the smaller agricultural labour
and smaller industrialists vulnerable to the impact of globalization.
 Globalisation has led to a decline of third world states and their inability to manage in a
world of open economies.
 These states are not in a position to compete and take advantage of the new opportunities
that globalization has introduced, which have gone largely to the advanced Western states,
and even within them, to already better-off sections of the population.
 A.G. Frank has recently pointed out that the impact of globalisation and the has proved
Dependency theory correct, but paradoxically, the theory is hardly used today in studies on
globalisation.
 Thus, globalisation is a force that does not affect all states in the same manner; even within
states it can affect different sections of the population differentially depending on their ability
to face competitive markets.

Sociological  Martin Albrow defines globalization from sociological perspective, globalization as "all those
perspective to processes by which the people of the world are incorporated into a single world society.
globalization  Anthony Giddens writes: "Globalization can thus be defined as the intensification of
worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings
are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa."
 Hence after understanding the perspectives to the globalization it has become now easy for
us to examine the impacts of globalization on various aspects.

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Debating globalization

Support to globalization
Views of Jagdish Bhagwati

Economist Jagdish Bhagwati Speaks in Defense of Globalization

He believes the negative effects of globalization have been exaggerated by its

critics.

 J Bhagwati pointed that there are many concerns associated with international Jagdish Bhagwati
trade and its economic and social implications. People in large industrialized
nations, such as the US, France and Germany, worry that more international trade will not increase
prosperity in their countries, but instead will create a race to the bottom that could hurt their
workers. Meanwhile, anti-globalization activists, such as those who protested at the 1999 Seattle
WTO meetings, believe there are negative social implications for international trade. These
concerns include women's rights issues, the environment, child labor, democracy, and the
significant issue of poverty around the world.

 According to Bhagwati there are two ways to look at the effects of globalization. Either
globalization has a benign effect, advancing certain social objectives like the reduction of poverty or
increases in women's rights, or it has a malign effect which sets these objectives back. If the
effects are in fact malign, he said, it may be necessary to slow down globalization and tradeoff any
potential economic benefits. Meanwhile, if the effects are benign, that does not mean that we
should be satisfied with them instead, we ought to use globalization as a policy instrument to
further these objectives even more.

 The essence of the debate over globalization, Bhagwati believes, is not whether it can have benign
effects, but how we should use such policy instruments of globalization to further our objectives.
When you start probing the arguments of those who see no benefits in globalization whatsoever, he
said, you begin to realize that they are generally wrong.

 Bhagwati went on to discuss a major criticism of globalization that is made by pro-worker forces in
the US -- that international trade pushes down wages or eliminates jobs for workers within the US.

 Bhagwati rejected this argument, saying that it is not international trade but technological
advances that has reduced demand for certain kinds of unskilled labor.

 At the same time, there has been an increase in demand for skilled labor dealing with technology,
which can create more jobs with higher wages. Bhagwati said that most unrest about globalization,
trade, immigration and outsourcing are misplaced, and that the concern would be better spent on
looking at the skills that American workers have.

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 Likewise, he said, concerns about the increasing economic power of nations like India and China are
misplaced. Rather than being a threat to US gains from trade, the growth of these economies could
increase efficiency and competition just as the growth of the Japanese economy did in the 1980s.

 He believes that the Democrats will have to face up to this dilemma sooner or later, because
globalization is not going away any time soon. Instead of opposing globalization, Bhagwati said that
Democrats should advocate policies which use globalization for benign effects.

Samir Saran argued

“As we seek globalisation, we must ensure it is a version that leaves no

person behind. We must seek globalisation that serves diversity and
unique perspectives that make this world richer. We must seek
technologies that serve humankind and are not designed only to further
wealth and prosperity for a few.”

Shashi Tharoor
He stressed on the inevitability of globalisation and also argued that the backlash Samir Saran
to the phenomenon is gaining pace.

Views against globalization

Views of Prof. Ramesh Thakur

In the ‘Dark side of globalization’ professor Ramesh Thakur made following

arguments

Although we may not have yet reached “the end of history,”

globalisation has brought us closer to “the end of geography”

Prof. Ramesh Thakur

 For many, globalisation — the intensified cross-border exchange of
goods, services, capital, technology, ideas, information, legal systems, and people — is both
desirable and irreversible, having underwritten a rising standard of living throughout the world.

 Others recoil from globalisation as they feel it is the soft underbelly of corporate imperialism
that plunders and profiteers on the back of rampant consumerism.

 Globalisation is not uncontrolled. The movement of people remains tightly restricted. The flow
of capital is highly asymmetrical. Over the last two decades, overseas development assistance
from the rich to poor countries has totalled $50-80 billion per year. In the same period, every

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year, $500-800 billion of illegal funds have been sent from the poor to rich countries. That is, for
every one dollar of aid money over the table, the West gets back $10 under the table and, for
good measure, lectures the rest on corruption.

 The benefits and costs of linking and delinking are unequally distributed. Industrialised
countries are mutually interdependent; developing countries are largely independent in
economic relations with one another; and developing countries are highly dependent on
industrialised countries. Brazil, China and India are starting to change this equation.

 There is a growing divergence in income levels between countries and peoples, with widening
inequality among and within nations. Assets and incomes are more concentrated. Wage shares
have fallen. Profit shares have risen. Capital mobility alongside labour immobility has reduced
the bargaining power of organised labour.

Globalization has resulted into the deepening of poverty and inequality — prosperity
for a few countries and people, marginalisation and exclusion for the many — has
implications for social and political stability among and within states. –Prof Thakur

 The rapid growth of global markets has not seen the parallel development of social and
economic institutions to ensure balanced, inclusive and sustainable growth. Labour rights have
been less sedulously protected than capital and property rights, and global rules on trade and
finance are inequitable. This has asymmetric effects on rich and poor countries.

 Even before the global financial crisis (GFC), many developing countries were worried that
globalisation would impinge adversely on economic sovereignty,
cultural integrity and social stability. “Interdependence” among
unequals translates into the dependence of some on
international markets that function under the dominance of
others. The GFC confirmed that absent effective regulatory
institutions, markets, states and civil society can be overwhelmed
by rampant transnational forces.

 Globalisation has also let loose the forces of “uncivil society” and
accelerated the transnational flows of terrorism, human and drug trafficking, organised crime,
piracy, and pandemic diseases.

What can developing nations do to manage the challenges of globalisation?

According to Prof. Ramesh Thakur

According to prof Ramesh Thakur The outright rejection of globalisation and a retreat into autarky is
neither practical nor desirable:

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“Opposing globalisation is like opposing the sun coming up every morning, and about
as fruitful.”

 Equally, though, who wants to be the next Iceland, Greece or Ireland? The notion that endless
liberalisation, deregulation and relaxation of capital and all border controls (except labour) will
assure perpetual self-sustaining growth and prosperity has proven to be delusional. The three
Baltic nations that embarked on this course (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) — to which, for good
measure, they added the flat tax — all had double-digit negative growth in 2009.

 For developing countries, lowering all barriers to the tides of the global economy may end up
drowning much of local production. Raising barriers that are too high may be
counterproductive, if not futile.

 According to Prof. Thakur Countries that find the golden middle, like Chile and Singapore, tend
to thrive, channelling the enormous opportunities offered by an expanding world economy for
the benefit of their citizens. Those that do not, like many in Central and Western Africa, are
marginalised and left behind.

 Finding the right, if difficult, balance between openness and regulation requires keeping a
watchful eye on trans-border crimes that thrive in the interstices of the national and the
international. Illicit trade, accounting for 10 per cent of global economic product according to
some estimates, could be growing at seven times the rate of growth of legal trade.

 The growth in transnational flows has not been matched by an equivalent growth in global
governance mechanisms to regulate them. And yet the very nature of the structure of
globalised networks, which intertwine global actors and interests, ensures that no single power
is able to maintain its position within the newly emerging global disorder without making
compromises with other global players.

 According to Prof. Thakur One response to global governance gaps that have made these
illegal activities possible has been regional governance. The transfer of state functions to
supranational forms of regional governance could enhance the capacity of individual states to
combat uncivil society. The sharing of expertise, institutions, policy tools, personnel and other
resources can go a long way in stemming the tide of unwanted activities.

 Human trafficking is among the darkest sides of globalisation, turning human beings into
commodities bought and sold in the international marketplace. Women and children are among
the most exposed to it. NGOs from all continents attempt to cope with this nefarious activity
and report on those involved in it.

 Jihadists have excelled at using modern IT and telecom technology to promote their cause and
foster their objectives, building on the link between the drug trade and terrorism pioneered by
the CIA in Southeast Asia, Central America and Afghanistan. Jihadis have perfected into an art
form the international transfer of funds in ways that are essentially untraceable, by relying on

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ancient mechanisms that replicate the old-fashioned way Osama bin Laden gets his information
— through pieces of paper brought to him by hand by loyal messengers — which is one reason
he remains at large.

Immanuel Wallerstein

 He argued that there is nothing new about globalization, it’s a continuation

of old capitalist exploitation.

 In his World system theory argued that a lasting division of the world
into core, semi-periphery, and periphery is an inherent feature of world-
system theory. Economic exchange between core and periphery takes
place on unequal terms: the periphery is forced to sell its products at low
prices, but has to buy the core's products at comparatively high prices. Immanuel Wallerstein

Views of Joseph Stiglitz

“Neither unbridled trade liberalisation nor protection is the answer”

 “Globalisation in 2020 is different from globalisation in 2000,” argues Nobel

prize-winning economist Joseph E Stiglitz in Globalization and its
Discontents Revisited.

 He argued that unregulated, borderless markets and transnational “free”

trade had produced big winners, namely the very multinational
corporations that had set the rules for globalisation, while leaving behind
many losers, foremost those in the developing world.

 Globalism per se, he argued, was not inherently nefarious, but when global Joseph Stiglitz
profits aren’t taxed, financial regulation neglected, and the unemployed
neither cared for nor retrained, gross disparities in wealth will result – as well as unhealthy
economic systems with stark imbalances among countries.
One-way benefits
 Globalisation today, however, negatively impacts on the middle- and working-classes
throughout the world, in advanced and underdeveloped countries alike.

 The lines of conflict run between the left-behind workers around the world, on the one hand,
and corporate interests, on the other. Indeed, the benefits of globalisation went only one way –
into the bank accounts of the corporate establishment.

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 Stiglitz believes that a fairly managed globalisation could actually serve the interests of a broad
swath of the world’s population. But rather than constructively address its flaws, populists such
as Trump, as well as the likes of Marine Le Pen in France, Vladimir Putin in Russia and Victor
Orban in Hungary, have promised its victims deglobalisation – namely a re-erection of national
borders protected by trade tariffs and perks for the hardest-hit domestic industries.

 There’s no better case study than Trump’s protectionist policies toward China, which Stiglitz
argues is a response to globalisation – but entirely the wrong one.

Trade wars have something in common with real wars, all countries engaged in the
war – lose.” --Stiglitz

 Trump assumes that trade is a zero-sum game, argues Stiglitz, in which one nation’s gain is
another’s loss. The logic of Trump and his supporters – which until very recently wasn’t that of
most Republican politicos, who praised open markets and liberalised trade – is that since the US
runs a trade deficit with China, it is being treated “unfairly”.

 Indeed, China runs a significant trade surplus with the US, which globalism’s open markets and
unhindered capital flows have helped enable. But, notes Stiglitz, international trade is not a
bilateral affair. The US trades with manifold countries, and with many of them the US runs
surpluses. No one country can run huge surpluses all of the time – or the international financial
system would collapse entirely.

 But a trade war will only make matters worse, warns Stiglitz, especially for the “new
discontents”.

 The “New Protectionism” will drive up prices, Stiglitz argued:

“The increased inflation may induce the Fed to increase
interest rates, which will have two further effects: it will slow
down the economy and it will strengthen the dollar further.”
The stronger dollar would make all US goods more expensive
abroad, inhibiting US trade further and widening the deficit.
The upshot will be the opposite of the protectionists’ aims.

 Neither unbridled trade liberalisation nor protection is the New protectionism

answer, argues Stiglitz. An intelligently managed global
economy could spread the benefits more equally and smooth the bumps in a process that
disrupts the status quo. Globalisation can’t be stopped, or the clock turned back in time.

We’re interconnected now in a way that the planet’s populations never were before.

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 America-first policies are a dead end, he says, for the world at large and for America too.

“We could construct a better globalisation a better, fairer set of rules and
organisations, which would promote growth, development, and stability with equity.”
–Stiglitz

Globalization and state

Impact on state sovereignty

 Most scholars agree that the age of the nation-state is not over, rather it has suffered a decline
the by the end of the 20 century after the glorious heights it reached in the 19 century. The state still
remains the most significant actor in the international arena and retains a degree of autonomy.

 As pointed by David Held this position is uneven; some states have declined
while others have risen, classic empires have declined but new empires risen.
What this implies is not the end of the state but a transformation in its power
and authority. This is best understood by examining certain 'international' or
'external' disjunctures or challenges upon the sovereignty of the nation-state .

Challenge from the new world economy

 Two major changes in economic international processes, which have impacted

on state sovereignty, have been internationalization of production and
financial transactions organised by Multinational Corporations (MNCs). David Held

 MNCs in their production and financial transactions plan their activities with
the world and not national economies in mind. Even when they have a national base, their interests
are global, their activities in their home country being less important.

 Financial organisations such as MN Banks, which are global in scale and new information technology,
have made this possible, and stocks and shares are now 'mobile' and move across frontiers easily. So
the financial economy is not under the control of the state any longer.

 Technological advances in communication and transport are eroding the boundaries between
national markets, which in the past were the bastion of independent national policies.

 Markets and societies are becoming sensitive to each other even though national identities are
separate and monetary and fiscal policies are dominated by movements international markets. For

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example, the major market crash of 1987 affected a very large number of countries.
As a result internal policymaking, investment, employment and revenue within a state is often
affected by the activities of MNCs and changes in the world economy.

 Keynesian-based welfare policies, import or tariff barriers by governments (state interventionism)

which were used by governments to protect home industry in an era of 'embedded liberalism' are
now much harder to implement. This is because state economies are no longer 'managed' by state
governments but are subject to external forces, such as recession, inflation and trade agreements,
due to the interconnectedness of the world economy.

 However, it must be underlined that some states can manage better in this situation, and are able to
'restore boundaries' and take advantage also of the regionalisation of the world economy, for
example the USA or the European Union.

Challenge from new international organisations

 Between the state and the system there have arisen a large number of international organisations
and regimes- new associations - which now manage whole areas of transnational activity (trade,
oceans, space) and collective policy problems.

 In 1909 there were 37 inter-governmental organisations and 176 by 1984 the number has risen to
280 and 4,615 respectively. Consequently, we witnessing new forms of decision making involving a
number of states, and a whole array of international pressure groups.

 A number of international agencies such as the International Postal Union or telecom Unions are
largely non-political organisatdons. But there are a large number of international organisations
such as the World Bank, IMF, UNESCO, UN, which are highly politicised and controversial and over
the years their power to intervene the internal affairs of states has increased.

 A tension therefore definitely exists between the notion of a sovereign nation-state in control of its
internal affairs and the existence of international bodies capable of interfering in the management
of its polity and economy. The European Union is an example of a supra state body that can make
law, punish, regulate, direct and implement policy and has common currency.

 European states have willingly surrendered their sovereignty to this body in order to
further their economic progress and face competition from the USA and Japan. This means that
sovereignty is no longer indivisible, illimitable, exclusive, perpetual, and embodied in a single state.

Challenge from International law

 Changes in international law have introduced new forms of regulations, rights and duties which act
as constraints on states. These are not backed by any coercive power but despite that are important
enough for states to obey them.

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 Traditionally a rule that upheld state sovereignty was the immunity of individuals and state agencies
from being tried in a court in any other country.

 However, in recent years these rules are being questioned in international courts. A tension now
exists between states and international law which is yet to be resolved, particularly within the
European Union. Moreover, the establishment of the European Convention for the Protection of
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in 1950 was an important step.

 Unlike many other Charters on Human Rights, it takes a step towards "collective enforcement" of
certain rights.

 An important innovation is that individuals can initiate proceedings against their own governments.

 European countries in the European Union have accepted that their citizens can directly petition the
European Commission on Human Rights that can take cases to the Committee of Ministers of the
Council of Europe and then the European Court of Human Rights.

 Thus, no state can any longer treat its citizen, as it thinks fit. A gap has also emerged between
membership of a state, which traditionally gives individuals certain rights, and duties and the
creation in international law of new forms of rightsand liberties as laid down by the International
Tribunal at Nuremberg.

 The Tribunal has laid down that when international law, which protects basic humanitarian
values, is in conflict with state laws, it is the duty of every individual to follow the former.
Moreover, the scope and direction of international law has changed. Traditionally it was meant it
was meant to uphold the idea of a society of sovereign states as a supreme political organization of
mankind.

 In recent years international law is longer defined as the law between states but as a cosmopolitan
agency above states, but accepted by all. Yet it is important to remember despite globalisation it is
not accepted by all states and individuals, for example, Islamic fundamentalist movements do not
accept it.

 Finally there is a disjuncture between the idea of the state as an autonomous strategic military
actor, and the development of the global system of states characterised by the existence of the
great powers and power blocs which sometimes operates to undercut a state's authority and
integrity.

 The existence of NATO and the Warsaw pact can constrain the decision-making powers of many
states specially their military and foreign policy. There has also emerged the 'internationalisation of
security' due to joint use of armed forces by states, which has created a command structure above
the states over which they individually have little control.

Impact of globalization on internal functioning of states

Democratic Decision Making

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 Questions are also being raised about the impact of globalisationon the internal functioning of
nation-states. A central question raised by liberal political theory, closely related to popular
sovereignty, is about the impact of globalisation on democratic decision-making.

 Traditionally liberal theory assumed that there is a symmetrical and congruent relationship
between the rulers and the ruled. The former made decisions for the latter based upon notions
of majority rule and accountability, and the latter accorded them legitimacy.

 Nation-states were seen as self-contained units and changes in other states or the international
system, except in case of war or an invasion, were not taken into consideration.

 The emergence of neo-liberalism has led to the retreat of the state creating more space for civil
society and competitive markets, which are not limited to or enclosed within nation states.

 Moreover, active intervention by agencies such as the World Bank and the IMF leading to
Structural Adjustment Programmes and Development Projects, and trade sanctions, aid, military
imports etc., to a much greater extent than before has grave implications for democratic
decision-making.

 Consequently, states no longer control their own decisions and actions as in the past. What this
implies is a change in the traditional notion of 'consent', which is an important core of
democratic theory. earlier notions of a social contract and electoral democracy based on the use
of the ballot box which leads to participatory democracy based upon a community of free and
equal persons is no longer valid.

 The question, that arises is, which is the relevant community - local, regional, national or
international?

 Who makes the law is a valid question as territorial boundaries are no longer sacrosanct.

So globalisation has the possibility of re-opening the assumptions underlying liberal

democracy. With globalisation, the theoretical underpinnings of' liberal democratic
theory need a re look.

Ethnic Resurgence

 A second issue is the coexistence of globalisation and assertions based on ethnic identities, of
language, tribe or religion, which is today questioning the concept of a homogenous nation-
state based upon a common national sentiment, whether constructed out of long struggles
against feudalism and the Church in the West, or colonial rule the developing world.

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 Earlier scholars examining ethnic identities and their relationship with the nation-state believed
that ethnic ties were primordial, that is, given from the beginning and fixed, and with
modernisation and increasing allocation of roles on the basis of universalistic criteria, they were
expected to disappear.

 Nation-states would be able to solve the problem of ethnic minorities over a period of time; and
assimilation was not merely social theory, but also a policy goal to be assiduously followed by
states.

 However, since the early there have been ethnic movements not only in the developing world,
but also even in the economically advanced countries, such as Canada.

Identities could be 'invented' or 'imagined'. This meant they were no longer rooted
in blood relationship, language or culture, but could be constructed by social or
political action. -- Anderson

This meant that the relationship between the concepts of ethnicity and nationalism, between
ethnic groups and the nation, has undergone a change.

Three kinds of assertions seem to be taking place within states.

1. Those based on the belief that cultural identity and economic prosperity can be maintained
achieved by breaking away from the existing state, a good example being the former USSR.
2. Those asserting that nationalist aspiration cannot be achieved without full independent statehood,
for example, Yugoslavia.
3. More widespread phenomenon, in which the state does not adequately look after the interests of a
distinct ethnic group which has remained backward and marginalised, for example, the dalits in
India.

 Today, therefore, while globalisation is the first major force posing a fundamental challenge to the
state, the resurgence of ethnic identities is the second, and they often exert contrary pulls.

 Global promotes a global culture, while ethnic identities promote the local, the parochial and stress
upon the 'other'. The nation-state thus experiences a twofold pressure from without and within.
The principle of nationalism, which created the state in the nineteenth century, is no longer able to
hold states together. External influences can also impinge upon the redefinition of identities.

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Human rights under threat in era of globalization

 Human rights came into being as a form of

protection against an overpowering state and were
ultimately adopted in 1948 in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.

 Human rights protect the dignity of every individual

against a state that has gained or taken too much
power and which tortures or arrests people, makes
them disappear, discriminates against them on the
basis of their background, skin color, gender, sexual
orientation etc., does not allow them to work, or
makes it harder for them to access land or credit because they belong to the "wrong" sex or the
"wrong" population group.

 Civil, political, economic, social and cultural human rights establish the right of all people to
determine their own lives free from oppression and cruelty, social want, despotism, exclusion,
and exploitation.

 States and the international community have a duty to respect, protect and guarantee human
rights. That means they also have to keep an eye out for situations in which private companies
or other actors stand in violation of these rights. They also have a duty to guarantee particularly
disadvantaged groups are guaranteed their human rights, using whatever resources necessary.

 In an age of globalization there are, however, an increasing number of situations in which

human rights fall by the wayside.

International contracts as an obstacle

 International contracts may prevent states from taking the measures necessary to implement a
right. One example was government getting around patent protection for HIV/AIDS medication
by issuing licenses to produce cheaper generic products.
 International organizations can also prevent states from taking the political measures necessary
to ensure rights. Indebted developing countries are a case in point. Pointing to reasons of cost
efficiency, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund advised these countries to
dismantle their state infrastructure for rural development and open markets to import food
instead. Credit approval was often dependant on these factors. The result was that families with
small farms became increasingly unable to secure their income.

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Direct investment as an obstacle

 Private companies often have the upper hand when it comes to foreign direct investment, and
most investments are only made if they are "investor friendly."

 In practice that can mean that employee rights or protection from forced displacement fall by
the wayside. For example, thousands of families are forcibly resettled by mining companies,
especially by those that work in mountaintop removal. Often this is done without adequate
compensation. Trade unions and those affected are rarely able to improve unfair or unsafe labor
conditions because international companies are rarely brought to justice in national courts.

 Local or regional governments and monitoring bodies are often tainted by corruption and do not
pursue reports of abuse.

Subsidies as an obstacle

 Tax law in one country can have human rights consequences on another continent.

 In recent years, several NGOs have pointed to the huge impact that both the European Union's
Common Agricultural Policy and the European fisheries policy have had on markets, working
conditions and living conditions in West Africa.

 European imports of chicken, made cheap by subsidies, and Europe's overfishing of its coasts
have indirectly contributed to increasing poverty and hunger among certain population groups.
This constitutes a violation of the right to food but the governments of countries in West Africa
lack the power to influence its causes in any significant way.

Weak states as an obstacle

 The situation can become particularly problematic for people if their national government is
barely functioning. If it is too weak to control or direct international influences, human dignity
falls by the wayside.

 In the case of "failed states" and countries embroiled in civil war, the responsibility for standards
in mines and on plantations tends to lie with companies
which have operations there.

 Congo is a case in point. Important precious metals are

mined under horrible conditions there. But these precious
metals come to Europe, where they are used in the
manufacture of mobile phones and other electronics.

Globalization as a challenge

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 Numerous examples show that, in the age of globalization, a gap is opening when it comes to
protecting human rights. This gap could be closed if international law could bring the actors to
justice. But that is not yet the case. The victims of human rights abuses rarely sue those
responsible for the violations and are almost never compensated.

 Human rights activists, politicians and academics all over the world are now calling for private
actors to respect and protect human rights in their fields of responsibility. Through their
campaign work, non-governmental organizations are bringing more and more cases to public
attention.

 Such naming and shaming tactics have led many transnational actors to set voluntary codes of
conduct. Kofi Annan, the former general secretary of the United Nations, attempted to point to
the meaning of human rights for economic actors in 2000 by setting up "Global Compact,"
although it, too, is falling short of its goals.

Extra-territorial state obligations

 But whether human rights are respected, protected and guaranteed continues to be largely
dependant on NGOs, skilled lawyers and human rights activists making the problems public.

 That cannot be the only solution. But neither is making voluntary instruments responsible for
implementing economic, social and cultural human rights.

 In order to close these human rights gaps, rules concerning so-called extraterritorial state
obligations are increasingly necessary. In the end, all countries ultimately have a duty to make
sure that their conduct - and that includes trade and dealings with international organizations
like the World Bank - conforms to accepted human rights standards.

 Experts in international law are due to meet at Maastricht University in the Netherlands this
autumn to formulate principles to make sure human rights rules are applied across borders.
They hope to provide a road map for human rights law that can navigate the challenges of
globalization.

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Understanding the Implications of a Global Village

 Imagine the vast spectrum of all the cultures in

the world. Listen to the music—from the gentle
drum beats of Africa, to the melodic didgeridoo of
Australia, to the scream of the electric guitar.
Taste the curry from India, the coconut milk from
Thailand, the cheeseburger from the United
States. Now imagine that all these cultures are
compressed into one super-culture.

 The individually unique music is now a raucous

cacophony. The individually savory flavors are a
muddled sludge. All the countries in the world are united under one government and
one religion. Communists follow the same rules as those previously under a democracy.
Muslims and Christians live by the same religious standards. How would we deal with that?

 In light of rapidly accelerating globalization and expansion of technology, it becomes relevant to

discuss the implications of a potential overarching culture with respect to the potential
clashing of cultures.

 The late Marshall McLuhan, a media and communication theorist, coined the term “global
village” in 1964 to describe the phenomenon of the world’s culture shrinking and expanding at
the same time due to pervasive technological advances that allow for instantaneous sharing of
culture. The assertion that it is possible for all the cultures of the world to become one global
village is controversial, though. On one hand, people believe that if it continues, cultural
globalization will lead to a dazzling marketplace where countries of all economic opportunities
are represented and where more fortunate countries come to the aid of less fortunate ones
with humanitarian efforts.

 On the other hand, people are afraid that the evolution of a global village will raise conflicts
between cultures, cause a fragmentation of culture, or lead to cultural domination by more
developed countries and possibly create hybrid cultures

 Assuming Marshall McLuhan’s analogy of the world as a global village is an accurate prediction
of the effect of cultural globalization, what consequences and benefits will emerge from this
compression of culture?

 The issue of cultural identity is certainly not a new one. When McLuhan presented his idea of a
“global village” however, his concept raised several distinct social problems. As June Johnson,
author of Global Issues, Local Arguments, states, “The idea of the world’s cultures drawn

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together in a global village raises questions about equal representation, reciprocal sharing,
enriched diversity, and mutual understanding”

 More than ever, examples of cultural globalization can be

seen in our everyday lives. The Internet has exploded with
a boom in technology, providing individuals from all over
the world the opportunity to communicate instantly with
each other. Instant messenger, Facebook, Myspace and
various online forums are examples of this instant
communication. In order to examine these complex
problems, we must carefully consider examples of each of
the potential outcomes Johnson refers to.

 A main concern held by those wary of the effects of cultural globalization is that American
media and culture have a negative impact on other cultures around the world. In other words,
countries with more economic influence will eventually control the cultural standards by which
the rest of the world will have to live. John Harris, a British journalist and author, describe how
American media giants are taking advantage of globalization to self promote while
homogenizing musical diversity.

 America is blamed mostly for its alleged imposition of culture and mass media; however, other
developed countries in China and Europe are also at fault as they reinforce American Culture
globally. A primary example used to fortify this assertion is MTV and Hollywood, both pervasive
American media networks that extend their influences far outside of American borders, as
Johnson notes, “In 2004 MTV calculated that around ‘eighty percent of its viewership is now
outside the United States’”.

 MTV claims to adapt its programming accordingly to each country and to attempt to spread a
mix of ethnic programming from country to country. These MTV branches include MTV France,
Italy, Spain, Japan, Brazil, Latin America, Korea, India and Canada. If these networks accurately
depict the cultures of each host country, then MTV has caught on to the globalization trend. If it
is consciously endorsing a global diffusion of diverse music media, then it is a huge player in the
technological expansion of cultural boundaries. The problem with this permeation of the music
market globally, however, is that the economic power of MTV as an American company
supercedes the alleged diffusion of cultures that it claims to inspire.

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 “Some assert that cultural contact is creating uniformity,

standardization, homogenization—a global monoculture
that is sterile, dull, and artificial”. A prime example of this
frustration is the proliferation of American fast food
restaurant chains in foreign countries. The excitement of
visiting another country is easily soured upon stepping
out of the airplane only to see American fast food chain
restaurants. McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut and KFC
taint the cities of even former Eastern block countries
such as Hungary.

 A more serious implication of this permeation of cultural standards is addressed by

anthropologists and linguists, who argue that “…language is bound to culture and that culture is
connected to the deep values and structures that hold societies together”. The potential loss
of less spoken languages is a serious concern. Of the more than 6,912 languages, half may be in
danger of disappearing in the next several decades” (Endangered Languages). Losing these
languages poses serious cultural risks because we lose aspects of the smaller cultures that are
now unable to articulate their beliefs and knowledge as a result of the extinction of their
language. With this loss, not only does our world become more mundane, but we also run the
more serious risk of losing some cultures forever. This is certainly worth considering in our
discussion of cultural boundaries.

 In contrast, however, other stakeholders in the discussion including “…proponents of free trade,
corporate leaders, some cultural analysts, and many citizens around the world applaud the
opportunity and cross fertilization engendered by globalization’s stepped-up cultural contact
and sharing”. They have even gone so far as to state that the world has “become a richly
stocked ‘bazaar,’ not a monoculture”. They view globalization and cultural sharing as a benefit
because it potentially allows all citizens of the world to enjoy the aspects of each others’
cultures. One culture does not need to be drastically changed for the worse in order to enjoy the
rich diversity of another. Philippe Legrain, the chief economist of Britain and a former advisor in
the World Trade Organization, is adamant that globalization is a positive cultural trend. He
states, “The beauty of globalization is that it can free people from the tyranny of geography….
That we are increasingly free to choose our cultural experiences enriches our lives
immeasurably”.

 These people also address the phenomenon of Westernization, or expansion of products and
customs from western developed countries, as not necessarily an imposition of culture, but an
opportunity for less developed countries to incorporate their own culture with Western culture.
They justify this assertion by pointing to the fact that the United States is composed of a melting
pot of cultures to begin with. Our population is comprised of immigrants from Europe and other
developing countries whose beliefs have been “integrated” into our culture as a whole.
According to Johnson, “Using words like integration and cultural fusion, these analysts claim
that the mixing of cultures is inevitable, healthy, and enriching”. To these people, globalization

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is not an evil change being thrust upon society. It is a natural evolution and progression of how
people interact with each other given advanced capabilities to communicate.

 With enhanced communication, though, comes the inevitable realization that some nations are
less financially capable of supporting their citizens than others. The harsh realities of poverty,
starvation, disease and civil war are now made more evident to those who live in privileged
countries. It would make sense, therefore, if individuals used the excuse to not help less
fortunate people in the world because they were not aware of their suffering, they could no
longer ignore the pain that exists outside their comfort zones. It frightens people to come to
terms with suffering in the world.

 It also raises the question of exactly how much the suffering of other countries and the failing of
their governments becomes our responsibility as an affluent nation. Approximately 12% of
Americans are living in poverty, defined by the 2006 census as living below the poverty line of
$20,614 for a family of four (Census). Shouldn’t the United States solve its own economic and
socioeconomic problems before rushing off on a crusade to save all African children from
hunger? These considerations need to be made and some sort of system established to ensure
that countries that are economically able help to improve the standard of life in developing
countries while maintaining prosperity for their own people.

 With increased responsibility to support impoverished countries comes the consideration that
perhaps an enhanced system of interconnectedness between countries will lead to global
cooperation and peace. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) “…supports the idea that protecting cultural rights and diversity has the potential to
promote peaceful international relations”. This assertion does not specify, however, that
supporting cultural identity in specific response to globalization will lead to peaceful relations
between countries.

 It seems obvious that if all countries felt secure in the protection of their cultural beliefs in the
world, we would live peacefully. It is naïve considering the current state of political foreign
relations to imagine that as a world we could achieve a peaceful coexistence. It is idealistic to
imagine a situation where cultures can meld together without losing their individuality while
remaining peaceful about the compression of global culture. More likely a clashing of cultural
ideals and values would ensue. Certain analysts have approached this conclusion: “…increased
cultural contact frequently does not foster peace; instead it engenders resentment and
antipathy”. An example of this antipathy can easily be seen while examining world religions. In
the Middle East, wars have been raging for centuries over religious ideologies.

With these changes comes a responsibility, as humans, to consider the implications of our shifting
realities. Without an objective and inclusive analysis of these issues, we will be unprepared for the
rollercoaster of cultural mayhem that could inevitably ensue. If we are in fact becoming a global village,
will we be able to reach some sort of consensus about how these issues should be addressed in order to
benefit all members of our village equally? If we cannot determine respectful cultural boundaries in the

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simplest manner with regards to language, economy, and basic means of survival, it is presumptuous to
assume that we can identify as a global village at all.

Neoliberal Globalization

 The dominant form of globalization is neoliberal globalization. According to critics, neoliberal

policies aim at creating a framework for the economy that makes it possible to raise profits by
minimizing the costs of investment, reducing social security, and preaching individualism. With
the rise of neoliberalism, they argue, all of society is increasingly dominated and penetrated by
economic logic—that is, the logic of commodities and accumulating finance capital.

Neoliberalism is often associated with the following characteristics:

1. The state withdraws from all areas of social life.

2. The welfare state and collective responsibility are destroyed.
3. Self-help, self-responsibility of the individual for his or her problems, and the capability of the
market to regulate itself without human intervention are preached.
4. Growth, productivity, and competition are presented as the only goals of human actions.
5. Old ultraliberal ideas are presented as modern and progressive.
6. Money and finance markets are homogenized under the dominance of a few nations.
7. A kind of new social Darwinism puts across the message that only the strong and remarkable
survive in society and on the market.
8. A permanent insecurity of wage and living conditions (“flexploitation”), an individualization of
work contracts, and state assistance and state subsidies for large corporations are all
established and institutionalized.
9. Neoliberal ideologies claim that the economy is independent from society, that the market is
the best means of organizing production and distribution efficiently and equitably, and that
globalization requires the minimization of state spending, especially on social security.
10. These developments are presented as something inescapable, self-evident, and
without alternatives.
11. The neoliberal state creates the legal framework for flexible wages and flexible working times.
12. Collective bargaining systems are increasingly superseded by systems at a sectoral, regional,
or company level.
13. The state tries to facilitate capital investment and technological progress by
subsidies, research and development (R&D) programs, funds, and institutional support.
14. The state increasingly tries to activate entrepreneurial thinking by creating new forms of self-
dependence and self-employment, reducing unemployment benefits and welfare, tightening
eligibility criteria, installing sanctions and coercive activation programs (workfare, welfare to
work).
15. Pensions are increasingly cut and the retirement age lifted; private pension funds are
encouraged.
16. Universities are considered as enterprises, and cooperation between universities and
corporations is encouraged.

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17. Regulation is increasingly important on, and shifted to, the supranational, regional, and local
levels, and networks or links between cities, regions, and federal states are established (also on
a cross-border basis).
18. Certain state functions are shifted to civil society (neo-corporatism).
19. Public enterprises and services are increasingly privatized and commercialized.
20. Welfare is increasingly shifted from the private to the corporate level.
21. Transnational corporations introduce increasingly flexible ways of producing commodities, and
they themselves are organized as globally distributed firms that are political as well as economic
actors.
22. The nation-state is transformed into a competitive state: there is competition for good
conditions of economic investment between nation-states, and, hence, nation-states are
frequently forced to facilitate privatization, deregulation, and the deterioration of wages,
labour legislation, and welfare policies to attract the interest of transnational capital. Whereas
capital and transnational corporations operate at a global level, the state is forced to enforce
political action at a national level.

The Antiglobalization Movement

 The term antiglobalization movement is misleading because the movement is not purely
defensive and reactive but rather a proactive movement for global democracy and
global justice. Hence, it can be better characterized by terms such as movement for an
alternative globalization or movement for democratic globalization.

 A transnational protest movement that is global in character and has a decentralized,

networked form of organization, this movement communicates mainly with the help of
the Internet, which is used to organize worldwide protests and online protests, to discuss
strategies, to reflect political events and past protests, and to build identities. Internet-based
protest forms that could be termed cyberprotest or cyberactivism, mailing lists, Web forums,
chat rooms, and alternative online media projects such as Indymedia are characteristic of this
movement, which has a high degree of openness, accessibility, and globality.

 The antiglobalization movement is pluralistic and to a certain extent contradictory. Groups that
have been involved include traditional and autonomous labour unions, art groups, landless
peasants’ groups, indigenous groups, socialists, communists, anarchists, autonomous groups,
Trotskyists, parts of the ecology movement and the feminist movement, Third
World initiatives, civil rights groups, students, religious groups, human rights groups, groups
from the unemployment movement, traditional left-wing parties, critical intellectuals, and so
forth from all over the world.

 This network is characterized as a global network of networks, a movement of social

movements, a universal protest movement, and a coalition of coalitions. It aims at reclaiming
the common character of goods and services that are increasingly privatized by agreements
such as the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the Agreement on Trade-
Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

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 Michael Hardt and Toni Negri used the term multitude to describe the antiglobalization
movement as a whole of singularities that act in common, a decentred authority, a
polyphonic dialogue, a constituent cooperative power of a global democracy from below, an
open-source society, and a direct democratic government by all for all. The multitude, according
to Hardt and Negri, is a wide-open, unrestrained network that promotes working and living in
common.

 Because of its structure and diversity, the movement is rather undogmatic and decentralized. It
cannot be controlled and dominated. The unity of this plurality emerges through the common
mobilization against the neoliberal intensification of global problems. The different issues and
concerns of the involved groups are connected because they all consider problems that have
been caused by the logic of capitalistic globalization.

 The goals and practices of the movement are not homogeneous; there is a large difference
between reformist and revolutionary activists and between nonviolent and militant methods of
protest. Another difference concerns those parts that argue in favour of the strengthening of
the regulation of capitalism at a national level and those parts that want to put a global
democracy in place of national sovereignty.
 As a collective actor that is composed of many interconnected non-identical parts, the
movement can as a whole be considered as striving for global democracy, global justice, and the
global realization of human rights. The movement tries to draw public attention to the lack of
democracy of international organizations and put pressure to support democratization on
dominant institutions.

 The movement is spontaneous, decentralized, networked, self-organizing, and based on

grassroots democracy. Antiglobalist thinkers see this organizational form as an expression of the
changing organizational features of society that is increasingly transformed into a flexible,
decentralized, transnational, networked system of domination.

 Capitalist globalization, they believe, has resulted in the constitution of a worldwide system of
domination that is strictly shaped by economic interests. Hardt and Negri call this decentralized,
flexible, networked, global capitalistic system “empire.” Empire would be a global system of
capitalistic rule; it would be based on a crisis of the sovereignty of nation-states, the
deregulation of international markets, and an intervening global police force, as well as
mobility, decentralization, flexibilization, and the network character of capital and production.

 The emergence of a decentralized global empire, Hardt and Negri argue, is challenged by a
decentralized global protest movement that calls for global participation and global cooperation
and a more democratic, just, and sustainable globalization. The organizing principle of the
movement is one of global networked self-organization. For many of the activists, the protests
anticipate the form of a future society as a global integrative and participatory democracy. The
movement expresses a yearning for a society in which authorities do not determine the
behaviour of humans but humans determine and organize themselves. The movement opposes
globalization from above with self-organized forms of globalization from below.

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 Probably the most well-known antiglobalization group is ATTAC (Association pour la Taxation
des Transactions Financière et l’Aide aux Citoyens, “Association for the Taxation of Financial
Transactions and Aid to Citizens”), which exists in more than 30 countries. ATTAC holds that
financial globalization leads to a less secure and a less equal playing field for people, favouring
instead the interests of global corporations and financial markets. The main demand of ATTAC is
the Tobin tax, a sales tax on currency trades across borders. ATTAC claims to represent tens of
thousands of members in some 40 countries.

Globalisation in retreat

 Trump’s opposition to globalisation, of course, remains stark. He is still to appoint his emissaries
to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Opposed to multilateralism in trade, he also wants
American corporations to invest less abroad.
 But globalisation’s retreat is not confined to the US alone. Germany, Britain, France and Italy are
the four biggest European economies. Via Brexit,
 Britain has already given in to an inward-looking pullback; right wing populist political forces are
showing signs of revival in Italy; the nativist party led by Marine Le Pen finished second in
France; and now, a right-wing populist party has emerged from nowhere in Germany to become
the third largest party in parliament, causing a substantial erosion of popular support for the
centre right and centre left, and making it hard for a government to emerge.
 Under Merkel, Germany was unambiguously committed to the European project and, by
extension, to a less nationalistic, more pro-global stance. We don’t know how the political crisis
will be resolved in Germany, and whether the resolution will be stable.
 It is natural to ask: Where is globalisation, the ruling economic orthodoxy of the last four
decades, headed?
 Two economic arguments against full-blown globalisation, made in the 1990s, are worth noting.
In 1998, Jagdish Bhagwati, famous for his arguments in favour of trade globalisation, wrote
vehemently against free movement of capital, arguing that capital markets were prone to
extreme instability — “panics and manias” — unlike trade in goods, which was more stable and
durably welfare-enhancing.

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 In 1996, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and South Korea received $93 billion in
capital inflow, but had an outflow of $12 billion in 1997, causing a massive East Asian economic
crisis. Trade in goods can never wildly fluctuate in this manner.
 A year before, Dani Rodrik, though not against globalisation per se, had argued against
unrestricted free trade, claiming that many losers from trade liberalisation would lose
permanently, not simply in the short run, as arch trade globalisers were suggesting. All boats
would not be lifted. The freer the trade, the bigger the government would have to be — to help
those hurt by trade liberalisation.
 These economic arguments and others, however, did not alter the globalising thrust of the time.

Instead, it is two recent and strictly political contentions that have reshaped the emerging trends.
1. The claim that there is a grave imbalance between the global nature of markets and the
national scope of state sovereignty. If wages in the US are high, businesses can simply move
overseas, hurting US work force. Greater popular control over capital, according to this
argument, was necessary.
2. Even though movement of labour across national boundaries has been less free than the
movement of capital and goods, international migration has nonetheless been more substantial
than before.

The anti-immigrant wave of politics, often taking ugly racist forms, is born out of the
anxiety produced by the changing demographic composition of polities.

In the US, the Hispanics and Muslims became the object of a majoritarian ire; in France, North
African Muslims; in Britain, new migrants from Europe and elsewhere; in Germany, refugees
from the Middle East, etc.

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Where might all this end up?

 The short run is clearer than the long run. Labour migration will almost certainly be badly hurt:
Ethnicity continues to be an obsessive concern of modern nation-states. Capital is likely to be hit
least. Its power is ubiquitous.
 Moreover, the complex supply chains and other international networks in which businesses
have got deeply embedded cannot be easily broken. Trade restrictions are the most
unpredictable. The tricky part for populist rulers will be how to impose higher tariffs to protect
domestic businesses without triggering a trade war.

In sum, globalisation is in retreat, but nationalist politics is unlikely to fully morph into
nationalist economics, at least in the short run.

Globalization 4.0

 Globalization is a phenomenon driven by technology and the movement of ideas, people, and
goods.
 Globalization 4.0 is latest stage of globalization which involves cutting-edge new technologies like
artificial intelligence that powers forward with the explosion of information technology.
 These technologies shrink distances, open up
borders and minds and bring people all across
the globe closer together.
Globalization 4.0 – what does it mean?

 After World War II, the international

community came together to build a shared
future. Now, it must do so again. Owing to
the slow and uneven recovery in the decade
since the global financial crisis, a substantial
part of society has become disaffected and
embittered, not only with politics and
politicians, but also with globalization and
the entire economic system it underpins.

 In an era of widespread insecurity and frustration, populism has become increasingly attractive
as an alternative to the status quo. But populist discourse eludes – and often confounds – the
substantive distinctions between two concepts: globalization and globalism.

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 Globalization is a phenomenon driven by technology and the movement of ideas, people, and
goods. Globalism is an ideology that prioritizes the neoliberal global order over national
interests. Nobody can deny that we are living in a globalized world. But whether all of our
policies should be “globalist” is highly debatable.

 After all, this moment of crisis has raised important questions about our global-governance
architecture. With more and more voters demanding to “take back control” from “global
forces,” the challenge is to restore sovereignty in a world that requires cooperation.

 Rather than closing off economies through protectionism and nationalist politics, we must forge
a new social compact between citizens and their leaders, so that everyone feels secure enough
at home to remain open to the world at large. Failing that, the ongoing disintegration of our
social fabric could ultimately lead to the collapse of democracy.

 Moreover, the challenges associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) are coinciding
with the rapid emergence of ecological constraints, the advent of an increasingly multipolar
international order, and rising inequality. These integrated developments are ushering in a new
era of globalization. Whether it will improve the human condition will depend on whether
corporate, local, national, and international governance can adapt in time.

 Meanwhile, a new framework for global public-private cooperation has been taking shape.
Public-private cooperation is about harnessing the private sector and open markets to drive
economic growth for the public good, with environmental sustainability and social inclusiveness
always in mind. But to determine the public good, we first must identify the root causes of
inequality.

 For example, while open markets and increased competition certainly produce winners and
losers in the international arena, they may be having an even more pronounced effect on
inequality at the national level. Moreover, the growing divide between the precariat and the
privileged is being reinforced by 4IR business models, which often derive rents from owning
capital or intellectual property.

 Closing that divide requires us to recognize that we are living in a new type of innovation-driven
economy, and that new global norms, standards, policies, and conventions are needed to
safeguard the public trust. The new economy has already disrupted and recombined countless
industries, and dislocated millions of workers. It is dematerializing production, by increasing the
knowledge intensity of value creation. It is heightening competition within domestic product,
capital, and labor markets, as well as among countries adopting different trade and investment
strategies. And it is fueling distrust, particularly of technology companies and their stewardship
of our data.

 The unprecedented pace of technological change means that our systems of health,
transportation, communication, production, distribution, and energy – just to name a few – will
be completely transformed. Managing that change will require not just new frameworks for

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national and multinational cooperation, but also a new model of education, complete with
targeted programs for teaching workers new skills.

 With advances in robotics and artificial intelligence in the context of aging societies, we will have
to move from a narrative of production and consumption toward one of sharing and caring.

Globalization 4.0 has only just begun, but we are already vastly underprepared for it.

 Clinging to an outdated mindset and tinkering with our existing processes and institutions will
not do. Rather, we need to redesign them from the ground up, so that we can capitalize on the
new opportunities that await us, while avoiding the kind of disruptions that we are witnessing
today.

 As we develop a new approach to the new economy, we must remember that we are not
playing a zero-sum game. This is not a matter of free trade or protectionism, technology or jobs,
immigration or protecting citizens, and growth or equality. Those are all false dichotomies,
which we can avoid by developing policies that favor “and” over “or,” allowing all sets of
interests to be pursued in parallel.

 To be sure, pessimists will argue that political conditions are standing in the way of a productive
global dialogue about Globalization 4.0 and the new economy. But realists will use the current
moment to explore the gaps in the present system, and to identify the requirements for a future
approach. And optimists will hold out hope that future-oriented stakeholders will create a
community of shared interest and, ultimately, shared purpose.

 The changes that are underway today are not isolated to a particular country, industry, or issue.
They are universal, and thus require a global response. Failing to adopt a new cooperative
approach would be a tragedy for humankind. To draft a blueprint for a shared global-
governance architecture, we must avoid becoming mired in the current moment of crisis
management.

Specifically, this task will require two things of the international community:
1. Wider engagement and
2. Heightened imagination.

The engagement of all stakeholders in sustained dialogue will be crucial, as will the imagination to think
systemically, and beyond one’s own short-term institutional and national considerations.

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COVID-19: What is the future of globalisation?

 Uncertainties about the future of globalisation have arisen in the wake of the disruptions that the
“Great Lockdown” has caused in all major economies

 The ongoing disruptions are reminiscent of the “Great Depression” of the 1930s, after which most
economies turned protectionist. Given this context, the likely impact of the “Great Lockdown” on
global trade volumes is another ominous sign. The World Trade Organization had predicted that
global trade volumes could decline by 13-32% in 2020. The WTO’s worst case scenario of trade
volume decline is significantly worse than the impact of the “Great Depression” on trade; between
1929 and 1932, trade volumes declined by almost 25%.

 In recent weeks, there have been attempts to view the challenges that the process of globalisation
faces from several different perspectives.

 Several commentators have argued that the world economy is going through a phase of
“slowbalisation” or even “deglobalisation”, but these tendencies are not likely to sound a death
knell for globalisation.

Neoliberalism – the ideology at the root of all our problems

Financial meltdown, environmental disaster and even the rise of Donald Trump – neoliberalism has
played its part in them all. Why has the left failed to come up with an alternative?

Neoliberalism: do you know what it is?

 Its anonymity is both a symptom and cause of its power. It has played a major role in a
remarkable variety of crises: the financial meltdown of 2007-8, the offshoring of wealth and
power, of which the Panama Papers offer us merely a glimpse, the slow collapse of public health
and education, resurgent child poverty, the epidemic of loneliness, the collapse of ecosystems,
the rise of Donald Trump. But we respond to these crises as if they emerge in isolation,
apparently unaware that they have all been either catalysed or exacerbated by the same
coherent philosophy; a philosophy that has – or had – a name. What greater power can there be
than to operate namelessly?

 Neoliberalism sees competition as the defining characteristic of human relations. It redefines

citizens as consumers, whose democratic choices are best exercised by buying and selling, a
process that rewards merit and punishes inefficiency. It maintains that “the market” delivers
benefits that could never be achieved by planning.

 Attempts to limit competition are treated as inimical to liberty. Tax and regulation should be
minimised, public services should be privatised. The organisation of labour and collective

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bargaining by trade unions are portrayed as market distortions that impede the formation of a
natural hierarchy of winners and losers.

 Inequality is recast as virtuous: a reward for utility and a generator of wealth, which trickles
down to enrich everyone. Efforts to create a more equal society are both counterproductive and
morally corrosive. The market ensures that everyone gets what they deserve.

 We internalise and reproduce its creeds. The rich persuade themselves that they acquired their
wealth through merit, ignoring the advantages – such as education, inheritance and class – that
may have helped to secure it. The poor begin to blame themselves for their failures, even when
they can do little to change their circumstances.

 The term neoliberalism was coined at a meeting in Paris in 1938. Among the delegates were two
men who came to define the ideology, Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek. Both exiles from
Austria, they saw social democracy, exemplified by Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal and the
gradual development of Britain’s welfare state, as manifestations of a collectivism that occupied
the same spectrum as nazism and communism.

 In The Road to Serfdom, published in 1944, Hayek argued that government planning, by crushing
individualism, would lead inexorably to totalitarian control.

 As it evolved, neoliberalism became more strident. Hayek’s view that governments should
regulate competition to prevent monopolies from forming gave way – among American apostles
such as Milton Friedman – to the belief that monopoly power could be seen as a reward for
efficiency.

 After Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan took power: massive tax cuts for the rich, the
crushing of trade unions, deregulation, privatisation, outsourcing and competition in public
services.

 Through the IMF, the World Bank, the Maastricht treaty and the World Trade Organisation,
neoliberal policies were imposed – often without democratic consent – on much of the world.

It may seem strange that a doctrine promising choice and freedom should have been
promoted with the slogan “there is no alternative”.

 But, as Hayek remarked on a visit to Pinochet’s Chile – one of the first nations in which the
programme was comprehensively applied – “my personal preference leans toward a liberal
dictatorship rather than toward a democratic government devoid of liberalism”. The freedom
that neoliberalism offers, which sounds so beguiling when expressed in general terms, turns out
to mean freedom for the pike, not for the minnows.

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1. Freedom from trade unions and collective bargaining means the freedom to suppress
wages.
2. Freedom from regulation means the freedom to poison rivers, endanger workers,
charge iniquitous rates of interest and design exotic financial instruments.
3. Freedom from tax means freedom from the distribution of wealth that lifts people out
of poverty.

Naomi Klein documented that neoliberals advocated the use

of crises to impose unpopular policies while people were
distracted

 As Naomi Klein documents in The Shock Doctrine, neoliberal

theorists advocated the use of crises to impose unpopular
policies while people were distracted: for example, in the
aftermath of Pinochet’s coup, the Iraq war and Hurricane Naomi Klein
Katrina, which Friedman described as “an opportunity to
radically reform the educational system” in New Orleans.

 Where neoliberal policies cannot be imposed domestically, they are imposed internationally,
through trade treaties incorporating “investor-state dispute settlement”: offshore tribunals in
which corporations can press for the removal of social and environmental protections. When
parliaments have voted to restrict sales of cigarettes, protect water supplies from mining
companies, freeze energy bills or prevent pharmaceutical firms from ripping off the state,
corporations have sued, often successfully. Democracy is reduced to theatre.

 Another paradox of neoliberalism is that universal competition relies upon universal

quantification and comparison. The result is that workers, job-seekers and public services of
every kind are subject to a pettifogging, stifling regime of assessment and monitoring, designed
to identify the winners and punish the losers. The doctrine that Von Mises proposed would free
us from the bureaucratic nightmare of central planning has instead created one.

 Neoliberalism was not conceived as a self-serving racket, but it rapidly became one. Economic
growth has been markedly slower in the neoliberal era (since 1980 in Britain and the US) than it
was in the preceding decades; but not for the very rich. Inequality in the distribution of both
income and wealth, after 60 years of decline, rose rapidly in this era, due to the smashing of
trade unions, tax reductions, rising rents, privatisation and deregulation.

 The privatisation or marketisation of public services such as energy, water, trains, health,
education, roads and prisons has enabled corporations to set up tollbooths in front of essential
assets and charge rent, either to citizens or to government, for their use. Rent is another term
for unearned income. When you pay an inflated price for a train ticket, only part of the fare

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compensates the operators for the money they spend on fuel, wages, rolling stock and other
outlays. The rest reflects the fact that they have you over a barrel.

 Those who own and run the UK’s privatised or semi-privatised services make stupendous
fortunes by investing little and charging much. In Russia and India, oligarchs acquired state
assets through firesales. In Mexico, Carlos Slim was granted control of almost all landline and
mobile phone services and soon became the world’s richest man.

 Financialisation, as Andrew Sayer notes in Why We Can’t Afford the Rich, has had a similar
impact. “Like rent,” he argues, “interest is ... unearned income that accrues without any effort”.
As the poor become poorer and the rich become richer, the rich acquire increasing control
over another crucial asset: money. Interest payments, overwhelmingly, are a transfer of money
from the poor to the rich. As property prices and the withdrawal of state funding load people
with debt (think of the switch from student grants to student loans), the banks and their
executives clean up.

 Sayer argues that the past four decades have been characterised by a transfer of wealth not
only from the poor to the rich, but within the ranks of the wealthy: from those who make their
money by producing new goods or services to those who make their money by controlling
existing assets and harvesting rent, interest or capital gains. Earned income has been supplanted
by unearned income.

Neoliberal policies are everywhere beset by market failures. Not only are the banks too big to
fail, but so are the corporations now charged with delivering public services.

 As Tony Judt pointed out in Ill Fares the Land, Hayek forgot that vital national services cannot
be allowed to collapse, which means that competition cannot run its course. Business takes
the profits, the state keeps the risk. The greater the failure, the more extreme the ideology
becomes. Governments use neoliberal crises as both excuse and opportunity to cut taxes,
privatise remaining public services, rip holes in the social safety net, deregulate corporations
and re-regulate citizens. The self-hating state now sinks its teeth into every organ of the public
sector.

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 Perhaps the most dangerous impact of neoliberalism

is not the economic crises it has caused, but the
political crisis. As the domain of the state is reduced,
our ability to change the course of our lives through
voting also contracts. Instead, neoliberal theory
asserts, people can exercise choice through spending.
But some have more to spend than others: in the
great consumer or shareholder democracy, votes are
not equally distributed. The result is a
disempowerment of the poor and middle. As parties
of the right and former left adopt similar neoliberal Donald Trump
policies, disempowerment turns to
disenfranchisement. Large numbers of people have been shed from politics.
 Chris Hedges remarks that “fascist movements build their base not from the politically active
but the politically inactive, the ‘losers’ who feel, often correctly, they have no voice or role to
play in the political establishment”. When political debate no longer speaks to us, people
become responsive instead to slogans, symbols and sensation. To the admirers of Trump, for
example, facts and arguments appear irrelevant.

Judt explained that when the thick mesh of interactions between people and the state has been reduced
to nothing but authority and obedience, the only remaining force that binds us is state power.

Like communism, neoliberalism is the God that failed. But the zombie doctrine
staggers on, and one of the reasons is its anonymity. Or rather, a cluster of
anonymities.

Conclusion

“COVID-19 has shown us the limitations of the existing international system. In the post-COVID
world, we need a new template of globalization, based on fairness, equality, and humanity, We
need international institutions that are more representative of today’s world. We need to
promote human welfare, and not focus on economic growth alone. India has long championed
such initiatives,”
-------Shri. Narendra Modi Prime Minister of India

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https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/15/neoliberalism-ideology-problem-george-monbiot

Further reading

https://www.e-ir.info/2015/03/21/what-is-neoliberalism-and-how-does-it-relate-to-globalization/

https://newrepublic.com/article/147810/worlds-apart-neoliberalism-shapes-global-economy

Has Globalisation Altered the Role of the State?

https://www.e-ir.info/2012/11/24/has-globalisation-altered-the-role-of-states/

Case study on globalization

MUST READ CASE STUDY

Global Capitalism: Crisis of Humanity and the Specter of 21st Century Fascism

The New Global Capitalism and the 21st Century Crisis

The world capitalist system is arguably experiencing the worst crisis in its 500 year history. World capitalism
has experienced a profound restructuring through globalisation over the past few decades and has been
transformed in ways that make it fundamentally
distinct from its earlier incarnations. Similarly, the
current crisis exhibits features that set it apart from
earlier crises of the system and raise the stakes for
humanity. If we are to avert disastrous outcomes we must
understand both the nature of the new global
capitalism and the nature of its crisis. Analysis of
capitalist globalisation provides a template for probing a
wide range of social, political, cultural and ideological
processes in this 21st century. Following Marx, we want
to focus on the internal dynamics of capitalism to
understand crisis. And following the global capitalism perspective, we want to see how capitalism has
qualitatively evolved in recent decades.

The system-wide crisis we face is not a repeat of earlier such episodes such as that of the the 1930s or the
1970s precisely because capitalism is fundamentally different in the 21st century. Globalisation constitutes a
qualitatively new epoch in the ongoing and open-ended evolution of world capitalism, marked by a number
of qualitative shifts in the capitalist system and by novel articulations of social power. I highlight four aspects
unique to this epoch

First is the rise of truly transnational capital and a new global production and financial system into which all
nations and much of humanity has been integrated, either directly or indirectly. We have gone from a world
economy, in which countries and regions were linked to each other via trade and financial flows in an
integrated international market, to a global economy, in which nations are linked to each more organically

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through the transnationalisation of the production process, of finance, and of the circuits of capital
accumulation. No single nation-state can remain insulated from the global economy or prevent the
penetration of the social, political, and cultural superstructure of global capitalism. Second is the rise of a
Transnational Capitalist Class (TCC), a class group that has drawn in contingents from most countries around
the world, North and South, and has attempted to position itself as a global ruling class. This TCC is
the hegemonic fraction of capital on a world scale. Third is the rise of Transnational State (TNS) apparatuses.
The TNS is constituted as a loose network made up of trans-, and supranational organisations together with
national states. It functions to organise the conditions for transnational accumulation. The TCC attempts to
organise and institutionally exercise its class power through TNS apparatuses. Fourth are novel relations of
inequality, domination and exploitation in global society, including an increasing importance of transnational
social and class inequalities relative to North-South inequalities.

Cyclical, Structural, and Systemic Crises

Most commentators on the contemporary crisis refer to the “Great Recession” of 2008 and its aftermath. Yet
the causal origins of global crisis are to be found in over-accumulation and also in contradictions of state
power, or in what Marxists call the internal contradictions of the capitalist system. Moreover, because the
system is now global, crisis in any one place tends to represent crisis for the system as a whole. The system
cannot expand because the marginalisation of a significant portion of humanity from direct productive
participation, the downward pressure on wages and popular consumption worldwide, and the polarisation of
income, has reduced the ability of the world market to absorb world output. At the same time, given the
particular configuration of social and class forces and the correlation of these forces worldwide, national
states are hard-pressed to regulate transnational circuits of accumulation and offset the explosive
contradictions built into the system.

Is this crisis cyclical, structural, or systemic? Cyclical crises are recurrent to capitalism about once every 10
years and involve recessions that act as self-correcting mechanisms without any major restructuring of the
system. The recessions of the early 1980s, the early 1990s, and of 2001 were cyclical crises. In contrast, the
2008 crisis signaled the slide into astructural crisis. Structural crises reflect deeper contradictions that can
only be resolved by a major restructuring of the system. The structural crisis of the 1970s was resolved
through capitalist globalisation. Prior to that, the structural crisis of the 1930s was resolved through the
creation of a new model of redistributive capitalism, and prior to that the structural crisis of the 1870s
resulted in the development of corporate capitalism. A systemic crisis involves the replacement of a system
by an entirely new system or by an outright collapse. A structural crisis opens up the possibility for a systemic
crisis. But if it actually snowballs into a systemic crisis – in this case, if it gives way either to capitalism being
superseded or to a breakdown of global civilisation – is not predetermined and depends entirely on the
response of social and political forces to the crisis and on historical contingencies that are not easy to
forecast. This is an historic moment of extreme uncertainty, in which collective responses from distinct social
and class forces to the crisis are in great flux.

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Hence my concept of global crisis is broader than financial. There are multiple and mutually constitutive
dimensions – economic, social, political, cultural, ideological and ecological, not to mention the existential
crisis of our consciousness, values and very being. There is a crisis of social polarisation, that is, of social
reproduction. The system cannot meet the needs or assure the survival of millions of people, perhaps a
majority of humanity. There are crises of state legitimacy and political authority, or
of hegemony and domination. National states face spiraling crises of legitimacy as they fail to meet the social
grievances of local working and popular classes experiencing downward mobility, unemployment,
heightened insecurity and greater hardships. The legitimacy of the system has increasingly been called into
question by millions, perhaps even billions, of people around the world, and is facing expanded counter-
hegemonic challenges. Global elites have been unable counter this erosion of the system’s authority in the
face of worldwide pressures for a global moral economy. And a canopy that envelops all these dimensions is
a crisis of sustainability rooted in an ecological holocaust that has already begun, expressed in climate change
and the impending collapse of centralised agricultural systems in several regions of the world, among other
indicators. By a crisis of humanity I mean a crisis that is approaching systemic proportions, threatening the
ability of billions of people to survive, and raising the specter of a collapse of world civilisation and
degeneration into a new “Dark Ages.”2

Global capitalism now couples human and natural history in such a way as to threaten to bring about what
would be the sixth mass extinction in the known history of life on earth.
This crisis of humanity shares a number of aspects with earlier structural crises but there are also several
features unique to the present:

1. The system is fast reaching the ecological limits of its reproduction. Global capitalism now couples human
and natural history in such a way as to threaten to bring about what would be the sixth mass extinction in
the known history of life on earth.3 This mass extinction would be caused not by a natural catastrophe such
as a meteor impact or by evolutionary changes such as the end of an ice age but by purposive human activity.
According to leading environmental scientists there are nine “planetary boundaries” crucial to maintaining an
earth system environment in which humans can exist, four of which are experiencing at this time the onset of
irreversible environmental degradation and three of which (climate change, the nitrogen cycle, and
biodiversity loss) are at “tipping points,” meaning that these processes have already crossed their planetary
boundaries.

2. The magnitude of the means of violence and social control is unprecedented, as is the concentration of the
means of global communication and symbolic production and circulation in the hands of a very few powerful
groups. Computerised wars, drones, bunker-buster bombs, star wars, and so forth, have changed the face of
warfare. Warfare has become normalised and sanitised for those not directly at the receiving end of armed
aggression. At the same time we have arrived at the panoptical surveillance society and the age of thought
control by those who control global flows of communication, images and symbolic production. The world of
Edward Snowden is the world of George Orwell; 1984 has arrived;

3. Capitalism is reaching apparent limits to its extensive expansion. There are no longer any new territories of
significance that can be integrated into world capitalism, de-ruralisation is now well advanced, and the

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commodification of the countryside and of pre- and non-capitalist spaces has intensified, that is, converted in
hot-house fashion into spaces of capital, so that intensive expansion is reaching depths never before seen.
Capitalism must continually expand or collapse. How or where will it now expand?

4. There is the rise of a vast surplus population inhabiting a “planet of slums,” 4 alienated from the productive
economy, thrown into the margins, and subject to sophisticated systems of social control and to destruction
– to a mortal cycle of dispossession-exploitation-exclusion. This includes prison-industrial and immigrant-
detention complexes, omnipresent policing, militarised gentrification, and so on;

5. There is a disjuncture between a globalising economy and a nation-state based system of political
authority. Transnational state apparatuses are incipient and have not been able to play the role of what
social scientists refer to as a “hegemon,” or a leading nation-state that has enough power and authority to
organise and stabilise the system. The spread of weapons of mass destruction and the unprecedented
militarisation of social life and conflict across the globe makes it hard to imagine that the system can come
under any stable political authority that assures its reproduction.

Global Police State

How have social and political forces worldwide responded to crisis? The crisis has resulted in a rapid political
polarisation in global society. Both right and left-wing forces are ascendant. Three responses seem to be in
dispute.

One is what we could call “reformism from above.” This elite reformism is aimed at stabilising the system, at
saving the system from itself and from more radical responses from below. Nonetheless, in the years
following the 2008 collapse of the global financial system it seems these reformers are unable (or unwilling)
to prevail over the power of transnational financial capital. A second response is popular, grassroots and
leftist resistance from below. As social and political conflict escalates around the world there appears to be a
mounting global revolt. While such resistance appears insurgent in the wake of 2008 it is spread very
unevenly across countries and regions and facing many problems and challenges.

Yet another response is that I term 21stcentury fascism.5 The ultra-right is an insurgent force in many
countries. In broad strokes, this project seeks to fuse reactionary political power with transnational capital
and to organise a mass base among historically privileged sectors of the global working class – such as white
workers in the North and middle layers in the South – that are now experiencing heightened insecurity and
the specter of downward mobility. It involves militarism, extreme masculinisation, homophobia, racism and
racist mobilisations, including the search for scapegoats, such as immigrant workers and, in the West,
Muslims. Twenty-first century fascism evokes mystifying ideologies, often involving race/culture supremacy
and xenophobia, embracing an idealised and mythical past. Neo-fascist culture normalises and glamorises

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warfare and social violence, indeed, generates a fascination with domination that is portrayed even as
heroic.

The need for dominant groups around the world to secure widespread, organised mass social control of the
world’s surplus population and rebellious forces from below gives a powerful impulse to projects of 21st
century fascism. Simply put, the immense structural inequalities of the global political economy cannot easily
be contained through consensual mechanisms of social control. We have been witnessing transitions from
social welfare to social control states around the world. We have entered a period of great upheavals,
momentous changes and uncertainties. The only viable solution to the crisis of global capitalism is a massive
redistribution of wealth and power downward towards the poor majority of humanity along the lines of a
21st century democratic socialism, in which humanity is no longer at war with itself and with nature

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Approaches to the study of International relations

Syllabus
Approaches to the Study of International Relations: Idealist, Realist, Marxist, Functionalist and Systems
theory.

Past year UPSC questions

1. What are the great debates between ‘classical’ and ‘modern’ realists ? Is there any thin line of
continuity between these two traditions?
2. What constitutes ‘national security discourses’ ? How far have the IR Feminists questioned how
‘security’ has been problematised ?
3. How does Marxist approcah explain contemporary International Relations?
4. Write a note on Intellectual precursors of Realism.
5. ‘Building ‘peace by pieces’ is the basis of functionalism’. Elaborate.
6. “The Feminist approach to international politics is biased.” Comment.
7. Identify the major differences between the classical realism of Hans J. Morgenthau and the
neorealism of Kenneth Waltz. Which approach is the best suited for analysing international relations
after the Cold War?
8. Critically examine the functional and system approaches to the study of international relations
9. Is Realist Approach the best method to understand International Relations? Examine this in the
context or Classical Realism
10. Examine the World System Approach as developed by Emmanuel Wallerstein.
11. Bring out the major differences between the Classical Realism of Hans Morgenthau and the
Neorealism of Kenneth Waltz.
12. Critically examine the Functionalist approach to the study of International Relations

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Approaches to the Study of International Relations

Realism

Realism

‘Politics is a struggle for power over men, and whatever its ultimate aim may
be, power is its immediate goal and the modes of acquiring, maintaining and
demonstrating it determine the technique of political action’.

Hans Morgenthau

Hans Morgenthau

Strong do what they have power to do, weak accepts what they have to accept.

Thucydides

 Realism is one of the dominant schools of thought in international relations theory, theoretically
formalising the Realpolitik statesmanship of early modern
Europe. Although a highly diverse body of thought, it is unified by
the belief that world politics is always and necessarily a field of
conflict among actors pursuing power. The theories of realism
are contrasted by the cooperative ideals of liberalism.
 Realism as they claim is devoid of wishful thinking and
deluded moralizing. For realists, global politics is, first and last,
about power and self-interest. This is why it is often
portrayed
as a ‘power politics’ model of international politics. Realism in Global Politics
 As an academic pursuit, realism is not tied to ideology; it does
not favor any particular moral philosophy, nor does it consider ideology to be a major factor in the
behavior of nations. Priorities of realists have been described as Machiavellian, single-mindedly
seeking the power of one's own nation over others.

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 Jonathan Haslam characterizes realism as "a spectrum of ideas."[ Its theories revolve around four
central propositions:

1. states are the central actors in international politics, rather than leaders or international
organizations
2. the international political system is anarchic, as there is no supranational authority to enforce rules;
3. states act in their rational self-interest within the international system; and
4. states desire power to ensure self-preservation.

The theory of power politics is based on two core assumptions

1. People are essentially selfish and competitive, meaning that egoism is the defining
characteristic of human nature.
2. The state-system operates in a context of international anarchy, in that there is no authority
higher than the sovereign state.

The core theme of realist theory:

Egoism + Anarchy = Power politics.

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Significant precursor of Realist school:

Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes

1. Machiavelli’s theory of politics was based on a

darkly negative model of a changeless human
nature. In his view, humans are ‘insatiable,
arrogant, crafty and shifting, and above all
Thomas Hobbes Niccolo Machiavelli
malignant, iniquitous, violent and savage’. On this
basis, Machiavelli argued that political life is always
characterized by inevitable strife, encouraging political leaders to rule through the use of
cunning, cruelty and manipulation.

2. Hobbes’s theory of politics was also based on a pessimistic view of human nature. He argued
that humans are driven by non-rational appetites: aversions, fears, hopes and desires, the
strongest of which is the desire for ‘power after power’. As no single person or group is strong
enough to establish dominance, and therefore a system of orderly rule, over society – a
condition that Hobbes referred to as a ‘state of nature’ – an ongoing civil war developed between
all members of society.

Key themes of realism

The key themes within realism are as follows:

1. State egoism and conflict

2. Statecraft and the national interest
3. International anarchy and its implications
4. Polarity, stability and the balance of power

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State egoism and conflict

 Tradition of thought of classical realists can be traced back to Thucydides’ account of the
Peloponnesian War, and to Sun Tzu’s classic work on strategy, The Art of War, written at roughly the
same time in China.
 Life in the ‘state of nature’ would be ‘solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short’. According to Hobbes,
the only way of escaping from the barbarity of such a society would be through the establishment of
a sovereign and unchallengeable power, that is, by the creation of a state.

Inputs from Hobbes and Machiavelli in realism

 As essentially self-interested actors, the ultimate concern of each state is for survival, which
thereby becomes the first priority of its leaders.
 As all states pursue security through the use of military or strategic means, and where possible
seek to gain advantage at the expense of other states, international politics is characterized by
an irresistible tendency towards conflict.

Statecraft and the national interest

 Realist attempt to understand international politics from an objective or ‘scientific’ standpoint,

it also acknowledges the important role played by statecraft.
 Morgenthau similarly placed an emphasis on the ‘art of statecraft’, and spelt the ‘six principles
of political realism’, which governs the political conduct of states

 The key guide to statecraft in the realist tradition is a concern about the national interest.

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 Realism is commonly portrayed as essentially amoral, both because of its image of humans as
lustful and power-seeking creatures and because of its insistence that ethical considerations
should be strictly excluded from foreign policy decision-making.
 State policy should be guided by pursuit of the national interest suggests, ultimately, that the
state should be guided by the wellbeing of its citizens. That means realist do not reject
nationally-based conceptions of political morality, but they reject universal moral principles.
 Realism is commonly associated with the idea of endless war, but they have often opposed war
and aggressive foreign policy.
 According to realists wars should only ever be fought if vital national interests are at stake, the
decision to wage war being based on something like a cost–benefit analysis of its outcomes in
terms of strategic interests.
 Such thinking, for example, led Morgenthau and most US realists opposed the Vietnam War.
Realists have also been amongst the most trenchant critics of the ‘war on terror’.

Anarchy and its implications

Kenneth Waltz’s The Theory of International Politics (1979) theories about international politics could be
developed on ‘three levels of analysis

1. The human individual

2. The state
3. The international

 Classical realism it could not explain behaviour at a level above the state.
 Neorealism/ ‘structural realism’ explains the behaviour of states in terms of the structure of the
international system.
 In international politics there is no governing authority, there is an anarchy and this anarchy
shape behavior.

How anarchy shapes the behaviour?

According to neo-realists, international anarchy tend towards conflict rather than cooperation.
Neo-realists argue that international anarchy necessarily tends towards tension, conflict and the
unavoidable possibility of war for three main reasons.

1. As states are separate, autonomous and formally equal political units, they must
ultimately rely on their own resources to realize their interests.  International anarchy
therefore results in a system of ‘self-help’, because states cannot count on anyone else to
‘take care of them’.
2. Relationships between and amongst states are always characterized by uncertainty and
suspicion. This is best explained through the security dilemma. Uncertainty about motives
forces states to treat all other states as enemies, meaning that permanent insecurity is the
inescapable consequence of living in conditions of anarchy.

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3. Conflict is also encouraged by the fact that states are primarily concerned about
maintaining or improving their position relative to other states; that is, with making
relative gains. Although all states may benefit from a particular action or policy, each state is
actually more worried about whether other states benefit more that it does.

Polarity, stability and the balance of power

Balance of power:
 It is a key concept for all realist theorists. According to realists States are inclined to treat
other states as enemies but does not necessarily lead to bloodshed and open violence. Both
neo-realists and classical realists believe that conflict can be contained by the balance of
power.

 Realists also theorise that the balance of power leads to the ‘security dilemma.

Classical realists

Balance of power is a product of prudent statecraft

Neo realists

 Balance of power is a consequence of the structural dynamics of

the international system,
 World order is determined by the changing fate of great
powers.
 They emphasized on polarity.

For them

 Bipolar systems  Stability and a reduced likelihood of war.

 Multipolar systems  instability and a greater likelihood of war

They viewed Cold War bipolarity in positive way as a ‘long

peace’.

Security dilemma
 It is the scenario in which one state increases its power in order to defend themselves and
create security, but this prompts other states to increase their power leading to a spiralling
effect where both sides are drawn into continually increasing their defence capabilities despite
not desiring conflict.

 Realists, nevertheless, disagree about the relationship between structural instability and the
likelihood of war.

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Classical realism

Classical realist theory adopts a pessimistic view of human nature and argues that humans are not
inherently benevolent but instead they are self-interested and act out of fear or aggression.

Furthermore, it emphasizes that this human nature is reflected by states in international politics due to
international anarchy.

Classical Realism

Genesis of classical realism

Precursors

Hobbes and Machiavelli’s ideas Realist’s adoption in International politics

Anarchy and state of nature It is not possible to establish world government.
The international arena is therefore dangerous
and uncertain, with order and stability always
being the exception rather than the rule.

They were primarily concerned to explain the
conduct of individuals or social groups
States are composed of, and led by, people who
are inherently selfish, greedy and power seeking
means that state behaviour cannot but exhibit
the same characteristics. Human egoism
therefore determines state egoism.
concerned, above all, with the behaviour of
states
They view states as coherent and cohesive ‘units’,
and regard them as the most important actors on
the world stage.
International politics are thus firmly state-centric.
Just as human egoism leads to unending conflict
amongst individuals and groups, state egoism
means that international politics is marked by
inevitable competition and rivalry.
Morgenthau

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Assumptions and Theories

“International relations are shaped by the tendencies of human nature” -- Hans

Morgenthau

Human Nature:

 According to Hobbes, individuals are primarily motivated by self-interest and not higher moral
or ethical aspirations.
 According to Machiavelli,Human nature is not seen to be changeable but only controllable
when placed within societal boundaries.
 Classical realists believe that their pessimistic vision of human nature is reflected in politics and
international relations.
 Hans Morgenthau in his book Politics Among Nations states that “politics is governed by objective
laws that have their roots in human nature".

The theory emphasizes that international relations are shaped by the tendencies of human nature
since is not changeable but only controllable by a higher power such as the state implementing
order.

Understanding of the state

 Classical Realist theory views the state as the most significant unit of analysis
 Attributes significant agency to state actors and believes that as states change so does the international
system
 Classical Realists do not view states as unitary
 Classical Realists differentiate between revisionist states and status quo states. This means that they
attempt to understand which states are striving to create a new international order how this affects the
international security and translates into acts of aggression or causes of war.

State pursuit of power

States are understood to be a reflection of human nature and the anarchic international system is not
considered to be the root cause of the pursuit of power but instead a facilitating factor. Within human
nature there is a lust for power which drives states to accumulate it

Balance of Power
1. Balance of power is understood to be an unintentional result of great power competition which
occurs due to a constant pursuit of power by multiple states to dominate others leading to balance.

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2. It is an efforts of states to create an equilibrium through the use of ideational or material forces such
as alliances.
Key Debates
Idealism and Realism (1st great debate)
 During the 1920s and 1930s the ‘1st great
debate’ in international relations between
realists and idealists occurred.
 In the interwar period liberalism was the
dominant paradigm in international
relations theory but this was contested by
Classical Realist theorists.
 The publication of E.H Carr's ‘the twenty-
year crisis’ is seen to be central to the
arguments of classical realism during this
time period.
 Carr argued against Utopian and Idealist
views on international relations as well as
the merit and success of the League of
Nations.
 Following World War 2 and the inability for
the International Relations System to
prevent war, many saw this as a victory for
realist theory.
Criticism to classical realism
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Neo-realism and Classical realism (2nd great
debate)
 During the 1960s and 1970s the ‘2nd great
debate’ of international relations occurred.
 Following the behavioral revolution scholars
began to place a new emphasis on creating a
more empirical methodology for analyzing
international relations.
 Neo-realist scholars criticised how Classical
realist scholars had created methodologies
which lacked the standards of proof to be
considered scientific theories.
 Classical realists had emphasized human
nature as the primary form of explaining the
international system; Neo-realists
emphasized the international structure
instead.
 Kenneth Waltz’s Theory of International
Politics was a critical text in this debate as it
argued that international anarchy was a core
element of international politics.
 After this era Classical Realist doctrines
became less prominent in favor of Neo-
realism.
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 According to Stanley Hoffman, in international politics we see not only conflict but also
cooperation.
 Kenneith Waltz argued that no scientific theory can be built on the human nature, and hence
classical realism is not scientific.
 Ann J Tickner asserted that IP based on the understanding of human nature is masculenist
which can not be correct.

Neo-realism/structural Realism

Neorealism/structural realism
 Theory of international relations that says power is the most important factor in international
relations.
 First outline by Kenneth Waltz in his 1979 book Theory of International Politics.
 Neorealism emerged from the North American discipline of political science, and
reformulates the classical realist tradition of E. H. Carr, Hans Morgenthau,
and Reinhold Niebuhr.

Origins
 Neorealism is an ideological departure from Hans Morgenthau's writing on classical
realism. E. H. Carr
 Classical realism originally explained the machinations of international politics as being
based on human nature, and therefore subject to the ego and emotion of world leaders.
 Neorealist thinkers instead propose that structural constraints—not strategy, egoism, or
motivation—will determine behavior in international relations.
 John Mearsheimer made significant distinctions between his version of offensive neorealism and
Morgenthau in his book titled The Tragedy of Great Power Politics.

About neo realism

 Nature of the international structure is defined by its ordering principle, anarchy, and by the
distribution of capabilities (measured by the number of great powers within the international
system).
 The anarchic ordering principle of the international structure is decentralized, meaning there is no
formal central authority; every sovereign state is formally equal in this system.
 These states act according to the logic of egoism, meaning states seek their own interest and will not
subordinate their interest to the interests of other states.
 States are assumed at a minimum to want to ensure their own survival as this is a prerequisite to
pursue other goals.

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 This driving force of survival is the primary factor influencing their behavior and in turn ensures
states develop offensive military capabilities for foreign interventionism and as a means to increase
their relative power.
 Because states can never be certain of other states' future intentions, there is a lack
of trust between states which requires them to be on guard against relative losses of power which
could enable other states to threaten their survival.
 This lack of trust, based on uncertainty, is called the security dilemma.
 States are deemed similar in terms of needs but not in capabilities for achieving them. The positional
placement of states in terms of abilities determines the distribution of capabilities.
 The structural distribution of capabilities then limits cooperation among states through fears
of relative gains made by other states, and the possibility of dependence on other states.
 The desire and relative abilities of each state to maximize relative power constrain each other,
resulting in a 'balance of power', which shapes international relations. It also gives rise to the
'security dilemma' that all nations face.

There are two ways in which states balance power:

Internal balancing and external balancing.

1. Internal balancing occurs as states grow their own capabilities by increasing economic growth
and/or increasing military spending.
2. External balancing occurs as states enter into alliances to check the power of more powerful states
or alliances

Neo-realists contend that there are essentially three possible systems according to changes in the
distribution of capabilities, defined by the number of great powers within the international system.

1. A unipolar system : contains only one great power

2. Bipolar system contains two great powers
3. Multipolar system contains more than two great powers.

 According to neo realists a bipolar system is more stable (less prone to great power war and systemic
change) than a multipolar system because balancing can only occur through internal balancing as there
are no extra great powers with which to form alliances.
 Because there is only internal balancing in a bipolar system, rather than external balancing, there is less
opportunity for miscalculations and therefore less chance of great power war.

Scholarly debate

Within realist thought

All neo-realist agree on  structure of the international relations is the primary impetus in seeking security

Disagreement over  whether states merely aim to survive or whether states want to maximize their
relative power

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 While both neorealist variants argue that states are primarily concerned with maximising their
security, they disagree over the amount of power required in the process.
 Based on the disagreement Neorealism is subdivided into

Defensive and offensive neorealism.

Defensive Realism Offensive realism

It finds its foundation in Kenneth Waltz's his John Mearsheimer his book The Tragedy of
book Theory of International Politics. Great Power Politics.

Kenneth Waltz John Mearsheimer

Waltz argues that the anarchical structure of the
international system encourages states to
maintain moderate and reserved policies to
attain security
Primary objective of the state is ensuring its
security.
States are not intrinsically aggressive and that
"the first concern of states is not to maximize
power but to maintain their position in the
system"
Defensive neo-realists assert that states which
strive to attain hegemony in the international
system will be counterbalanced by other states
seeking to maintain the status quo.
States are socialised and aware of historical
precedent, Aggression is therefore argued to be
self-defeating in achieving the aim of security
Jack Snyder asserts, "international anarchy
punishes aggression; it does not reward it"
Waltz argues that the anarchical structure of the
international system encourages states to
maintain moderate and reserved policies to
attain security
Depict great powers as power-maximization self-
promotion over balancing strategies in their
consistent aim to dominate the international
system.
Anarchy encourages states to increase state
power vigorously, as "the world is condemned to
perpetual great power competition"
Resort to offensive action in order to increase
their security and assure their survival.
offensive realists believe states inherently desire
either global hegemony or local hegemony
The international system characterised
by anarchy and uncertainty leads states to
constantly fear each other and resort to self-help
mechanisms to provide for their survival  to
alleviate this fear of aggression each holds of the
other, states always seek to maximize their own
relative power, defined in terms of material
capabilities
As Mearsheimer puts it “the greater the military
advantage one state has over other states, the
more secure it is"

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"States are not as vulnerable as men are in a
state of nature"
Benefits of conquest rarely outweigh its
negatives
Security dilemma, as expanded by Robert
Jervis in "Cooperation Under the Security
Dilemma" in 1978, is defined by the assumption
that the offense-defense balance tends to favour
defensive capability over offensive capability.
Example : The outbreak of World War I and its
subsequent hostilities
The second-strike capability afforded by either a
state's nuclear arsenal or that of its allies, inhibits
the ability of the aggressor state to conquer
another. This is used as evidence that defensive
capabilities ultimately trump offensive ones, and
that they encourages states to employ defensive
and restrained policies.
"Great powers recognize that the best way to
ensure their security is to achieve hegemony
now, thus eliminating any possibility of a
challenge by another great power.
State's best strategy to increase its relative power
to the point of achieving hegemony is to rely on
offensive tactics
Relentless quest for power inherently generates a
state of "constant security competition, with the
possibility of war always in the background".
Only once regional hegemony is attained do
great powers become status quo states.
It is rather difficult to estimate when states have
reached a satisfactory amount of power short of
hegemony and costly to rely extensively on
balancing as an efficient power-checking method
due to collective action issues.

Criticism to neo-realism

Arguments by neo-realists

 Neorealists conclude that because war is an effect of the anarchic structure of the international system,
it is likely to continue in the future.
 Indeed, neorealists often argue that the ordering principle of the international system has not
fundamentally changed from the time of Thucydides to the advent of nuclear warfare.
 The view that long-lasting peace is not likely to be achieved is described by other theorists as a largely
pessimistic view of international relations.

Critics to above ideas

Democratic peace theory :

Advocates of democratic peace theory see the spreading of democracy as helping to mitigate the effects
of anarchy. With enough democracies in the world, Bruce Russett thinks that it "may be possible in part
to supersede the 'realist' principles (anarchy, the security dilemma of states) that have dominated
practice ... since at least the seventeenth century."

John Mueller believes that it is not the spreading of democracy but rather other conditions (e.g., power)
that bring about democracy and peace.

Constructivist school:

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 Which is often seen to disagree with the neorealist focus on power and instead emphasizes a
focus on ideas and identity as an explanatory point for international relations trends.
 Recently, however, a school of thought called the English School merges neo-realist tradition
with the constructivist technique of analyzing social norms to provide an increasing scope of
analysis for International Relations.

Notable neo-realists
Robert Jeffrey Art: argues that force still underlies the power structure in the modern world

Robert Gilpin: explaining in his book Global Political Economy that he considers himself a "state-centric
realist" in the tradition of prominent "classical realists" such as E. H. Carr and Hans Morgenthau. Gilpin was
openly critical of the politics surrounding the 2003 invasion of Iraq in his essay titled "War is Too Important
to Be Left to Ideological Amateurs".

Jack Lewis Snyder : Much of Snyder's work presents challenges to the fundamental assumption
of democratic peace theory: that democracies do not go to war with each other and that, therefore,
democratization leads to a reduction in interstate conflict. In From Voting to Violence he argues that,
rather than encourage peace, poorly managed democratization processes have often produced upsurges
in nationalism and ethnic violence, as threatened political elites seek to thwart moves towards popular
rule. He cites as examples Weimar Germany and the internationally sponsored 1993 presidential
elections in Burundi (which led to the outbreak of a civil war later that year).

In Electing to Fight, Snyder and Mansfield argue emerging democracies with weak political institutions are
more rather than less likely to go war, as their leaders often seek to rally support by invoking external
threats and employing belligerent, nationalist rhetoric.

Mansfield and Snyder demonstrate this pattern in a number of cases, cases ranging from revolutionary
France to contemporary Russia under Putin. Snyder suggests that the way to avoid nationalist conflict is to
promote the growth of robust civic institutions and a solid middle class prior to democratization.

Neo-classical Realism

Neo-classical realism

 Neoclassical realism is an approach to foreign policy analysis. Initially coined by Gideon Rose in a
1998 World Politics review article, it is a combination of classical realist and neorealist –
particularly defensive realist – theories.
 Neoclassical realism holds that the actions of a state in the international system can be explained
by intervening systemic variables – such as the distribution of power capabilities among states – as
well as cognitive variables – such as the perception and misperception of systemic pressures, other

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states' intentions, or threats – and domestic variables – such as state institutions, elites, and societal
actors within society – affecting the power and freedom of action of the decision-makers in foreign
policy.
 While holding true to the realist concept of balance of power, neoclassical realism further adds that
states' mistrust and inability to perceive one another accurately, or state leaders' inability to mobilize
state power and public support can result in an under expansion or under balancing behaviour
leading to imbalances within the international system, the rise and fall of great powers, and war:
o Appropriate balancing occurs when a state correctly perceives another state's intentions
and balances accordingly
o Inappropriate balancing or overbalancing occurs when a state incorrectly perceives another
state as threatening, and uses more resources than it needs to in order to balance. This
causes an imbalance.
o Under-balancing occurs when a state fails to balance, out of either inefficiency or incorrectly
perceiving a state as less of threat than it actually is. This causes an imbalance.
o Non-balancing occurs when a state avoids balancing through buck passing, bandwagoning,
or other escapes. A state may choose to do this for a number of reasons, including an
inability to balance.
Neoclassical realism has been used to explain a number of puzzling foreign policy cases, such as the volatility
in South Korea-Japan relations, Fascist Italy's foreign policy, Slobodan Milosevic's decision-making during
the 1999 Kosovo crisis, the occurrence of the Cod Wars between Iceland and the United Kingdom, and Iran's
foreign policy choices after the American invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Exponents of neo-classical realism

Fareed Rafiq Zakaria and Randall L. Schweller

Critics to Neo-classical realism

 According to one review study, Neo-classical realism has primarily been criticized for its "apparent
ontological and epistemological incoherence".
 According to Steven Walt of the Kennedy School at Harvard University, one of the chief flaws in
Neoclassical realism is that it "tends to incorporate domestic variables in an ad hoc manner, and its
proponents have yet to identify when these variables have greater or lesser influence".

Criticism to Realist approach to International Politics

Criticism to realism

1. Democratic peace theory

Advocates also that realism is not applicable to democratic states' relations with each another as their
studies claim that such states do not go to war with one another. However, realists and proponents of
other schools have critiqued both this claim and the studies which appear to support it, claiming that its
definitions of "war" and "democracy" must be tweaked in order to achieve the desired result.

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2. Feminist critic to Realism

Ann J Tickner argued that IP defined by realists is masculine in nature
3. Liberal critic
Liberals argued that in IP there can be peace and cooperation and war and conflict can be avoided by
deeper engagement.
4. Hegemonic peace
Robert Gilpin developed the theory of hegemonic stability theory within the realist framework, but
limited it to the economic field. Niall Ferguson remarked that the theory has offered insights into the way
that economic power works, but neglected the military and cultural aspects of power.
5. Federalism
The basic idea behind federalism is that a unifying relationship between states should be established under a
common system of law. Conflict and disagreement should be resolved through peaceful means rather than
through coercion or war. It’s most important aspect is in recognizing that different types of institutions are
needed to deal with different types of political issues.

Post-realism
Post-realism suggests that realism is a form of social, scientific and political rhetoric. It opens rather than
closes a debate about what is real and what is realistic in international relations.
Prominent post-realists:

 Francis A. Beer
 James Der Derian
 Robert Hariman
 Michael J. Shapiro
Inconsistent with non-European politics
Post realist scholars have argued that realist theories, in particular realist conceptions of anarchy and
balances of power, have not characterized the international systems of East Asia and Africa (before, during
and after colonization).

Liberalism

Liberalism

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“Maximize prosperity and minimize conflict through free trade, global organizations
and spread of democracy” --------Liberalism in IP

Liberalism is a school of thought within international relations theory which can be thought to revolve
around three interrelated principles:

 Rejection of power politics as the only possible outcome of international relations; it questions
security/warfare principles of realism
 It accentuates mutual benefits and international cooperation
 It implements international organizations and nongovernmental actors for shaping state preferences
and policy choices
This school of thought emphasizes three factors that encourage more cooperation and less conflict among
states:

 International institutions, such as the United Nations, who provide a forum to resolve disputes in a non-
violent way
 International trade because when countries' economies are interconnected through trade they are less
likely to go to war with each other
 Spread of democracy as well-established democracies do not go to war with one another, so if there are
more democracies, interstate war will be less frequent
 Liberals believe that international institutions play a key role in cooperation among states. With the
correct international institutions, and increasing interdependence (including economic and cultural
exchanges) states have the opportunity to reduce conflict.

 Interdependence has three main components.

1. States interact in various ways, through economic, financial, and cultural means;
2. Security tends to not be the primary goal in state-to-state interactions; and
3. Military forces are not typically used.
 Liberals also argue that international diplomacy can be a very effective way to get states to interact
with each other honestly and support nonviolent solutions to problems.
 With the proper institutions and diplomacy, Liberals believe that states can work together to
maximize prosperity and minimize conflict.
 The central issues that it seeks to address are the problems of achieving lasting peace and
cooperation in international relations, and the various methods that could contribute to their
achievement.
 Supporters of liberalism often believe in the spreading of democracy through cooperation.
Broad areas of study within liberal international relations theory include:

 The democratic peace theory, and, more broadly, the effect of domestic political regime types and
domestic politics on international relations;
 The commercial peace theory, arguing that free trade has pacifying effects on international relations.
Current explorations of globalization and interdependence are a broader continuation of this line of
inquiry;

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 Institutional peace theory, which attempts to demonstrate how cooperation can be sustained
in anarchy, how long-term interests can be pursued over short-term interests, and how actors may
realize absolute gains instead of seeking relative gains;
 Related, the effect of international organizations on international politics, both in their role as forums
for states to pursue their interests, and in their role as actors in their own right;
 The role of international law in moderating or constraining state behavior;
 The effects of liberal norms on international politics, especially relations between liberal states;
 The role of various types of unions in international politics (relations), such as highly
institutionalized alliances (e.g. NATO), confederations, leagues, federations, and evolving entities like
the European Union; and,
 The role, or potential role, of cosmopolitanism in transcending the state and affecting international
relations.

Sources of influence

John Locke: Enlightened view of human nature

Immanuel Kant: Establish perpetual peace among nations through free trade and republicanism

Norman Angell: in his Europe's Optical Illusion pointed that

the integration of the economies of European countries had grown to
such a degree that war between them would be entirely futile,
making militarism obsolete.

Richard Cobden: Free trade was a powerful force for peace and
defence against war.

Schools in Liberalism
Richard Cobden Norman Angell

Liberal Institutionalism

Liberal institutionalism:

 Liberal institutionalism is a modern theory of international relations which claims that international
institutions and organizations such as the United Nations (UN), North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU) can increase aid and cooperation between
states.

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
It means that states can help each other in a positive way, through institutions such as etc. The
theory can be compared to idealism, the international relations theory which emerged after the First
World War when the League of Nations was founded.

 Like political realism, institutional liberalism is utilitarian and rationalistic. States are treated
as rational actors operating in an international political system in which hierarchy cannot be
enforced

 Liberal institutionalists believe that democracies naturally lead to peace

because the many govern and not the few, and therefore those who
decide to go to war will be the many that serve.

Exponents : Woodrow Wilson, Joseph Nye

 Hedley Norman Bull in his The Anarchical Society. Recognizes the role of
global institutions in converting international politics from anarchy to
anarchical society. Joseph Nye Woodrow Wilson
 International institutions are flourishing today which shows there is
growing support to the idea of international community.
 Establishment of the rule of law, which, as Woodrow Wilson put it, would turn the ‘jungle’ of
international politics into a ‘zoo’.

Success of Liberal institutionalism

1. The United Nations has attracted far wider support and established itself as a seemingly permanent
feature of global politics.
2. Globalization of democracy
3. Free trade under WTO

Issues with international institutions

1. International organizations confront if they want to enhance legitimacy and trust: governance
issues, conflicts of interest and poor leadership.
2. They are used for promotion of narrow national interest.

Sociological Liberalism

Sociological liberalism

“Relations between people are more cooperative and supportive than are relations
between national governments.”

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People are not living in the state centric world, people are developing multiple
identities. There is a growth of global citizenship. --- Roseanu

Sociological liberalism is an international relations theory.

 It is critical of realist theory which it sees as too state-centric. Sociological liberals see
international relations in terms of relationships between people, groups and organisations in
different countries.
 Many sociological liberals believe that increased transnational relations could help create new
forms of human society.
 Rejects realists view that IR is primarily a study of relations between sovereign states as
too narrowly focused and one-sided.
 Sociological Liberalism argues that IR is not only about state to state relations but is also
about transnational relations, i.e., relations between people, groups, and organizations
belonging to different countries. This emphasis on society has led some theorists to identify
liberal thought by the term “pluralism.”
 In focusing on transnational relations, sociological liberals return to an old theme in liberal
thinking: the notion that relations between people are more cooperative and supportive
than are relations between national governments.
 Many sociological liberals hold the idea that transnational relations between people from
different countries help create new forms of human society which exist alongside or even
in competition with the nation-state.
 According to Rosenau, People are not living in the state centric world, people are
developing multiple identities. There is a growth of global citizenship.
 John Burton argued that state is not the only gateways through which people interact.
 Governability of the state has been declined considerably.
 Karl Deutsch introduced the concept of security community.

A security community is a region in which a large-scale use of violence (such as war) has become very
unlikely or even unthinkable. The concept of a security community is related to a group of states that
enjoy relations of dependable expectations of a peace. The term was coined by the prominent political
scientist Karl Deutsch in 1957.

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Functionalism

Functionalism

“Common interests and needs shared by states in a process of global integration are
motivating factors in international politics “

 Functionalism is a theory of international relations that arose during the inter-War period principally
from the strong concern about the obsolescence of the State as a form of social organization.
 Rather than the self-interest of nation-states that realists see as a motivating factor, functionalists
focus on common interests and needs shared by states (but also by non-state actors) in a process of
global integration triggered by the erosion of state sovereignty and the increasing weight of
knowledge and hence of scientists and experts in the process of policy-making.
 Its roots can be traced back to the liberal/idealist tradition that started with Kant and goes as far
as Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points" speech.
 Functionalism is a pioneer in globalization theory and strategy.
 States had built authority structures upon a principle of territorialism. State-theories were built upon
assumptions that identified the scope of authority with territory, aided by methodological
territorialism.
 Functionalism proposed to build a form of authority based in functions and needs, which linked
authority with needs, scientific knowledge, expertise and technology, i.e. it provided a
supraterritorial concept of authority.
 The functionalist approach excludes and refutes the idea of state power and political influence
(realist approach) in interpreting the cause for such proliferation of international organizations
during the inter-war (which was characterized by nation-state conflict) and the subsequent years.
 According to David Mitrany international integration – the collective governance and 'material
interdependence' between states – develops its own internal dynamic as states integrate in limited
functional, technical, and/or economic areas.
 International agencies would meet human needs, aided by knowledge and expertise.
 The benefits rendered by the functional agencies would attract the loyalty of the populations and
stimulate their participation and expand the area of integration.
There are strong assumptions underpinning functionalism:
1) That the process of integration takes place within a framework of human freedom
2) That knowledge and expertise are currently available to meet the needs for which the functional
agencies are built.
3) That states will not sabotage the process.

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Neo-functionalism
 Neo-functionalism reintroduced territorialism in the functional theory and downplayed its global
dimension. Neo-functionalism is simultaneously a theory and a strategy of regional integration,
building on the work of David Mitrany.
 Neo-functionalists focused their attention solely on the immediate process of integration among
states, i.e. regional integration.
 Initially, states integrate in limited functional or economic areas.
 Thereafter, partially integrated states experience increasing momentum for further rounds of
integration in related areas. This "invisible hand" of integration phenomenon was termed "spill-
over." by the neo-functionalist school.
According to neo-functionalists, there are two kinds of spillover: functional and political.
1. Functional spillover is the interconnection of various economic sectors or issue-areas, and the
integration in one policy-area spilling over into others.
2. Political spillover is the creation of supranational governance models, as far-reaching as the European
Union, or as voluntary as the United Nations.
One of its protagonists was Ernst B. Haas, a US political scientist.
 Jean Monnet's approach to European integration, was aimed at integrating individual sectors in
hopes of achieving spill-over effects to further the process of integration,
 Integration was regarded as an inevitable process, rather than a desirable state of affairs that could
be introduced by the political or technocratic elites of the involved states' societies.
 Its strength however was also its weakness: While it understood that regional integration is only
feasible as an incremental process, its conception of integration as a linear process made the
explanation of setbacks impossible.

Democratic Peace Theory

Democratic peace theory

If all nations were republics, it would end war, because there would be no aggressors.
Immanuel Kant

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In democracy people are treated as ends, not as means.

Michael Doyle

The democratic peace theory posits that democracies are hesitant to engage in armed conflict with other
identified democracies. Among proponents of the democratic peace theory, several factors are held as
motivating peace between democratic states:

 Democratic leaders are forced to accept culpability for war losses to a voting public;
 Publicly accountable states people are inclined to establish diplomatic institutions for resolving
international tensions;
 Democracies are not inclined to view countries with adjacent policy and governing doctrine as hostile;
 Democracies tend to possess greater public wealth than other states, and therefore eschew war to
preserve infrastructure and resources.
 Those who dispute this theory often do so on grounds that it conflates correlation with causation, and
that the academic definitions of 'democracy' and 'war' can be manipulated so as to manufacture an
artificial trend

 According to Michael Doyle, While autocratic or authoritarian states are seen to be inherently
militaristic and aggressive, democratic states are viewed as naturally peaceful,
especially in
their dealings with other democratic states.
 In Fukuyama’s view, the wider acceptance of liberal-democratic principles and
structures, and the extension of market capitalism, amounted to the ‘end of history’
and also promised to create a more stable and peaceful global order.

 Basic principles of the concept had been argued as early as the 1700s in the works of
philosopher Immanuel Kant and political theorist Thomas Paine. Michael Doyle

 Kant's theory was that a majority of the people would never vote to go to war, unless in self-defense.
Therefore, if all nations were republics, it would end war, because there would be no aggressors.

 Paine wrote in "Common Sense" in 1776: "The Republics of Europe are all (and we may say always) in
peace." Paine argued that kings would go to war out of pride in situations where republics would not .

 French historian and social scientist Alexis de Tocqueville also argued, in Democracy in America (1835–
1840), that democratic nations were less likely to wage war.

Criticism
Douglas M. Gibler and Andrew Owsiak in their study argued peace almost always comes before democracy
and that states do not develop democracy until all border disputes have been settled.

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Interdependence liberalism

Interdependence liberalism
 Interdependence liberalism is a strand of liberal international relations thinking which argues that
increased interdependence between countries reduces the chance of them engaging in conflict.
 Interdependence liberals see modernisation as increasing the levels and scope of interdependence
between states leading to greater cooperation.
 Such thinkers also see welfare as the primary concern of states, and the military force becoming less
useful.

Golden Arches theory

Golden Arches theory

“No two countries that both had McDonald's had fought a war against each other
since each got its McDonald's”

 Friedman supported that observation, as a theory, by stating that when a country has reached
an economic development where it has a middle class strong enough to support a McDonald's network,
it would become a "McDonald's country", and will not be interested in fighting wars anymore.
 Friedman's point is that due to globalization, countries that have made strong economic ties with one
another have too much to lose to ever go to war with one another.
 The key theme within commercial liberalism was a belief in the virtues of free trade.
 Free trade has economic benefits, as it allows each country to specialize in the production of the
goods and services that it is best suited to produce, the ones in which they have a ‘comparative
advantage’.
 However, free trade is no less important in drawing states into a web of economic interdependence
that means that the material costs of international conflict are so great that warfare becomes
virtually unthinkable.

Richard Cobden and John Bright argued that free trade would draw people of different races,
creeds and languages together in what Cobden described as ‘the bonds of eternal peace’
Richard Rosecrance, The Rise of the Trading State: Commerce and Conquest in the Modern World

 In the trading system, assuming trade is free and open, states (e.g. European, Japan) do not need to
conquer. They prosper in peaceful consequence. U.S. stance is ambivalent, but it is moving more into
a system of global interdependence.
 No state exclusively relies on trade.

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 States balance their priorities of military incentives and trade incentives vis-à-vis other countries and
the world in general.

Exponents: David Ricardo (1770–1823) Richard Cobden (1804–65) and John Bright (1811–89).

Complex Interdependence

Complex interdependence

Complex interdependence in international relations is the idea put forth by Robert Keohane and Joseph
Nye (1977) that states and their fortunes are inextricably tied together.

From the analysis, complex interdependence is characterized by three characteristics, involving

(1) The use of multiple channels of action between societies in interstate, trans-governmental, and
transnational relations
(2) The absence of a hierarchy of issues with changing agendas and linkages between issues prioritized and
the objective of
(3) Bringing about a decline in the use of military force and coercive power in international relations.
Joseph Nye and Keohane thus argue that the decline of military force as a policy tool and the increase in
economic and other forms of interdependence should increase the probability of cooperation among states.
 Complex interdependence reflects the extent to which peoples and governments in the
modern world are affected by what happens elsewhere, and particularly by the actions of their
counterparts in other countries.
 This applies not only in the economic realm, through the advance of globalization, but is also
evident in relation to a range of other issues, including climate change, development and
poverty reduction, and human rights
 Such a view suggests that realism’s narrow preoccupation with the military and diplomatic
dimensions of international politics, the so-called ‘high politics’ of security and survival, is
misplaced.
 Instead, the international agenda is becoming broader with greater attention being given to the
‘low politics’ of welfare, environmental protection and political justice.
 Relations between and amongst states have also changed, not least through a tendency for
modern states to prioritize trade over war and through a trend towards closer cooperation or
even integration, as, for instance, in the case of the European Union.

Multiple channels that are present in complex interdependence are "connect societies, including:
1. Informal ties between governmental elites as well as formal foreign office arrangements.

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2. Informal ties among nongovernmental elites where contact usually happen either face-to-face or
through telecommunication.
The last type is "transnational organizations" which include organizations such as multinational banks or
corporations. A simpler way of thinking of these concepts is by condensing them by calling them interstate,
trans-governmental and transnational relations.
Therefore, these channels can be a way of communication for states and are a big part of complex
interdependence.
a. Interstate relations are thought to be "normal channels" by realists. It is also known as "horizontal
dimensions of federalism."
b. Trans-governmental relations "applies when we relax the realist assumption that states act
coherently as units.
c. Transnational relations "applies when we relax the assumption that states are the only units."

Critical perspectives

CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES

Mainstream perspectives on international politics and world affairs have been challenged by a growing
array of critical perspectives. Although these perspectives are often very different from one another,
they tend to have two broad things in common.

1. With the exception of orthodox Marxism and most forms of green politics, they have, in their
different ways, embraced a post-positivist approach that takes subject and object, and therefore
theory and practice, to be intimately linked. As Robert Cox put it, ‘theory is always for someone
and for some purpose’.
2. Critical perspectives seek to challenge the global status quo and the norms, values and assumptions
on which it is based.

In exposing inequalities and asymmetries that mainstream theories ignore, critical theorists therefore
tend to view realism and liberalism as ways of concealing, or of legitimizing, the power imbalances of
the established global system.

Critical theories are thus emancipatory theories: they are dedicated to overthrowing oppression and
thus consciously align themselves with the interests of exploited groups.

The key critical perspectives on global politics are as follows:

1. Marxism, neo-Marxism and critical theory

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2. Social constructivism
3. Post-structuralism
4. Feminism
5. Green politics
6. Post colonialism

Marxism, neo-Marxism and critical theory

Marxism, neo-Marxism and critical theory

Marxism is a very broad field which encompasses, as far as international theory is concerned, two
contrasting tendencies.

1. These gives primary attention to economic analysis, and is mainly concerned with exposing
capitalism as a system of class oppression that operates on national and international levels.
This applies to classical Marxism and to most forms of neo-Marxism.
2. Tendency places greater emphasis on the ideological and cultural dimension of oppression,
and has come to embrace a post-positivist, and therefore post-Marxist, mode of theorizing. This
applies to what has been called ‘critical theory’, as influenced by the ideas of Gramsci and the
so-called Frankfurt School.

IN BRIEF
 In the 19th century, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote that the main source of instability in the
international system would be capitalist globalization, more specifically the conflict between two
classes: the national bourgeoisie and the cosmopolitan proletariat.
 Historical materialism was going to be Marxism’s guideline in understanding the processes both in
domestic and international affairs. Thus, for Marx human history has been a struggle to satisfy
material needs and to resist class domination and exploitation.
 Despite ideological criticism, Marxism has strong empirical advantages on its side, by emphasizing
injustice and inequality it is very relevant to every period of time as these two failures of the human
society have never been absent. Marxism is a structural theory just like neorealism, but it focuses
on the economic sector instead of the military-political one. Its analysis reflects the relation
between the base (the modes of production) and the superstructure (political institutions).
 The source of structural effects is not anarchy, but the capitalist mode of production which defines
unjust political institutions and state relations.
 Marxism created the foundations for critical theory and it is superior in this sense to the dominant
approaches of Anglo-American international relations that are problem-solving theories.
 As any other critical theory, Marxism has a normative interest in identifying possibilities for social
transformation and how theory is instrumental to power. This is why Marx wrote about capitalism
with an interest in the social forces that would bring about its downfall hoping that humanity would
be free from domination and exploitation.

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For Marx, capitalist development nevertheless always had a marked transnational

character, leading some to regard him as an early ‘hyperglobalist’ theorist. The desire for
profit would drive capitalism to ‘strive to tear down every barrier to intercourse’ and to
‘conquer the whole earth for its market’

Lenin : In his Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism, Lenin portrayed imperialism
as an essentially economic phenomenon, reflecting domestic capitalism’s quest to
maintain profit levels through the export of surplus capital. Lenin

 Dependency theory, highlighted the extent to which, in the post- 1945 period, traditional
imperialism had given way to neo-colonialism, sometimes viewed as ‘economic imperialism’ or,
more specifically ‘dollar imperialism’.
 World-systems theory suggested that the world economy is best understood as an interlocking
capitalist system. The world-system consists of interrelationships between the ‘core’, the
‘periphery’ and the ‘semi-periphery’.
 Core areas such as the developed North are distinguished by the concentration of capital, high
wages and high-skilled manufacturing production. They therefore benefit from technological
innovation and high and sustained levels of investment.
 Peripheral areas such as the less developed South are exploited by the core through their
dependency on the export of raw materials, subsistence wages and weak frameworks of state
protection.
 Semi-peripheral areas are economically subordinate to the core but in turn take advantage of
the periphery, thereby constituting a buffer between the core and the periphery.

Such thinking about the inherent inequalities and injustices of global capitalism was one of the
influences on the anti-globalization, or ‘anti-capitalist’, movement that emerged from the late 1990s
onwards.

Within Marxism there are 2 traditions

1. Instrumentalist/dependency/orthodox school
2. Critical/Frankfurt school

Dependency theory

 Dependency theory is the notion that resources flow from a "periphery" of poor and underdeveloped
states to a "core" of wealthy states, enriching the latter at the expense of the former. It is a central
contention of dependency theory that poor states are impoverished and rich ones enriched by the way
poor states are integrated into the "world system".

 The theory arose as a reaction to modernization theory, an earlier theory of development which held
that all societies progress through similar stages of development, that today's underdeveloped areas are
thus in a similar situation to that of today's developed areas at some time in the past, and that,
therefore, the task of helping the underdeveloped areas out of poverty is to accelerate them along this

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supposed common path of development, by various means such as investment, technology transfers,
and closer integration into the world market.

 Dependency theory rejected this view, arguing that underdeveloped countries are not merely primitive
versions of developed countries, but have unique features and structures of their own; and, importantly,
are in the situation of being the weaker members in a world market economy.

 An example of the dependency theory is that during the years of 1650 to 1900 Britain and other
European nations took over or colonialized other nations. They used their superior military technology
and naval strength at the time to do this. This began an economic system in the Americas, Africa, and
Asia to then export the natural materials from their land to Europe. After shipping the materials to
Europe, Britain and the other European countries made products with these materials and then sent
them back to colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, and Asia. This resulted in the transfer of wealth
from these regions’ products to Europe for taking control of the products.

 Immanuel Wallerstein has developed the best-known version of world-systems analysis.

World-systems theory
"World-system" refers to the inter-regional and transnational division of labor, which divides the world
into core countries, semi-periphery countries, and the periphery countries.[2] Core countries focus on
higher skill, capital-intensive production, and the rest of the world focuses on low-skill, labor-intensive
production and extraction of raw materials.[3] This constantly reinforces the dominance of the core
countries.

Critical theory/ Frankfurt School critical theory’

 Max Horkheimer defined critical theory as social critique meant to effect sociologic change
and realize intellectual emancipation, by way of enlightenment that is not dogmatic in its
assumptions.
 The purpose of critical theory is to analyze the true significance of the ruling Max Horkheimer
understandings (the dominant ideology/ hegemony) generated in bourgeois society, by
showing that the dominant ideology misrepresents how human relations occur in the real
world, and how such misrepresentations function to justify and legitimate the domination of
people by capitalism.
 A major influence on critical theory has been the ideas of Antonio Gramsci.
 Gramsci argued that the capitalist class system is upheld not simply by unequal economic
and political power, but by what he termed the ‘hegemony’ of bourgeois ideas and
theories.
 Hegemony means leadership or domination and, in the sense of ideological hegemony, Antonio Gramsci
it refers to the capacity of bourgeois ideas to displace rival views and become, in effect,
the ‘common sense’ of the age.
 Gramsci’s ideas have influenced modern thinking about the nature of world or global hegemony.
 Instead of viewing hegemony in conventional terms, as the domination of one military power over
another, modern neo-Gramscians have emphasized the extent to which hegemony operates

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through a mixture of coercion and consent, highlighting the interplay between economic, political,
military and ideological forces, as well as interaction between states and international organizations.
 Robert Cox thus analyzed the hegemonic power of the USA not only in terms of its military
ascendancy, but also in terms of its ability to generate broad consent for the ‘world order’ that it
represents.

 Leading ‘first generation’ Frankfurt thinkers included Theodor Adorno, Max

Horkheimer and Herbert Marcuse
 Leading exponent of the ‘second generation’ of the Frankfurt School was Jürgen
Habermas.
 While early Frankfurt thinkers were primarily concerned with the analysis of
discrete societies, later theorists, such as Cox and Andrew Linklater have applied
critical theory to the study of international politics, in at least three ways. Theodor Adorno
1. Critical theory underlines the linkage between knowledge and
politics, emphasizing the extent to which theories and understandings
are embedded in a framework of values and interests.
2. Critical theorists have adopted an explicit commitment to
emancipatory politics: they are concerned to uncover structures
Andrew Linklater of oppression and injustice in global politics in order to advance
the cause of individual or collective freedom.
3. Critical theorists have questioned the conventional association
within international theory between political community and
the state, in so doing opening up the possibility of a more
Jurgen Habermas
inclusive, and maybe even cosmopolitan, notion of political
identity.

Social construction/constructivism

Social constructivism/ Constructivism

The structures of human association are determined primarily by shared ideas rather
than material forces, and that the identities and interests of purposive actors are
constructed by these shared ideas rather than given by nature".

--- Alexander Wendt

"Interests are not just 'out there' waiting to be discovered; they are constructed
through social interaction". ----Martha Finnemore

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 In international relations, constructivism is the claim that significant aspects of

international relations are historically and socially constructed, rather than inevitable
consequences of human nature or other essential characteristics of world politics.

 Constructivism primarily seeks to demonstrate how core aspects of international

relations are, contrary to the assumptions of neorealism and neoliberalism, socially
constructed, that is, they are given their form by ongoing processes of social practice
and interaction.
Alexander Wednt

 Alexander Wendt’s 1992 article "Anarchy is What States Make of It: the Social
Construction of Power Politics" published in International Organization laid the theoretical groundwork
for challenging what he considered to be a flaw shared by both neorealists and neoliberal
institutionalists, namely, a commitment to a (crude) form of materialism.

 Alexander Wendt calls two increasingly accepted basic tenets of Constructivism "that the structures of
human association are determined primarily by shared ideas rather than material forces, and that the
identities and interests of purposive actors are constructed by these shared ideas rather than given by
nature".

The notion that international relations are not only affected by power politics, but
also by ideas, is shared by writers who describe themselves as constructivist
theorists.

 According to this view, the fundamental structures of international politics

are social rather than strictly material. This leads to social constructivists to
argue that changes in the nature of social interaction between states can
bring a fundamental shift towards greater international security.
 Nicholas Onuf is usually credited with coining the term "constructivism" to Nicholas Onuf
describe theories that stress the socially constructed character of
international relations.
 Wendt by attempting to show that even such a core realist concept as "power politics" is socially
constructed—that is, not given by nature and hence, capable of being transformed by human practice—
Wendt opened the way for a generation of international relations scholars to pursue work in a wide
range of issues from a constructivist perspective.
 Wendt further developed these ideas in his central work, Social Theory of International Politics

Other exponents

 Hayward R. Alker, Jr., Richard K. Ashley, Martha Finnemore, Friedrich Kratochwil, John Ruggie, Christian
Reus-Smit.
 Nevertheless, Alexander Wendt is the best-known advocate of social constructivism in the field
of international relations.

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Social constructivism’s challenge to realism

 Wendt argues neorealism's "structure" reveals very little: "it does not predict whether two states will be
friends or foes, will recognize each other's sovereignty, will have dynastic ties, will be revisionist or status
quo powers, and so on"
 Neorealism's focus on the material structure of the system (anarchy) is misplaced.
 Wendt goes further than this – arguing that because the way in which anarchy constrains states depends
on the way in which states conceive of anarchy, and conceive of their own identities and interests,
anarchy is not necessarily even a self-help system.
 It only forces states to self-help if they conform to neorealist assumptions about states as seeing security
as a competitive, relative concept, where the gain of security for any one state means the loss of security
for another.
 If states instead hold alternative conceptions of security, either "co-operative", where states can
maximise their security without negatively affecting the security of another, or "collective" where states
identify the security of other states as being valuable to themselves, anarchy will not lead to self-help at
all.
 As a criticism of neorealism and neoliberalism (which were the dominant strands of IR theory during the
1980s), constructivism tended to be lumped in with all approaches that criticized the
so-called "neo-neo" debate. Constructivism has therefore often been conflated with
critical theory.
 Martha Finnemore In National Interests In International Society, Finnemore attempts
to "develop a systemic approach to understanding state interests and state behavior
by investigating an international structure, not of power, but of meaning and social
value"
 "Interests", she explains, "are not just 'out there' waiting to be discovered; they are
constructed through social interaction". Martha Finnemore
 Finnemore provides three case studies of such construction – the creation of Science
Bureaucracies in states due to the influence of the UNESCO, the role of the Red Cross in the Geneva
Conventions and the World Bank's influence of attitudes to poverty.
 Constructivists such as Finnemore and Wendt both emphasize that while ideas and processes tend to
explain the social construction of identities and interests, such ideas and processes form a structure of
their own which impact upon international actors.
 Alexander Wendt’s assertion that ‘anarchy is what states make of it. This implies that state
behaviour is not determined, as neo realists assert, by the structure of the international system,
but by how particular states view anarchy.

 While some states may view anarchy as dangerous and threatening, others may see it as the
basis for freedom and opportunity. An ‘anarchy of friends’ is thus very different from an
‘anarchy of enemies’.

Critics of constructivism
1. Critics of constructivism have argued that it fails to recognize the extent to which beliefs are
shaped by social, economic and political realities.
2. At the end of the day, ideas do not ‘fall from the sky’ like rain. They are a product of complex
social realities, and reflect an ongoing relationship between ideas and the material world.

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Critic by Bon Kwon Koo to Wendt :

o By adopting constructivism in sociology, Wendt makes it theoretically possible for states to

achieve a change of egoistic self-help culture of the international system. However, having
states as given units in his methodology, his theory cannot comprehend the notion of
human that must be included in a constructivist approach.
o Consequently, his theory loses consistency within constructivist logic. Moreover, when
Wendt’s constructivist approach is modified by including the notion of human, it shows a
different viewpoint of the international system. That is, a change of the international system
cannot be expected because human as social kinds is in endless process of constructing.

Post-structuralism

Post-structuralism

“Knowledge is power”

 Post structuralism emphasizes that all ideas and concepts are expressed in
language which itself is enmeshed in complex relations of power.
 Influenced particularly by the writings of Michel Foucault
poststructuralists have drawn attention to the link between power and
systems of thought using the idea of discourse, or ‘discourses of power’.
 In crude terms, this implies that knowledge is power. However, in the
absence of a universal frame of reference or overarching perspective,
there exist only a series of competing perspectives, each of which
represents a particular discourse of power. Michel Foucault
 Such a view has sometimes been associated with Jacques Derrida’s
famous formulation: ‘There is nothing outside the text’.
 Post structuralism draws attention to the fact that any political event will always be susceptible to
competing interpretations.

9/11 is an example

 Not only is there, for poststructuralists, irreducible debate about whether 9/11 is
best conceived as an act of terrorism, a criminal act, an act of evil, or an act of
(possibly justified) revenge, but there is
also uncertainty about the nature of the ‘act’ itself – was it the attacks
themselves, the process of planning, the formation of al-Qaeda, the onset of US
Jacques Derrida
neo-colonialism, or whatever?

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 In such circumstances, the classic poststructuralist approach to exposing hidden meanings in

particular concepts, theories and interpretations is deconstruction.
 Critics, however, accuse postmodernism/ post structuralism of relativism, in that they hold that
different modes of knowing are equally valid and thus reject the idea that even science can
distinguish between truth and falsehood.
 However, since the 1980s, positivist approaches to international politics have been subject to
criticism from a range of so-called ‘post-positivist’ approaches.
 As we observe the world, we are also in the process of imposing meaning upon it; we only ever
see the world as we think it exists.
 Such an approach leads to a more critical and reflective view of theory, which is seen to have a
constitutive purpose and not merely an explanatory one.
 Greater attention is therefore paid to the biases and hidden assumptions that are embodied in
theory, implying that dispassionate scholarship may always be an unachievable ideal.
 Postmodern thinkers take such ideas furthest in suggesting that the quest for objective truth
should be abandoned altogether, as all knowledge is partial and relative.

Feminist approach to International politics

Feminism

 Feminism is a broad term given to works of those scholars who have sought to
bring gender concerns into the academic study of international politics and who
have used feminist theory and sometimes queer theory to better understand
global politics and international relations.
 Conventional approaches to international politics focus almost exclusively
on male-dominated bodies and institutions - governments and states,
transnational corporations (TNCs) and nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs), international organizations and so on.
Cynthia Enloe

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 The role of women, as, for instance, diplomats’ wives, domestic workers, sex workers and
suchlike, is therefore ignored, as are the often international and
even global processes through which women are subordinated and
exploited.
 One of the most influential works in feminist IR is Cynthia
Enloe's Bananas, Beaches and Bases sought to chart the many
different roles that women play in international politics – as
plantation sector workers, diplomatic wives, sex workers on military
bases etc.
 The important point of this work was to emphasize how, when looking
at international politics from the perspective of women, one is forced
to reconsider his or her personal assumptions regarding what
international politics is 'all about'.
 From its inception, feminist IR has always shown a strong concern with
thinking about men and, in particular, masculinities. Indeed, many IR
feminists argue that the discipline is inherently masculine in nature.
 For example, in her article "Sex and Death in the Rational World of Defense
Intellectuals" Signs (1988), Carol Cohn claimed that a highly masculinised culture within the
defense establishment contributed to the divorcing of war from human emotion.
 Feminist IR has not only concerned itself with the traditional focus of IR on states,
wars, diplomacy and security, but feminist IR scholars have also emphasized the importance of
looking at how gender shapes the current global political economy.
 In this sense, there is no clear cut division between feminists working in IR and those working in the
area of International Political Economy (IPE).
 In Cynthia Enloe's article “Gender is not enough: the need for a feminist consciousness”, Enloe
explains how International Relations needs to include masculinity in the discussion on war, while also
giving attention to the issues surrounding women and girls.
 Growing influence of feminist and women-centric approaches within the international policy
communities (for example at the World Bank and the United Nations) is more reflective of the
liberal feminist emphasis on equality of opportunity for women.
 Analytical feminism is concerned not only to expose such biases, but also to champion
alternative concepts and theories, for example ones linking power not to conflict but to
collaboration.

Green Politics

Green politics

 Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable
society rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy.

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 Supporters of green politics share many ideas with the conservation, environmental,
feminist and peace movements.
 In addition to democracy and ecological issues, green politics is concerned with civil liberties, social
justice, nonviolence, sometimes variants of localism and tends to support social progressivism .

According to Derek Wall, a prominent British green proponent, there are four pillars that define green
politics:

In 2001, the Global Greens were organized as an international

green movement. The Global Greens Charter identified six
guiding principles

 Green politics also encourages political action on the

individual level, such as ethical consumerism, or buying things
that are made according to environmentally ethical standards.
 There is a growing level of global cooperation between Green parties.
 The first Planetary Meeting of Greens was held 30–31 May 1992, in Rio de Janeiro, immediately
preceding the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held there.
 Green politics, or ecologism, has had an impact on international theory since issues such as
‘limits to growth’ and the ‘population time bomb’ came on the political agenda in the 1970s.
 However, interest in it has increased substantially since the 1990s as a result of growing concern
about climate change, often viewed as the archetypal global issue.
 The central theme of green politics is the notion of an intrinsic link between humankind and
nature, sometimes linked to the ‘Gaia hypothesis’ developed by James Lovelock.
 Green politics nevertheless encompasses a wide range of theoretical positions, with quite
different implications for international affairs and global politics.
 Mainstream or reformist green thinking attempts to develop a balance between modernization
and economic growth, on the one hand, and the need to tackle environmental degradation, on
the other.
 Its key theme is the notion of ‘sustainable development’, which, by linking environmental to
economic goals, has exerted considerable influence on development theory, particularly in the
global South. Radical green theorists nevertheless go further.

Some, for instance, argue that the balance between humankind and nature will only be restored by
radical social change.

1. ‘Eco-socialists’, the source of the environmental crisis is the capitalist economic system, which
‘commodified’ nature and draws it into the system of market exchange.
2. ‘Eco-anarchists’ advance an environmental critique of hierarchy and authority, arguing that
domination
over other people is linked to domination over nature.
3. ‘Eco-feminists’ advance an environmental critique of male power, suggesting that domination
over women leads to domination over nature.
4. ‘Deep ecologists’, for their part, argue that only ‘paradigm change’ – the adoption of a radically
new philosophical and moral perspective, based on radical holism rather than conventional

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mechanistic and atomistic thinking – will bring an end to environmental degradation.

This, in effect, treats nature as an integrated whole, within which every species has an equal right to
‘live and bloom’.

Post-colonialism

Post-colonialism
 It is a critical theory approach to International relations (IR), and is a non-mainstream area of
international relations scholarship.
 Post-colonialism focuses on the persistence of colonial forms of power and the continuing existence of
 racism in world politics.
 Postcolonial IR challenges the eurocentrism of IR—particularly its parochial assumption that
Western Enlightenment thinking is superior, progressive and universally applicable.
 Post-colonialists argue that this is enabled through constructing the Other as irrational
and backwards.
 In one of the most influential works of postcolonial theory, Edward Said developed
the notion of ‘orientalism’ to highlight the extent to which western cultural and
political hegemony over the rest of the world, but over the Orient in particular, had
been maintained through elaborate stereotypical fictions that belittled and
demeaned non-western people and culture.
 Examples of such stereotypes include images such as the ‘mysterious East’, Edward Said
‘inscrutable Chinese’ and ‘lustful Turks’.
 The cultural biases generated by colonialism do not only affect, and subjugate, former colonized
people, however.
 Postcolonial IR attempts to expose such parochial assumptions of IR; for example, in the construction of
white versus coloured peoples. An example is the IR story of a "white men's burden" to educate and
liberate coloured men and women, to protect coloured women from coloured men.
 Often this is linked to other postpositivist theories, for example, through Postcolonial feminism, which
analyze issues in IR through the lenses of gender and culture.
 Examples of the parochialistic nature of IR include geographical parochialism and cultural chauvinism.
For the former, the construction of the Cold War era as a time of peace ignores the reality that major
conflicts continued in the developing world.
 Furthermore, the oft-cited history of IR is constructed in western terms (more information under history);
and IR has been used to justify everything from imperialism to a playground for skirmishes between the
two Cold War superpowers. For the latter, the West (through IGOs such as the IMF's quick rush to "save"
Asia in the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997–8) could be seen as both a white men's
burden to save Asia or to reformulate Asian capitalism in a Western image

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Key Concepts in International Relations

Syllabus
Key concepts in International Relations: National interest, Security and power; Balance of power and
deterrence; Transnational actors and collective security; World capitalist economy and globalisation.

Past year UPSC questions

1. Why is the ‘polarity of power’ thesis less relevant and meaningful in the present architecture of
‘balance of power’?
2. Is power a zero-sum or variable game in international relations? Can zero-sum game explain the
mixture of conflict and cooperation of the present dynamics of international relations?
3. ‘National Interests are Dynamic’. Identify the dynamic nature of National Interests in the
contemporary world polities with suitable examples.
4. ‘Collective Security and Collective Defense are the institutional and State mechanism to sustain the
domination of powers that be in International politics’. Elaborate.
5. Critically assess the changing nature of the concept of national security
6. Discuss the theory of Nuclear Deterrence. Did Nuclear Deterrence prevent a superpower war?
7. Discuss the main factors that have contributed to the gradual transformation of the world from
‘Billiard Ball Model’ to ‘Cobweb Model’
8. Explain the instruments and methods devised for the promotion of national interest.
The notion of balance of power is notoriously full of confusion." In the light of this quotation, do you
think that the concept of balance of power is relevant?
9. What, according to Joseph Nye, are the major sources of a country's soft power? Discuss its relevance
in the contemporary world politics.

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Key concepts in International Relations

NATIONAL INTEREST

NATIONAL INTEREST

 The concept of national interest is of central importance in any attempt to describe and explain
the international behaviour. It is almost universally believed that the primary justification of
state action is national interest.

 National interest is regarded as the 'key concept' in foreign policy. As Hans Morgenthau wrote :
"As long as the world is politically organized into nations, the national interest is indeed the
last word in world politics." It is the only legitimate and fundamental cause of national policy.

 Lord Palmerston had once said in the nineteenth century: "We have no eternal allies and we
have no eternal enemies. Our interests are eternal and those interests are our duty to follow."

Definition of National Interest:

 National Interest means: “The general, long term and continuing purpose which the state, the
nation, and the government all see themselves as serving.” —Charles Lerche and Abdul

 National Interest is: “What a nation feels to be necessary to its security and well being … National
interest reflects the general and continuing ends for which a nation acts.” —Brookings Institution

 “National Interest is, that which states seek to protect or achieve in relation to each other. It means
desires on the part of sovereign states.” —Vernon Von Dyke

 “The meaning of national interest is survival—the protection of physical, political and cultural
identity against encroachments by other nation-states”. —Morgenthau

 National Interest means: “The values, desires and interests which states seek to protect or achieve
in relation to each other” “desires on the part of sovereign states”. —V.V. Dyke

 Padleford and Lincoln observe: "Concepts of national interests are centred on the core values
of the society, which include the welfare of the nation, the security of its political beliefs,
national way of life, territorial integrity and its self-preservation."

 According to Robert Osgood, national interest is "a state of affairs valued solely for its benefit
to the nations."

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 First U.S. President George Washington had said:, "No nation, no matter how lofty its ideals
and how genuine its desire to abide by them, can base its foreign policy on consideration
other than its own national interest."

National Interest: Core of Foreign Policy

 The concept of national interest finds an important place in the Realist approach to the study of
International relations. The realist school defines Politics as the struggle for power and attached
a lot of significance to national interest in which terms this struggle must be understood.

 For realists, as self-interest is the motivation of all human actions, similarly, national interest is
the motivation of all actions taken by the states in the international realm.

 This vision of national interest is guided by the assumption that survival of the state is the
ultimate objective in International Politics.

 In this context, they attach primacy to national interest even over morality and hold that
national interest and not moral principles should guide the policies in the international system.

MORGENTHAU’S VIEWS ON NATIONAL INTEREST

 For Morgenthau, international politics like all politics is a struggle for power and hence he
defines the concept of national interest also in terms of power. He argues that ‘interest is the
perennial standard by which political actions must be judged and directed’. He also recognised
that in any particular situation, the interest of a nation should be informed by the political and
cultural context within which foregin policy formulated.

 Morgenthau saw two levels of national interests: Vital and Secondary

 Vital national interests are relatively easy to define which included security as a free and
independent nation and protection of institutions,people and fundamental values. There can be
no compromise with vital national interest.

 Secondary interests are those over which one may seek to compromise; they are harder to
define and may include trade developments etc.

 While defining national interest in terms of power, Morgenthau argued that this will overcome
the problem of subjectivity involved in the concept of national interest. Morgenthau concedes
that as the definition of power will change over time, the nature of national interest also
remains dynamic and elastic in nature.

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Components of National Interest

Necessary or Vital Components: Non-vital or Variable Components of National Interest

 According to Morgenthau, the vital components of
the national interests that a foreign policy seeks to
secure are survival or identity. He sub-divides identity
into three parts: Physical identity. Political identity
and Cultural identity.
 Physical identity includes territorial identity. Political
identity means politico- economic system and
Cultural identity stands for historical values that are
upheld by a nation as part of its cultural heritage.
 These are called vital components because these are
essential for the survival of the nation and can be
easily identified and examined. A nation even decides
to go to war for securing or protecting her vital
interests.
 The non-vital components are those parts of
national interest which are determined either by
circumstances or by the necessity of securing the
vital components. These are determined by a host of
factors—the decision-makers, public opinion, party
politics, sectional or group interests and political and
moral folkways.
 “These variable interests are those desires of
individual states which they would, no doubt, like to
see fulfilled but for which they will not go to war.
Whereas the vital interests may be taken as goals,
the secondary interests may be termed as objectives
of foreign policy.”
 These objectives have been listed by V.V. Dyke and
his list includes: Prosperity, Peace, Ideology, Justice,
Prestige, Aggrandisement and Power.

 A nation always formulates its foreign policy
decisions with a view to secure and strengthens its
security. The attempts to secure international peace
and security, that nations are currently making, are
being made because today the security of each state
stands inseparably linked up with international peace
and security.
 Security is, thus, a vital component of national
interest. Each nation always tries to secure its vital
interests even by means of war.
 Though each state defines these objectives in a
manner which suits its interests in changing
circumstances, yet these objectives can be described
as common to almost all states.
 Thus, national interest which a nation seeks to
secure can be generally categorized into these two
parts.

DYNAMIC NATURE OF NATIONAL INTEREST

 The concept of national interest can be traced to the evolution of the modern state system. Hence,
with the development of the idea of nation-state, the concept of national interest also develops and
changes. For Eg: In the 1950s, U.S implemented an economic and military containment policy
against China which increased China’s focus on security interest against military invasion by U.S. But
with the end of the Cold war, China’s interest began to focus on avoiding involvement in military
clashes and promoting economic security.

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 National interest changes in two ways : Content and Scope

 In the context of content of national interest, a nation may shift its focus from one priority to
another. A country may shuffle its priorities among security, prestige, economic sufficiency etc.

 The change in scope in national interest of a country means limiting or expanding the idea of
national interest with respect to the nation’s territory.

 The objective change of national interests is affected by both domestic conditions and international
environment.

 External changes have many aspects such as establishment or collapse of international order;
initiation or conclusion of international politics etc. For eg: When China confronted the Soviet Union
in the 1970s, China’s main interest lied in protection of northern China from Soviet military attack.
But after the collapse of Soviet, the direct military threat to China had essentially disappeared and
China’s interest changed to protection against smuggling, drug trafficking etc.

 Domestic changes in the country also affect national interest in many ways. National disintegration,
political turmoil, economic recession etc. are examples.

Methods for the Securing of National Interest

Diplomacy as a  Diplomacy is a universally accepted means for securing national interests. It is through
Means of National diplomacy that the foreign policy of a nation travels to other nations. It seeks to secure
Interests the goals of national interests. Diplomats establish contacts with the decision-makers
and diplomats of other nations and conduct negotiations for achieving the desired goals
and objectives of national interests of their nation.
 The art of diplomacy involves the presentation of the goals and objectives of national
interest in such a way as can persuade others to accept these as just and rightful
demands of the nation. Diplomats use persuasion and threats, rewards and threats of
denial of rewards as the means for exercising power and securing goals of national
interest as defined by foreign policy of their nation.
 Diplomatic negotiations constitute the most effective means of conflict-resolution and
for reconciling the divergent interests of the state. Through mutual give and take,
accommodation and reconciliation, diplomacy tries to secure the desired goals and
objectives of national interest.
 As an instrument of securing national interest, diplomacy is a universally recognized and
most frequently used means. Morgenthau regards diplomacy as the most primary
means. However, all the objectives and goals of national interest cannot be secured
through diplomacy.

Propaganda  The second important method for securing national interest is propaganda. Propaganda
is the art of salesmanship. It is the art of convincing others about the justness of the
goals and objectives or ends which are desired to be secured. It consists of the attempt

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to impress upon nations the necessity of securing the goals which a nation wishes to
achieve.
 “Propaganda is a systematic attempt to affect the minds, emotions and actions of a given
group for a specific public purpose.” —Frankel
 It is directly addressed to the people of other states and its aim is always to secure the
self-interests—interests which are governed exclusively by the national interests of the
propagandist.
 The revolutionary development of the means of communications (Internet) in the recent
times has increased the scope of propaganda as a means for securing support for goals of
national interest.

Economic Means  The rich and developed nations use economic aid and loans as the means for securing
their interests in international relations. The existence of a very wide gap between the
rich and poor countries provides a big opportunity to the rich nations for promoting their
interests vis-a-vis the poor nations.
 The dependence of the poor and lowly- developed nations upon the rich and developed
nations for the import of industrial goods, technological know-how, foreign aid,
armaments and for selling raw materials, has been responsible for strengthening the role
of economic instruments of foreign policy. In this era of Globalisation conduct of
international economic relation has emerged as a key means of national interests.

Alliances and  Alliances and Treaties are concluded by two or more states for securing their common
Treaties interests. This device is mostly used for securing identical and complementary interests.
However, even conflictual interests may lead to alliances and treaties with like-minded
states against the common rivals or opponents.
 Alliances and treaties make it a legal obligation for the members of the alliances or
signatories of the treaties to work for the promotion of agreed common interests. The
alliances may be concluded for serving a particular specific interest or for securing a
number of common interests. The nature of an alliance depends upon the nature of
interest which is sought to be secured.
 Accordingly, the alliances are either military or economic in nature. The need for
securing the security of capitalist democratic states against the expanding ‘communist
menace’ led to the creation of military alliances like NATO, SEATO, CENTO, ANZUS etc.
Likewise, the need to meet the threat to socialism led to the conclusion of Warsaw Pact
among the communist countries.
 The need for the economic reconstruction of Europe after the Second World War led to
the establishment of European Common Market (Now European Union) and several
other economic agencies. The needs of Indian national interests in 1971 led to the
conclusion of the Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation with the (erstwhile)
Soviet Union. Alliances and Treaties are thus popular means for securing national
interests.

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Coercive Means  The role of power in international relations is a recognized fact. It is an unwritten law of
international intercourse that nations can use force for securing their national interests.
International Law also recognizes coercive means short of war as the methods that can
be used by states for fulfilling their desired goals and objectives. Intervention, Non-
intercourse, embargoes, boycotts, reprisals, retortion, retaliation, severance of
relations and pacific biocides are the popular coercive means which can be used by a
nation to force others to accept a particular course of behaviour or to refrain from a
course which is considered harmful by the nation using coercive means.
 War and Aggression have been declared illegal means, yet these continue to be used by
the states in actual course of international relations. Today, nations fully realize the
importance of peaceful means of conflict-resolution like negotiations, and diplomacy as
the ideal methods for promoting their national interests. Yet at the same time these
continue to use coercive means, whenever they find it expedient and necessary. Military
power is still regarded as a major part of national power and is often used by a nation
for securing its desired goals and objectives.
 The use of military power against international terrorism now stands universally
accepted as a natural and just means for fighting the menace. Today world public
opinion accepts the use of war and other forcible means for the elimination of
international terrorism.
 All these means are used by all the nations for securing their national interests. Nations
have the right and duty to secure their national interests and they have the freedom to
choose the requisite means for this purpose. They can use peaceful or coercive means as
and when they may desire or deem essential.
 However, in the interest of international peace, security and prosperity, nations are
expected to refrain from using coercive means particular war and aggression. These are
expected to depend upon peaceful means for the settlement of disputes and for securing
their interests.
 While formulating the goals and objectives of national interest, all the nations must make
honest attempts to make these compatible with the international interests of Peace,
Security environmental protection, protection of human rights and Sustainable
Development.
 Peaceful coexistence, peaceful conflict-resolution and purposeful mutual cooperation
for development are the common and shared interests of all the nations. As such, along
with the promotion of their national interests, the nations must try to protect and
promote common interests in the larger interest of the whole international community.
 All this makes it essential for every nation to formulate its foreign policy and to conduct
its relations with other nations on the basis of its national interests, as interpreted and
defined in harmony with the common interests of the humankind. The aim of foreign
policy is to secure the defined goals of national interest by the use of the national power.

Limitations of the Concept of National Interest

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 Raymond Aron has called National Interest as a pseudo theory because it is vague and
ambiguous and it is impossible to formulate a universally acceptable definition of National
Interest.

 Joseph Frankel called the theory of national interest as useless because it could be defined in
many ways and for a variety of purposes.

 Burchill Scott suggests that despite its wide use in political circles as a legitimate tool,national
interest as a concept is devoid of any substantive meaning.

POWER

POWER

 Security and Power form some of the key concepts in International relations especially in the
Realist approach.

 Power in international relations is defined in several different ways. Modern discourse generally
speaks in terms of state power, indicating both economic and military power. Those states that
have significant amounts of power within the international system are referred to as small
powers, middle powers, regional powers, great powers, superpowers, or hegemons, although
there is no commonly accepted standard for what defines a powerful state. NATO Quint, the G7,
the BRICS nations and the G20 are seen by academics as forms of governments that exercise
varying degrees of influence within the international system.

 Entities other than states can also be relevant in power acquisition in international relations.
Such entities can include multilateral international organizations, military alliance organizations
like NATO, multinational corporations like Wal-Mart non-governmental organizations such as
the Roman Catholic Church, or other institutions such as the Hanseatic League and technology
companies like Facebook and Google.

Concepts of political power

Practitioners of international relations (diplomats) have used the following concepts of political
power:

 Power as a goal of states or leaders;

 Power as a measure of influence or control over outcomes, events, actors and issues;
 Power as victory in conflict and the attainment of security;
 Power as control over resources and capabilities;

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 Power as status, which some states or actors possess and others do not.

Power as a goal Primary usage of "power" as a goal in international relations belongs to political
theorists, such as Niccolò Machiavelli and Hans Morgenthau. Especially among
Classical Realist thinkers, power is an inherent goal of mankind and of states. Economic
growth, military growth, cultural spread etc. can all be considered as working towards
the ultimate goal of international power. The German military thinker Carl von
Clausewitz is considered to be the quintessential projection of European growth across
the continent. In more modern times, Claus Moser has elucidated theories centre of
distribution of power in Europe after the Holocaust, and the power of universal learning
as its counterpoint.

Jean Monnet was a French left-wing social theorist, stimulating expansive

Eurocommunism, who followed on the creator of modern European community, the
diplomat and statesman Robert Schuman
Power as influence
Political scientists principally use "power" in terms of an actor's ability to
exercise influence over other actors within the international system. This influence can
be coercive, attractive, cooperative, or competitive. Mechanisms of influence can
include the threat or use of force, economic interaction or pressure, diplomacy, and
cultural exchange.

Under certain circumstances, states can organize a sphere of influence or a bloc within
which they exercise predominant influence. Historical examples include the spheres of
influence recognized under the Concert of Europe, or the recognition of spheres during
the Cold War following the Yalta Conference. The Eastern Bloc, the Western Bloc, and
the Non-Aligned Movement were the blocs that arose out of the Cold War contest.

Military alliances like NATO and the Warsaw Pact are another forum through which
influence is exercised. However, "realist" theory attempted to maintain the balance of
power from the development of meaningful diplomatic relations that can create
a hegemony within the region.

British foreign policy, for example, dominated Europe through the Congress of
Vienna after the defeat of France. They continued the balancing act with the Congress of
Berlin in 1878, to appease Russia and Germany from attacking Turkey.

Britain has sided against the aggressors on the European continent—i.e. the German
Empire, Nazi Germany, Napoleonic France or the Austrian Empire, known during the
Great War as the Central Powers and, in the World War Two were called the Axis
Powers.

Power as security Power is also used when describing states or actors that have achieved military victories
or security for their state in the international system. This general usage is most
commonly found among the writings of historians or popular writers.

Power as capability American author Charles W. Freeman, Jr. described power as the following:

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Power is the capacity to direct the decisions and actions of others. Power derives from
strength and will. Strength comes from the transformation of resources into capabilities.

Will infuses objectives with resolve. Strategy marshals capabilities and brings them to
bear with precision. Statecraft seeks through strategy to magnify the mass, relevance,
impact, and irresistibility of power. It guides the ways the state deploys and applies its
power abroad. These ways embrace the arts of war, espionage, and diplomacy. The
practitioners of these three arts are the paladins of statecraft.

Power is also used to describe the resources and capabilities of a state. This definition is
quantitative and is most often[dubious – discuss] used by geopoliticians and the military.

Capabilities are thought of in tangible terms—they are measurable, weighable,

quantifiable assets. A good example for this kind of measurement is the Composite
Indicator on Aggregate Power, which involves 54 indicators and covers the capabilities of
44 states in Asia-Pacific from 1992 to 2012.

Hard power can be treated as a potential and is not often enforced on the international
stage.

Chinese strategists have such a concept of national power that can be

measured quantitatively using an index known as comprehensive national power.

 Power in international politics can be understood in terms of:

o Capability: as an attribute, something that states or actors possess
o Relationship: exercise of influence over other actors
o Structure: as the ability to control the political political agenda and shape how things
are done.

 Elements of national power:

(i) Military strength (ii) Economic development
(iii) Population (iv) Geography

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Categories of power

Categories of power

Superpower: In 1944, William
T.R.Fox defined superpower as
"great power plus great mobility
of power" and identified three
states, the British Empire,
the Soviet Union and the United
States.
With the decolonisation of the
British Empire following World
War II, and then the dissolution
of the Soviet Union in 1991, the
United States has remained to be
the sole superpower.
China is now considered
an emerging global
superpower by many scholars
Great power: In Middle power: A subjective Small power: The
historical mentions, the description of influential International
term great second-tier states that could System is for the
power refers to the not quite be described as great most part made
states that have strong or small powers. up by small
political, cultural and powers.
economical influence A middle power has sufficient
over nations around strength and authority to stand They are
them and across the on its own without the need of instruments of
world. help from others (particularly the other powers
in the realm of security) and and may at times
takes diplomatic leads in be dominated;
regional and global affairs. but they cannot
be ignored
Clearly not all middle powers
are of equal status; some are
members of forums such as
the G20 and play important
roles in the United Nations and
other international
organisations such as the WTO

Changing nature of Power:

 Hard Power : It encompasses both military and economic power

 Soft Power: is co-optive power; it rests on the ability to shape the preferences of others by
attraction rather than coercion.
 Joseph Nye defined Soft power as the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than
coercion or payment.
 According to Nye, ”the soft power of a country rests primarily on three resources: Culture, its
political values and its foreign policies.
 Soft power is both an alternative to hard powers well as complementary to it.
 Where hard power draws on resources such as force, sanctions, payments and bribes, soft power
operates largely through culture, political ideas and foreign policies.
 In most circumstances, soft power and hard power operate in tandem.
 There are some examples of soft power that operate in the absence of hard power i.e: the
Vatican,the Dalai Lama; Canada; Norway.
 Smart Power:The concept was given by Joseph Nye. It refers to the combination of hard power
and soft power strategies.

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 Smart Power is defined as an approach that underscores the necessity of a strong military, but
also invests heavily in alliances, partnerships, and
institutions of all levels to expand one's influence and
establish legitimacy of one's action.
 Fast Power: The concept was given by John Chipman.
According to him, speed has become a determinant of
national power. He gave the Principle of Neo-Darwinism
which means ‘Survival of the fastest’.
 Soft power lies in a country’s attractiveness and comes from
three resources: its culture (in places where it is attractive to others), its
political values, and its foreign policies (when they are seen as legitimate
and having moral authority). Though slower to yield results, soft power is a
less expensive means than military force or economic inducements to get
others to do what we want.
 India boasts an amazing variety and wealth of soft power resources. Its
spiritualism, yoga, movies and television soaps, classical and popular
dance and music, its principles of non-violence, democratic institutions,
plural society, and cuisine have all attracted people across the world.
 Indian foreign policy analyst C Raja Mohan observed that India holds
“strong cards in the arena of soft power” to further its foreign policy goals. John Chipman

Sources of Soft power for a nation

Sources of Soft power for a nation

Cultural Germany has the Goethe Institute, China has its Confucius institutes, and France has the Alliance
institutes
Francaise. These are non-profit institutions with branches in all major cities throughout the
world, as well as major universities, where they offer individuals the chance to learn foreign
languages and attend cultural events such as movie showings and cooking classes. India also has
the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) which is focussed on enhancing cultural relations
with nations.
Museums: Museums are not only a repository for local treasures, but also for artifacts from all over the
world. They cater to both an international and domestic audience. There are dozens of
museums, including many in Asia, that have over a million visitors a year. For a would-be
superpower with a treasure trove of art and sculpture, museums could act as a source of soft
power attracting people from all over the world.
Sports: India has become one of the hubs of sports like cricket and wrestling. With commercial leagues
like the IPL,it has helped attract sports lovers from around the world and has helped spread
India's soft power.
Tourism: India is home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Taj Mahal and some picturesque
Rajput forts, which draw tourists from around the world. Places like the Sun Temple in Orissa,
the ruins of Hampi in Karnataka, or the Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh also have great
potential for tourism. Similarly , visitors to Europe are treated to any number of picturesque
castles and cathedrals, and even smaller countries like Croatia and Iceland are popular and have
well-preserved monuments.

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Cinema: India makes more movies a year than any other country and Bollywood films are popular
throughout the Middle East and Central Asia. Similarly Japan has used anime to promote itself
throughout the world. India could also use its martial arts culture (eg: Kalaripayattu ) the way
China and Japan have, to reach out into the world. Muay Thai from Thailand has also become
very popular.

Thus countries and also India should use the above potential to lever its natural soft power into a
valuable instrument of its global strategy.

Polarity of Power thesis:

 Polarity in international relations is any of the various ways in which power is distributed within
the international system.
 There can be three models : Unipolar Bipolar Multipolar
 The Polarity of power thesis was given by Structural realists Kenneth Waltz and John
Mearshiemer. According to them, bipolarity is the best from the perspective of stability and
world peace.

 From a neo-realist perspective, bipolar systems tends towards stability and strengthens the
likelihood of peace. This happens for the following reasons:
1. Existence of only two great powers encourages each to maintain the bipolar system as
they’re maintaining themselves. Bipolar systems tend towards a balance of power.
2. The bipolar system guarantees stability by the fact that there are only two key actors.
Fewer great powers reduces the possibilities of great power struggle. It also reduces the
chances of miscalculations and hence makes it easier for an effective system of
deterrence to operate.
3. Power relationships in a bipolar system are more stable as each bloc is forced to rely on
their internal (economic and military) resources and external (alliance with other states)
means of expanding power is not available.
 Neo-realists argue that bipolarity led to the long peace between 1945 and 1990.
 One criticism however of the bipolar system was that it strengthened imperialism tendency in
both the U.S and USSR as discouraged from direct confrontation with each other, each sought to
expand or consolidate its control over its sphere of influence.
 A further criticism of bipolarity was that superpower rivalry and strategy of nuclear deterrence
produced conditions of ongoing tension that always threatened to make the cold war ‘hot’.

Multipolar system Unipolar system

Multipolar system tends to be inherently unstable. It is A theory of unipolarity is the hegemonic stability
because of the following reasons: theory.

A large number of great powers increases the number of It is the theory accepted by realists and many neo-
possible great-power conflicts. liberals that a dominant military and economic power or

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a hegemon is necessary to ensure the stability and

Multipolarity creates a bias in favour of fluidity and
perhaps instability as it leads to shifting alliances as great
powers have external means of extending their influence.
As power is more decentralised, existing great powers
may be more ambitious while weak states may be able to
challenge and displace existing great
powers.
Thus multipolar order is inherently unstable certainly by
comparison with bipolarity. This applies because more
actors increases the number of possible conflicts and
creates higher levels of uncertainty thereby intensifying
the security dilemma.
prosperity in a liberal world economy
The two examples of such liberal hegemons are the UK
during the late 19th century and early 20th century and
the US since 1945.
To be a hegemon, a state must therefore:
1. have sufficient power to enforce the rules of the
system
2. posses the will to use this power
3. be committed to a system that brings benefits to
the states
According to some scholars, unipolarity may be
desirable, as a single super power acts as a global
policeman, establishing law and order.

[Understand hegemony in greater detail in chapter: Evolution of new political order ]

SECURITY

SECURITY

 The concept of security is closely related to the concept of power in International politics.

 Security is the deepest and most abiding issue in politics. While the domestic realm is ordered
and stable due to the existence of sovereign states, the international realm is anarchical and
therefore threatening and unstable.

 Both the liberal and realist schools of international politics give their own conception of security.

Realist school Liberal school

Realist school: Realists understand security primarily in The Liberal theory of security management consists
terms of ‘national security’. Their concept of security is also of two key methods; collective security and arms
related to their concept of power. Realists give the concept control.
of
1. Collective Security
Security Dilemma 2.

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Security dilemma describes a condition in which actions
taken by one actor to improve national security are
interpreted as aggressive by other actors, thereby provoking
military counter-moves.
Some scholars of international relations have argued that
the security dilemma is the most important source of
conflict between states.
They hold that in the international realm, there is
no legitimate monopoly of violence—that is, there is no
world government—and, as a consequence, each state must
take care of its own security. For this reason, the primary
goal of states is to maximize their own security.
However, many of the actions taken in pursuit of that goal—
such as weapons procurement and the development of new
military technologies—will necessarily decrease the security
of other states.
Decreasing the security of other states does not
automatically create a dilemma, but other states will tend to
follow suit if one state arms. They cannot know whether the
arming state will use its increased military capabilities for an
attack in the future.
For this reason, they will either choose to increase their own
military capabilities in order to reestablish the balance of
power or they will launch a preemptive attack to prevent the
arming state from upsetting the balance in the first place.
If they choose the first option, the result may be a security
spiral, in which two (or more) states are tied in an arms race,
with each state responding to increases in weapons
procurement and defense expenditure by the other state,
leading them both to arm themselves more and more
heavily. That situation may lead to war in the long run.
Other scholars have argued that the security dilemma is
largely irrelevant, because international conflict is not the
result of “status quo” powers seeking to maximize security
but of “revisionist” powers seeking to maximize power.
If all states were status quo powers, such critics have
argued, then military conflict would be extremely rare,
because the world would consist of status quo powers eager
to signal their benign intentions.
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Liberal theorists strongly believe in the power of
collective security. This is a protective measure
used by a group of allied states. When threatening
and unlawful actions are directed at one state,
united opposition is shown by the other supporting
states.
The goal is to stop the aggressor while creating
security in the international system. Collective
security can be best described by the concept of
‘one for all, all for one’.
Another important function of this security
measure is to ward off potential aggressors from
acting.
Collective security arrangements have always been
conceived as being global in scope; this is in fact a
defining characteristic, distinguishing them from
regional alliances such as the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization.
Both the League of Nations and the United
Nations were founded on the principle of
collective security.
Neither the League nor the United Nations were
able to operate the principle successfully to prevent
aggression because of the conflicts of interest
among states, especially among the major powers.
The existence of such conflicts has in fact been
recognized in the institutionalized arrangements of
the two world bodies themselves: under
the Covenant of the League of Nations the
response to aggression was left to the member
states to decide (article 16, paragraph 3,
as amended by interpretive resolutions adopted in
1921); and under the UN Charter any permanent
member of the Security Council may veto collective
action
2. Arms Control
In global politics, arms control is best described by
either the controlling, reducing, limiting, or
abolishing weapons completely. Another approach
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to controlling weapons includes general

There are two components of dilemma: disarmament.

 Dilemma of Interpretation: what are the motives,
intentions and capabilities of others in building up
military power.
 Dilemma of Response: should they react in a military
confrontational manner or should they seek to signal
reassurance and attempt to diffuse tension.
According to Liberal theory, arms proliferation and
specialization can be reduced.
Having fewer weapons means reduced insecurity so
long as states agree to carry out this task mutually.

Collective Security and Balance of Power:

 The ‘collective security system’ was devised as an improvement over the BoP system which was
uncertain, inadequate and unrealistic in the management of international security.

 In the BoP system, international peace and stability resulted from the balancing of relative
power among the major powers of the international system which was uncertain and caused
many wars. This led to the development of the concept of collective security.

 As complementary to each other :Both the concepts of Balance of power as well as collective
security adhere to the fact that ‘power is a check to power’ and that aggression can be checked
by collective might.

 Collective security and balance of power, both are defensive strategies aiming to promote the
security of states within the system. They believe in the idealistic assumptions that nations will
commit their force for the sake of peace and will forget their long term rivalries or interests.

 As antagonistic to each other :According to Woodrow Wilson, there must not be a balance of
power, not one powerful group of nations set-off against another, but a single overwhelming
powerful group of nations who shall be the trustee of the world.

 BoP assumes that the division of states in international system is into competitive and hostile
camps whereas worldwide collective security calls for universal cooperation. For states in the
BoP system, the enemy is outside whereas in a collective security system, the enemy is a
member within the system.

 In balancing, if obligation is limited and advance planning can occur for international
coordination of defense measures whereas in collective security system, the obligation is
virtually unlimited as it encompasses all the states globally. Also, BoP is a limited concept in the
sense that it is applicable in regional context whereas collective security can work at the global
level and require institutionalisation which is not required for the BoP system.

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 Collective Security and Collective Defense: According to Morgenthau, international politics like
all politics is a struggle for power. This struggle for power in the name of national security or
being a security maximiser ultimately turns a state into ‘power maximisers’.

 This results into a state turning to be an aggressor trying to pursue preponderance power to
dominate other states in the context of the international system.

 There are two different approaches to confront this situation which are based on the same line
that security of any nation can be enhanced by the cooperation from other states in the
international system. Collective security and Collective defense are based on this assumption.

 Collective security is an institutionalised mechanism devised against distortion of international

peace and order by the collective response of the international community.T he concept of
collective security was first institutionalised under the League of Nation and then under the
United Nations.

 The UN charter recognises the ‘right of self-defense’ under Article 51.The concept of ‘collective
defense’ is based on this concept of ‘self-defense’.

 Collective defense is an arrangement, usually formalized by a treaty and an organisation among

participant states that commit support in defense of a member state if it is attacked by
another state outside the organisation.

 Hence, collective defense is a limited geographical concept. NATO reflects collective defense. Its
Article 5 calls on the member states to assist another member under attack.

 Collective defense is considered a state mechanism as it involves cooperation for security

among the member states unlike collective security which calls for cooperation among states
globally.

 In collective defense, enemy is predetermined or known but in collective security enemy is not
predetermined and can be any nation violating international law.

 It is sometimes held that collective security and collective defense are contradictory to each
other. Hence, collective defense is often affiliated with realism and collective security with
liberal-idealism.

Human security

 In 1994, the United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) Human Development Report
presented a new way of thinking about the integration of security issues and globalization. This
report defined human security according to seven dimensions: personal, environmental,

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economic, political, community, health, and food security, the report adopted a people-centric
security concept as its focus instead of the traditional state-centered concept

 The concept of human security stresses that people should be able to take care of themselves:
all people should have the opportunity to meet their most essential needs and to earn their own
living. This will set them free and help ensure that they can make a full contribution to
development their own development and that of their communities, their countries and the
world, Human security is a critical ingredient of participatory development.

 Human security is therefore not a defensive concept, the way territorial or military security is.
Human security is a concept that identifies the security of human lives as the central objective of
national and international security policy.

 After 1994, the concept of human security became a central theme of a number of governments
through their foreign and defense policies. In particular, the Canadian, Japanese and Norwegian
governments led the way in institutionalizing human security concerns into their respective
foreign policies. According to a Canadian government report, “human security means safety for
people from both violent and non-violent threats. It is a condition or state of being
characterized by freedom from pervasive threats to people’s rights, their safety, or even their
lives.”

 Also the report emphasized that increasing human security entails:

 Investing in human development, not in arms;

 Engaging policy makers to address the emerging peace dividend;
 Giving the United Nations a clear mandate to promote and sustain development;
 Enlarging the concept of development cooperation so that it includes all flows, not just
aid;
 Agreeing that 20 percent of national budgets and 20 percent of foreign aid be used for
human development; and
 Establishing an Economic Security Council

Human security and Foreign policy:

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 A departure from the realist, state-centered concept of security that has dominated foreign
policy thinking of major powers, this conceptual reframing of security has important
implications on foreign policy. It brings new issues or vulnerabilities and measures or actions as
priorities for global security that were not on the security agendas, it has huge impact on
foreign policy orientations especially when it comes to big powers decisions

 The issue of oppression and physical violence due to deliberate action and neglect by
the state to its own citizens.

 Vulnerability to poverty and destitution as a factor inter-connected with threats of

violence.

 Development and ending poverty as important means to achieve human security.

 Actors other than the state as sources of threat and as holders of obligations to protect;

 Global inter-connectedness of security threats (such as terrorist networks, global

financial crises and global diseases) and necessary responses.

 Questions have been raised about the relationship between human security and state security
and actions in foreign affairs. Contrary to some claims, the two kinds of security are not
mutually exclusive. The security of the state is not an end in itself rather it is a means of
ensuring security for people. In this context, state security and human security are in fact
mutually supportive and accordingly the decisions made to maintain security of the state in
foreign affairs and in international relations had a direct influence on humans security.

 Building an effective, democratic state that values its own people and protects minorities is
central to promoting human security. At the same time, improving the human security of its
people strengthens the legitimacy, stability and security of a state. So the interdependent
relation is crystal clear. Human security provides a template to assess policy and practice effects
on the safety of people. From a foreign policy perspective, there are a number of key
consequences;

 First ensuring human security can involve the use of coercive measures, including
sanctions and military force, as in Bosnia and Kosovo.

 Secondly, the human costs of strategies for promoting state and international security
must be explicitly assessed. Security policies such as economic sanctions, should take
into account the impact on innocent people.

 Third, security policies must be integrated much more closely with strategies for
promoting human rights, democracy, and development. Human rights and
humanitarian provide the normative framework on which a human security approach is
based. On the other hand one of the dividends of adopting a human security approach is
that it further elaborates a people-centred foreign policy.

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 Fourth, due to the complexity of contemporary challenges to the security of people,

effective interventions involve a diverse range of actors including states, multilateral
organizations, and civil society groups. As the challenges to the safety of people are
transnational, effective responses can only be achieved through multilateral
cooperation. This is evident in the new international instruments developed to address
transnational drug trafficking, terrorism, and environmental issues. These threats link
the interest of citizens in countries which enjoy a high level of human security with the
interests of people in much poorer nations, who face a wider range of threats to their
safety. This has a direct impact on foreign policy implementation and interests.

The relationship between national and international security

 The changing international environment, following the advent of globalization and end of cold
war politics has made it imperative for both practitioners and scholars to rethink and redefine
the existing framework on which foreign policy operated. Foreign relations are in fact developed
in the context of the security environment. However, security issues are no longer seen in the
pure realist term of preserving the national security of the states in terms of territory only.
States have aligned and realigned to further their national interest by forming new regional and
economic blocs, while putting aside historical and cultural hostility, and arriving at consensus
over various issues of global concerns.

 National and international security are becoming increasingly interrelated, thereby challenging
the notion that security is primarily a function of national power or military and economic
strength. Searching for solutions to the problem of insecurity, many nations increasingly find
themselves face-to-face with circumstances beyond their direct control, such as a structural
economic crisis and global economic, population, environmental and resource trends. All
nations face universal threats posed by the nuclear arms race. Global interdependence has
created a situation in which actions not only by major Powers but also by other nations can have
major regional or even international repercussions.

 Only by recognizing that security is not divisible, either in its military, economic, social and
political dimensions or as between its national and international aspects, can nations evolve the
co-operative measures necessary to achieve security in an interdependent age. This requires a
comprehensive and co-operative approach to international security(a liberal version of security).
The unrestrained pursuit of national security interests at the expense of others is not conducive
to international security and may even lead to disaster. With the existence of nuclear weapons
such policies constitute a potential threat to the survival of mankind. It is imperative that
nations reconcile the contradictions between individual national security interests and the
overall interest of international security and peace.

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BALANCE OF POWER

BALANCE OF POWER

 Traditionally, States are taken to be the essential building blocks of world politics meaning that
world affairs boils down essentially to relations between states.
 An alternative globalisation paradigm reflects the belief that world affairs have been
transformed in recent decades by the growth of global interconnectedness and
interdependence. In this view, the world is no longer operates as a disaggregated collection of
states or ‘units’ but rather as an integrated whole, as ‘one world’.
 Sovereignty is the principle of supreme and unquestionable authority, to be the sole author of
laws within its territory.
 Peace of Westphalia(1648) established sovereignty as the distinguishing feature of the state.
 A key assumption of the traditional approach to international politics has been that the state-
system operates in a context of anarchy.
 Anarchy: without law; the absence of a higher authority but not necessarily associated with
instability and chaos.
 Global politics operates as an international ‘state of nature’, a pre-political society.
 The implication of international anarchy is that states are forced to rely on self-help.
 Self-Help: A reliance on internal or inner resources, often seen as the principal reason states
prioritise survival and security.
 If International Politics operates as a ‘self-help system’, the power seeking inclinations of one
state are only tempered by competing tendencies in other states, suggesting that conflict and
war are inevitable features of the international system. In this view, conflict is only constrained
by a balance of power.
 Balance of Power: A condition in which no one state predominates over others, tending to
create general equilibrium and curb the hegemonic ambitions of all states.
 The posture and policy of a nation or group of nations protecting itself against another nation or
group of nations by matching its power against the power of the other side. States can pursue a
policy of balance of power in two ways: by increasing their own power, as when engaging in an
armaments race or in the competitive acquisition of territory; or by adding to their own power
that of other states, as when embarking upon a policy of alliances.

 For Realists, as only power can be a check on power, the balance of power tends to lead to
peace and stability. They portrayed Balance of Power as THE THEORY of International Politics.

 Liberals are critical of the idea of BoP. In their view, the BoP legitimises and entrenches power
politics and international rivalry, creating inherent instability and deepening distrust.

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 Much of liberal thinking has focused on finding alternative and more effective mechanism for
ensuring peace and security. Their principal liberal solution is construction of international
organisations such as League of Nations or the UN.

 The term balance of power came into use to denote the power relationships in the European
state system from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to World War I. Within the European
balance of power, Great Britain played the role of the “balancer,” or “holder of the balance.”

 The balance of power from the early 20th century onward underwent drastic changes that for
all practical purposes destroyed the European power structure as it had existed since the end of
the Middle Ages. Prior to the 20th century, the political world was composed of a number of
separate and independent balance-of-power systems, such as the European, the American, the
Chinese, and the Indian.

 But World War I and its attendant political alignments triggered a process that eventually
culminated in the integration of most of the world’s nations into a single balance-of-power
system. This integration began with the World War I alliance of Britain, France, Russia, and the
United States against Germany and Austria-Hungary.

 The integration continued in World War II, during which the fascist nations of Germany, Japan,
and Italy were opposed by a global alliance of the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain, and
China. World War II ended with the major weights in the balance of power having shifted from
the traditional players in western and central Europe to just two non-European ones: the United
States and the Soviet Union.

 The result was a bipolar balance of power across the northern half of the globe that pitted the
free-market democracies of the West against the communist one-party states of eastern
Europe. More specifically, the nations of western Europe sided with the United States in
the NATO military alliance, while the Soviet Union’s satellite-allies in central and eastern Europe
became unified under Soviet leadership in the Warsaw Pact.

 Because the balance of power was now bipolar and because of the great disparity of power
between the two superpowers and all other nations, the European countries lost that freedom
of movement that previously had made for a flexible system. Instead of a series of shifting and
basically unpredictable alliances with and against each other, the nations of Europe now
clustered around the two superpowers and tended to transform themselves into two stable
blocs.

 There were other decisive differences between the postwar balance of power and its
predecessor. The fear of mutual destruction in a global nuclear holocaust injected into the
foreign policies of the United States and the Soviet Union a marked element of restraint.

 A direct military confrontation between the two superpowers and their allies on European soil
was an almost-certain gateway to nuclear war and was therefore to be avoided at almost any

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cost. So instead, direct confrontation was largely replaced by (1) a massive arms race whose
lethal products were never used and (2) political meddling or limited military interventions by
the superpowers in various Third World nations.

 In the late 20th century, some Third World nations resisted the advances of the superpowers
and maintained a nonaligned stance in international politics. The breakaway of China from
Soviet influence and its cultivation of a nonaligned but covertly anti-Soviet stance lent a further
complexity to the bipolar balance of power.

 The most important shift in the balance of power began in 1989–90, however, when the Soviet
Union lost control over its eastern European satellites and allowed noncommunist governments
to come to power in those countries.

 The breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 made the concept of a European balance of power
temporarily irrelevant, since the government of newly sovereign Russia initially embraced the
political and economic forms favoured by the United States and western Europe. Both Russia
and the United States retained their nuclear arsenals, however, so the balance of nuclear threat
between them remained potentially in force.

Must read article

https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/12/08/whos-afraid-of-a-balance-of-power/

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DETERRENCE THEORY

DETERRENCE THEORY

 Deterrence is a strategy intended to dissuade an adversary from taking an action not yet
started.
 It is the ability of a nation to convince a
potential aggressor that the benefits of
aggression will be outweighed by the loss.
 According to Bernard Brodie,’a credible nuclear
deterrent must be always ready, yet never
used’.
 Thomas Schelling held that capacity to harm
another state is used as a motivating factor for
other states to avoid it or influence another
state’s behaviour.
 It can, therefore be said that the use of the power to hurt as bargaining power is the foundation
of deterrence theory and is most successful when it is held in reserve.
 In International security, a policy of deterrence generally refers to threats of retaliation
directed by one state against another state in an attempt to prevent the other state from
resorting to the threat of use of military actions.
 Sun Tzu:To subdue the enemy without fighting is supreme excellence.

Types of Deterrence:

 As outlined by Paul Huth,a policy of deterrence can fit into two broad categories :--

(i) Direct Deterrence: Preventing an armed attack against a state’s own

territory.Situations of direct deterrence often occur when there’s a territorial dispute
between neighbouring states in which major powers do not directly intervene.

(ii) Extended Deterrence: Preventing an armed attack against another state. Situations
of extended deterrence often occur when a great power gets involved.

Factors for successful deterrence:

1. A defending state strategy that firstly balances credible coercion and deft diplomacy consistent
with three main criteria of proportionality, reciprocity and coercive credibility and secondly
minimises international and domestic constraints.

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(a) Proportionality: It refers to the relationship between the defending state’s scope and nature
of the objectives being pursued and the instruments available for use to pursue this. The main
source of disproportionality is an objective that goes beyond policy change to regime change as
in case of Libya, Iraq and North Korea.
(b) Reciprocity: It involved an explicit understanding of linkage between the defending states’
carrots and the attacking state’s concessions
(c) Coercive credibility: It requires that in addition to the calculations about costs and benefits
of cooperation, the defending state convincingly conveys to the attacking state that non-
cooperation has consequences. Threats, uses of force and other coercive measures such as
economic sanctions must be sufficiently credible to raise the attacking state’s perceived costs of
non-compliance.

The success of deterrence also depends on the extent of an attacking state’s vulnerability as shaped by
its domestic, political and economic conditions. It includes impact of actions taken against any state on
the internal political support and regime security and economic calculations of the costs that will be
produced due to non-compliance with the deterrence theory against any state.

Criticism of Deterrence theory:

 Deterrence theory assumes that both sides or adversaries are rational enough to understand
that the benefits of aggression will be outweighed by the loss. But some of the potential
aggressors like ISIS and other terror groups don’t fit the ‘rational actor’ model.
 Diplomatic understandings or opposing political ideologies may lead to escalating mutual
perceptions of threat and a subsequent ‘arms race’ that elevates the risk of war.
 It’s hard to know whether deterrence is working until it fails. According to Karl Popper, scientific
theories can’t be proven, they can only be falsified. The same is true for deterrence.Because
deterrence is a psychological process, we cannot follow Ronald Reagen’s diction to “trust but
verify” and we can only speculate as to the meaning of behaviour that often proves to be
ambiguous.
 Feminist criticism of deterrence: Feminists tend to favour policies geared towards
disarmamament and are thus in opposition to deterrence. The criticism is based on their
perception on nuclear weaponry. Coined by some as “missile-envy”, this critique asserts that
many states view a large nuclear arsenal as a strong display of masculinity. This masculinisation
of deterrence forms the core of feminst criticism.

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Relevance of nuclear deterrence and its future:

 Nuclear terrorism puts question mark on the relevance of nuclear

deterrance.It may not be possible for a nation to retaliate in case of nuclear
attack by terrorist actors.

 In the words of Henry Kissinger, “The classical notion of deterrence was that
there was some consequence before which aggressors and evidence would
recoil. In a world of suicide bombers, that calculation doesn’t operate in any
comparable way”. Henry Kissinger
 Deterrence theory developed by assuming both are unitary actors( a state )
and its rationality making decisions. There was no provision for a collection of states as the
decision maker. But today in the age of ‘collection defense’, where security of one state is taken
as responsibility of the entire organisation like NATO, this model of deterrence seems to be
irrelevant.
 Nuclear deterrence has also been used as a justification for possessing nuclear weapons in the
name of national security. However, with nuclear weapons losing strategic relevance and the
increasing demand of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament forms the basis for
questioning the relevance of deterrence theory.

 From the realists point of view, war remains eminently thinkable and possible. It is best kept at
bay through the threat of punishing force. Hence, in this line, nuclear weapons and the
deterrence they provide thus remain not only relevant, but essential.

 Some supporters of nuclear deterrence argue that the fact that there has been no major power
conflicts in nearly 70 years and there has never been a strict military conflict between two
nuclear states shares the relevance of deterrence even today.

 However, as opposed to the extreme ‘MAD’(Mutually Assured Destruction) form of deterrence,

the concept of minimum deterrence in which a state possess no more nuclear weapons than is
necessary to deter an adversary from attacking, is presently the most common form of
deterrence practised by nuclear weapon states such as China, India, Britain, France.

 Hence, it can be concluded that in future, though complete neglect of deterrence theory
appears to be difficult, but factors like complex interdependence in contemporary times are
paving way for the concept of minimum deterrence to be surfaced.

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TRANSNATIONAL ACTORS

TRANSNATIONAL ACTORS

 Peace of Westphalia(1648) established the centrality of the state and established two key
principles :
1. State enjoys sovereign jurisdiction
2. Relations among states are structured by acceptance of this sovereignty of all states.

 This “state centrism” is an approach to political analysis that takes the state to be a key actor in
the domestic realm and on the world state is illustrated through the “Billiard Ball Model” which
dominated the study of International Politics in the 1950s and is particularly associated with the
realist theory.
 This model suggested that states like billiard balls are impermeable and self-contained units
which influence each other through external pressure. Sovereign states interacting within the
state-system are thus seen to behave like a collection of billiard balls moving over the table and
colliding with each other.

 Billiard ball model of world politics has two key implications:

1. It suggests a clear distinction between domestic politics, concerned with state’s role in
maintaining order and international politics which is concerned with relations between
and amongst states. Sovereignty is the hard shell of billiard ball that divides outside
from the inside.

2. It implies that patterns of conflict and cooperation within the international system are
largely determined by distribution of power among states.

 State-centric theorists recognize that some states are more powerful that others i.e all billiard
balls are not of the same size.

 Billiard ball model has nevertheless come under pressure as a result of recent trends and
developments. Two of them are:
1. Substantial growth in cross-border or transnational flows and transactions- movement
of people, goods, money, ideas and information. State borders have become
increasingly porous and hence conventional ‘inside/outside’ divide is difficult to sustain.
2. Because of the above reason, relations among states have come to be characterised by
growing interdependence and interconnectedness. Tackling global warming, halting
spread of WMO, coping with pandemics etc. are impossible for any state to accomplish
on its own.

 For Keohane and Nye, such a web of relationships have created a condition of ‘complex
interdependence’ in which states are drawn into cooperation and integration by forces such as

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closer trading and other economic relationships.This is illustrated by “cobweb model of world
politics”.Interdependence may be asymmetrical rather than symmetrical.

 In diplomacy, international law, journalism, and academic analysis, it is widely assumed that
international relations consists of the relations between coherent units called states. However,a
better understanding of political change is obtained by analysing the relations between
governments and many other actors from each country.

 Transnational relations are usually defined as regular cross-border interactions in which non-
state actors play a significant role of particular importance for international relations (IR) are
transnational actors that wield considerable influence on politics across borders, such as
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), multinational corporations (MNCs), religious actors,
terrorism rebels, criminal actors, and diasporas and ethnic actors.

 Global politics also includes companies and non-governmental organizations. While there are
less than 200 governments in the global system, there are approximately
o 60,000 major transnational companies (TNCs), such as Shell, Barclays Bank, Coca Cola,
Ford, Microsoft, or Nestlé, with these parent companies having more than 500,000
foreign affiliates;

o 10,000 single-country non-governmental organizations (NGOs), such as Freedom House

(USA), Médecins sans Frontières (France), Population Concern (UK), Sierra Club (USA),
or the Women’s Environmental Network (UK), who have significant international
activities;

o 250 intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), such as the UN, NATO, the European
Union; and

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o 5,800 international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), such as Amnesty

International, the Baptist World Alliance,the International Red Cross, plus a similar
number of less-well-established international caucuses and networks of NGOs.

 All these actors play a regular part in global politics and interact with the governments. In
addition, even though they are considered not to be legitimate participants in the system,
guerrilla groups and criminal gangs have some impact. It is possible to define international
relations as covering the relations between states. This is known as the state-centric approach,
or Realism. According to realists, it is okay to say that non-state actors are of secondary
importance. A more open-ended approach, known as Pluralism, is based on the assumption
that all types of actors can affect political outcomes..

 The word, non-state actors, implies that states are dominant and other actors are secondary.
There is ambiguity, because it is unclear whether intergovernmental organizations are regarded
as interstate or non-state organizations.It is also confusing to put into a single category actors
that have very different structures, different resources and different ways of influencing politics.
So,an alternative term, transnational, has been coined by academics in order to assert forcefully
that international relations are not limited to governments. For some,the word transnational to
mean a company, while other non-profit-making, non-violent groups are called NGOs.

 ‘Transnational’ in the academic sense, to cover any private actor, and making it plain whether a
company or another type of transnational actor is used.It is still quite common to find analyses
of international relations that concentrate primarily on the governments, give some attention to
intergovernmental organizations and ignore the transnational actors. Even in fields such as
environmental politics, where it is widely accepted that governments interact intensely with UN
agencies, commercial companies and environmental pressure groups, it is sometimes taken for
granted that governments are dominant.

TRANSNATIONAL COMPANIES AS POLITICAL ACTORS

 Transnational corporations/companies (TNCs) are companies that control economic activity in

two or more countries. All companies that import or export are engaging in transnational
economic activities. In order to get favourable terms of trade/business they may well decide to
lobby the foreign government. This can be done by four common routes:
1. Indirectly by the company asking its own government to put pressure on the foreign
government;
2. Indirectly by raising a general policy question in an international organization;
3. Directly at home via the diplomatic embassy; or
4. Directly in the other country via the government ministries.
 Integration across economic sectors and the growing importance of intra-firm trade has allowed
TNCs to operate as economies in their own right, benefitting from geographical flexibility,
advantages in product innovation and the ability to pursue global marketing strategies. Eg:
General motors, IBM, McD

Importance of transnational companies:

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 Exert enormous economic power and political influence

 Economic significance: Account for about 50% of world manufacturing production and
over 70% of world trade.
 TNCs often dwarf states in terms of their economic size
- 51 of the world’s 100 largest economies are corporations
- General motors is broadly equivalent in this sense to Denmark;
 Walmart is equivalent to Poland
 Two huge economic benefits are: 1. Efficiency and 2. High level of consumer
responsiveness
 Relationship of structural dependency between the state and TNCs whereby states rely on TNCs
to provide jobs and capital inflows but can only attract them by providing circumstances
favourable to their interests.

CRITICISM
 Accumulated excessive economic power and unacceptable levels of political influence create a
‘brand culture’ that pollutes the public sphere through the proliferation of commercial images
and manipulates personal preferences.

NON-LEGITIMATE GROUPS AND LIBERATION MOVEMENTS AS POLITICAL ACTORS

 A variety of groups engage in violent and/or criminal behaviour on a transnational basis. A

distinction can be made between activity that is considered criminal around the world, such as theft,
fraud, haphazard violence, or drug trafficking, and activity that is claimed by those undertaking it to
have legitimate political motives. In reality, the distinction may sometimes be blurred, when
criminals claim political motives or political groups are responsible for acts such as torture or killing
children.

 Transnational Criminals and their Political Impact: Politically, the most important criminal
industries are illicit trading in arms and in drugs. They have been estimated to be the two most
valuable commodities in international trade.In addition, piracy of intellectual property, particularly
of music, video films, and computer software, and trade in counterfeit goods is organized on a very
large scale.

The following sovereignty problems arise with tackling criminals.

 First, criminal financial flows can be massive and unpredictable. An additional problem of great
complexity is that money-laundering threatens the integrity of banking and other financial
institutions.
 Second, criminal trade has been so extensively diversified through triangulation that no
government could confidently claim that their country is not a transit route for drug smuggling.
In the arms trade, triangulation with false end-user certificates is also a common process.
 Third, using the law against criminals produces a similar effect to movement by TNCs for
regulatory arbitrage. Whereas governments do not want companies to close down, forcing
criminals out of business would be a political victory. Nevertheless, well-organized gangs are
more likely to be displaced to another country than to be jailed and disbanded, as has been
shown by the shifting patterns of drug production in Latin America.

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 Fourth, extraterritoriality does occur with respect to jurisdiction over criminal behaviour.
Various special cases, such as war criminals, hijackers, and miscreant diplomats, can be
prosecuted in countries not directly affected by their offence. Illicit drugs, money-laundering,
and terrorism involve transnational police activities that would be unthinkable in other fields.
These examples contrast with the regulation of normal economic activity. Extraterritorial
jurisdiction over the criminals is supported by the overwhelming majority of governments and
is endorsed in a series of international treaties and UN resolutions. As with TNCs, the global
financial system, displacement, triangulation, and extraterritoriality, limit the effective exercise
of sovereignty over criminals. The difference is that in some fields, where the threat is felt to be
most severe, there have been strenuous efforts to re-establish control by surrender of
sovereignty through international agreement.

KEY ISSUES:
 Effective action against transnational criminals by individual governments is difficult for
the same reasons as control of TNCs is difficult.
 Extraterritoriality is accepted and sovereignty is surrendered, in order to tackle the most
threatening criminals.
 Groups using violence to achieve political goals generally do not achieve legitimacy, but
in exceptional circumstances they may be recognized as national liberation movements
and take part in diplomacy.
 The transnational activities of criminals and guerrillas shift problems of the domestic
policy of countries into the realm of global politics.

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS AS POLITICAL ACTORS

 The politics of an individual country cannot be understood without knowing what groups lobby
the government and what debate there has been in the media. Similarly, international
diplomacy does not operate on some separate planet, cut off from global civil society. Analysts
of British politics use two terms: interest group conveys a bias towards a group, such as a
company or a trade union, seeking to influence economic policy; while pressure group invokes a
wider range of groups promoting their values. In the United States the terms lobby group, public
interest group, and private voluntary organization are used, with rather more normative
connotations, to make similar distinctions.However, it must be emphasized that this established
diplomatic jargon does not cover all transnational actors. Although companies, criminals, and
guerrillas are literally non-governmental,they are not NGOs.

 Most transnational actors can expect to gain recognition as NGOs by the UN, provided they are
not individual companies, criminals, or violent groups and they do not exist solely to oppose an
individual government.

 While ECOSOC consultative status does not involve all transnational NGOs, its statute does
provide an authoritative statement that NGOs have a legitimate place in international
diplomacy.

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 The creation of a global economy leads to the globalization of unions, commercial bodies, the
professions, and scientists in international NGOs, which participate in the relevant international
regimes.

 The technological revolution has globalized communications,both for individuals and for the
news media.This has created a political revolution. Most governments have virtually no ability to
control the flow of information across the borders of their country. A few, authoritarian
governments can impose some restrictions, but not without incurring very high political and
economic costs.

 The improved communications make it more likely that NGOs will operate transnationally and
make it very simple and cheap for them to do so.

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Changing International Political Order

Syllabus
Section A
Changing International Political Order:
a. Rise of super powers; strategic and ideological Bipolarity, arms race and Cold War; nuclear threat;
b. Non-aligned movement : Aims and achievements;
c. Collapse of the Soviet Union; Unipolarity and American hegemony; relevance of non-alignment in the
contemporary world.

Section B
India's Contribution to the Non-Alignment Movement: Different phases; current role

Past year UPSC questions

1. Do you think that Iran’s ‘victory’ in the NAM on the nuclear issue has brought in a new debate on the
relevance of the Non-Aligned Movement.?
2. Compare and contrast Non-alignment 1.0 and Non-alignment 2.0 ( 10 Marks , UPSC 2019)
3. Do you endorse the view that the end of Bipolarity and rise of multiple regional organisations has
made Non alignment Movement (NAM) more or less irrelevant . ( 15 marks , UPSC 2017)
4. Comment on India’s contribution to Non alignment movement and its contemporary relevance. ( 10
Marks, UPSC 2016 )
5. Non alignment has been the basic principle of Indian foreign policy since independence. Discuss its
relevance in contemporary context . ( 10 Marks , UPSC 2015 )
6. “India’s policy of non-alignment has been guided by the genius of Indian people and their interests”
Explain ( 15 marks , UPSC 2014 )
7. Highlight the major features of Non-alignment 2.0 document
8. Identify the challenges to American hegemony in post Soviet world.
9. “Ukraine crisis is a product of power politics and geo-politics.” Comment.
10. Discuss the collapse of the Soviet Union and its impact on international politics
11. ‘Non-alignment’ has been the basic principle of india’s foreign policy since independence. Discuss its
relevance in the contemporary context.
12. Examine in brief the rise and fall of the Cold War.
13. Discuss the positive and negative impacts of Soviet Union's disintegration on developing nations
14. “The development or advanced missile technology and nuclear threat by North Korea has challenged
the American hegemony in South-East Asia.” Evaluate the above statement in the context of recent
developments in the region.
15. Do you endorse the view that the end of Bipolarity and the rise of multiple regional organisations has
made Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) more or less irrelevant?
16. Discuss the significance of Non-Aligned Movement as a unique contribution of the Non-Western
world to World Politics

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Changing International Political Order

Cold War

Cold War
 The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension Truman Doctrine
between the Soviet Union and the United
 The Truman Doctrine was an American
States and their respective allies, the Eastern
foreign policy whose stated purpose was
Bloc and the Western Bloc, after World War II.
to contain Soviet geopolitical expansion
during the Cold War.
 The period is generally considered to span the
1947 Truman Doctrine to the 1991 dissolution of
 The Truman Doctrine was informally
the Soviet Union.
extended to become the basis of
American Cold War policy throughout
 Aside from the nuclear arsenal development and Europe and around the world
conventional military deployment, the struggle
for dominance was expressed via indirect means
such as psychological warfare, propaganda
campaigns, espionage, far-reaching embargoes, rivalry at sports events and technological
competitions such as the Space Race.

 The term "cold" is used because there was no large-scale fighting

directly between the two superpowers, but they each supported
major regional conflicts known as proxy wars. The conflict was based
around the ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence by
the two powers, following their
temporary alliance and victory against Nazi Germany in 1945

 The Cold War split the wartime alliance, leaving the USSR and the US
as two superpowers with profound economic and political differences:
the former being a single-party Marxist–Leninist state operating a
planned economy and controlled press and owning exclusively the right
to establish and govern communities, and the latter being a capitalist
state with generally free elections and press, which also granted freedom of
expression and freedom of association to its citizens

 The Cold War was waged on political, economic, and propaganda fronts and had only limited
recourse to weapons. The term was first used by the English writer George Orwell in an article
published in 1945 to refer to what he predicted would be a nuclear stalemate between “two or
three monstrous super-states, each possessed of a weapon by which millions of people can be
wiped out in a few seconds.”

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Origins of The Cold War
 Following the surrender of Nazi Germany in May
1945 near the close of World War II, the uneasy
wartime alliance between the United States and
Great Britain on the one hand and the Soviet
Union on the other began to unravel. By 1948
the Soviets had installed left-wing governments
in the countries of eastern Europe that had been
liberated by the Red Army.
 The Americans and the British feared the
permanent Soviet domination of eastern Europe
and the threat of Soviet-influenced communist
parties coming to power in the democracies of
western Europe. The Soviets, on the other hand,
were determined to maintain control of eastern
Europe in order to safeguard against any possible
renewed threat from Germany, and they were
intent on spreading communism worldwide,
largely for ideological reasons.
 The Cold War had solidified by 1947–48, when
U.S. aid provided under the Marshall Plan to
western Europe had brought those countries
under American influence and the Soviets had
installed openly communist regimes in eastern
Europe.
 A unified military organization among the
Soviet-bloc countries, the Warsaw Pact, was
formed in 1955; and West Germany was
admitted into NATO that same year.
 Another intense stage of the Cold War was in
1958–62. The United States and the Soviet
Union began developing
intercontinental ballistic missiles, and in 1962
the Soviets began secretly installing missiles in
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Warsaw Pact
 The Warsaw Treaty Organization (WTO),
officially the Treaty of Friendship,
Cooperation and Mutual Assistance
commonly known as the Warsaw Pact (WP)
was a collective defense treaty signed
in Warsaw, Poland between the Soviet
Union and seven other Eastern
Bloc socialist republics of Central and
Eastern Europe in May 1955, during
the Cold War.
 The Warsaw Pact was established as a
balance of power or counterweight to
NATO.
NATO
 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization also
called the North Atlantic Alliance, is
an intergovernmental military
alliance between 30 North American and
European countries. The organization
implements the North Atlantic Treaty that
was signed on 4 April 1949.
 NATO constitutes a system of collective
defence whereby its independent member
states agree to mutual defence in response
to an attack by any external party
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Cuba that could be used to launch nuclear

attacks on U.S. cities. This sparked the Cuban
missile crisis (1962), a confrontation that Cuban Missile Crisis
brought the two superpowers to the brink of
war before an agreement was reached to  Cuba was an ally of the Soviet Union and
withdraw the missiles. received diplomatic and financial aid from
it. In April 1961, leaders of the USSR were
 The Cuban missile crisis showed that neither worried that the United States of America
the United States nor the Soviet Union were would invade communist-ruled Cuba and
ready to use nuclear weapons for fear of the overthrow its President Fidel Castro.
other’s retaliation (and thus of mutual  In 1962, the leader of the Soviet Union,
atomic annihilation). Nikita Khrushchev, placed nuclear
missiles in Cuba for converting it into a
 The two superpowers soon signed Russian base.
the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty of 1963, which  Three weeks later, Americans became
banned aboveground nuclear weapons aware of it. The US President John F.
testing. But the crisis also hardened the Kennedy and his advisers tried to find a
Soviets’ determination never again to be solution to avoid full-scale nuclear war.
humiliated by their military inferiority, and But they were determined to get
they began a buildup of both conventional Khrushchev to remove the missiles and
and strategic forces that the United States nuclear weapons from Cuba.
was forced to match for the next 25 years.  Kennedy ordered American warships to
intercept any Soviet ships heading to
 Throughout the Cold War the United States Cuba as a way of warning the USSR. This
and the Soviet Union avoided direct military clash between the USA and the USSR
confrontation in Europe and engaged in came to be known as the Cuban Missile
actual combat operations only to keep allies Crisis. It made the whole world nervous.
from defecting to the other side or to  The Cuban Missile Crisis was a high point
overthrow them after they had done so. which came to be known as the Cold War.
It refers to the competition, the tensions
and a series of confrontations between
 Thus, the Soviet Union sent troops to the United States and Soviet Union.
preserve communist rule in East
Germany (1953), Hungary
(1956), Czechoslovakia (1968),
and Afghanistan (1979). For its part, the United States helped overthrow a left-wing government
in Guatemala (1954), supported an unsuccessful invasion of Cuba (1961), invaded the Dominican
Republic (1965) and Grenada (1983), and undertook a long (1964–75) and unsuccessful effort to
prevent communist North Vietnam from bringing South Vietnam under its rule.

Meanwhile during cold-war

 In the course of the 1960s and ’70s, however, the bipolar struggle between the Soviet and
American blocs gave way to a more-complicated pattern of international relationships in
which the world was no longer split into two clearly opposed blocs.

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 A major split had occurred between the Soviet Union and China in 1960 and widened over the
years, shattering the unity of the communist bloc.
 In the meantime, western Europe and Japan achieved dynamic economic growth in the 1950s
and ’60s, reducing their relative inferiority to the United States. Less-powerful countries had
more room to assert their independence and often showed themselves resistant to superpower
coercion or cajoling.

 The 1970s saw an easing of Cold War tensions as evinced in the Strategic Arms Limitation
Talks (SALT) that led to the SALT I and II agreements of 1972 and 1979, respectively, in which
the two superpowers set limits on their antiballistic missiles and on their strategic missiles
capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

 That was followed by a period of renewed Cold War tensions in the early 1980s as the two
superpowers continued their massive arms buildup and competed for influence in the Third
World. But the Cold War began to break down in the late 1980s during the administration of
Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev.

 He dismantled the totalitarian aspects of the Soviet system and began efforts to democratize
the Soviet political system. When communist regimes in the Soviet-bloc countries of eastern
Europe collapsed in 1989–90, Gorbachev acquiesced in their fall.

 The rise to power of democratic governments in East Germany, Poland, Hungary,

and Czechoslovakia was quickly followed by the unification of West and East Germany
under NATO auspices, again with Soviet approval.

 Gorbachev’s internal reforms had meanwhile weakened his own Communist Party and allowed
power to shift to Russia and the other constituent republics of the Soviet Union. In late 1991 the
Soviet Union collapsed and 15 newly independent nations were born from its corpse, including a
Russia with a democratically elected, anticommunist leader.

 The Cold War had come to an end.

Arenas of the Cold War

‘Logic of deterrence’.
 The arenas of the Cold War refer to areas where crisis and
war occurred or threatened to occur between the alliance  The ‘logic of deterrence’
systems but did not cross certain limits. means when both sides have
 The Cold War was also responsible for several shooting wars. the capacity to respond against
 The two superpowers were poised for direct encounter in an attack and to cause so
Korea (1950-53), Berlin (1958-62), The Congo (the early much destruction that neither
1960s) and in several other places. can afford to initiate war.
 Jawaharlal Nehru, one of the key leader of NAM played a key  The two superpowers and their
role in mediating between the two Koreas. In the Congo allies were expected to behave
crisis, the UN Secretary General played a key mediatory role. as rational and responsible
actors.

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 The US and USSR decided to collaborate in limiting or eliminating certain kinds of nuclear and
non-nuclear weapons.
 The two sides signed three significant
agreements within a decade. These
were :
 Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT).
 Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT)
 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
(ABMT)

The Cold War: The Atomic Age

 The containment strategy provided the

rationale for an unprecedented arms
buildup in the United States. In 1950,
National Security Council Report known
as ‘NSC-68’ had echoed Truman’s
recommendation that the country use
military force to ‘contain’ communist
expansionism anywhere it seemed to be occurring. To that end, the report called for a four-fold
increase in defense spending.

 In particular, American officials encouraged the development of atomic weapons like the ones that
had ended World War II. Thus began a deadly ‘arms race’. In 1949, the Soviets tested an atom
bomb of their own. In response, President Truman announced that the United States would build be
an even more destructive atomic weapon: the ‘hydrogen bomb’, or ‘super-bomb.’

 As a result, the stakes of the Cold War were perilously high. The first H-bomb test, in the ‘Eniwetok
atoll’ in the Marshall Islands, showed just how fearsome the nuclear age could be. It created a 25-
square-mile fireball that vaporized an island, blew a huge hole in the ocean floor and had the power
to destroy half of Manhattan.

 Subsequent American and Soviet tests spewed poisonous radioactive waste into the atmosphere.
The ever-present threat of nuclear annihilation had a great impact on American domestic life as
well. People built bomb shelters in their backyards. They practiced attack drills in schools and other
public places. The 1950s and 1960s saw an epidemic of popular films that horrified movie-goers with
depictions of nuclear devastation and mutant creatures. In these and other ways, the Cold War was
a constant presence in Americans’ everyday lives.

The Cold War Extends to Space

 Space exploration served as another dramatic arena for Cold War competition. On October 4,
1957, a Soviet R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile launched ‘Sputnik’ (Russian for ‘traveler’),

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the world’s first artificial satellite and

the first man-made object to be
placed into the Earth’s orbit.

 Sputnik’s launch came as a surprise,

and not a pleasant one, to most
Americans. In the United States,
space was seen as the next frontier,
as it was crucial not to lose too much
ground to the Soviets.

 In addition, this demonstration of the

overwhelming power of the R-7
missile–seemingly capable of
delivering a nuclear warhead into US
air space–made gathering intelligence
about Soviet military activities particularly urgent.

 In 1958, the US launched its own satellite, ‘Explorer I’, designed by the US. In the same year,
President Dwight Eisenhower signed a public order creating the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA), a federal agency dedicated to space exploration, as well as
several programs seeking to exploit the military potential of space. Still, the Soviets were one
step ahead, launching the first man into space in April 1961.

 After Alan Shepard become the first American man in space, President John F. Kennedy (1917-
1963) made the bold public claim that the US would land a man on the moon by the end of the
decade. His prediction came true on July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong of NASA’s Apollo 11
mission, became the first man to set foot on the moon, effectively winning the Space Race for
the Americans. US astronauts came to be seen as the ultimate American heroes, and earth-
bound men and women seemed to enjoy living vicariously through them.

POST COLD WAR PERIOD AND ITS IMPACTS ON INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

 The end of the Cold War in the early 1990s changed the foreign policy equation radically. It has been
replaced by a multi-polar world, in which the United States is the dominant military power, but
finds itself among competing power centers in Europe, China, India and Russia, with radical change
occurring in the Middle East and North Africa, potential conflicts with Iran, and the threat of global
terrorism a reality since the tragedies of 9-11 (terrorist attack in US).

 So while this is a world still defined by anarchy, it is not a world that appears to sit on the edge of
some version of World War III. The issues that define foreign policy may have more to do with
resource allocation and environmental protection than with negotiating a nuclear standoff.

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 So the end of the Cold War coincided and perhaps accelerated the rise of other organizations who
are now players in the field of international relations. While some of these institutions grew out of
the end of World War II, their role in the world perhaps been magnified since the 1990s.

Growth of International Institutions

 Even as the Cold War dragged on, the nations of the world created international forums for
attempting to address disputes between nations. World War I, the war to end all wars, as it was
known at the time, prompted the victors to create an international organization known as the
League of Nations. At its peak, it included 58 nations, and created a number of forums for
addressing political and economic issues. It lasted from 1919 to 1939, and suffered immediately
from the failure of the United States to join.

 Following the end of the war, however, the nations gathered to try it again, creating the United
Nations in 1945. The UN, headquartered in New York City, declared its support in its Charter for a
broad range of human rights, and attempted to provide a multilateral forum for talking things out.
Although every member state gets one vote, a certain number of decisions must be funneled
through the 15-member Security Council, which consists of five permanent members, including the
US, France, China, Russia and the United Kingdom.

 The other 10 members are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms, to ensure that each
region of the globe to be represented on the council.

 The five permanent members have veto power, and can block the action of the council. The
Security Council’s permanent membership is a symbolic representation as a world power. One
suggestion has been to add Brazil, India, Germany and Japan (G- 4) as permanent members, plus
perhaps one African state and one Arab state. The existing permanent members haven’t exactly
jumped on that bandwagon, as doing so would reduce their power on the council. The US supports
adding Japan and India and the Chinese oppose Japan. Great Britain and France have supported the
entire G-4.

 The UN includes an International Court of Justice, which has been used to settle the disputes
between nations. It has 15 justices elected by the UN General Assembly for nine year tenure. The
Security Council has the ability to enforce its decisions, however the permanent members may also
veto the decision. Consequently, the court has acted with mixed success. In 1984, for example, the
court ruled that US efforts in Nicaragua in fact violated international law; the US ignored the
decision.

 Other international organizations have had some impact globally, particularly in economic areas.
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have attempted to spur economic
developments and eradication of poverty, with decidedly mixed results.

 In the view of liberal and left critics IMF and WB helps to cement the economic dominance of the
western world. Sometimes they fund projects, such as wastewater treatment projects around the

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world, while at other times, they support efforts, like digging a canal to flood a seasonal river in
Africa to produce fish in the desert. Similarly, the World Trade Organization (WTO), which is
basically a forum for resolving trade disputes and for encouraging free trade, is neither all good nor
all bad. The world is peppered with regional organizations, ranging from the European Union (EU) to
the Organization for African Unity (OAU).

 The EU is particularly noteworthy. It grew out of the end of World War II, beginning with a customs
union to ease trade between Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. From there it grew into trade
agreements over coal and steel, to the European Common Market, and finally to the EU in 1993.
Now it has 27 member states in a political and economic union. EU have an elected parliament with
the ability to make some common law for the entire group, and a common currency, the Euro.
Travel and trade over national borders is greatly eased.

 ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, have 10 member states and focuses on
promoting economic development and shared expertise and resources. The North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) is a relic of the Cold War. Originally it was created to prevent the Soviet
aggression in Europe, it remains a mutual defense pact between the US, Canada and much of
Europe. An attack on one member of NATO is regarded as an attack on all, so that the US response
to 9-11 was in fact a NATO response

India and the Cold War

 India followed a two way policy regarding the Cold War. It did not join any of the alliances and raised
voice against the newly decolonised countries becoming part of these alliances.
 The policy of India was not ‘fleeing away’ but was in favour of actively intervening in world affairs to
soften Cold War rivalries.
 The Non-Alignment gave India the power to take international decisions and to balance one
superpower against the other.
 India’s policy of Non-Alignment was criticised on a number of counts. But still it has become both as
an international movement and a core of India’s foreign policy.

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The End of Bipolarity

Soviet System

 The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) came into being after the Socialist Revolution in Russia in
1917. The revolution was inspired by the ideals of socialism and the need for an egalitarian society as
opposed to capitalism.
 After the Second World War, the East European countries that the Soviet army had liberated from the
fascist forces came under the control of the USSR.
 There was change in the economic and political system of the USSR. Then the Soviet economy became more
developed than the rest of the world except the US.
 However, the Soviet system became very bureaucratic and authoritarian. It made life very difficult for its
citizens.
 In the arms race, the Soviet Union managed to match the US from time to time, but at great cost.

Gorbachev and the Disintegration of the USSR

 Mikhail Gorbachev, who had become General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in
1985, sought to reform the system. He introduced economic and political reform policies of perestroika
(restructuring) and glasnost (openness). But later his policies were criticised.
 A coup took place in 1991 that was encouraged by Communist Party hardliners. The people did not want the
old-style rule of the Communist Party and wanted freedom.
 Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, the three major republics of the USSR, declared in December 1991 that the
Soviet Union was disintegrated.
 Capitalism and democracy were adopted as the basis for the post-Soviet republics.

Reasons for the Soviet Union Disintegration

There are several reasons which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. These were

 Internal weaknesses of Soviet political and economic institutions failed to meet the aspirations of the
people.
 The economy of the Soviet Union became stagnant. The Soviet economy used much of its resources in
maintaining a nuclear and military arsenal. The Soviet Union too became stagnant due to rampant
corruption, the unwillingness to allow more openness in government, and the centralisation of authority
in a vast land.
 A section of the society was not happy with the reforms of Gorbachev.
 Rise of nationalism and the desire for sovereignty within various republics including Russia and the Baltic
republics.

Consequences of Disintegration
There are many consequences of the disintegration of USSR. They are as follows:

 It led to the end of Cold War confrontations. There was no dispute of Socialist ideology and Capitalist
ideology.

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 Power relations in world politics changed and thus it led to change in the relative influence of ideas and
institutions.
 The US became the sole superpower which also backed the capitalist economy making it the dominant
economic system internationally.
 The end of the Soviet bloc paved way for the emergence of many new countries. All these countries had
their own independent aspirations and choices.
 The international system saw many new players’ emerge, each with its own identity, interests and economic
and political difficulties.

India and Post-Communist Countries

 India maintained a cordial relationship with all the post-communist countries. The strongest relation of India
is still with Russia.
 Indo-Russian relation is an important aspect of India’s foreign policy. Both the countries share a vision of a
multipolar world order.
 India got benefits from Russia over issues like Kashmir, energy supplies, access to Central Asia, balancing its
relations with China.
 Russia stands to benefit from this relationship because India is the second largest arms market for Russia.
Both the countries have collaborated over many scientific projects.

Collapse of USSR and Its Impact on International Relations

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Unipolarism and its impact on Global politics and Growth of US as a Hegemon

Unipolarism and its impact on Global politics and Growth of US as a Hegemon

The factors which led to Unipolarity in international politics are the following;

 The end of cold war in international relations

 The disintegration of the USSR

 The liberalization of Eastern European countries.

 The economic dependence of Russia and other republics of the erstwhile USSR upon American and
western economic aid.

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 The emergence of the USA as the sole surviving Super Power in the Post-Cold War world. The
dominant role that the USA played in the Gulf War and willingness of almost all the major nations
to support the US policies and moves in the United Nations; the strength gained by it due to the
end of Cold War; weakness of Russia and inability of other states to challenge the US power; its
ability to expand and control NATO even after the liquidation of the Warsaw Pact; its increased
control over the UN Security Council decisions; and its continued military, economic, industrial and
technological superiority, all combined to strengthen the US power in world politics.

 As a result of these Unipolarity came to characterize the international system. Decision-making at

the global level started for reflecting the increased US role in world politics.

 The increased role of the United States of America in peace-keeping operations in the post-Gulf
War world.

 The universal acceptance of the

principles of democracy,
decentralization, market economy,
globalization, denuclearization,
demilitarization and development gave
rise to ideological unipolarism in the
world. It gave strength to the emergence
of unipolarity in the international power
structure.

 The demolition of Berlin Wall and the

unification of East Germany with West
Fall of Berlin Wall
Germany into United Germany compelled
Germany to concentrate upon the need
for consolidation of its internal socio-economic system and unity. German economy came under
pressure resulting from the need to achieve the economic development of its East German counter
parts.

 Japan continued to be a major economic power in the world. It, however, kept up its decision to
abstain from developing its military power. For some time, it found herself getting involved in an
economic cold war with the USA. However, it tried hard to avoid it and hence was not really keen
to challenge the US power in international relations.

 China as a surviving communist power found herself almost isolated. It also adopted economic
liberalization, but found the path quite difficult. It tried to mend its fences with India, Vietnam,
Russia and Japan. It engaged in attempts aimed at withstanding all pressures in favor of political
liberalism. It began developing trade relations with the USA. But at the same time kept on fearing
the western attempts at the export of political liberalism. After having secured Hong Kong it

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wanted to get back Taiwan. Under the circumstances, China was also not prepared to challenge
the US power in world politics.

 In the post-cold war world, NAM was not fully successful in reviving its traditional role in world
politics. The end of cold war, which was followed by the disintegration of the USSR produced
several big changes in the international system. These changes came at a time when NAM was
being headed by a self-destroying Yugoslavia which was struggling to meet internal pressures
resulting from the policies of Islamic lobby within the NAM.

 In the Post-Cold War and Post-Gulf War era of international relations, the UN role, particularly its
conflict-resolving and peace-keeping role got invigorated. It reflected from the fact that it began
simultaneously undertaking peace-keeping operations in different parts of the globe. However,
along with this, it also reflected an increasing US dominance on its decision making.

 Almost all the UN Security Council decisions on Iraq, Libya, Bosnia, Serbia Human Rights, NPT,
CTBT, issue of nuclear free zones and the UN vote on Zionism, reflected the growing US
dominance over the United Nations. Several scholars even went to the extent of observing that
the “UNO was behaving as the ‘USO’.

 With its status as the sole surviving super power in the world, the USA gained a new vitality and
strength in the international system. No other major international actors like Japan, Germany,
France, Russia, China, European Union, NAM and even the United Nations had the ability to act as a
major check upon the US power. Ideological unity of the world gave an additional boost to the role
of the USA in international relations. The ability of the USA to secure an indefinite extension of
NPT on 11 May, 1995, despite opposition from the NAM and the Third World, reflected the US
domination of international system. The issue of CTBT also reflected US dominance over
international decision making. Unipolarity
or unipolarism, therefore, emerged as a new reality of
post-cold war international relations.

Hegemony
 According to Oxford Bibliographies, “hegemony
comes from the Greek word hēgemonía, which
means leadership and rule. In international relations,
hegemony refers to the ability of an actor with
overwhelming capability to shape the international
system through both coercive and non-coercive American Hegemony
means

 The word ‘hegemony’ means the leadership or predominance of one state over others by
virtue of its military, economic, political power and cultural superiority.

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 Politics is all about gaining power. In world politics, countries and groups of countries are
engaged in constantly trying to gain and retain power.

 Realists generally define hegemony in terms of first, overwhelming power, and second, the
ability to use this power to dominate others.

 Power, according to this view, is synonymous with capabilities, and the capabilities of a state
represent nothing more than the sum total of a number of loosely identified national attributes
including “size of population and territory, resource endowment, economic capability, military
strength, political stability and competence”

 It is important to understand the distribution of power among the countries of the world in
order to understand world politics.

 During the Cold War Era, there were two superpowers, the US and the USSR. But after the
disintegration of USSR, only a single power was left i.e. the US.

 The international system dominated by a sole superpower or hyper-power is

sometimes called a ‘unipolar system’.

 Robert Gilpin considers hegemony to be a particular structure that has

periodically characterised the international system. For Gilpin, a hegemonic
structure exists when “a single powerful state controls or dominates the
lesser states in the system.” This is essentially an imperial type of structure
that is less anarchical and more hierarchical.

 Unipolar systems are by definition those with only one predominant state.
As William Wohlforth explains “unipolarity is a structure in which one Robert Gilpin
state’s capabilities are too great to be counterbalanced.” According to
Wohlforth, “once capabilities are so concentrated, a structure arises that is fundamentally
distinct from either multipolarity (a structure comprising three or more especially powerful
states) or bipolarity (a structure produced when two states are substantially more powerful than
all others)”

Various views on Hegemony

 Ian Clark and Howard Lentner argues that the hegemony debate revolves largely around two
principal meanings: domination and leadership.

 John Mearsheimer defines a hegemon as a “state that is so powerful that it dominates all the
other states in the system”. He adds, “no other state has the military wherewithal to put up a
serious fight against it.” Hegemony, for Mearsheimer “means domination of the system,
which is usually interpreted to mean the entire world.

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 Christopher Layne argues that “hegemony is about structural change, because if one state
achieves hegemony, the system ceases to be anarchic and becomes hierarchic”. Layne, who is
a neoclassical realist, posits that there are four features of hegemony.

1. First, and most importantly, is that it entails hard power. Like Mearsheimer, Layne
argues that hegemons have the most powerful military. They also possess
economic supremacy to support their preeminent military capabilities.

2. Second, hegemony is about the dominant power’s ambitions; namely, “a hegemon

acts self-interestedly to create a stable international order that will safeguard its
security and its economic and ideological interests.”

3. Third, “hegemony is about polarity,” because if one state (the hegemon) has more
power than anyone else, the system is by definition unipolar.

4. Finally, “hegemony is about will.” Layne writes, “not only must a hegemon possess
overwhelming power, it must purposefully exercise that power to impose order on
the international system”

 Cornelia Beyer explains, “‘Hegemony’ implies more than just having preponderant material
capabilities at one’s disposal; additional factors also play a role, such as the capacity to
exercise power based on material capabilities, and ‘soft power’ or ideological power, meaning
the capability to change others’ behaviour by influencing their belief system, their way of
thinking, and even their rationality”

Hegemonic stability theory

 David Lake argues that the theory of hegemonic stability is not a single theory, but a research
programme composed of two, analytically distinct theories: leadership theory and hegemony
theory. The starting point of hegemonic stability theory is the presence of a single dominant
state.

 According to Robert Keohane, the theory of hegemonic stability “defines hegemony as

preponderance of material resources.” He identifies four sets of resources: “hegemonic powers
must have control over raw materials, control over sources of capital, control over markets,
and competitive advantages in the production of highly valued goods”

 Hegemonic stability theory asserts that one of the roles of the hegemon, especially liberal
hegemons such as Great Britain in the 19th century and the United States in the later part of the
20th century, is to ensure international order by creating international institutions and norms
that facilitate international cooperation.

 Hegemonic stability theory is basically a realist prescription of how to achieve international

stability in an anarchical international system. As Gilpin explains, “according to the theory of
hegemonic stability as set forth initially by Charles Kindleberger an open and liberal world
economy requires the existence of a hegemonic or dominant power”

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 He hegemon, according to this theory, provides public goods out of self-interest to achieve an
open, liberal economic order. The creation of regimes, “defined as sets of implicit or explicit
principles, norms, rules, and decision-making procedures around which actors’ expectations
converge in a given area of international relations,” is a function of the presence of a hegemon
who is willing to act in a collectively beneficial manner.

 Hegemonic stability theory, according to Keohane, “holds that hegemonic structures of power,
dominated by a single country, are most conducive to the development of strong international
regimes whose rules are relatively precise and well obeyed” The functioning of a liberal, open
economic order is contingent upon the existence of a hegemon who is willing to exercise the
necessary leadership to maintain the system.

 The liberal variant of hegemonic stability theory underscores the importance of a hegemon in
establishing a liberal economic order. As Gilpin explains, hegemonic stability theory “argues that
a particular type of international economic order, a liberal one, could not flourish and reach its
full development other than in the presence of such as hegemonic power”

 When the power of the hegemon begins to erode, hegemonic stability theory predicts that
there will be a corresponding weakening of the liberal economic order. According to the theory,
“the decline of hegemonic structures of power can be expected to presage a decline in the
strength of corresponding international economic regimes”

 His is a point that many liberal critics of hegemonic stability theory contest. Keohane, for
example, believes that cooperation and the perpetuation of international regimes are certainly
possible once a hegemon inevitably begins to decline. Hegemony is extremely helpful in the
establishment of international regimes, but is not necessary for their maintenance once they are
created.

Neo-Gramscianism, Constructivism, the English School, and hegemony

Neo-Gramscianism, Constructivism, the English School, and hegemony

Neo-Gramscian concepts of hegemony

 The neo-Gramscian approach to hegemony also accepts the view that hegemony is about more
than just raw material power and domination. For Robert Cox, one of the leading neo-
Gramscians, “dominance by a powerful state may be a necessary but not a sufficient condition
of hegemony.”

 According to Cox, the concept of hegemony “is based on a coherent conjunction or fit between
a configuration of material power, the prevalent collective image of world order (including

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certain norms) and a set of institutions which administer the order with a certain semblance of
universality”
 Cox combines material power, ideas, and institutions into a comprehensive theory of hegemony.

 Drawing directly from the work of Antonio Gramsci, Cox argues that hegemony incorporates
two elements: force and consent. Thus for Cox, hegemony cannot be reduced to pure material
domination. Hegemony, for Cox, “means dominance of a particular kind where the dominant
state creates an order based ideologically on a broad measure of consent, functioning according
to general principles that in fact ensure the continuing supremacy of the leading state or states
and leading social classes but at the same time offer some measure or prospect of satisfaction
to the less powerful”

 While conceding that a dominant state is a necessary component of hegemony, Cox, and
Marxists more generally, including neo-Gramscians, underline the importance of social forces
that are shaped by production relations. As Owen Worth writes, hegemony, in Gramsci’s terms,
“appears as the result of a class struggle between the dominant and the ‘subaltern’ classes in
society, whereby the former win over the ‘hearts and minds’ of the latter through the pursuit of
consent”

 For Cox, “the problem of hegemony arises at the three levels of (1) the social relations of
production; (2) the social formation; and (3) the structure of world order”.

 He argues that hegemonic and non-hegemonic forms can exist at each of the three levels. Of the
three levels, Cox argues that hegemony at the world order level is most complex because it
incorporates both of the other levels.

 Dominance alone, Cox argues, is an insufficient basis of hegemony at the world order level. For
in addition to the regulation of interstate violence, which hegemonic stability theory attributes
to the presence of a dominant state, Cox argues that a hegemonic conception of world order is
also founded on a “globally conceived civil society, i.e., a mode of production of a global extent
which brings about links among the social classes of different countries”

 In this sense, it is universalist and not based solely on the parochial interests of a single
dominant state. This, for Cox, is the meaning of hegemony; “the temporary universalization in
thought of a particular power structure, conceived not as domination but as the necessary order
of nature”

 According to Cox, there are three conditions that make hegemony at the world order level
possible: “(1) a globally dominant mode of production; (2) a dominant state (or conceivably
dominant group of states acting in concert) which maintains and facilitates the expansion of that
mode of production; and (3) a normative and institutional component which lays down general
rules of behavior for states and the forces of civil society that act across state boundaries – rules
which are also supportive of the dominant mode of production”

 By conceptualising hegemony as a fit between material power, ideas, and institutions, it is

difficult, if not impossible, to privilege one set of factors over another. Nevertheless, it is

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possible to argue that international institutions and the process of institutionalisation are key
components of the neo-Gramscian conception of hegemony even while admitting, as Cox does,
that hegemony cannot be reduced to the institutional dimension.

 In similarity to liberal conceptions of hegemony, Cox argues that international institutions help
to mitigate conflict and reduce the necessity of resorting to force. Crucially, while international
institutions embody the material interests of the hegemon, they also, according to Cox, perform
an ideological function in that they help to legitimate the norms of world order. By casting its
interests as universal, rather than parochial, the hegemon is more likely to get secondary states
to acquiesce to the existing order and accept it as legitimate. This is what Gramsci meant by
hegemony.

 By recognising that there is a close connection between institutionalisation and hegemony, Cox
underlines the importance of ideology in helping to maintain consent with minimum recourse to
force. Institutions, as well as formal international organisations, are, for Cox, a key anchor of the
hegemon’s ruling strategy.

 Cox identifies five features of an international organisation that express its hegemonic role: “(1)
they embody the rules which facilitate the expansion of hegemonic world orders; (2) they are
themselves the product of the hegemonic world order; (3) they ideologically legitimate the
norms of the world order; (4) they co-opt the elites from the peripheral countries; and (5) they
absorb counter-hegemonic ideas”.

 As important as institutions are for Cox, he argues that hegemony cannot be reduced to the
institutional dimension. Institutions are only one pillar of a hegemonic order and need to be
considered together with material capabilities and ideas.

Social constructivist concept of Hegemony

 By emphasising the role of ideas, and recognising that the social world is composed of both
material and ideational forces, social constructivist conceptions of hegemony are not dissimilar
to those put forward by Cox and neo-Gramscians.

 Constructivists, however, are more inclined to emphasise the ideational aspects of hegemony
over the material. While most constructivists admire Cox’s adoption of Gramsci, one of the
critiques of Cox is that, in the end, he does not sufficiently privilege the ideational component of
hegemony.

 According to Ted Hopf, Cox’s account, even while conceding the ideological dimension of
institutionalisation, is still too materialistic in the sense that ideas continue to be a
manifestation of the dominant power’s political-economic interests. Yet for Hopf, the
importance of Gramsci’s conception of hegemony is that it helps us understand why the masses
go along with and accept a given order.

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 Thus it is not just the ideology of elites that matter, but also how dominant ideas percolate
downward and become taken for granted by the broader public. This is what Gramsci meant
by “common sense”.

 What Hopf attempts to do is provide a “neo-Gramscian constructivist account of hegemony that

restores common sense to a more central theoretical role, a role as a structural variable in world
politics, akin to distributions of material power or national identities”.

 He identifies this as common-sense constructivism, the aim of which it to bring the masses
back into world politics. Hopf argues that hegemonic power is exercised when dominant ideas
are embraced by the people in general.

 Hopf writes that “hegemonic power is maximized to the extent that these ideas become taken
for granted by the dominated population.” He explains that “a taken-for-granted truth is one
that people assume to be so without questioning its empirical or normative validity”. The degree
to which there is a discursive fit between the ideas propounded by the elites and the “common
sense” of the masses is a key indicator of the exercise of hegemony.

According to Hopf, “hegemonic power is maximized to the extent that these ideas
[those that advance the interests of the dominant classes] become taken for granted
by the dominated population”.

 Qingxin Ken Wang is another constructivist who shifts focus away from the material and
ideational interests of the dominant state to the mass public in secondary states. Wang
applauds constructivists for the attention they pay to the ideational dimension of hegemony,
but argues that too much of the focus has been placed on the ideas of the ruling elites and not
enough on mass public opinion. Hegemony, Wang argues, entails more than just gaining the
acquiescence of elites in secondary states, but the mass public as well.

 According to Wang, constructivists conceptualise hegemony as “a type of hierarchical

international order whereby the dominant state in the international system exercises
transnational authority over secondary states.” Furthermore, “constructivists believe that
hegemony is founded largely on the legitimacy of hegemony in secondary states which entails
the dominant state’s manufacturing of a consenting identity for secondary states on the basis of
hegemonic ideologies, and the propagation of these hegemonic ideas to secondary state elites”.

 While admitting that the emphasis that constructivists place on the ideational dimension of
hegemony is a significant improvement over purely materialist accounts, Wang, like Hopf,
believes that the mass public’s attitudes toward hegemony deserve serious attention. It is not
only elites in secondary states that matter, but also their ability to get their mass publics to
accept hegemonic ideas.

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 He finds that a “hegemon’s material and normative powers may help to induce the socialization
of the mass public in secondary states with the hegemonic conceptions of world order, state
identities, and the underlying ideologies, which in turn may lead to changes in secondary states’
political structures in ways conducive to the maintenance of hegemony”. This he finds to be the
case with respect to the post-war relationship between the United States and Japan.

English school on Hegemony

 The English School, or international society approach to international relations, emphasises yet
another aspect of hegemony: social recognition. According to this view, hegemony is not
equivalent to predominant material power. Neither is it solely an attribute of the dominant
state itself. Rather it is, as Ian Clark puts it, “a status bestowed by others, and rests on
recognition by them.” Clark defines hegemony as “an institutionalized practice of special
rights and responsibilities conferred on a state with the resources to lead”.

 In reviewing English School literature, Clark finds that there has been a general reluctance
among its members to engage with the concept of hegemony. Indeed, the very idea of a
hegemonic or hierarchical order has been viewed by the English School as a threat to the
existence of a society of states; thus their commitment to equilibrium and the balance of
power. Yet given the pre-eminence of the United States since the end of the Cold War, Clark
argues that it is necessary for the English School to seriously engage with the concept of
hegemony in international relations. He asks whether it is possible for hegemony to be
compatible with international order.

 Building on the work of Hedley Bull and others, Clark proposes that we consider hegemony an
institution of international society. His book Hegemony in International Society “is intended as
an exploration of the role of international legitimacy in a context, not of equilibrium, but of
considerable concentration and preponderance of material power.” Clark’s core claim is “that
this is best approached conceptually through hegemony, and theoretically by regarding that
hegemony as a putative institution of international society”. Clark finds that it is possible for
international order to be compatible with a concentration of power in one actor.

 Clark is, however, insistent that a distinction be made between primacy, as conceptualised in
terms of preponderant material resources, and hegemony as the exercise of some form of
legitimate leadership. He is quite clear that primacy and hegemony are different concepts:
“hegemony is then an institutionalized practice, legitimated within international society,
whereas primacy depicts nothing beyond a distribution of power in which one state enjoys
predominance”.

 It is the normative component of hegemony that is crucial for Clark, and he believes that the
English School is potentially helpful in this regard. Clark draws on the work that the English
School, especially Bull, devoted to the institution of the great powers in facilitating
international order. The great powers were defined not simply in terms of their material
capabilities, but also by the special managerial functions they performed as one of the key
institutions of international society.

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 Just as the great powers helped to make anarchy compatible with international society, Clark,
by extension, finds this to be true with the institution of hegemony. For Clark, “it is this
institutional dimension that marks a clear separation between hegemony and primacy;
hegemony is then an institutionalized practice, legitimated within international society,
whereas primacy depicts nothing beyond a distribution of power in which one state enjoys
predominance”. It is only by conceptualising hegemony as an institutionalised practice that can,
for Clark, help the English School to overcome its belief that hegemony is incompatible with an
anarchical society.

 Reasoning by analogy, Clark finds that the institution of hegemony functions in a manner similar
to that of the great powers. Just as special roles, functions, responsibilities, and status are
bestowed on the great powers, Clark reasons that the same is also true of hegemons. This is one
of the reasons he argues that social recognition is a key component of hegemony. The
institution of the great powers was not reducible to a set of material assets, but instead rested
on a shared normative framework in which others bestowed status and recognition on those
who performed a managerial function in international society. Clark explains that “what
hegemony adds to primacy then is not just some further supplement to the resources of the
leading state, but instead the social capital needed to pursue collective interests”.

 As with the case of the institution of the great powers, Clark argues that legitimacy is a core
component of hegemony. Reiterating one of his main points that hegemony cannot be simply
assessed in terms of material power alone, Clark argues that it needs to be assessed “just as
importantly in terms of the distinctive legitimacy dynamics that come into play between the
hegemon and its various constituencies”.

Must read article for Hegemony and its conceptual framework

https://doc-research.org/2018/08/hegemony-conceptual-theoretical-analysis/

Realist concept of hegemony Gramscian concept of hegemony

 Realism is a problem-solving theory which  Gramscianism is a critical theory that
considers the international system as ‘natural questions the prevailing international system.
and immutable’ and takes the existing world
order as given.  Focuses on hegemony through culture.

 Realism is a conventional approach which  Importance of soft power

reduces hegemony ‘to a single dimension of
dominance based on the economic and
military capability of states’.

 Realists focus on the importance of hard

power,

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 To make a clearer differentiation between the Realist and Gramscian analysis of hegemony, we
may use Joseph Nye’s notion of hard and soft power. While Realists focus on the importance of
hard power, Nye has established soft power as a crucial element of hegemony. He argues that
instead of using its military and economic capabilities as hard power, a country may obtain
desirable outcomes because other states ‘want to follow it, admiring its values, emulating its
example, aspiring to its level of prosperity and openness’.

 Following Gramsci’s idea of cultural leadership, he emphasizes that an attractive culture,

ideology and institutions can serve as power maximizers. Nye claims that American idols and
icons today shape the world and cites Marlowe in saying that ‘US supremacy today extends to
the economy, currency, military areas, lifestyle, language and the products of mass culture that
inundate the world, forming thought and fascinating even the enemies of the United States’.
According to Nye, it will cost the United States less to lead if it represents values that others aim
to follow.

 From a Realist point of view, hegemony may ultimately lead to war. As Nixon claimed in the
1970s, ‘it is when one nation becomes infinitely more powerful in relation to its potential
competitors that the danger of war arises’. Within the context of the widely known realist
concept of the balance of power, hegemony leads to imbalance within the world order and thus
has to be prevented.

Hard power or coercive power Co-optive or “soft power

 Hard power is based on military intervention,
coercive diplomacy and economic sanctions
and relies on tangible power resources such
as armed forces or economic means.
 Thus, the German invasion into Poland in
1939 and the UN economic sanctions against
Iraq in 1991 following the first Gulf War are
examples for the use of hard power.
 command or hard power as coercive power
wielded through inducements or threats
 The capacity to persuade others to do what
one wants”
 According to Nye, persuasive power is based
on attraction and emulation and “associated
with intangible power resources such as
culture, ideology, and institutions”
 Cooper emphasises the importance of
legitimacy for the concept of soft power
 State activities need to be perceived as
legitimate in order to enhance soft power.
The dispersion of American culture within the
Eastern bloc during the Cold War indicate the
existence of American soft power and more
recent processes of EU enlargement are
indices for soft power possessed by the EU

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Hegemony as Hard Power
 Hegemony relates to the
relations, patterns and
balances of military
capability between
states.
 The base of US power lies
in the overwhelming
superiority of its military
power. It is both absolute
and relative.
 The military dominance
of the US is not just
based on higher military
spending but on a
qualitative gap.
 But still, the US invasion
of Iraq reveals weakness
of American power as it
was not able to force the
Iraqi people into
submitting to the
occupation forces of the
US-led coalition.
Must read article
The Effectiveness of Soft & Hard Power in Contemporary International Relations
https://www.e-ir.info/2014/05/14/the-effectiveness-of-soft-hard-power-in-contemporary-international-
relations/
ONLYIAS.COM
Hegemony as Structural Power
 The idea behind this type
of hegemony is that an
open world economy
requires a hegemon or
dominant power to
support its creation and
existence.
 In this sense, hegemony
is reflected in the role
played by the US in
providing global public
goods. The best
examples of global public
goods are Sea-Lanes of
Communication (SLOCs),
Internet, roads, etc.
 The economic
preponderance of the US
is inseparable from its
structural power, which
is the power to shape the
global economy in a
particular way.
 Another example of the
structural power of the
US is the academic
degree called the
Masters in Business
Administration (MBA).
The idea of teaching skills
for business is uniquely
American.
181
Hegemony as Soft Power
 In this type of hegemony,
it implies class
ascendancy in the social,
political and particularly
ideological spheres.
 It suggests that a
dominant power not only
possess military power
but also ideological
resources to shape the
behaviour of competing
and lesser powers.
 The US predominance in
the world is based not
only on its military power
and economic powers
but on its cultural
presence.
 During the Cold War, the
US scored notable
victories in the area of
structural power and soft
power rather than hard
power.
 ONLYIAS.COM

End of American hegemony and challenge by others

Ruins of unilateralism

 If one looks for an overarching theme that defined global politics in 2019, one might settle for
protests. Angry crowds, especially the youth, revolted against the establishment in several parts
of the world — from Santiago to Hong Kong, Beirut and New Delhi. But the year also saw some
defining trends in geopolitics as well such as China’s growing assertiveness both in trade and
foreign policy, Iran’s dangerously aggressive, yet calculated, behaviour, and the rise of Turkey as
a new power pole in West Asia. The most important of them all, however, was the relative
decline in America’s power, which was manifested
through a number of crises during the year.

 The U.S. is the world’s mightiest military power and

arguably the centre of the post-Soviet world order.
In the 1990s, the U.S.’s dominance was at its peak
with international and multilateral organisations
getting overshadowed by its pre-eminence. In
2001, after the September 11 terrorist attacks, it
got international support for its war in Afghanistan.
In 2003, the U.S. went ahead with the plan to
bomb Iraq despite the UN opposition, reminding
the world of imperial invasions. But the global
situation is different, and more complex today.

The Afghan experience

 Changes under way over the past decade picked up

pace in 2019, showing cracks in the post-Soviet
9/11 a challenge to US/western Hegemony
order. At least three developments in 2019
suggested that the U.S.’s ability to shape global
politics is clearly receding.

 The U.S. went to Afghanistan in October 2001, with a vow to destroy al-Qaeda and topple the
Taliban regime. Seventeen years later, the U.S., desperate to get out of a stalemated conflict,
started direct negotiations with the Taliban. The talks almost led to a settlement last year, with
both sides agreeing to a draft agreement under which the U.S. would pull out most of its troops
from Afghanistan in return for assurances from the Taliban that it would not allow Afghan soil to
be used by transnational terrorists.

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 The agreement, however, was not signed as President Donald Trump cancelled the peace
process in September after an American soldier was killed in a Taliban attack. A few weeks later,
Mr. Trump resumed the talks.

 The whole Afghan experience shows how the U.S. botched up the war. The U.S. has a superior
hand in conventional warfare. But winning a war abroad is not just about toppling a hostile
regime, but also about stabilising the country after the regime is toppled. The U.S., history
shows, is good at the former but fares poorly in the latter.

 It is now left with no other option but to reach an agreement with the Taliban for a face-saving
exit. That would leave Kabul’s fragile, faction-ridden government exposed to the Taliban
insurgency, just like the Mohammed Najibullah government was left to the Afghan Mujahideen
in 1989 after the Soviet withdrawal. The Soviet Union disintegrated in two years, and
Najibullah’s government collapsed after a few months.

The Iran stand-off

 The latest spell in the U.S.-Iran tensions was triggered by President Trump’s unilateral decision
to pull the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018. Mr. Trump’s plan was to put “maximum
pressure” on Iran through sanctions and force Tehran to renegotiate the nuclear deal. But Iran
countered it through “maximum resistance”, instead of giving in.

 The year 2019 saw Iran repeatedly provoking the U.S. and its allies. It shot down an American
drone over the Gulf in June, captured a British tanker in July and is believed to have either
carried out or orchestrated multiple attacks on oil tankers that pass through the Strait of
Hormuz, a narrow waterway that connects the oil-rich Gulf with the Arabian Sea through the
Gulf of Oman. In September, two Saudi oil facilities came under attack, which temporarily cut
the kingdom’s oil output by half. Iran was blamed for the attacks.

 The attacks on Saudi facilities challenged the post-war partnership between the U.S. and Saudi
Arabia that guaranteed American protection to the kingdom. Still, the only counter-measure the
U.S. took in response to Iran’s growing provocations was imposing more sanctions.

 One can argue that the U.S.’s subdued response doesn’t have anything to do with a decline in its
power but is rather due to the reluctance of the sitting President to launch new wars. Even if
one buys this argument, the question remains: why is Mr. Trump reluctant to launch new wars?
The answer, perhaps, is the wars the U.S. launched in the new century, be it Afghanistan, Iraq or
Libya, were not won. Sections in Washington don’t want the U.S. to get stuck in another long-
drawn conflict in West Asia. Here, the U.S.’s inability to shape outcomes of the wars it launches
is acting as a deterrent against its own war machines.

Cracks in the NATO

 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Cold War alliance that was formed as a
counterweight to the Soviet Union, continued to act as a vehicle of Western military dominance
under the leadership of the U.S. in the post-Soviet order. The alliance has come under pressure

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in recent years with the rise of nationalist-populist leaders, including Mr. Trump, who have a
favourable view of Russian President Vladimir Putin and are critical of NATO. These
contradictions sharpened in 2019, suggesting that there are growing cracks in the alliance. In
October, Turkey invaded northeastern Syria’s Kurdish held-territories, which had housed U.S.
troops during the war against the Islamic State.

 Ankara practically forced the Trump administration to pull back troops from the areas before it
started air strikes. The U.S. was relegated to the role of a spectator when a determined Turkey
first captured some towns on the border and then struck a deal with Russia to create a buffer
between Turkey and the Kurdish-held territories of Syria, which will be manned by Russian and
Turkish troops.

 But the biggest crisis emerged when Turkey, the second largest military in NATO, purchased S-
400 missile defence system from Russia, NATO’s primary enemy and the main geopolitical rival
of the U.S., despite protests from the West.

 The U.S. expelled Turkey from the F-35 stealth fighter programme and has threatened to impose
sanctions for the deal. It says Russia could use the system radars to spy on the F-35 jets. Turkey
didn’t give in. It now says it could buy Su-57 jets from Russia if the U.S. does not lift the ban on
F-35 sales. Moreover, in response to sanctions threats, Turkey has vowed to shut two U.S. bases
in the country, which would mean a split within NATO.

 These incidents do not mean that the U.S.’s dominance over global politics is over. But they do
show that America’s long wars and its inability to shape post-war outcomes are impacting its
stature in an international system that centres around it.

 If one translates Immanuel Wallerstein’s world systems theory into geopolitics, the U.S., the
core of the strategic world system, is facing revolts in the periphery. If in the 1990s and early
2000s, the periphery continued to be dependent on the core and thereby sustained what
Wallerstein called the “unequal exchange” between the two, the sands are shifting now.

 And this is happening at a time when new economic powers (China, for example) are on the rise
and an old military power (Russia) is making a comeback. The relative decline in America’s
power coupled with the rise of new and old powers point to a structural churning in the post-
Cold War order. In the world system, the core has never been static. Hegemony of a single
power is temporary.

The end of American world order—a move towards Multiplex world order

Amitav Acharya
 Domestic critics in America blame the >Russian annexation of Crimea on Obama’s weak foreign
policy. Republican Senator John McCain calls Obama the “most naive [U.S.] president in
history.” But outside the beltway, a different perception is rapidly emerging, which sees Ukraine
not so much a failure of Obama’s foreign policy, but as a sign of general U.S. decline.

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 As Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the U.S. says: “Much of this criticism [of
Obama] shows wilful ignorance of the limits of U.S. power in a transformed international
environment where no single state is able to achieve outcomes by itself or prevail over others,
even by using overwhelming hard power.”

 In his January 2012 State of the Union address, U.S. President Barack Obama asserted that that
“anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned doesn’t know
what they’re talking about.” But in a December 2012 report, the U.S. National Intelligence
Council argued that while America will remain the “first among equals with the rapid rise of
other countries…the era of American ascendancy in international politics that began in 1945 is
fast winding down.” Ukraine offers further evidence of that.

Rising powers

 And the report of the World Bank-supported International Comparison Program — that China is
set to overtake the U.S. with India coming third— sends the same message. It means that for
the first time since World War II, the leading military power is not the largest global economy.

 Perhaps the most important lesson of Ukraine is that U.S. cannot co-opt the rising powers to
support its own strategic vision and approach. In his influential 2010 book, Liberal Leviathan,
American political scientist John Ikenberry argues that whether America is in decline or not, the
liberal world order it had created and dominated since World War II would persist and might
even co-opt its main challengers including China. As he put it, “The rise of >non-Western
powers and the growth of economic and security interdependence are creating new
constituencies and pressures for liberal international order.”

 But Ukraine shows the limits of this argument. Not only did Russia threw a frontal challenge to
the U.S. and NATO, but >the rest of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa)
abstained in the U.N. General Assembly resolution rejecting Crimean referendum that formed
the basis of Russian annexation of Crimea. Russia regarded this as a victory.

 The message is clear and simple. Just because these rising powers have benefitted from the
American-dominated international order does not mean they would leave it intact and follow
America’s lead.
 Initial hints are that the >new Modi government in
India might see New Delhi pursuing a more assertive
foreign policy point in the same direction.

 An important question is what comes after the unipolar

moment? The conventional wisdom has been that we are
entering a multipolar world.

 A few have predicted a >U.S.-China bipolar order. But

the emerging world order is likely to be neither bipolar
nor multipolar, but a multiplex world order. Chinese challenge to American Hegemony

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 The multiplex world implies a world of multiple great and regional powers bound together in
complex forms of interdependence. It can also be likened to a multiplex theatre in which one
can see a variety of shows, directors and actors under one roof.

 In a multiplex world, while the U.S. will remain a major force in world affairs, it would lack the
ability to shape world order after its own interests and image. As a result, the U.S. will be one of
a number of anchors including emerging powers, regional forces, and a concert of the old and
new powers shaping a new world order.

 Will the multiplex world be less stable than the unipolar moment or America’s hegemony in
world affairs? No one can predict the future. The Economist magazine bemoans the loss of U.S.
authority as a “decline of deterrence,” implying that it will embolden America’s enemies and
demoralise its allies. But America had plenty of enemies and the American-led global deterrence
failed to prevent rise of powerful enemies such as the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

 At the same time, it is important not to dismiss new ways of ensuring stability available to
America and the rising powers.

Global interdependence

 One crucial difference between the multipolar world of the 19th Century and the multiplex
world of the future is the huge growth of global interdependence. European interdependence
in the 19th Century was mainly based on trade but was undermined by competitive search for
foreign colonies by the major European nations.

 Today’s global interdependence is both broader and deeper, covering not only trade, but also
finance, production networks and global economic arrangements that did not exist then.

 Stability of a multiplex would require new forms of international cooperation where

leadership is shared rather than monopolised by a single nation. This would require meaningful
reform of global institutions and encouraging more institutions like G20. Also crucial are regional
mechanisms for peace and stability.

 To maintain stability and its own influence, the U.S. would need to share power. >General
Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said in a recent interview that in
the changing international strategic environment, the U.S. would find increasingly “harder to
articulate the proper use of military power” and have to rely less on direct military action and
more on “building partnership capacity and enabling other actors.” This is more in keeping with
the onset of the multiplex world.

EMERGENCE OF NEW COLD WAR

 Over the past decade, researchers and political writers around the world have tried to
understand the nature of the mounting tensions between the US and the west on the one side
and Russia China and some other powers on the other side.

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 For most scholars of the liberal school, the tensions between the US and its allies and the raising
powers were unavoidable deviations from the general trend of
the latter’s integration in to the liberal international order.

 Edward Lucas in his famous book “The New Cold War” clearly
analyzed the emerging trends of new cold war. The ‘New Cold
War’ against Russia, is something of a misnomer, because it
differs from the original version against the USSR. In that it’s
already a hot war, which started in Ukraine as being the key
proxy-state for the American Government’s chief foreign-policy
aim of defeating Russia; and it’s a war that is very bloody and
widely lied-about in both the US and Europe.

 The new cold war is a more complex and broader phenomenon

than the clash between Russia and the west over Ukraine, or even the more general problems of
European security arms control and other issues on which observers usually focus.

 Structurally, new cold war is a manifestation of the confrontation between the west and the
non-West that is taking shape within the framework of Greater Eurasia, the ‘Belt and Road’
initiative and BRICS.

 The complexity as well as the main challenge of the new cold war lies in the fact that it lacks a
rigid ideological confrontation that could lend its structure and that it occurs during a
fundamental shift in the global balance of power. The Western pole had already weakened to
some extent by 2010, and that process continued today a second pole in nonwestern Eurasia is
emerging and establishing its institutions.

 At the same time, the actual and potential conflicts within each pole make overall confrontation
less stable and predictable than the ‘classic’ bipolar confrontation of the second half of the 20th
century. The relative weakening of the Western pole and its desire to slow down or stop the
emergence of a new power center in Eurasia is the main cause of international instability. This
has resulted in a certain strategic frivolity-a problem that it appears will only increase with time.
Under these circumstances, other great powers, Russia and China will have to prepare for the
worst and take the responsibility for international stability in their own hands.

 This policy should not take the form of a unilateral filling of the vacuum that might result from a
possible U S withdrawal from certain geographical and political areas of activity. Russia and
China need to form and serve as the center of an international structure that would neutralize
and to a certain extent, structure the negative effects of U S policy, acting as an external
stabilizer of their actions in the international arena-as occurred in a more extreme form during
the original “cold war”. In practice this would require them to take tough positions and even
confront the U S directly on certain sensitive international issues.

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Case study on American Hegemony

Covid-19 Knocks on American Hegemony

by Ashley J. Tellis
May 4, 2020

After almost two decades of conflicted hesitancy, the United States finally acknowledged that it is involved in a
long-term strategic competition with China. This rivalry, almost by definition, is not merely a wrangle between two
major states. Rather, it involves a struggle for dominance in the international system, even if China as the rising
power disavows any such ambition. China’s very ascendancy—if sustained—could over time threaten the U.S.
hegemony that has been in place since the end of World War II.

It is this reality of unequal growth—which has nourished China’s expanding influence and military capabilities—that
lies at the root of the evolving rivalry.
Although the term sometimes has unsettling connotations, the United States is a genuine hegemon, understood in
the original Greek sense as a leader in the competitive international system. This hegemony derives from the fact
that the United States is the world’s single most powerful state.

1. First, it remains the largest economy in real terms, a foundation that underwrites its capacity to
project military power globally in ways unmatched by any peers.
2. Second, it possesses a sufficiently effective state that presides over a remarkably productive
society.
3. And, third, in partnership with strong allies in North America, Western Europe, East Asia, and
Oceania, who share both values and interests, the United States has created an international
order that buttresses its primacy materially, institutionally, and ideationally, thereby allowing it to
advance diverse interests while economizing on its use of force.

Although these foundations have been stressed in recent times, the Covid-19 pandemic now threatens them in
deadly ways.

BATTERING THE U.S. ECONOMY

The 12% decline expected in the second quarter is equivalent to an annualized 40% decline rate in GDP growth,
something never witnessed even at the height of the global financial crisis in 2008 (and that could exceed the worst
since the end of World War II).

As a result, the U.S. economy is expected to witness an unemployment rate of some 15% in the second and third
quarters of 2020, with double-digit unemployment persisting well into 2021 according to the Congressional Budget
Office. This economic shock is part of the larger contraction in global GDP, which is also expected to witness
negative growth in 2020.

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“What is certain…is that the U.S. economy will face significant transitions in the aftermath of this
pandemic in at least two directions that bear on the future of its national power.”

While such massive governmental intervention is inevitable and necessary, whether it will suffice for recovery is still
uncertain. Much will depend on when the lockdowns can be relaxed, and that in turn depends on the progress
made in containing the virus. The dilemmas involved in juggling the threats of pandemic resurgence, on the one
hand, and the perils of continued contraction of the real economy, on the other hand, cannot be underestimated.
What is certain, however, is that the U.S. economy will face significant transitions in the aftermath of this pandemic
in at least two directions that bear on the future of its national power.

DISCREDITING U.S. STATE COMPETENCY

While a contraction of the U.S. economy as a result of the pandemic is to be expected, the effects have been
exacerbated by the mismanagement of the American response. By the traditional standards of assessing state-
society relations, the United States is usually considered, in Sven Steinmo’s summary description, as a “strong
nation–weak state.” Its founders deliberately created a constitutional system that prevented overbearing political
authority from extinguishing the liberties of its peoples. Yet over time the power of the American state grew to a
point where it was effective enough to enjoy the best of both worlds: it was sufficiently capable of extracting the
resources necessary to produce the public goods required within the country while deploying the military
instruments necessary for external influence without at the same time stifling the freedom, creativity, and
productivity of its population. Maintaining this fine balance was what made the United States exceptional. And, for
most of the postwar era, the American state was in fact the object of global admiration precisely because it could
advance these objectives simultaneously in ways that most of its other competitors could not.

At the heart of this achievement lay effective governmental institutions and capable state managers, both of which
were characterized by high degrees of substantive and instrumental rationality. It has now become clear that the
Trump administration’s failure to anticipate the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States had little to do
with strategic surprise. The intelligence community began warning of the threat in early January, officials in the
Department of Health and Human Services began contingency planning in mid-January, and the senior staff on the
National Security Council started sounding the alarm later that month, only to be stymied by the president’s lack of
attention at exactly the time when the state as an institution has once again become central to managing the
nation’s response to the crisis. The erosion of the deliberative process within the White House and the subversion
of the decision-making system by the president’s idiosyncrasies thus have left the United States—the world’s richest
and most powerful nation—with the odious distinction of leading the global death toll with, at the time of writing,
over 67,000 fatalities and rising (over twice the number of fatalities suffered by the next country).

While the damage caused to the U.S. economy and the human losses will make the task of preserving U.S.
hegemony after the pandemic harder—at a time when most assessments suggest that countries like China are
likely to recover faster than the United States—the reputational damage to Washington is just as serious. Although
variables like competency are hard to quantify, they are vital in international politics because they induce awe in

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others and make cooperation, if not compliance, easier. After all, the generation of hegemonic power is owed not
merely to the strength of a nation’s material base but even more fundamentally to the effectiveness of its state
authority, which directs the transformation of latent resources into realized capabilities. Thomas Hobbes underlined
this insight powerfully in the Leviathan when he declared, “Reputation of power, is Power.”

CORRODING THE U.S.-LED INTERNATIONAL ORDER

Finally, since the end of World War II, successive U.S. administrations have recognized that maintaining systemic
primacy through the use of military force alone would be a costly and ultimately subversive enterprise because it
would in time provoke balancing coalitions aimed at neutralizing American hegemony. To avert this possibility and
to secure political, economic, and ideational outcomes that were conducive to U.S. interests, Washington
constructed and maintained what has now come to be known as the liberal international order—a regime of
interlocking norms, rules, and institutions intended to protect democratic states and expand their prosperity in the
face of strategic competitors. This regime, which encompassed arrangements pertaining to collective defense, trade
liberalization, economic and political development, and democracy promotion, was underwritten substantially by
U.S. resources not as a favor to its partners but fundamentally out of self-interest, as all other hegemonic powers
have done throughout history.

The United States, accordingly, provided security to its allies, permitted asymmetric access to its markets, and
created various global institutions as a public good. In return, it expected its partners to collaborate in realizing
goals that the United States had a privileged interest in, while at the same time providing legitimacy to U.S. actions
undertaken in defense of either its own primacy or some collective ends. By definition, the allied contribution to
these efforts could never match that of the United States because the latter was the hegemonic power and its
benefaction was essentially what sustained its relative superiority over other partners and adversaries alike.

In time, this arrangement served to make the United States’ alliances meaningful instruments for upholding global
order more generally and on terms that, although beneficial to its protectees, were uniquely favorable to
maintaining American primacy. This compact thrived on the prospect that the United States would continue to
protect the core interests of its allies in exchange for which the partners would pool their resources—political,
economic, and military—in support of U.S. goals. Subsidizing the provision of such collective goods has been the
hallmark of hegemonic stability since the earliest Western reflections first found in Thucydides. Although
subordinate officials in the Trump administration have frequently reiterated the importance of alliances to U.S.
interests, the president himself has rarely, if ever, done so. Rather, viewing U.S. alliances solely as undesirable
burdens, he has consistently questioned their utility and value, and on occasion even expressed satisfaction at the
possibility of their dissolution.

This disregard for the alliance system that the United States has carefully nurtured now for over half a century is
grounded fundamentally in a failure to appreciate its importance for both the effectiveness and the legitimacy of
American primacy in international politics. All previous administrations intuitively understood the benefits that the
alliances provided in material, institutional, and ideational terms and consequently sought to preserve, if not
actually deepen, them.

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The Covid-19 pandemic ordinarily would have stimulated the United States to lead a collective
response, if not globally, then at least involving its allies and partners because this crisis was both
genuinely transnational and immediately affected U.S. interests as well those of its closest friends
in Europe and Asia.

The absence of the United States in leading the international response to the pandemic has strengthened the
perception, now commonplace even among its own allies and partners, that Washington can no longer be relied on
to uphold the international order that it once created. If this pessimism takes root, it will denude U.S. alliances of
their coherence and effectiveness, compelling allies to seek refuge in deeper self-help rather than to invest in
cooperative action.

International collaboration, even when most necessary, rarely arises as a result of spontaneous movement. It must
be orchestrated. When the stakes are high, hegemonic powers usually are the states most capable of bearing the
transaction costs required to make effective coordination possible, as U.S. leadership during the global financial
crisis clearly demonstrated.

At the moment, the United States appears to believe—if its behavior is any indication—that bilateralism is a
sufficient substitute for friendly coalitions and that its alliances are little more than the burdensome legacies of
history with minimal relevance to the strategic competition that lies ahead. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The United States is preparing for the return of great-power rivalry with China at a time when its own relative
power is declining and may be eroded further, depending on the outcomes of the current pandemic. Although there
is no assurance that China will come out of this crisis greatly advantaged, given the uncertainties involved, prudence
demands that the United States reinvest in those resources that offer the most promise.

“Washington must double down on its alliances and partnerships. Only this U.S.-led
confederation contains the preponderance of the global product that will durably immunize the
liberal international order against any future challenges emanating from China or other rivals.”

That means focusing first and foremost on revitalizing its own national power and ensuring a more equitable
distribution of economic gains domestically in order to protect a broad consensus in support of continued
international primacy. But even as it attends to the business of internal regeneration, Washington must double
down on its alliances and partnerships. Only this U.S.-led confederation contains the preponderance of the global
product that will durably immunize the “strategic West” against any future challenges emanating from China or
other rivals.

Preserving American hegemony over the long term thus must begin with consolidating Washington’s leadership
within the largest single bloc of material power in order that it may be effective beyond. Ensuring this outcome
requires the United States to take seriously—and deepen meaningfully—the special geopolitical ties it has nurtured
throughout the postwar period, which would among other things enable it to better shape the world’s engagement

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with China to advance its own interests. The management of the global pandemic thus far raises doubts about the
United States’ ability to sensibly expand its power and to manage the evolving rivalry with China intelligently and
in league with the nations that will be most needed for success. This is unfortunate given this administration’s
otherwise astute recognition of the return of strategic competition.

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Non-Alignment Movement

NAM
History and Evolution of Non-Aligned Movement
Genesis of the NAM
 The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was created and founded during the collapse of the colonial
system and the independence struggles of the peoples of Africa, Asia, Latin America and other
regions of the world and at the height of the Cold War.
 Six years after Bandung, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries was founded on a wider
geographical basis at the First Summit Conference of Belgrade.
Governing principles of NAM

 "Ten Principles of Bandung", were proclaimed at that Conference in Bandung govern relations
among nations. Such principles were adopted later as the main goals and objectives of the policy
of non-alignment. The fulfillment of those principles became the essential criterion for Non-
Aligned Movement membership; it is what was known as the "quintessence of the Movement"
until the early 1990s.

The ten principles of Bandung

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Evolution of NAM

 The creation and strengthening of the socialist block after the defeat of fascism in World War II, the
collapse of colonial empires, the emergence of a bipolar world and the formation of two military
blocks (NATO and the Warsaw Pact) brought about a new international context that led to the
necessity of multilateral coordination fora between the countries of the South.
 In this context, the underdeveloped countries, most of them in Asia and Africa, felt the need to join
efforts for the common defense of their interests, the strengthening of their independence and
sovereignty and the cultural and economic revival or salvation of their peoples, and also to express a
strong commitment with peace by declaring themselves as "non-aligned" from either of the two
nascent military blocks.

 In order to fulfill the aims of debating on and advancing a strategy designed to achieve such
objectives, the Bandung Asian-African Conference was held in Indonesia in April 1955. It was
attended by 29 Heads of State and Government of the first postcolonial generation of leaders and
its expressed goal was to identify and assess world issues at the time and coordinate policies to deal
with them.

 Although the Asian and African leaders who gathered in Bandung might have had differing political
and ideological views or different approaches toward the societies they aspired to build or rebuild,
there was a common project that united them and gave sense to a closer coordination of positions.
Their shared program included the political decolonization of Asia and Africa. Moreover, they all
agreed that the recently attained political independence was just a means to attain the goal of
economic, social and cultural independence.

 The Bandung meeting has been considered as the most immediate antecedent of the founding of
the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, which finally came into being six years later on a wider
geographical basis when the First Summit Conference was held in Belgrade on September 1-6, 1961.
This gathering was attended by the Heads of State and Government of 25 countries and observers
from another three nations.

 As one Summit after another was held in the 1960s and 1970s, "non-alignment", turned already into
the "Movement of Non-Aligned Countries" that included nearly all Asian and African countries, was
becoming a forum of coordination to struggle for the respect of the economic and political rights
of the developing world. After the attainment of independence, the Conferences expressed a
growing concern over economic and social issues as well as over strictly political matters.

 Something that attested to that was the launching at the Algiers Conference in 1973 of the concept
of a "new international economic order."

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 By the end of the 1980s, the Movement was facing the great challenge brought about by the
collapse of the socialist block. The end of the clash between the two antagonistic blocks that was
the reason for its existence, name and essence was seen by some as the beginning of the end for
the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries.

 The Movement of Non-Aligned Countries could not spare itself difficulties to act effectively in an
adverse international political situation marked by hegemonic positions and unipolarity as well as by
internal difficulties and conflicts given the heterogeneity of its membership and, thus, its diverse
interests.

 Nevertheless, and in spite of such setbacks, the principles and objectives of non-alignment retain
their full validity and force at the present international juncture. The primary condition that led to
the emergence of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, that is, non-alignment from antagonistic
blocks, has not lost its validity with the end of the Cold War. The demise of one of the blocks has not
done away with the pressing problems of the world. On the contrary, renewed strategic interests
bent on domination grow stronger and, even, acquire new and more dangerous dimensions for
underdeveloped countries.

 During the 14th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Havana, Cuba in September 2006, the
Heads of States and Governments of the member countries reaffirmed their commitment to the
ideals, principles and purposes upon which the movement was founded and with the principles and
purposes enshrined in the United Nations Charter.

 The Heads of States and Governments stated their firm belief that the absence of two conflicting
blocs in no way reduces the need to strengthen the movement as a mechanism for the political
coordination of developing countries. In this regard they acknowledged that it remains imperative to
strengthen and revitalize the movement. To do so, they agreed to strengthen concrete action, unity
and solidarity between all its members, based on respect for diversity, factors which are essential
for the reaffirmation of the identity and capacity of the movement to influence International
relations.

 They also stressed the need to promote actively a leading role for the movement in the coordination
of efforts among member states in tackling global threats.

 Inspired by the principles and purposes which were brought to the Non-Aligned Movement by the
Bandung principles and during the First NAM Summit in Belgrade in 1961, the Heads of States and

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Governments of the member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement adopted in their 14th Summit
in Havana the following purposes and principles of the movement in the present International
juncture:

Aims and objectives of NAM

 To promote and reinforce multilateralism and, in this regard, strengthen the central role that
the United Nations must play.
 To serve as a forum of political coordination of the developing countries to promote and defend
their common interests in the system of international relations
 To promote unity, solidarity and cooperation between developing countries based on shared
values and priorities agreed upon by consensus.
 To defend international peace and security and settle all international disputes by peaceful
means in accordance with the principles and the purposes of the UN Charter and International
Law.
 To encourage relations of friendship and cooperation between all nations based on the
principles of International Law, particularly those enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations.
 To promote and encourage sustainable development through international cooperation and, to
that end, jointly coordinate the implementation of political strategies which strengthen and
ensure the full participation of all countries, rich and poor, in the international economic
relations, under equal conditions and opportunities but with differentiated responsibilities.
 To encourage the respect, enjoyment and protection of all human rights and fundamental
freedoms for all, on the basis of the principles of universality, objectivity, impartiality and non-
selectivity, avoiding politicization of human rights issues, thus ensuring that all human rights of
individuals and peoples, including the right to development, are promoted and protected in a
balanced manner.
 To promote peaceful coexistence between nations, regardless of their political, social or
economic systems.
 To condemn all manifestations of unilateralism and attempts to exercise hegemonic domination
in international relations.
 To coordinate actions and strategies in order to confront jointly the threats to international
peace and security, including the threats of use of force and the acts of aggression, colonialism
and foreign occupation, and other breaches of peace caused by any country or group of
countries.

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 To promote the strengthening and democratization of the UN, giving the General Assembly the
role granted to it in accordance with the functions and powers outlined in the Charter and to
promote the comprehensive reform of the United Nations Security Council so that it may fulfill
the role granted to it by the Charter, in a transparent and equitable manner, as the body
primarily responsible for maintaining international peace and security.
 To continue pursuing universal and non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament, as well as a
general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control and in this
context, to work towards the objective of arriving at an agreement on a phased program for the
complete elimination of nuclear weapons within a specified framework of time to eliminate
nuclear weapons, to prohibit their development, production, acquisition, testing, stockpiling,
transfer, use or threat of use and to provide for their destruction.
 To oppose and condemn the categorization of countries as good or evil based on unilateral and
unjustified criteria, and the adoption of a doctrine of pre-emptive attack, including attack by
nuclear weapons, which is inconsistent with international law, in particular, the international
legally-binding instruments concerning nuclear disarmament and to further condemn and
oppose unilateral military actions, or use of force or threat of use of force against the
sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Non-Aligned countries.
 To encourage States to conclude agreements freely arrived at, among the States of the regions
concerned, to establish new Nuclear Weapons-Free Zones in regions where these do not exist,
in accordance with the provisions of the Final Document of the First Special Session of the
General Assembly devoted to disarmament (SSOD.1) and the principles adopted by the 1999 UN
Disarmament Commission, including the establishment of a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone in the
Middle East. The establishment of Nuclear Weapons-Free Zones is a positive step and important
measure towards strengthening global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
 To promote international cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to facilitate
access to nuclear technology, equipment and material for peaceful purposes required by
developing countries.
 To promote concrete initiatives of South-South cooperation and strengthen the role of NAM, in
coordination with G.77, in the re-launching of North-South cooperation, ensuring the fulfillment
of the right to development of our peoples, through the enhancement of international
solidarity.
 To respond to the challenges and to take advantage of the opportunities arising from
globalization and interdependence with creativity and a sense of identity in order to ensure its
benefits to all countries, particularly those most affected by underdevelopment and poverty,
with a view to gradually reducing the abysmal gap between the developed and developing
countries.

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 To enhance the role that civil society, including NGO´s, can play at the regional and international
levels in order to promote the purposes, principles and objectives of the Movement.

Its early days contribution

 Its actions were a key factor in the decolonization process, which led later to the attainment of
freedom and independence by many countries and peoples and to the founding of tens of new
sovereign States.
 Throughout its history, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries has played a fundamental role
in the preservation of world peace and security.
 Since its inception, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries has waged a ceaseless battle to
ensure that peoples being oppressed by foreign occupation and domination can exercise their
inalienable right to self-determination and independence.
 During the 1970s and 1980s, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries played a key role in the
struggle for the establishment of a new international economic order.
 During its nearly 50 years of existence, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries has gathered a
growing number of States and liberation movements which, in spite of their ideological,
political, economic, social and cultural diversity, have accepted its founding principles and
primary objectives and shown their readiness to realize them.
 Historically, the non-aligned countries have shown their ability to overcome their differences
and found a common ground for action that leads to mutual cooperation and the upholding of
their shared values.

NAM after end of cold war era

 End of the Cold war and disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 proved to be a watershed
in the evolution of NAM.

 NAM was forced to carve out a new role for itself as its initial objectives of de -colonisation
and end of apartheid had been largely realized by then.

 Although ensuring peace, security and economic development of developing countries has
emerged as the new mantra to be pursued by the movement, there has been scant
agreement between members on policies required to fulfill these objectives.

 This is so because several members of the grouping including India have been strengthening
their engagement with the developed world to invite capital, technology, better

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management practices, larger markets etc to improve the economic condi tions of their
citizens.

 Rapid advance of globalisation, at least till the international financial and economic crisis in
2008 and sovereign debt crisis in Europe in 2010, has significantly brought down economic
and physical borders between the North and South.

 Rising challenges to globalization in recent years reflected in Brexit in Europe and rise of
isolationist, anti-immigrant and protectionist positions in election campaign in USA have
thrown up new contradictions which developing countries need to effectively contend with.

 Terrorism and threats to peace and security have emerged as fresh challenges that need to
be dealt with head-on by the international community in a united manner.

 It is these issues that the 17th NAM Summit set itself to address. Confidence in and
credibility of the movement has suffered in recent years because it has been relegated
to the status of a talk-shop as it has been unable to adequately address problems and
threats that accost the developing world.

 In the 21 Article final declaration adopted by the assembled leaders under the theme,
“Peace, Sovereignty and Solidarity for Development,” countries reaffirmed their
commitment to safeguard human rights, disarmament of weapons of mass destruction, fight
against terrorism, promote Sustainable Development Goals, reform of United Nations, deal
with issues related to refugees and migrants, support education, youth and women,
confront climate change, and bolster inter-religious and intercultural dialogue.

 The rapidly declining heft and importance of NAM was evident from the fact that out of
the total of 120 countries, just around 10 were represented by senior leadership of
Presidents, Vice Presidents and Prime Ministers of their countries. This was partly a
reflection of the reduced clout of the host country because of its economic decline and the
political challenges.

 It will however be incongruous to write off the movement. In addition to the substantive
issues that it discusses and debates, all of which are extremely significant and relevant to
peace, security, stability and prosperity of the world, an important advantage of the summit

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gatherings is the opportunity it provides to leaders of the movement to meet and

confabulate with each other on issues of bilateral, regional and international concern.

 India should hence continue to engage actively with the Movement and derive maximum
benefit possible for itself and members of the grouping by articulating its views on major
issues of international concern and interest.

Is NAM a relic of the Cold War?

1. Those who say the NAM is a relic of the Cold War must also acknowledge that a new Cold War is
beginning to unfold, this time between the US and China. As the conflict between the world’s two
most important powers envelops all dimensions of international society, India has every reason to
try and preserve some political space in between the two .
2. In the last few years, Delhi paid lip-service to the NAM but devoted a lot of diplomatic energy to
forums like BRICS. Given the Russian and Chinese leadership of BRICS, Delhi inevitably began to
tamely echo the international positions of Moscow and Beijing rather than represent voices of the
Global South.
3. As a nation seeking to become an independent pole in global affairs, India could do more with
forums like the NAM in mobilising support on issues of interest to Delhi.
4. An independent Indian line backed by strong support within the NAM can make a big difference to
the outcomes of the impending contentions at the World Health Assembly later this month on
reviewing the WHO’s performance during the COVID crisis.

Question of relevance of NAM

Has NAM become irrelevant?

ASHOK SAJJANHAR

 17th summit of non-aligned countries in the Venezuelan island of Margarita this is only the
second time that the Indian Prime Minister has not participated in the Summit, the last occasion
being in 1979 when the then caretaker Prime Minister Charan Singh decided to give it a miss.

As far as India is concerned

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 Philosophy of “Non Alignment” lays emphasis on strategic independence and autonomy,

 Ideology of “Non Alignment” seeks to take a collective position on challenges faced by the
developing world.
 The essential fundamentals of Non Alignment were enunciated by Nehru in the early 1950s and
were encapsulated in the Bandung Declaration in Indonesia in 1955.

India - NAM – some bitter experiences

 India’s experience of the Non-Aligned Movement was disappointing as the Group decided to
take an equidistant position in India’s 1962 war with China, in the 1965 war with Pakistan and
in India’s 1974 peaceful nuclear explosion.
 India has however felt it useful to continue to support and actively engage with the Movement
because it has provided a high profile and strong voice to India in international fora and affairs.

Flawed assumptions about NAM

 Non-alignment has not been in the vocabulary of Prime Minister Modi. He has been on a quest
for selective alignments to suit his needs for India’s development and security.
 His advisers have now begun to rationalise India’s distancing from NAM. One argument is that
NAM did not have any binding principles and that it was a marriage of convenience among
disparate countries. This argument arises from the narrow, literary interpretation of non-
alignment.
 Many commentators had felt, right from the beginning, that the word ‘non-alignment’
conveyed the wrong notion that it was not aligning with the power blocs and that the be-all and
end-all of non-alignment was to remain unaligned.
 But the quintessence of non-alignment was freedom of judgment and action and it remained
valid, whether there was one bloc or two. Seen in that context, non-military alliances can also
be within the ambit of non-alignment, which was subsequently characterised as ‘strategic
autonomy’. In other words, India does not have to denounce non-alignment to follow its
present foreign policy.

NAM countries did not come to our help on any of the critical occasions
 Another argument being heard is that NAM countries did not come to our help on any of the
critical occasions when India needed solidarity, such as the Chinese aggression in 1962 or the
Bangladesh war in 1971.
 Even in the latest struggle against terror, NAM has not come to assist India in any way.
 But the whole philosophy of NAM is that it remains united on larger global issues, even if does
not side with a member on a specific issue.
 India itself has followed this approach, whenever the members had problems with others either
inside or outside the movement.
 NAM positions have always been the reflection of the lowest common denominator in any
given situation.

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Pranab Mukherjee, India’s former External Affairs Minister spoke on the contemporary
relevance of NAM in terms of North-South Dialogue, South-South cooperation and new
international economic order. He said, “NAM members, mostly developing countries have a
voice in almost all international matters; have been playing a very active role in international
organisations like UN.”

The 55-year-old Non-Aligned Movement, a once powerful bloc of independent nations, is dying
and nobody is sending flowers. ---HARSH V. PANT

“The Non-Aligned principles are today more relevant than ever.”

----Venezuelan Foreign Minister

Views of S. Jaishankar MEA GoI.

 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in Baku ( 2019 ) for the

ministerial meeting, said, “The world today has moved on
from what the NAM founding leaders faced in Bandung in
1955. The scales of global geo-political balance have shifted,
and continue to do so, propelled by forces of globalisation
and transformational technological progress. Long-held S. Jaishankar
assumption and alignments rooted in the legacies of
colonialism and the ideology of the Cold War are making way
for new configurations and partnerships.”

 Jaishankar also said, “We must reform and revitalise the current arrangements and working
methods of our Movement, to allow us to pursue a positive and forward looking agenda. At the
same time, we must guard against attempts to divide us and to misuse multilateral platforms to
further narrow interests.”

 In sum, he said, “a democratic, effective, flexible, credible, transparent and representative,

multilateral order – “reformed multilateralism”, if you will – is a 21st century imperative”
 He also said that terrorism is the single biggest threat not only to international peace and
security, but also to development. “No cause justifies the indiscriminate killing of innocents as a
means of achieving a political goal. The growing linkages between terrorist groups and cross-
border operations including terror financing networks, and the spread of hateful ideologies
through modern communication technologies have left no country untouched by this scourge,”
he said.

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 “As a group whose citizens stand to lose the most, our collective actions must match our words.
Our fight against terrorism has to be fought collectively and across all fronts. The international
community cannot afford selective approaches or double standards on this issue,” he said.

“Blocs and alliances are less relevant today and the world is moving towards a
loosely arranged order,” -- S. Jaishankar

Non-Aligned Movement in The 21st Century: Relevant or No?

NAM’s steadily growing membership

One can believe that the movement can never lose relevance till the sovereign state system exists;
NAM’s steadily growing membership- maintaining its schedule of periodic meetings is perhaps another
supporting stance. Those who doubt its pertinence must first contemplate why what began with a
membership of 25 is able to uphold 2/3 of the total membership of the world community today?

NAM’s efforts barely go noticed

 NAM’s support for the cause of Puerto Rico and Western Sahara Self Determination before
UN since 1960-70s, brings into limelight its urge to achieve a New International Economic Order
and democratisation of the international system, which barely goes noticed.
 The movement receives criticism with regards to globalisation, donor conditionality, decline in
foreign aid, lack of democracy and modernisation, neocons constantly fail to analyze
organisation’s efforts trying to appeal for the protection of cultural diversity and the tolerance
of sociocultural, religious, and historical peculiarities defining human rights, especially for the
well-being of member states with poor human rights records like Syria and Egypt.

NAM: What about the UN’s inefficiency in dealing with certain issues?

 The aforementioned remark holds particularly true as the movement collaborated with G77 and
formed joint committees to represent the shared interests of both the groups, where NAM
countries also made clear their unanimous position on various hotspot issues, including an
appeal for stopping Israel settlement activities on Palestinian territories, ending the economic
embargo against Cuba and immediate restoration of the ousted Honduran President.

 Thus, if NAM is invalidated based on some omissions, how would critics vindicate UN’s
inefficiency to deal with historic issues like Kashmir dispute, Israel’s ethnic cleansing, Yemen civil
war, Rohingya Crisis, Rwandan crisis, and the Syrian Civil war?

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 The emergence of a unipolar world has led to serious economic and political repercussions. This
is because it has widened the wealth gap between rich and poor which is resulting into war,
exploitation, disease and poverty- a crisis further calling out for a common strategy to adjust the
terms of dialogue for global negotiations, while integrating social, economic and developmental
aspects.

 The only possible way for such unification lies in the solidarity amongst NAM member nations to
take up a strong stand as the biggest representatives of the developing world with the potential
to pressurise even the international society!

Need of the hour: NAM’s revitalisation and not abandonment

 It would thus be wrong to question the significance of a long-lasting movement like NAM, sui
generis in its purpose of serving the national interest of member nations and promoting the
cause of humanity. ‘The need of the hour is to call out for NAM’s revitalisation for it to be able
to cater to the 21st Century needs of Third World countries more efficiently,’ India’s current
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu points out.

 That being said, it would be surprising to note India’s work on NAM 2.0: A Foreign and Strategic
Policy for India in the 21st Century- as an attempt to refine the country’s foreign policy with an
amalgamation of ‘soft’ and ‘hard power’ so that either could be applied with full confidence.

 On a closing note, each member nation, scholar and civilian must come forward and contribute
to the success of NAM 2.0 so that South-South Development gets the acceptance and
appreciation it deserves. My message in response to the neocons pulling our morale down is
“People throw stones at you and you convert them into milestones” – Sachin Tendulkar.

Is NAM a movement in coma ?

 It is no secret that NAM has long stopped being a major foreign policy priority for India.
 The irrelevance of NAM was perhaps foretold at its very founding in 1961. Contrary to the image
of a cohesive movement seeking to challenge the dominance of the imperialist powers, it was
hard to find agreement among the founding leaders on the purpose and objectives of NAM.
 It was not the end of the Cold War that made the NAM irrelevant. The movement was
dysfunctional well before that. It was never really possible to harmonise the economic and
political interests of so many different countries.
 If the rhetoric of the 1970s papered over the internal contradictions, the 1980s mercilessly
exposed them; the NAM has not recovered since.
 For most countries its only diplomatic utility lies in bringing their particular national issues to the
fore in a large international gathering. It’s no surprise then India was so focused on getting its
concerns about cross-border terrorism from Pakistan heard at the summit.

NAM and Covid-19

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This was the first time Modi participated in a NAM summit — he had become the first Indian Prime
Minister to skip the NAM summit in 2016 and in 2019 too.
 “NAM should call upon the international community and
the WHO to focus on building health-capacity in
developing countries. We should ensure equitable ,
affordable and timely access to health products and
technologies for all,”
 The NAM leaders announced creation of a task force to
identify requirements of member countries through a
common database reflecting their basic medical, social and
humanitarian needs in the fight against COVID-19.
 Calling it the “most serious crisis” humanity has faced in PM Modi in NAM virtual Summit amid Covid-19
decades, Modi underlined that at this time, NAM can help
promote global solidarity. “NAM has often been the world’s moral voice. To retain this role,
NAM must remain inclusive.”
 He added that COVID-19 has shown limitations of the existing international system. In the
post-COVID world, a new template of globalisation, based on fairness, equality, and humanity is
needed, he said. “We need international institutions that are more representative of today’s
world.”
 The online NAM Contact Group Summit on “United against COVID-19” was hosted by current
NAM Chairman and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev.

Importance of NAM for India in 21st century

T.P. Sreenivasan
All said and done, the golden age in India’s foreign policy was in the first 15 years after Independence,
when NAM provided a constituency for India because of our non-violent victory over the British and the
leadership it provided to the newly independent countries. Our problems were different from the small
and impoverished nations that thronged the movement, but Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision and
statesmanship inspired them.
 We did not seek to resolve our problems through the machinery of dispute resolution in NAM,
but actively assisted those who sought such assistance. India led the NAM effort to resolve the
Iran-Iraq dispute.
 As expected, political issues continued to engage NAM and we benefitted from its activism
occasionally.
 In fact, it was through NAM that we operated to counter the efforts to expand the UN Security
Council by including just Germany and Japan as permanent members. NAM submitted its own
proposal and ensured that no quick fix was permitted.
 The very informal nature of NAM permits members to operate individually.
 It also has the facility of members reserving their positions, as we did on the non-proliferation
positions of NAM. Our new nearness to the U.S. is not a red rag in NAM and our ability to be
helpful in formulating U.S. policies gives us an advantage.
 No NAM country may agree to isolate Pakistan, but the NAM forum will be an effective
instrument to project our anti-terrorist sentiments.
 NAM is particularly important in elections at the UN, including the possible identification of
new permanent members of the Security Council.

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 The NAM position may not be decisive, but in the normal process of consultations, every
grouping will get its own weightage and it is convenient to have a lobby behind us.

“ NAM is a heritage we need not discard “

A Rediscovery of Non-Alignment and Quad

C. RAJA MOHAN

 Why is a low-key meeting between officials from four nations — India, US,
Japan and Australia — taking place after a gap of 10 years drawing so much
attention? After all, India has joined so many mini-lateral forums since the end
of the Cold War. That America is a big part of the quad provides a partial
answer.
 Although Indian officials have been sitting down with their American and
Japanese counterparts for some years now, the quad comes amidst the
growing Chinese unilateralism in Asia. India did much the same when it sought
to hedge against America’s unipolar moment by forming a political triad with
Russia and China that later became the BRICS to include Brazil and South
Africa. C Raja Mohan

 If the explicit purpose of the triad was to promote a “multipolar world”, the quad has the big
task of preventing the emergence of a “unipolar Asia” dominated by China. But compared to the
BRICS, which convenes annual summits and makes such big moves as creating new international
financial institutions, the quad has a long way to go. It is also useful to remember the quad was
formed a decade ago and disbanded soon after.

 BRICS issues long joint statements on all contemporary issues. After their meeting in Manila, the
quad officials did not put out a collective version of the deliberations. They issued separate
national statements. If you are a foreign policy geek, you might find a nuanced variation in the
emphases.

 All the renewed quad did this week was to identify their shared interests on promoting
connectivity, countering terrorism, addressing proliferation of nuclear weapons, and encourage
respect for international law.

 It will be a while before they move towards effective actions on the ground. Meanwhile, the
foreign ministers of India, China and Russia are gathering in Delhi next month. That should rule
out much of the apprehensions of the quad as an “alliance to contain China”. None of the four
countries are interested in containment. In fact, the US, Japan and Australia have much deeper
economic and political ties with China than India.

 That India is open to both the quad and triad suggests not the construction of new alliances,
but Delhi’s return to the original conception of non-alignment. The persistent Indian anxieties

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on the quad are not about the high principle of strategic autonomy. They reflect the entrenched
political distrust of America that expresses itself on any issue involving partnership with the US
— whether it was the multilateral nuclear initiative, mini-lateral regional coordination through
the quad, or the bilateral defence framework.

 Contrary to the popular view, distrust of America was not written into independent India’s DNA.
India’s founding fathers did not define non-alignment as “anti-Americanism”. That distortion
was a product of the 1970s. As US-India relations deteriorated and domestic politics drifted
towards left-wing populism, a new dogma emerged. It decreed that working with Soviet Russia
was “progressive” and cooperation with America meant “surrendering national sovereignty”.
In utter perversity, “non-alignment” was interpreted as “aligning” with Soviet Russia.

 But this framework could not have survived without some correspondence with the new
balance of power system that emerged around India. It was based on the deterioration of Sino-
Indian relations after the 1962 war, breakdown of the socialist solidarity between Soviet Union
and China, Sino-American rapprochement, and the Indo-Soviet entente. If America and China
drew closer to Pakistan, Delhi tied up with Moscow.

 This system began to slowly unravel after the Cold War ended. In the new era, conflict among
the major powers ebbed. India opened up its economy to globalisation and Western capital and
technology. Restoration of cooperation with America became central to the recalibration of
India’s foreign policy since the 1990s.

 If America has become more empathetic since then to India’s concerns on terrorism, Kashmir
and global nuclear order, a rising China has turned hostile. To make matters worse, tensions on
the disputed Sino-Indian border have become more frequent and intense. Moscow, which once
helped India balance China, is now in a tight embrace with Beijing.

 The proposition that India must tilt to one side, towards Russia and China, and keep distance
from America is a legacy from the 1970s. It does not square with contemporary reality. Russia
and China, which are both eager to cut separate deals with America, can’t demand a veto over
Delhi’s ties to Washington.

 The original conception of non-alignment was about building strong ties with all the major
powers and making independent judgements about international affairs. In what was described
as “suckling from two cows”, Delhi benefited immensely from simultaneous cooperation with
Washington and Moscow in the 1950s and 1960s.

 Discarding the ambiguities inherited from the 1970s, Delhi now appears ready to expand
cooperation with the West or East on the basis of enlightened self-interest. If the quad helps
India improve its ability to defeat terrorism, improve regional connectivity and extend its its
naval reach, Delhi is not going to thumb its nose. If China is ready to cooperate on terrorism and
stop blocking India’s rise, Delhi will be happy explore the multiple possibilities with Beijing. If
this is not non-alignment we really don’t know what is.

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Evolution of International Economic System

Syllabus
Evolution of the International Economic System: From Brettonwoods to WTO; Socialist economies and the
CMEA (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance); Third World demand for new international economic order;
Globalisation of the world economy.

Past year UPSC questions

1. How would you describe the contemporary words beyond the language of ‘North/South’ and
‘Developed/Developing’? Is the present transformation driven by domestic compulsion, or external
overall crisis of the global economy?
2. Identify the major changes in the International Political economy in post Cold War period.
3. Identify the role and place of Gender in the global economy.
4. Sketch the journey of global political economy from Washington consensus to the present.
5. How far are the world governance mechanisms, dominated by IMF and world bank, legitimate and
relevant? What measures do you suggest to improve their effectiveness in global governance?
6. "The IMF, World Bank, G-7, GATT and other structures are designed to serve the interests of TNCs,
banks and investment firms in a 'new imperial age'." Substantiate with examples of governance of
new world order.

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Evolution of the International Economic System

Introduction

 The concept of cosmopolitanism and liberal nationalism has made substantial inroads into the
sovereignty. The traditional conception that a sovereign is one who can do whatever pleases
him does not hold true anymore as developments at the international sphere has curtailed
there powers in more than one way. These developments can however also be attributed to the
rise of some global institutions starting right from the United Nations Organisation.
 There is a very contentious argument that freedom of states never means the political freedom
because politics does not give anything to the poor or help them feed themselves. It can never
be however argued that political freedom can be done away with, but the argument is that
economic freedom is also very important and any country can never be said termed free in the
real sense of the word as long is not economically free.
 Juxtaposing this rise of the international institutions more particularly the International
Financial Institutions with that of the economic freedom which in turn leads to political
freedom, there are quite a few contentious issues that confront us.
 The rise of these institutions immediately after the Second World War and their steady rise have
led to changes in the global power equations. The change in the global scenario in past 70 years
can hardly be undermined and thus the working policies of these institutions also required
changes in their policy making; whether they have done it again a question that needs to be
looked at.
 The most affected parties of these global economic transactions have been the third world
countries; whether these transactions have made them better off or worse off is also a question
that beckons answers.
 A very important and that can also be the most important concern in such a situation is the
governing and the subsequent policy making of these institutions. While some of these
institutions are a direct offshoot of the United Nations which is a political body, there are other
institutions which are in a way insulated from the UNO and thus supposedly out of the political
influences but again the question arises if it is really so.

What is New International Economic Order?

The New International Economic Order (NIEO) represents an alternative worldview of the global political
economy to emerge during the 1970s. More specifically, this worldview included a reconsideration of
existing relationships, structures, and processes that were dominant in the global political economy of
that time, and advocated for the universal integration of classical liberalism in the global economy.

The main tenets of NIEO were:

1. Developing countries must be entitled to regulate and control the activities of multinational
corporations operating within their territory.
2. They must be free to nationalize or expropriate foreign property on conditions favourable to
them.

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3. They must be free to set up associations of primary commodities producers similar to the OPEC;
all other States must recognize this right and refrain from taking economic, military, or political
measures calculated to restrict it.
4. International trade should be based on the need to ensure stable, equitable,
and remunerative prices for raw materials, generalized non-reciprocal and non-
discriminatory tariff preferences, as well as transfer of technology to developing countries; and
should provide economic and technical assistance without any strings attached.
5. Creating a more cooperative negotiating climate between developed and developing countries,
and streamlining the global bargaining process by reducing the total number of participants
involved

Background and genesis of Global financial system

 The post-World War-II institutions of global governance, the United Nations and the Bretton
Woods twins, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (IBRD or World Bank as it is now generally known), were
conceived of , structured and managed by the victors of the war, most prominently by the
United States.
 The Bretton Woods institutions were structured to manage the global market and the
financial economy. The I.M.F administered a regime of fixed exchange rates with reference to
the US Dollar.
The IBRD became the channel for funding the reconstruction efforts of the war-ravaged
European economies.
 At a later stage in 1947, the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) was established to
manage international trade flows. The Soviet Union as a socialist, planned and non-market
economy did not participate in these institutions and remained outside, until the successor
state, Russia, became member of the I.M.F and World Bank in 1992.
 After the initial focus on economic rehabilitation and recovery of the war ravaged economies of
Western allies, the I.M.F and World Bank turned their attention to the economic development
of newly developing countries.
 The post war global terrain eventually came to be dominated by two over-arching and, at
several points, intersecting divides :
1. An East-West divide between a US led alliance of non-Communist countries, but with
free market Western democracies at its core and a Soviet Union led alliance of Socialist
countries, with the Warsaw Pact of East European countries at its core .
2. A North-South divide bringing an affluent West into an unequal confrontation with the
newly independent, but poor and developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America,
with the South generally rejecting taking sides in the East-West ideological and security
“Cold War”.

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Global Political Economy

Global Political Economy

 Global political economy is a field of study that deals with the interaction between political and
economic forces. At its centre have always been questions of human welfare and how these
might be related to state behaviour and corporate interests in different parts of the world.
Despite this, major approaches in the field have often focused more on the international system
perspective. A side effect of this has been the relative neglect of non-elites and an all-too-often
missing recognition of ordinary individuals.
 While states remain central to international politics, they have gradually intensified their
relations with multinational corporations and strengthened their engagement with international
organisations. Naturally, these changes in the world around us have led to a certain rethinking
of the way we understand and position individuals as actors in the global economy.
 To account for this, many scholars now prefer to use the term ‘global political economy’ (GPE)
over the more traditional term ‘international political economy’ (IPE). Although both terms are
often used interchangeably, using the word ‘global’ is important as it indicates a wider scope in
political economy that reaches beyond relations between states.
 There are various approaches to global political economy but to better understand Global
financial institutions, their present role and their impact on global economy and politics in
context of globalization today we need to focus on understanding Liberal approach to Global
political economy.

Liberal approach

 Markets are not just abstract constructs that settle demand and supply for goods through a
specific price, as economists would make us believe. Markets are, and always have been, much
more. They are social phenomena embedded in broader communities and directly connected
with deliberate forms of state action.
 As a consequence, economic, social and political life is always interconnected. It leads inevitably
to a severe disruption of the social fabric in different countries. This disruption can occur
because of rising levels of income inequality (why some are paid more than others), foreign
takeovers of companies, or fundamental disagreement on what needs to be done during
economic recessions to prevent social decay.
 The early heroes of the liberal approach were Adam Smith and David Ricardo. Smith argued in
favour of government non-interference and the superiority of market exchanges guided by the
‘invisible hand’ of the price mechanism. This is a process whereby consumers seek the best
quality for the lowest price and this, in turn, compels successful producers to find the lowest-
cost method of production.
 Ricardo explicitly added the gains deriving from a system of free trade built around the principle
of comparative advantage. Accordingly, ‘under a system of perfectly free commerce, each

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country naturally devotes its capital and labour to such employments as are most beneficial to
each’.
 And, ‘this pursuit of individual advantage is admirably connected with the universal good of the
whole’. From this point, international trade liberalisation has been seen as a useful mechanism
allocating labour to its most productive uses allowing in turn a much greater consumption of
goods than what would be possible in the absence of such a system.
 Taking these arguments into the modern era, if governments across the world de-regulated
economic activity, cut taxes for the wealthy, privatised and contracted out traditional state
services, then unprecedented levels of economic growth would follow. By allowing the free
movement of capital, many more people can benefit from high levels of direct investment even
if employees are less mobile and more tied to a particular workplace.
 Thus, in the modern liberal world view, often called neoliberalism, governments are expected to
be active promoters and supporters of globalisation. Only left-leaning liberals, by contrast,
recognise the increasingly global division of labour as responsible for rising levels of inequality.
 What unifies liberal thinking in terms of global economics is an analytical inclusion of a variety of
state and non-state actors that form relationships of mutual dependence. Therefore, the
historical focus of one country being dependent on another due to a surplus in a vital
commodity, like oil or gas, has gradually given way to a much more complex understanding.
 This does not mean that the classic interaction between states has become obsolete, rather that
it is enriched by including and explicitly recognising an ever-increasing number of other
international actors such as those explored in chapters five, six and seven.
 Hence, the policies of one international or regional organisation may rely on the policies of
another. This has been the case with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund
in the management of the 2008 global financial crisis as they adopted joint programmes to assist
states such as Ireland.


Bretton Woods System

The World Bank Group’s Role in Global Development

 The World Bank Group is a family of five multilateral institutions focused on economic
development whose overarching mission is global poverty reduction. Established by Western
powers in 1944, the World Bank was originally tasked with rebuilding the economies of
postwar Europe. More than seventy years later, it has expanded its reach into nearly all of the
world’s developing countries. Today the bank maintains more than 2,600 projects.
 By tradition, an American has always led the bank, leading some observers to argue that the
institution, which largely serves the developing world, is too dominated by the West.
 David Malpass suggest the bank has outlived its usefulness altogether, citing the increase in
private capital flows available to developing countries.
 Supporters of the bank contend that it contributes to global economic development as an
arbiter of best practices.

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Bretton Woods
 The World Bank, along with its sister organization, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was
created at the Bretton Woods Conference in New Hampshire in 1944. The Allied powers, led by
the United States and the United Kingdom, sought to restore European prosperity and prevent
a recurrence of the economic malaise of the 1920s and 1930s, which helped fuel the rise of
totalitarianism.
 The IMF, which by tacit agreement would be led by a European, was charged with managing the
global regime of exchange rates and balance of payments. The World Bank, to be led by an
American, would provide member countries with postwar reconstruction loans. While the IMF
would focus on “firefighting” immediate macroeconomic problems, the World Bank would
concentrate on the longer task of development.
 In recent decades, the bank’s primary focus has shifted from partnering with middle-income
nations on growth-related programs and trade liberalization toward global poverty alleviation.
These efforts take place in the world’s poorest countries—particularly those in Africa—and
in middle-income countries, such as China and India, where many of the world’s poor reside.
 In 2013, the bank set a goal to end extreme poverty, experienced by people living on $1.25 or
less per day, by 2030. Other priorities for the bank include reconstruction in post-conflict
nations and transnational issues, including public health and environmental concerns.

Organization and Operations

 The World Bank Group is composed of five separate institutions: the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the
International Finance Corporation, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, and the
International Center for Settlement of
Investment Disputes. Each of these
agencies is owned and operated as a
cooperative by its member countries.
 Together, the IBRD and the IDA are
commonly referred to as the World Bank.
The bank’s six largest shareholders—out of
its 189 members—were the United States,
Japan, China, Germany, France, and the
United Kingdom.
 Ultimate policymaking authority at the
bank rests with the board of governors,
mostly made up of senior finance or development officials from member countries. The board of
governors, in turn, delegates certain powers to the board of directors, which is composed of
twenty-five executives and the World Bank’s president.
 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The IBRD was established in 1944
as the World Bank’s charter institution. Through loans, guarantees, and other services, the IBRD
works with middle-income and creditworthy low-income nations to fight poverty. Projects span
the globe and vary from digitizing health systems in Belarus to reducing air pollution in Colombia
to generating solar power in Pakistan.
 The International Development Association. As a complement to the IBRD, the IDA was
established in 1960 to promote broad-based development work in the world’s poorest countries
by offering interest-free credits and grants. The IDA currently has programs in sixty-nine

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countries, of which thirty-seven are in Africa, with a focus on education, health, and sustainable
environmental practices.

Criticism of the ‘Washington Consensus

 The World Bank, like the IMF, has been the subject of much criticism over the years. In his 2006
book, The White Man’s Burden, former World Bank economist William Easterly delivers a broad
indictment of Western efforts at poverty reduction. “The plan to end world poverty shows all
the pretensions of utopian social engineering,” he writes. The bank’s attempts to rapidly
impose free markets on developing countries in the 1980s and 1990s, known as economic
“shock therapy,” produced a “record of failure” in Latin America, Africa, and former Soviet
countries, Easterly writes, saying client nations would be better served by homegrown,
piecemeal reforms.
 Joseph Stiglitz, one of the most vocal critics of the World Bank, resigned from his position as the
institution’s chief economist in 1999, criticizing the bank’s advocacy of what he calls free-market
fundamentalism for many developing countries.
 Stiglitz argued the economic reforms the IMF and World Bank often required as conditions for
their lending—the so-called Washington Consensus of fiscal austerity, high interest rates, trade
liberalization, privatization, and open capital markets—have often been counterproductive for
target economies and devastating for their populations. In particular, he links indiscriminate
lending conditionality to the onset of financial crises in East Asia in 1997 and Argentina in
1999.

Post-conflict Success Stories

 The World Bank is, at the same time, revered by many as the preeminent brain trust in
development economics. “You could certainly find brilliant development economists outside the
Bank,” writes CFR’s Sebastian Mallaby in his book The World’s Banker, but “nobody could
match the Bank’s concentration of talent.” As a result, he says, the bank’s annual World
Development Report often establishes the accepted wisdom on any given development topic.

 The World Bank has had several successful interventions, in the estimation of many observers.
For Mallaby, the 1995 experience in Bosnia was a particular victory for the bank, which
demonstrated its ability to move quickly into post-crisis reconstruction. He writes, “Bosnia came
to suggest a route out of the Bank’s deepest long-term difficulty”: that its slow-moving
bureaucracy might alienate big clients—namely China, India, Brazil, and South Africa—that
increasingly have access to private capital markets.

 In The World Bank: Its First Half Century, Mahn-Je Kim offers the bank’s multi-decade
involvement in South Korea as another triumph. The World Bank provided almost half of South
Korea’s public funding in the high-growth years of the 1970s and 1980s. “Among the institutions
and nations that provided public loans to Korea,” he writes, “the Bank was the most important.”
He adds that the bank helped transfer valuable management techniques and was “critical” in
the country’s ability to access other sources of foreign financing.

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The Rise of Alternatives

 Some critics question whether there is still a niche for the World Bank in the modern
architecture of global finance, particularly given the increasingly global nature of private capital
flows and the ascendance of large emerging economies such as the BRICS—Brazil, Russia, India,
China, and South Africa.

 Jessica Einhorn writes “The financial markets of today bear virtually no similarity to those of
1944,” “The [World Bank] was created to provide credit to its member countries, and in those
days, that credit was often the only kind available to them. Those days are over.”

 Benn Steil argued that this financial reality has led some to recommend that the bank narrow
its focus to countries that lack access to private markets. “If the World Bank wants to have a
significant role on the lending side, it’s going to have to be in the poorest of the poor countries
or war-torn countries where the private sector has been effectively scared off,”

 Former World Bank President Robert Zoellick has offered a different take. “There is a view in
some quarters in developed countries that the Bank should work with the poorest countries and
not with developing countries. I’m an adamant opponent of that view,”, “If you believe in a
multilateral system then India and Brazil are going to
become more important over time and we need to
draw from their knowledge and, in time, their finances.”

 Nevertheless, the subsequent creation of the BRICS’s

New Development Bank and the China-led Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have presented
developing countries with alternatives to the Bretton
Woods institutions.

 Rebecca Liao, a China analyst, writes that the AIIB “was

born out of two main grievances about the World Bank”
that developing nations shared.
1. First, developing countries have long complained about the conditionality of
World Bank loans and have cast their terms as onerous.
2. Second, emerging markets—China in particular—have been frustrated with
their relative lack of influence at the World Bank and the IMF.

 Liao writes, “As the economies of these countries grew in the last 30 years, their voting
powers within both organizations remained flat.”

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“There is a view in some quarters in developed countries that the Bank should work
with the poorest countries and not with developing countries. I’m an adamant
opponent of that view.”

Robert Zoellick, Former World Bank President

 Jim Yong Kim’s 2012 election as World Bank president exemplified this second complaint. Kim
defeated candidates from Colombia and Nigeria—it was the first time that the board of
governors even considered more than one candidate—despite his comparatively thin
background in economics.

 At the time, the Economist wrote that the tradition of having an American lead the World
Bank and a European the IMF “has persisted because it has not been worth picking a fight over,”
but that Kim’s relative inexperience “gives others the chance to insist on the best candidate, not
simply the American one.” Despite pointed complaints from many within the bank , the board
unanimously appointed Kim to a second term in September 2016.

 Kim’s sudden resignation in January 2019, nearly three years before the end of his term, and
President Donald J. Trump’s subsequent nomination of U.S. Treasury undersecretary David
Malpass to lead the bank, again highlighted these tensions.

 Malpass, had been a critic of the World Bank. He had argued that it (World Bank) has grown
too large and redundant, since it continues to lend to countries with access to plenty of other
lending resources, such as China and Brazil. Nevertheless, no challengers to Malpass’s
candidacy emerged, and he was unanimously approved by the board. Malpass began his tenure
as the thirteenth World Bank president on April 9, 2019.

 Thomas Bollyky argues “To increase its legitimacy, the bank should reform its voting
structure and adopt a competitive election process. “

World Bank defending itself as a Bank of Ideas

The World Bank argues that it has a number of comparative advantages over other institutions:
1. A global presence,
2. A repository of best practices,
3. Financial acumen,
4. Leadership in global public goods, and
5. An established role as an international development catalyst.

According to Vikram Nehru, a former World Bank chief economist for East Asia, while the bank has
always represented a tiny share of public investment in most countries, its strength comes from
leveraging its lending with ideas. For instance, he says, China has used the bank to finance a host of
small projects with the sole intention of learning best practices.

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Roles of international financial institutions

Roles of international financial institutions

 The traditional objectives of some of these institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF
entail elevation of poverty in developing countries, enhancing measures that promote economic
growth and protection of the environment.

 Other institutions like the EBRD have come up with a special role of fostering transition of its
operations to cover the open market economies by raising the living standards of those involved
with borrowing through enlightening and expanding their rights as well as guiding in their
primary choices.

 In line with the World Bank reports (2002), currently, the financial institutions are face up to
fostering development through expansion of the private sector opportunities of developing
economic goals. They have to ensure the poor participate in activities supporting
environmentally sustainable growth.

 The institutions can ensure this growth by assisting the governments’ role of creating the
conditions necessary for market-orientation towards the achievements and by being
participants in investing.

 They ought to work with the private sectors to expand to become participating investors in the
private sectors by improving the flow of working capital. Generally, the role fosters the tradition
role of stabilizing the macroeconomic firms as well as ensuring provision of the required
physical, legal and authoritarian infrastructure.

 In collaborating with the private sectors, the financial institutions are obliged to think like them
by subject to the dynamics of opportunities in the market. They thus meet the challenges of
enhancing creativity and flexibility to respond to market needs efficiently.

 They have a crucial role in coming up with operational principals for well-run institutions. They
aim to expand the private sectors; therefore they should stay clear of those activities that the

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segments are in a good position to handle and instead engage in activities that make an
immense contribution to the transitional process of economic growth.

 They have the role of engaging other financial institutions to assist in placing down the funding
required for a chosen investment. This is a vital role in the transition process and the
achievement of a broader perspective for development.

 Today the financial institutions have the role of funding the building of other financial
institutions in the local markets. This is a measure to strengthen their capital base through
investing in projects offering broad perspectives.

 There is an urgent need for well functioning monetary branches to fulfill the role played by the
financial lending institutions in fulfilling the market economies. They act as intermediaries to
collect savings and invest them in the aim of commanding hard budgetary allocations into the
economic recovery endeavors that enhance development.

 One of the traditional roles played by the financial institution entails financing of efficient
infrastructure. The constraints experienced on most of the budgetary allocations means that
further commercially oriented investments are required for enhancing access to the private
financial sectors. Relevant markets disciplines ought to strengthen control of costs and minimize
risks as a measure of providing revenue as a discipline introduced by the financial institutions
today.

The IMF and the WB policies in the context of the globalization of the contemporary economy

The IMF and the WB policies in the context of the globalization of the contemporary economy

As shown in the last 20 years, globalization has brought to the countries of the world more
disadvantages than advantages. For example:

 Unfair distribution of benefits of globalization, the number of losers being greater than
the number of winners;
 Undermining the national sovereignty by passing the control of national economies of
the countries from the hands of governments in the hands of powerful states, global
corporations and international organizations;
 Deepening regional and global instability as a result of economic crisis transmission from
one country to another.

The IMF and the WB group are notorious international financial-monetary authorities, built on the basis
of global-scale concession, called to govern the dynamics and balance of the international financial
monetary system.

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The lack of cohesion in the political decisions worldwide and the difficulty of the global cooperation
approach given by the heterogeneity of the actors involved led the two organisms to go further and
further from the reason of their creation, arriving by the end of the 20th century not just outside the
dialogue with the system of the United Nations, but also outside the dialogue with parallel organisms
and even with its own members.

The institution of the International Monetary Fund was created in 1945 through the provisions of the
Bretton Woods agreement, as a specialized financial-monetary organism of the United Nations System,
responsible at first for the good functioning of the Gold Exchange Standard.

The main responsibilities assumed by its status refer to:

1. The promotion of an international monetary cooperation and the goal of assuring a

harmonious evolution in the international trade;
2. The promotion of a stable exchange rate system, while respecting the engagements
assumed by its members;
3. Permanent assistance concerning the establishment and the coherent functioning of the
multilateral payment system established among its members;
4. Maintaining the climate of trust in the policies of the institution, by permanently
availing temporary resources to the members in order to balance the current balances
of payments;
5. Preventing and diminishing the negative effects determined by the unbalances able to
affect the fund members’ international balances of payments.

 The IMF’s main functions concern the specific processes of cooperation, assistance, information,
supervision and intervention concerning the institutions of the international monetary-financial
system.

 Gradually, as both of these institutions (IMF and WB) got involved increasingly and steadily in
finding solutions to reduce the debts of the developing countries, their activities partially
overlapped.

 So, in time, the World Bank shifted its attention from financing projects to the program for
economic reform; the IMF gave more attention to the structural reform along with its
traditional activity concerning the adjustment of the balance of payments.

 So, the main directions of action of the two institutions refer to the mechanisms of
macroeconomic stabilization and to their direct involvement in international economic
problems.

 The confusions related to the delimitation of responsibilities between IMF and the World Bank
until 1999 are notorious. Following the IMF’s repeated failures to stabilize the crisis in SE Asia
(1997) and the crisis in Russia (1998), the specialized political economic forums have drawn an
alarm signal about the mismanagement of their responsibilities, considering at a certain
moment even the choice of their dissolution.

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 The insufficient or even defective involvement of these two international organisms into the
global problems has drawn criticism and reform recommendations. The IMF is called to
support - from the position of analyst and consultant - the macroeconomic condition in relation
to the quality of the monetary regime and the structure of the balance of national payments
from the perspective of the monetary and budgetary policy of its member states.

 The IMF is criticized for its market fundamentalism and the absolutization of its monetary
network, the administrative recipe for all the countries with different problems that have
appealed to the financial aid instruments. The IMF has given more attention to the aspects
related to inflation, balance of payments, exchange rate policies, neglecting the aspects related
to the real political, economical and social indicators.

 Today, the developing countries no longer trust the policies and the strategies of the
international institutions. It has been noticed that the countries that assumed eventual
sanctions by acting against the measures required by the IMF managed to rehabilitate their
economy much faster (e.g.: Malaysia), compared to other countries that were technically
subordinated to the monetarist networks of the IMF.

 The financial crisis of Asia (1997-1998) began with the crisis of Thailand and then it generalized
to all the countries in the region (South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong-Kong). The
basic cause of this crisis is also the crediting expansion, which led to the development of certain
entrepreneurship programs. The effects were some of the most difficult for these countries, for
instance: Korea’s GDP in 1998 decrease to 33% of the GDP of the year 1997 and in Indonesia the
GDP / inhabitant went down by 44% in 1998 compared to the previous year. Some specialists
analyzed the losses appeared following the financial crises, beginning with the year 1980 and
until 2002 (the crisis in Japan). The losses were quantified as ratio of the respective country’s
GDP

 Joseph Stiglitz, an Economics Nobel laureate, has criticized the IMF programs. The IMF country
networks have failed. The IMF along with the World Bank and the WTO are poor globalization
managers.

 Governments need the IMF for a good image on the international capital markets, but also in
order to balance their budgetary deficit. The program claimed by the IMF pursues: privatization,
liberalization of the capital markets, price liberalization and trade liberalization. Using the
conditions imposed by the World Bank to grant credits, governments rush to privatize the
companies to the national disadvantage, but with personal advantages.

 Multinational corporations can buy local industries cheaply, benefiting of: fiscal facilities, free
areas, small salaries, and end up by totally controlling certain economic branches. As far as the
foreign capital is concerned, it is oriented towards estate and currency speculations, and at the
appearance of the slightest sign of economic crisis it withdraws, affecting the global economy
(for example, the crisis in Mexico).

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 Price liberalization means blowing up the prices for foods and public utilities. In the case of
trade liberalization, local producers are forced to compete, to their disadvantage, with
international producers. In some countries, trade liberalization has triggered bankruptcy and
unemployment.
 “Huge world corporations control and manage the world’s money, technology and markets,
acting only based on profit, without taking into account any human, national and local
considerations”

 During the last more than two years, the world has gone through the most significant economic
and financial crisis in its history. The globalization process has not been stopped; on the
contrary, it has taken forms and features induced by today’s world phenomena, especially as
most developed countries are in a more difficult situation compared to the emerging countries,
which have continued to go through a period of economic growth.

 So, in the year 2012, globalization can be regarded as an “orphan” cause, to a certain extent, as
the governments have set as a priority the national interests over the international ones. We
will witness the developed countries’ repeated attempts to recuperate their losses of economic
and political power.

 The emerging countries will desire stronger positions in a new economic and political world
order, positions able to correlate their wish to reality, increased access to global decisions with
their economic and financial power accumulated during the last few years.

 Recent opinions have asked for an “improved multilateralism”, as IMF and a World Bank
acquired “renewed” statuses. Walking out from the crisis will require extremely high financial
resources, and the solutions of the IMF or of other international financial institutions could
become more efficient only if these organisms avail themselves of enough resources in the long
run.

 If the world were to realize a transition from the crumbling institutions of the Bretton Woods
system towards a more stable international order, then the problems discussed as
fundamental themes in the international political economy should obligatorily be solved.

 “In the future the key issue for the IMF and the World Bank needs to be the acceptance of the
fact that they play an inevitable political role.” Neither is a technocracy without engagements.
They both need to improve their openness and transparency, and they both have to become
more responsible towards the poor countries, which represent their main clients.

 Although countries are obviously unequal in what concerns power, globalization has to bring
benefits both to the poor countries and to the rich ones, and the international financial
institutions will be despised and irrelevant if they do not become responsible in front of all their
members.

The role of the World Trade Organization in the globalization process

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 The WTO has gone too far encouraging the trade liberalization, which triggered the incapacity to
get the labor and environmental norms to be respected, determining the countries to lift their
protectionist barriers.

 The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)

mechanism for developing countries and the changes
proposed by the EU in this respect have not functioned.
Through their agricultural policies, the rich countries
block the access on their markets for the products
coming from the poor countries. This represents a
hindrance for the latter.

 For many poor countries, agriculture represents one of the few domains in which their
enterprises are competitive. Over 50 developing countries realize ¼ of their GDP out of their
exports of agricultural products. Lacking the possibility to export agricultural products on the
European, American, Japanese markets, these poor countries have few chances of having
recourse to the technology imports that are so necessary for their development.

 The issue of agricultural protectionism has been aggravated by the agricultural excedents of the
rich countries. The artificial European excedents put pressure on the international markets,
contribute to the decrease of the prices of the agricultural products and consequently reduce
the earnings of these developing countries. In these countries, where hundreds of millions of
people have an income under 1 Euro/day, the consequences of a cut in the exports’ prices can
make the difference between life and death.

 There is a flagrant contradiction between the official declarations putting at the forefront the
need to help the poor countries and these countries’ agricultural policies. For the developing
economies, the WTO has triggered nothing else but negative consequences. So far, the WTO has
not attained the fundamental goals put down in its status, namely to increase prosperity for all
its members and to realize full employment.

 On the contrary, in the North-South relations, WTO has favored the neocolonialist tendencies
of its rich members, allowing for an unprecedented richness transfer from the poorest countries
to the richest countries.

 The USA conceived and promoted the trade liberalization system, yet they had recourse to
protectionism when their own interests were at stake. While strong economies have recourse to
protectionism for one product or the other depending on their specific interests, the developing
economies are forced to open without conditions, bearing the consequences.

 The developing countries realize that they need to react together and are able to resist the
decisions that are detrimental to their interests. Some countries that have reacted within the
WTO are: Brazil, Mexico, India, Egypt, South Africa.

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 Many of the provisions of the WTO agreements are presented as necessary to assure the
efficient functioning of the competitive markets.

 However, the WTO did nothing to limit the capacity of the transnational corporations to use
their economic power to eliminate their competitors using unjust means, forming strategic
alliances with their rivals to share production facilities, technology and markets. The WTO has
requested the government’s intervention for the protection of the corporate monopoly rights
on information and technology.

 Extremely dangerous is the extension by means of the WTO of the right to international
protection for patents, genetic materials, including seeds and natural medicines. The corporatist
colonialism is by no means a consequence of some inescapable historical forces. It is the
consequence of conscious options based on the pursuit of an elitist interest.

 This elitist interest has been closely allied to the corporatist one in the promotion of the
economic deregulation and globalization. Trade globalization has become possible due to the
liberalization of the circulation of goods worldwide and to the rapid development in
communications and informatics.

 The development of the trading capacity needs to be supported by the rich countries using debt
reduction and technology transfer policies. The trading rules should allow the developing and
poor countries to protect certain sectors of their national economy. The developing countries
need concrete national policies, giving them the opportunity to participate to the development
of the external trade, access to credits and a favorable taxation system.

 After the Second World War, the successive rounds of certain economic negotiations from the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) led to an important decrease of the tariff-
related barriers and to the development of the world trade. Later on, the balance between the
forces of liberalization and those of the economic nationalism began to deteriorate; towards the
middle of the 1970s, the economic nationalism managed to lean the balance in the direction
contrary to the trade liberalization and the growth slowed do.

 In the 1980s, the extension of protectionism affected more and more the nature of the trading
system and the international location of the production worldwide. The WTO replaced the GATT
on 01.01.1995. Its main goal is the liberalization of the international trade, by abolishing the
tariff and non-tariff obstacles to trading. The WTO is the only organization establishing the rules
of operation in international trading and has adopted the GATT’s fundamental principles. These
principles are:

Non-discriminating commerce:

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1. The most favored nation; treating the others equally;

2. National treaty; equal treatment for nations and foreigners

 A freer trade by means of negotiations and of “progressive liberalization”.

 The possibility to consolidate the bonds when the countries decide to open their markets for
goods and services.
 Developing a fair competition based on a system of norms meant to acquire a free, fair
competition, free of distorts (misrepresentations).
 Economic growth and development by supporting economic reforms.
 The power of negotiation of each of the 135 WTO member states finally depends on their
importance, and that is why the three biggest economic powers, USA, EU and Japan can impose
their goals and their will.

 The WTO agreements, which were negotiated and signed by most of the countries taking part in
the world trade, constitute the WTO core. These documents establish fundamental juridical
norms that have to be “transparent” and “predictable”. The WTO agreements are intense and
complex because they refer to juridical texts that approach a large array of activities, such as:
a) agriculture;
b) textiles;
c) banking services;
d) telecommunications;
e) public contracts;
f) industrial norms;
g) rules concerning food health;
h) Intellectual property.

 Disagreements are solved in the WTO by means of an impartial procedure, based on a convened
juridical ground. When a contestation concerning a local or national law is brought before the
WTO, the parties to the dispute present the case during a secret hearing in front of a
commission made up of three experts in the domain of trading (generally jurists).

 The burden of proof is placed upon the defendant. He has to show that the respective law does
not constitute a trading restriction, according to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(WTO).

 If a commission decides that an internal law is a violation of the WTO rules, it can recommend
that the accused country change its law or face financial penalties, trading sanctions or both.

 The states trying to provide a preferential treatment to local investors at the expense of the
foreign ones or which do not protect the rights of intellectual property of the foreign companies
can face charges. National interests are no longer valid grounds for the national laws under
the WTO regime. The interests of the international trade, which are first of all the interests of
the transnational corporations, go to the forefront.

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The world standards concerning health and food security in the WTO are elaborated by a group known
as Codex Alimentarius Commission, or CODEX. The critics of CODEX have noticed that it is profoundly
influenced by the industry and it tends to balance the standards by lowering them.

The United Nations’ directions of action

 The eradication of the world poverty and the reduction of the great gaps between the world’s
rich and the world’s poor have become the crucial problems of this century, representing the
source of the most dangerous political, economic and social conflicts possible, which can
endanger the international stability. The solution to these problems does not have to do only
with the allotment of more material and financial resources.

 The world economy has grown at unprecedented paces during the last 50 years, the global
world product increasing seven times over, yet global poverty has not decreased and the gaps
continue to grow even deeper.

 The main cause are the rules governing the market functioning, which have always generated
and permanently generate social polarization – the accumulation of the richness in the hands of
a minority and the perpetuation of the poverty for the largest part of the masses. This rule has
functioned nationally even since the incipient stage of the primitive capital accumulation and
has now extended on a planetary level, in the context of the globalization of the world
economy.

 Remedies are necessary therefore to limit these effects of the market. Nationally, it is the states’
role to promote such remedies. An example of efficient measures has been given by the West
European states, which have promoted, after the Second World War, the concept of social
market economy and have realized the social European model.

 The problem is the following: who should promote such remedies on the level of the world
economy?! The UN and its specialized institutions have not availed themselves of such tools.
These issues have also been debated during several world summits because they have become
present preoccupations of the world community.

 In the activity of the United Nations Organization, the economic issues have acquired a special
importance, attaining proportions never foreseen by the Charter.

 The economic function of the UN concomitantly comprises debates, studies, the

conceptualization and the determination of the main directions in the domain of the world
economy. At the same time, the institutional framework meant for international economic
collaboration has amplified and the decision-making methods have improved.

 According to Joseph Nye at the UN, as well, there is a tendency to promote the concept of
globalism, which designates the need to approach the world economy problems using an overall
vision, in a world of continued increase of the economic independence in which the realization
of a collective economic security is becoming a must.

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 The national sovereignty and the non-interference in the internal affairs of States are
consecrated in the international law and in the international organization. The international law
and the international organization constitute an important part of the political reality because
they influence the way in which States behave. States are interested in the international law
for two reasons: anticipation and legitimacy

The state and the multinational corporation

o The industrialised state of the twenty-first century is going through significant stages of
adaptation and transformation in response to economic globalisation and losing its privileged
position in the international system. Not only the rising powers of Brazil, Russia, India and China
but also multinational corporations represent a serious challenge to its once dominant role

o There is now little expectation that major economies will adopt a light regulation economic
policy style along the lines of the once dominant US model. Instead, the notion of the
competition state captures best how since the 1990s government actors have created more
business-friendly regulatory frameworks actively supporting internationally operating firms in
their efforts to generate more growth and employment opportunities.

o A well-trained domestic workforce becomes, in this context, an important asset to promote a

particular territory for the allocation of foreign direct investment.

o Despite similar pressures to reduce government expenditure, states have also continued to
diverge in the way they provide welfare for different social groups within their societies. It has
become popular to privatise public services and leave the task of their delivery to companies
rather than the state.

o As a consequence, the role of the civil servant is now similar to that of a business manager
overseeing the spread of markets into new areas such as education, health and security. Yet, in
line with the Polanyi-type adjustment process, government agencies and state organisations
cannot entirely shed their responsibility for some of the negative effects of radical policies
associated with market liberalisation, especially in trade and finance.

o Economic globalisation creates ‘winners’ and ‘losers’, which leads to the issue of inequality in
societies. To win the support of the ‘losers’, governments typically have to offer compensatory
measures through income redistribution, retraining programmes or further educational
opportunities.

o The budgetary resources necessary for the funding of such activities brings into perspective
taxation as a main attribute of modern forms of government as well as an indicator of state
power relative to other actors in the international system.

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o As the international controversy around the tax bills of large multinational corporations like
Amazon has shown, there is a general public expectation that multinational corporations should
make a fair contribution to the states in which they generate their profit. After all, for their
business models to succeed they have to be able to draw on a well-developed infrastructure, an
educated workforce and general health care.

o Furthermore, through direct tax evasion, or the use of regulatory loopholes, large corporations
may gain a decisive advantage over local suppliers operating in the same market sector and
offering comparable services. For example, due to different tax laws within member states of
the European Union, the video streaming service Netflix International was exempt from UK
corporation tax despite having around 4.5 million paying customers in the UK. In line with the
letter of the law, it only paid 5 per cent income tax in Luxembourg. Although this is a regional
example, multinational companies with global operations can also shift profits to countries
where lower taxes apply by transferring royalties between different branches of their business.

o What emerges is a picture of waning state power with global business actors playing off
different tax regimes to their own advantage. Seen from their angle, multinational corporations
are merely following the rules of the game as implemented by governments in their national
systems. If the rules change, their behaviour will change as well. Indeed, due to public pressures
there seems to be evidence of a step change in this issue, at least in Europe where corporations
like Google and Starbucks have been reprimanded.

o Multinational corporations in their interaction with civil society have sometimes been the
target of non-governmental pressure groups and trade unions, which call for boycotts due to
breaches of international environmental or labour standards.

o More frequently, however, liberal approaches have singled out their exceptional capacity to
create wealth at a national, as well as international, level. Their cross-border investment
activities in home or host states are often assessed positively as they ensure technology and
capital transfer, develop managerial skills in diverse country contexts and ensure market access
while simultaneously creating new jobs, thus providing a ‘social’ service in lieu of those typically
seen as justifying the state and, therefore, excusing them from taxes.

o In the case of Apple this has taken the form of a global supply chain by which the bulk of its
products are designed in the United States, but manufactured elsewhere – predominantly in
China – due to lower costs. This is also an indication of the impact technological change in the
production process has on the multinational corporation–state relationship.

o Seen from the Karl Polanyi angle it is no surprise that when Apple’s chief executive officer Steve
Jobs was asked by US president Barack Obama why manufacturing could not return to the US,
he simply replied, ‘Those jobs aren’t coming back’. Even the most powerful national politicians

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find it hard to deal with the social consequences of these technological innovations in the global
market.

BRICS – The End of Western Dominance of the Global Financial and Economic Order

By Shyam Saran

o Since the inception of BRICS (bringing together Brazil, Russia, India, China
and South Africa) in 2009, it has been seen as a mainly flag waving exercise
by a group of influential emerging economies, with little in terms of
convergent interest other than signalling their strong dissatisfaction
over persistent Western dominance of the world economic, financial as
well as security order, but unable to fashion credible alternative
Shyam Saran
governance structures themselves.

o However, with the Fortaleza Summit finally announcing the much awaited establishment of
the New Development Bank (NDB) with a 50 billion dollar subscribed capital and a Contingency
Reserve Arrangement (CRA) of 100 billion dollars, the monopoly status and role of the Bretton
Woods institutions – the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – stand
broken.
o True, it may take the NDB and the CRA considerable time and experience to evolve into credible
international financial institutions but that clearly is the intent.

o BRICS leaders have kept the door open for other stakeholders, but will retain at least a 55
percent equity share. They have also been careful to declare that these new institutions will
supplement the activities of the World Bank and the IMF, and this has also been the initial
response from the latter.

NEVERTHELESS, THE EMERGENCE OF AN ALTERNATIVE SOURCE OF

FINANCING WITH NORMS DIFFERENT FROM THOSE FOLLOWED BY THE
ESTABLISHED INSTITUTIONS WILL ALTER THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL
LANDSCAPE IRREVERSIBLY.

o It may be noted for the future that the one component of the global financial infrastructure
where Western companies still remain supreme is the insurance and reinsurance sector. Global
trade flows, in particular energy flows are almost invariably insured by a handful of Western
companies which also determine risk factors and premiums.

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o In Brazil, the BRICS countries have given notice that they will examine the prospect of pooling
their capacities in this sector. A more competitive situation in this sector can only be a positive
development for developing countries.

o The BRICS initiatives were born out of mounting frustration among emerging countries that
even a modest restructuring of the governing structures of the Bretton Woods institutions, to
reflect their growing economic profile, was being resisted. The commitment made in 2010 at the
G20 to enlarge their stake in the IMF remains unfulfilled while the restructuring of the World
Bank is yet to be taken up.

o The longer the delay in such restructuring, the more rapid the consolidation of the new BRICS
institutions is likely to be. It is this factor which played a role in helping resolve some of the
differences among the BRICS countries over the structure and governance of these proposed
institutions.

o The setting up of the BRICS institutions owed a great deal to the energy and push displayed
by China. It is doubtful that the proposals would have been actualised had China not put its
full weight behind them and showed a readiness to accommodate other member countries, in
particular India. Russia became more enthusiastic after being drummed out of the G8 and
subjected to Western sanctions.

o Chinese activism on this score must be seen in the context of other parallel developments in
which China has also been the prime mover and sometimes the initiator. These are:
o The proposal for setting up an Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to fund
infrastructure and connectivity projects in Asia, in particular, those which would help
revive the maritime and land “Silk Routes” linking China with both its eastern and
western flanks. The parallel with the NDB is hard to miss.
o The consolidation of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM) and the
associated Asian Multilateral Research Organisation (AMRO) among the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) + 3 (China, Japan and the Republic of Korea). The
CMIM is now a 240 billion dollar financing facility to help member countries deal with
balance of payments difficulties. This is similar to the 100 billion dollar CRA set up
by BRICS.

o AMRO has evolved into a mechanism for macro-economic surveillance of member countries and
provides a benchmark for their economic health and performance. This would enable sound
lending policies and may very well be linked in future to the AIIB. The CMIM and the AMRO
thus provide building blocks which could serve as the template for the NDB, the CRA and the
AIIB.
o In addition to the CMIM and the AMRO, there are ongoing initiatives within ASEAN + 3
to develop a truly Asian Bond Market which could mobilise regional savings into regional
investments through local currency bonds. To support this initiative, a regional Credit
Guarantee and Investment Facility has been established. A Regional Settlement
Intermediary is proposed to facilitate cross-border multi-currency transfers.
o These developments are taking place just when there is a rapidly growing Chinese yuan-
denominated bond market, the so-called dim-sum bonds, which have become an important

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source of corporate financing. This reduces the dependence on euro and U.S. dollar-
denominated bonds. The NDB could tap into this market to build up its own finances.
o It is important to keep in mind this broader picture in assessing the significance of the decisions
taken at the Fortaleza Summit. In systematically pursuing a number of parallel initiatives, China
is attempting to create an alternative financial infrastructure which would have it in the lead
role. The dilemma for other emerging countries is that there appear to be no credible
alternatives, especially since the Western countries are unwilling to cede any enhanced role to
them.
o The Fortaleza Summit marks the beginning of the end of the post-Second World War Western
dominance of the global economic and financial order. The existing institutions will now have
to share space with the new entrants and may be compelled to adjust their norms to compete
with the latter.
o The prime mover behind the establishment of a rival network of financial institutions is China,
whose global profile and influence is likely to increase as the various building blocks it has put in
place come together to shape a new global financial architecture. This is still in the future but
the trend is unmistakable.
The rise and fall of the WTO

Less than 25 years after the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was created, its future as a body
overseeing multilateral trade rules is in doubt. The failure of the recent ministerial meeting at Buenos
Aires is only symptomatic of a decline in its importance.

Too ambitious?
o When the WTO was born in 1995, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT),
it was given a large remit overseeing the rules for world trade. It was also given powers to
punish countries which violated these rules. Yet, in what must be an unusual development in
the history of international institutions, the WTO has been felled by the weight of the
extraordinary ambitions placed on it. As a consequence, since the late 2000s, the organisation
has been unable to carry out its basic task of overseeing a successful conduct of multilateral
trade negotiations. The rise and decline has happened quickly.

o In the early 1990s, global corporations pushed the major trading powers of the time — the U.S.,
the European Union (EU), Japan and Canada — for a GATT agreement that would vastly increase
access for their products in foreign markets. They succeeded with the 1994 Marrakesh
agreement which was supposed to be a grand bargain. The “farm subsidisers” of the U.S. and EU
agreed to bring agriculture under GATT rules. In exchange, the developing countries had to pay
up front by reducing import duties on manufacture, opening their markets to services, and
agreeing to strict protection of intellectual property rights. The Marrakesh agreement also
created the new Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) to adjudicate on trade disputes. All this would
be overseen by the new WTO.

o Under the DSB, the decision of a WTO panel could be rejected only by “a negative consensus”
(i.e. all member-countries present had to turn down the ruling). A final verdict in favour of a
complainant country entitled it to impose penalties on the other country. And under the

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principle of cross-retaliation, these penalties, when authorised, could be imposed on exports

from a sector different from where the dispute was located. This hurt the smaller countries and
was to the advantage of the bigger ones.

o The new ability of the DSB to enforce decisions seemed too good to not take advantage of. For a
brief while in the mid/late 1990s, the WTO seemed to be just the kind of “super” international
organisation that the major powers wanted. If all trade and non-trade issues could be brought
under one body which had the powers necessary for enforcement, there would be no place to
hide for any country. There was pressure to bring many more “new” non-trade issues under the
WTO. If the U.S. wanted labour and environment standards included, the EU wanted foreign
investment, competition and government procurement.

o Over-reach, however, sometimes can have the opposite of the intended outcomes.

o The developing countries, which had realised that they had been had in the Marrakesh
agreement, were far more active in the WTO from the late 1990s. Through a combination of the
formation of strategic alliances and simply refusing to say “yes”, they began to win some battles.

The China factor

o The entry of China into the WTO in 2001 also changed the picture. China used its newly acquired
‘most favoured nation’ status to the hilt. It expanded exports manifold to the EU and the U.S.
Indeed, an influential body of opinion holds China’s export success as responsible for the
hollowing out of U.S. manufacturing.

o On its part, the U.S. soon realised that it was not the master of all it surveyed. Conflicts with the
EU, a DSB that did not always oblige, and the more assertive developing country bloc (for a
while led by Brazil and India) saw the hopes for a “super” WTO gradually evaporate.

o Still, in 2001, Brussels allied with Washington to successfully push for fresh trade negotiations
even before the 1994 agreement had been digested. A new round with the Doha Development
Agenda (DDA), covering old and new issues, was launched in the Qatar capital in 2001. However,
by refusing to make any honest concessions over the years, the U.S., aided by a willing WTO
secretariat, more or less killed the DDA in the late 2000s. This intransigence showed that the
WTO and its major member-countries remained as insensitive as before to the concerns of the
majority of the membership. The U.S. and EU have since even sought to formally scrap the DDA.

o The major powers now cherry-pick trade issues. Thus, in 2014, trade facilitation (covering
customs rules and procedures) was taken out of the DDA and a stand-alone agreement was
signed, because the U.S. and the EU were interested in it. This virtually destroyed the principle
of reciprocity under which each country wanting to obtain gains in specific areas makes
concessions in others.

o On the whole, the U.S. and the EU have been losing interest in multilateralism in trade. The U.S.
has even begun to undermine the very elements of the WTO that it had pushed through in the
early 1990s. It now refuses to implement some DSB decisions. Most recently, it has taken
decisions on DSB appointments which will in effect bring adjudication to a halt.

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o This does not mean major powers have no use for the WTO. They may no longer see any value
in it as a forum for multilateral trade agreements, but they now use it to push for stand-alone
deals as well as plurilateral deals (agreements involving a few and not all members of the WTO).
At Buenos Aires, proposals were made for the WTO to take up “new issues” such as e-
commerce, investment facilitation and trade and gender. These are all outside the DDA and of
interest only to a select membership.

Need for multilateralism

o No one should be happy about the turn of events. All countries need mutually agreed discipline
on market access, customs duties, etc. Regionalism cannot be an alternative. Regional trade
groups have succeeded in some places and they have not elsewhere. India’s own experience
with bilateral trade agreements has not always been good. Bilateral and regional treaties also
open the door to the stricter “WTO plus” conditions in select areas like patents.

o The world therefore benefits from a multilateral trade body – though a fairer one than the WTO
of the 1990s. To give just one example, India is on a better wicket with its food procurement and
public stock holding policies protected within the WTO than with having to negotiate separate
deals with major farm exporters like the U.S., Canada, Australia and Brazil. Still, one cannot take
multilateralism in trade for granted. At the extreme, one cannot rule out a collapse of the WTO
engineered by the Trump administration. The consequences are unimaginable even if they do
not lead to trade wars as happened in the 1930s.

o India should be more actively engaged in how to arrest the slide and then make the WTO a more
equitable organisation. Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu has said that India will soon convene
a mini ministerial to discuss “new issues” for the WTO. Such fancy talk will not get us anywhere.
India needs to work on persuading all members of the WTO to return to the table and negotiate
on bread-and-butter issues like agriculture, industrial tariffs, and services. At this point, India
and most of the world have everything to lose and nothing to gain from first a hollowing out and
then a selective use of the WTO.

Ending the global monopoly of the International Monetary Fund.

o The UN has an indispensable role in preventing and mitigating the consequences of the conflicts,
not just by its actions in the strict sphere of the peace-keeping operations or other military and
security actions but also by all its others preoccupations, such as the promotion of sustainable
development, the respect for human rights and the development of the international law.

o The UN does not only have to pursue the increase of its own role in this direction, but it also
needs to stimulate the mobilization of the resources of the international financial institutions in
common projects.

o Unfortunately, at present one cannot speak about the existence of a world organization able to
significantly reduce the inequalities between the countries of the North and the countries of the

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South, governing according to its own rules, without being influenced by the governments of the
most industrialized countries.

o We need important reforms of the existing world organizations or even the disappearance of
the existing ones and the creation of new institutions able to apply the laws objectively, to
adopt decisions, strategies and plans, serving the interests of the whole world and not just the
interests of the main industrialized countries, able to “listen” to the problems of each country in
turn, to adopt specific measures for each of them, to find solutions as adequate and as close to
reality as possible. The pressures exerted by globalization on the economy and on the lives of
the people of our planet are felt more and more intensely.

o At the same time, we should “transform the terrible economic crisis into an opportunity of
launching a new era of sustainability”. Development and sustainability are the goals of the
“model of capitalism of the 21st century”.

o The United Nations Environment Program has developed a new concept: A Green New Deal
(UNEP, 2008), representing a program of public investments in infrastructure and technology, by
means of which the countries can assure the rehabilitation of their economy, can keep the
unemployment rate under control and, in the long run, can obtain competitive advantages.

o In other words, everything that was considered true until now has become outdated. The state’s
strong intervention is not the only way to overcome the financial crisis, yet with a new practice
of the concept of sustainable development, it should become reality.

o The sustainable development concept was created more 22 years ago and it has been accepted
and adopted in almost all the international institutions.

o A fact that should not be forgotten is that the European Union, the main promoter of the
environmental protection measures, renewed its sustainable development strategy in 2006, its
main instruments being: the institution for regulation and modernization, a new fiscal
philosophy and an improved subvention structure. Moreover, the end of 2008 brought forth the
adoption of the European economic restoration plan, aiming to “create jobs in the EU in the
short run and in the long run, providing the first engine that creates advantage and brings
benefits in terms of economic growth, energy security and environment”

o The increasing unemployment, social polarization, corruption and violence, even in the context
of economic growth and maximization of the great companies’ profits, trigger deregulations on
a world scale, which maintain a condition of insecurity and distrust concerning tomorrow.

o More and more of the countries that sold their public enterprises to the private sector and
deregulated their market have become the property of the great multinational groups. They
dominate entire countries in the South, and they use these countries in order to exert their
pressure in the international forums and to obtain the political decisions that are the most
favorable to their interests.

o These economic globalization phenomena and this concentration of capitals both in the South
and in the North, destroy social cohesion. In the context of globalization, the national

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economies have to survive by avoiding the destruction of their balances. Resources should be
used in an economical and non-polluting way, primarily valorizing the local ones.

o Each state should harmoniously integrate its local cultural and artisanal traditions in projects of
zonal and regional development and should affirm its identity according to its natural resources
potential, to its productive capacity, and its cultural matrix, valorizing the trumps available to it.

o Another aspect would be the acute need to regulate the interstate economic relations, to
organize an institutional cooperation tool able to contribute to a balanced evolution of the
world economy.

Way forward

In order to set globalization on the values of equity and social justice, what is needed is reforms and new
rules of conduct in the global governance organizations, IMF, WB and WTO.
Joseph Stiglitz

The world economy is faced with the first recession of the globalization era. ”Today, there is no similar
system supervising the world globalization process. We have global governance, without having a global
government.

Stiglitz argued, in exchange, for the last 50 years, we have had a system of institutions such as WB, IMF
and WTO, which are responsible for different segments of the process, development, trade, financial
stability. The way in which these economic organizations are led comes from the way in which they
developed throughout the years: non-democratically, non-transparently, depending on the great
interests, at the expense of the poor countries”

o The governments accuse globalization for the loss of the national sovereignty triggered by the
unrestrained growth of the force of the financial markets and of the multinational companies.
o The problem raised at present is related to the reform of the international organizations, so as
to serve not only the rich and the developed industrialized countries, but also the poor and the
less developed countries.

o The IMF and the World Bank were at the center of the major economic problems of the last two
decennia, which also include the financial crises and the transition of the former communist
states to the market economy. In its relations to a particular country, the IMF was conceived so
as to limit itself to the macroeconomic issues: state budget deficit, monetary policy, inflation,
trade deficit, contract-related policy for credits coming from external sources.

o The World Bank was meant to deal with structural problems – what the government of the
respective country spent money on, the country’s financial institutions, the labor force market,
trading policies.
o We can certainly affirm that not only did the IMF not fulfill its initial mission of promoting global
stability, but it also did not have any more success either in the new missions it undertook, such
as the coordination of the former communist countries’ transition to the market economy.

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o The WTO needs to adopt decisions having for a goal the facilitation of the penetration on the
international market of certain firms from the developing countries which have potential and
prove that they have the capacity to align themselves to certain standards imposed by the
international organizations for a determined period of time.

o In order for this goal to become reality, it is necessary that the WTO along with the other
international organizations should plead for the adoption and implementation of decisions in
favor of the Southern countries, such as the allotment of non-reimbursable funds and loans
under more advantageous conditions, giving specialized technical assistance in order to instruct
managers for an efficient resource allotment and for the adoption of policies and strategies
allowing the attainment of the proposed goals.

o In this sense, the developed countries should provide the developing countries with effective
technologies and equipments under advantageous conditions, should assure the necessary
specialized technical and financial assistance so that the countries of the South may be capable
of exploiting the raw materials that they have and of using the abundant and relatively cheap
labor force available.

o The economic policies elaborated in Washington by the international economic institutions and
their application in the developed countries were not adequate for the countries going through
the first stages of their development or through their transition. Most of the advanced
industrialized countries have created solid economies for themselves by selectively protecting
some of their activity branches until they were strong enough to face the competition of the
foreign companies.

o The worldwide practice has demonstrated that obliging a developing country to open its market
to import products that would compete with those realized by certain branches of its national
economy triggered disastrous social and economic consequences. Jobs systematically went
missing, the poor farmers of the developing countries simply could not face the competition of
the products supported by strong subventions coming from Europe or the USA, before the
industry and agriculture of these countries were able to develop and create new jobs.

o Because of the IMF’s insistence that the developing countries should continue to apply
restrictive monetary policies, the interest rates reached levels that made it impossible to create
new jobs, even under the most favorable conditions. Because trade liberalization was realized
before taking the necessary social protection measures, those who lost their jobs became poor,
while those who did not lose their jobs had a strong feeling of insecurity.

o So, much too often, liberalization was followed not by the promised economic growth but by
the increase of poverty. The decisions of a certain institution normally reflect the conceptions
and the interests of those who make them.

o The disappointment related to actions undertaken under the guidance of the IMF has grown as
the poor of Indonesia, Morocco or Papua-New Guinea benefit of increasingly lower subventions
for fuel and food, those of Thailand see the AIDS spreading because of the health expense cuts
imposed by the IMF, and the families of many developing countries, having to pay the schooling

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of their children as part of the so-called “cost recovery” programs, choose not to send them to
school anymore.

o One might wonder if the IMF is really needed today. It is the UN that should be conceived so as
to help the countries develop their interactions, should facilitate these interactions and should
make them function efficiently in a multilateral system.

o A constantly divergent dimension in the discussions on the notion of system reform refers to the
centralization-decentralization dilemma. The realization of the international cooperation tasks
on the scale and magnitude demanded by the Charter, in such diverse domains would not have
been possible on a centralized level. The international action in the economic and social
domains depends on the active participation and complementary action of the national
authorities in each domain.

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COVID-19 and the crumbling world order

Happymon Jacob
APRIL 13, 2020
COVID-19 will fundamentally transform the world as we know it: the world order, its
balance of power, traditional conceptions of national security, and the future of
globalisation. The lethal combination of an interconnected world and a deadly virus
without a cure is taking humanity into uncharted waters. When we emerge from the
lockdown, we must be ready to confront new political and social realities.

Crumbling world order

The rampant spread of COVID-19 is also a failure of the contemporary world order and
its institutions. The contemporary global order, whatever remains of the institutions
created by the victors of World War II, was a hegemonic exercise meant to deal with
isolated political and military crises and not serve humanity at large. COVID-19 has
exposed this as well as the worst nativist tendencies of the global leadership in the face
of a major crisis. That the United Nations Security Council took so long to meet (that too
inconclusively) to discuss the pandemic is a ringing testimony to the UN’s
insignificance.

Regional institutions haven’t fared any better. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s SAARC
initiative, curiously resurrecting a practically dead institution, was short-lived. The EU,
the most progressive post-national regional arrangement, stood clueless when the virus
spread like wildfire in Europe. Its member states turned inward for solutions: self-help,
not regional coordination, was their first instinct. Brussels is the loser.

All this is indicative of a deeper malaise: the global institutional framework is

unrepresentative, a pawn in the hands of the great powers, cash-strapped, and its agenda
is focused on high-table security issues. The global institutional architecture of the 1940s
cannot help humanity face the challenges of the 2020s. Nothing less than a new social
contract between states and the international system can save our future.

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One country that is likely to come out stronger from this crisis is China. Reports indicate
that China has now managed the outbreak of COVID-19, and its industrial production is
recovering even as that of every other country is taking a hit. The oil price slump will
make its recovery even faster. When the greatest military power found itself in denial
mode and the members of the EU were looking after their own interests, China appeared
to use its manufacturing power to its geopolitical advantage. Beijing has offered medical
aid and expertise to those in need; it has increased cooperation with its arch-rival Japan;
and President Xi Jinping spoke to the UN Secretary General on how the international
community can fight the virus. Its richest man, Jack Ma, has spearheaded the private
sector’s fight against COVID-19. The Chinese propaganda machinery will magnify this.
Chinese actions are a smart economic investment for geopolitical gains. This will aid
Beijing’s claims to global leadership, push Huawei 5G trials as a side bargain, and
showcase how the Belt and Road Initiative is the future of global connectivity. COVID-
19 will further push the international system into a world with Chinese characteristics.

Neoliberal economic globalisation will have taken a major beating in the wake of the
pandemic. Economists are warning of a global recession. Even as the virus is pushing
back the ‘successes’ of neoliberal globalisation, globalisation’s political counterpart is
found wanting in dealing with the situation. The first instinct of every major economy
was to close borders, look inwards and localise. The pre-existing structural weakness of
the global order and the COVID-19 shock will further feed states’ protectionist
tendencies fueled by hypernationalism. A more inclusive global political and economic
order is unlikely any time soon, if ever. Instead, as former National Security Adviser
Shivshankar Menon warns, “we are headed for a poorer, meaner, and smaller world.”

The ability of big corporations to dictate the production, stocks, supply chains and
backup plans will be limited by increased state intervention to avoid unpredictable
supply sources, avoid geopolitically sensitive zones, and national demands for
emergency reserves. The profits of big corporations will reduce, and the demand for
stability will increase.

Some would gladly argue all this could potentially mean a retreat from
hyperglobalisation and its attendant flaws. However, the assumption that COVID-19 will
bring about a more balanced and inclusive form of economic and political globalisation

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is perhaps misplaced. State intervention in economic matters and protectionism are the
easy way out, and that’s precisely what states will do once the crisis is over. It would be
return of the ‘Licence Raj’ through the backdoor, not a push for inclusive and responsible
globalisation with its associated political benefits.
The state has failed in its inability to save us from the pandemic notwithstanding its tall
claims about national security preparedness. And yet, the state has returned, with more
power, legitimacy and surveillance technologies. In fact, the nervous citizenry will want
the state to be omnipresent and omnipotent, no matter the consequences. The state, which
was losing its influence to global economic forces, will return as the last refuge of the
people in the coming age of mass disruption.

With the severe beating that globalisation has taken, state-led models of globalisation and
economic development would be preferred over (big) corporates-led globalisation. Will
this enable some positive controls over the inherent deficiencies of globalisation? We
will have to wait and see. But the more important question is whether the state has any
incentive to take on big capital. Given the symbiotic relationship between the state and
big capital, states have become used to protecting the interests of their corporations, often
at the cost of the general public. Consider, for instance, that the first response of many
Western states was to protect their capital markets than be concerned about public health.

New-age racism
Yet another undesirable outcome of the pandemic would be a spike in various forms of
discrimination. Globally, societies could become more self-seeking and inward-looking
leading to further pushback against liberal policies regarding migration and refugees.
New questions are likely to be asked about the source of goods. More stringent
imposition of phytosanitary measures by advanced states on products emanating from the
less developed countries might become the new normal. Lockdowns and travel
restrictions could potentially legitimise the rhetoric around border walls in more
conservative countries. Tragically, therefore, while one answer to global pandemics is
political globalisation, COVID-19 might further limit it.
Within India too, there could be a trend towards discrimination, with ‘social distancing’
producing undesirable social practices. That a Manipuri woman was spat on in Delhi by a

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man who called her “coronavirus”, and gated communities have discriminated against
those in COVID-19 quarantine, indicate a new age of discrimination. Puritan claims
based on birth and class and the associated declarations about hygiene could become
sharper. The more the virus persists, the deeper such practices would get. We already
know what these practices feel like; it can only get worse from here.

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United Nations

Syllabus
Section A
United Nations: Envisaged role and actual record; specialized UN agencies-aims and functioning;
need for UN reforms.

Section B
India and the UN System: Role in UN Peace-keeping; demand for Permanent Seat in the Security
Council.

Past year UPSC questions

1. Bring out the objectives of India seeking permanent seat in Security council. ( 10 Makrs, 2013)
2. Is India’s quest for a permanent in the Security Council a possibility or just a pipedream ? Elaborate
with reasons . ( 10 Marks, 2014)
3. Evaluate India’s participation in United Nations peace-keeping operations over the years. (15 Marks,
2014)
4. Has the reform of economic and social arrangements of the United Nations been effective? (20 Marks,
2015)
5. Critically analyze China’s role in international politics against India’s demand for permanent seat in UN
security council. ( 15 Marks, 2016)
6. Do you endorse that the United Nations needs major changes in its structures and functioning?
Suggets the changes for effiecient improvements. ( 15 Marks, 2016)
7. Uniting for consensus also known as Coffee club has opposed the claims of India and other countries
over permanent membership of UN Security Council. Point out their major objections. ( 15 Marks,
2017)
8. “India has been the largest and consistent country contributing to the UN peacekeepers worldwide”.
Examine India’s role in this perspective. ( 10 Marks, 2017)
9. Do you agree with the view that despite the limitations in functioning of the UN, it has distinguished
and unique achievements to its credit? ( 15 Marks, 2017)
10. Discuss the various impediments in India’s way to a permanent seat in the Security Council. (15
Marks, 2018 )
11. Discuss the relevance of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on the security of women in conflict
zones. ( 20 Marks, 2018)
12. Analyze the trends in India’s role in the UN peacekeeping operations. ( 15 marks , 2019)
13. How far have the UN reform efforts of 2004-05, transformed the concept of ‘Sovereignty’ as a
fundamental principle of International Law ? Do you think that UN reform discourse represents a
‘biopolitical reprogramming’ of contemporary sovereignty and global governance?
14. Argue a case for U.N. reform in the context of changing global milieu.

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Past year UPSC questions

1. Is India’s quest for a permanent seat in the Security Council a possibility or just a pipedream?
Elaborate with reasons.
2. Evaluate India’s participation in United Nations peace-keeping operations over the years.
3. “India has been the largest and consistent country contributing to the UN peacekeepers worldwide”.
Examine India’s role in this perspective.
4. Analyze the recent trends in India’s role in the UN peacekeeping operations.
5. Evaluate India’s participation in United Nations peace-keeping operations over the years
6. Has the reform of the economic and social arrangements of the United Nations been effective?
7. The United Nations completes 70 years of its establishment in 2015. What reforms is india asking for
to strengthen the global institutions of governance and why?
8. Do you endorse that the United Nations needs major changes in its structures and functioning?
Suggest the changes for efficient improvements.
9. Critically analyze China's role in international politics against India's demand for permanent seat in UN
Security Council
10. Do you agree with the view that despite the limitations in the functioning of the UN, it has
distinguished and unique achievements to its credit?
11. “India has been the largest and consistent country contributing to the UN peacekeepers worldwide.”
Examine India’s role in this perspective.
12. ‘Uniting for Census’ also known as ‘Coffee Club’ has opposed the claims of India and other countries
over permanent membership of the UN Security Council. Point out their major objections.
13. Discuss the relevance of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on the security of women in conflict
zones.
14. Discuss the various impediments in India's way to a permanent seat in the Security Council

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United Nations

The role of the international organizations or inter-governmental

organizations in the international political system has always
attracted the students of International Relations. The moot question,
one wonders, is whether they (International organizations) merely
serve to perpetuate the existing nation-state centered international
system or are they 'new actors' representing a new era in world
politics?

Both of these point of view correspond to two different theories.

Traditionalist theory of International Modernist approach to International organizations

organizations

 They believe in state-centric approach to  'Modernists' favour a transnational model of world

international relations.
 Morgenthau, who is regarded as the main
spokesman on behalf of the traditionalists, was
strongly in favour of bilateral diplomacy as
opposed to multilateral diplomacy which he
called 'parliamentary diplomacy'.
" The new parliamentary diplomacy
.... tends to aggravate rather than
mitigate international conflicts and
leaves the prospects of peace
dimmed rather than brightened.”
--- Morgenthau
 Even after massive growth in the international
organizations particularly in the post-Second
World War period traditionalists view w.r.t. IO has
not changed except that they feel international
organizations are at best new instruments of
national diplomacy.
politics. Modernists have shown more faith in the new
actors.
 Modernists' theories on international relations as a
complex network of transnational relations, which
include both governmental and non-governmental
interactions, are based on the premise that
technology and science have changed our planet into
an interdependent world, in which the position of the
sovereign nation-state has been seriously affected.
 But the creation of the United Nations - first
significant post-second world war act of international
co-operation - gave no reason at all to feel so. On the
contrary, the UN Charter explicitly endorses the
principle of sovereign equality of all the UN's
members.
 It was rather the regional inter-state co-operation, and
particularly the growth of the European Common
Market, which inspired the political scientists to
develop several theories of integration.

" In regional integration theory, for

instance, which intended to explain

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how and why states cease to be fully

sovereign, how and why they
voluntarily mingle, merge, and mix with
their neighbours, so as to lose that
factual attribute of sovereignty, while
acquiring new techniques for resolving
conflicts between themselves."
--------
Richard Hass

Other perspectives to International Organizations

Functionalism

 The position and legitimacy of the nation-state ultimately rest with the functions it fulfils in
satisfying the needs for its population, needs for prosperity and material welfare.

 Interdependence creates new social needs which can not be provided for on a national side, so that
states are forced to co-operate, and to transfer some of their ( important) functions to inter-or
supranational institutions.

Communication Theory

 Which does not foresee the obsolescence of the nation-state, but adheres to the general optimism
when it is stated that, 'an integrated political community is a system of independent states, which,
while not governed by supranational institution, is characterized by such an intensity of mutual
friendship, communication and interaction as to render war obsolete as a means to resolve
conflicts'.

 It was perceived that benefits as a result of co-operation would be far greater than giving up
sovereignty partially.

 It was even expected that over time the member-states of an international organization would
increase their co-operation to such extent as to form a fully integrated international community,
where sovereignty would lose its national character and be transferred to the international
organization. Inter Governmental Organisations would thus eventually replace the allegedly
obsolete institution of the nation-state

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 In an international system governed by power politics, the role of the international organizations
would be negligible, limited by state power and the importance of military power as the
traditionalists would believe

 However, in a system of complex interdependence IGOs and INGOs have enough niche.

Classification of international organizations:

The International organization for academic purpose can be divided into two major systems:

1) The Inter-governmental - Includes organizations like the League of Nations or the United
Nations System, where the States are represented through their Governments.
2) The non- governmental - The international non- governmental organizations draw their
membership from non- governmental bodies. They at best are organized pressure groups in the
international system. Their weight and influence within the international organization system
and on the international system is very difficult to assess.
3) The Trans-governmental Organization (TGO) - which results from 'relations between
governmental actors that are not controlled by the central foreign policy organs of their
governments.

History of UN Foundation

 In 1899, the International Peace Conference was held in The Hague to elaborate instruments for
settling crises peacefully, preventing wars and codifying rules of warfare.
 It adopted the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes and established the
Permanent Court of Arbitration, which began work in 1902. This court was the forerunner of UN
International Court of Justice.
 The forerunner of the United Nations was the League of Nations, an organization conceived in
circumstances of the First World War, and established in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles "to
promote international cooperation and to achieve peace and security."
 The International Labour Organization (ILO) was also created in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles
as an affiliated agency of the League.
 The name "United Nations", coined by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A
document called The Declaration by United Nations was signed in 1942 by 26 nations,
pledging their Governments to continue fighting together against the Axis Powers (RomeBerlin-
Tokyo Axis) and bound them against making a separate peace.
 United Nations Conference on International Organization (1945) Conference held in San Francisco
(USA), was attended by representatives of 50 countries and signed the United Nations Charter.
 The UN Charter of 1945 is the foundational treaty of the United Nations, as an intergovernmental
organization.

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United Nations

United Nations

 The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization that aims to maintain international
peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation,
and be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.
 It is the largest, most familiar, most internationally represented and most powerful
intergovernmental organization in the world. The UN is headquartered on international
territory in New York City, with its other main offices in Geneva, Nairobi, Vienna and The Hague.
 The UN was established after World War II with the aim of preventing future wars, succeeding the
ineffective League of Nations.
 the organization's objectives include maintaining international peace and security, protecting
human rights, delivering humanitarian aid, promoting sustainable development, and
upholding international law.
 The organization's mission to preserve world peace was complicated in its early decades by the Cold
War between the United States and Soviet Union and their respective allies. Its missions have
consisted primarily of unarmed military observers and lightly armed troops with primarily
monitoring, reporting and confidence-building roles.
 The UN has six principal organs: the General Assembly; the Security Council; the Economic and
Social Council (ECOSOC); the Trusteeship Council; the International Court of Justice; and the UN
Secretariat. The UN System includes a multitude of specialized agencies, such as the World Bank
 Group, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, UNESCO, and UNICEF.
 Additionally, non-governmental organizations may be granted consultative status with ECOSOC and
other agencies to participate in the UN's work.
 The UN's chief administrative officer is the Secretary-General, currently Portuguese politician and
diplomat António Guterres,

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Principal organs of the United Nation
Principal organs of the United Nation
UN General Assembly
— Deliberative assembly of all UN
member states —
 May resolve non-compulsory
recommendations to states or
suggestions to the Security Council
(UNSC);
 Decides on the admission of new
members, following proposal by
the UNSC;
 Adopts the budget;
 Elects the non-permanent
members of the UNSC; all
members of ECOSOC; the UN
Secretary General (following their
proposal by the UNSC); and the
fifteen judges of the International
Court of Justice (ICJ). Each country
has one vote.
UN Security Council
— For international security issues —
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UN Secretariat
— Administrative organ of the UN —
 Supports the other UN
bodies administratively (for
example, in the organization of
conferences, the writing of
reports and studies and the
preparation of the budget);
 Its chairperson—the UN
Secretary General—is elected by
the General Assembly for a five-
year mandate and is the UN's
foremost representative.
UN Economic and Social Council
— For global economic and social
affairs —
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International Court of Justice
— Universal court for international
law —
 Decides disputes between states
that recognize its jurisdiction;
 Issues legal opinions;
 Renders judgment by relative
majority. Its fifteen judges are
elected by the UN General Assembly
for nine-year terms.
UN Trusteeship Council
— For administering trust
territories (currently inactive) —
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 Responsible for the maintenance
of international
peace and security;
 May adopt compulsory
resolutions;
 Has fifteen members: five
permanent members with veto
power and ten elected members.
 Responsible for co-operation
between states as regards
economic and social matters;
 Co-ordinates co-operation
between the UN's
numerous specialized agencies;
 Has 54 members, elected by the
General Assembly to serve
staggered three-year mandates.
 Was originally designed to manage
colonial possessions that were
former League of Nations mandates;
 Has been inactive since 1994,
when Palau, the last trust territory,
attained independence.

Organizations and specialized agencies of the United Nations

Established
No. Acronym Agency Headquarters
in

1 FAO Food and Agriculture Organization Rome, Italy 1945

2 IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna, Austria 1957

Montreal,
3 ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization 1947
Quebec, Canada

4 IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development Rome, Italy 1977

5 ILO International Labour Organization Geneva, Switzerla 1946 (1919)

nd

London, United
6 IMO International Maritime Organization 1948
Kingdom

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Organizations and specialized agencies of the United Nations

Established
No. Acronym Agency Headquarters
in

Washington,
7 IMF International Monetary Fund 1945 (1944)
D.C., United States

8 ITU International Telecommunication Union Geneva, Switzerla 1947 (1865)

nd

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

9 UNESCO Paris, France 1946
Organization

10 UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization Vienna, Austria 1967

11 UNWTO World Tourism Organization Madrid, Spain 1974

12 UPU Universal Postal Union Bern, Switzerland 1947 (1874)

Washington,
13 WBG World Bank Group 1945 (1944)
D.C., United States

14 WFP World Food Programme Rome, Italy 1963

15 WHO World Health Organization Geneva, Switzerla 1948

nd

16 WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization Geneva, Switzerla 1974

nd

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Organizations and specialized agencies of the United Nations

Established
No. Acronym Agency Headquarters
in

1950 (1873)
17 WMO World Meteorological Organization Geneva, Switzerla
nd

Aims of the United Nations:

The objectives of the United Nations, according to its Charter, are:

(1) To maintain international peace and security.
(2) To develop friendly relations among nations on the basis of equality and the principle of self-
determination.
(3) To foster worldwide cooperation in solving economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems.
(4) To promote human rights and fundamental freedom for the people of the world.
(5) To serve as a centre where various nations can coordinate their activities towards the attainment of
the objectives of the United Nations.
(6) To save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.

Principles
The United Nations acts in accordance with the following Principals.

 Article 2(1): All member states are sovereign and equal.

 Article 2(2): All are pledged to fulfill their obligations under the Charter in good faith.
 Article 2(3): All are pledged to settle their international disputes by peaceful means and without
endangering international peace, security and justice.
 Article 2(4): They are to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force
against any other state.
 Article 2(5): They are to give the UN assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the
Charter.
 Article 2(6): Organization shall ensure that states not members of UN shall act as far according
to principles to maintain international peace.
 Article 2(7): The United Nations shall not intervene in matters which are essentially domestic
ones of any state except when it is acting to enforce international peace.

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Achievements & Failures

The UN has following achievements to its credit.

Peace and Security

1. Maintaining Peace and Security: By sending peacekeeping and observer missions to the world’s
trouble spots over the past six decades, the United Nations has been able to restore calm, allowing
many countries to recover from conflict.

2. Preventing Nuclear Proliferation: For over the five decades, the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) has served as the world’s nuclear inspector. IAEA experts work to verify that safeguarded
nuclear material is used only for peaceful purposes. To date, the Agency has safeguards agreements
with more than 180 States.

3. Supporting Disarmament: UN treaties are the legal backbone of disarmament efforts:

 the Chemical Weapons Convention-1997 has been ratified by 190 States,

 the Mine-Ban Convention-1997 by 162, and the Arms Trade Treaty-2014 by 69.
 At the local level, UN peacekeepers often work to implement disarmament agreements
between warring parties.

4. Preventing genocide: The United Nations brought about the first-ever treaty to combat genocide—
acts committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.

5. The 1948 Genocide Convention has been ratified by 146 States, which commits to prevent and
punish actions of genocide in war and in peacetime. The UN tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, as
well as UN-supported courts in Cambodia, have put wouldbe genocide perpetrators on notice that
such crimes would no longer be tolerated.

Economic Development

1. Promoting Development: Since 2000, promoting living standards and human skills and potential
throughout the world have been guided by the Millennium Development Goals.

 The UN Development Programme (UNDP) supports more than 4,800 projects to reduce poverty,
promote good governance, address crises and preserve the environment.
 The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) works in more than 150 countries, primarily on child
protection, immunization, girls' education and emergency aid.
 The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) helps developing countries make the
most of their trade opportunities.

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The World Bank provides developing countries with loans and grants, and has supported more than
12,000 projects in more than 170 countries since 1947.

2. Alleviating Rural Poverty: The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) provides low-
interest loans and grants to very poor rural people.
Focusing on African Development: Africa continues to be a high priority for the United Nations. The
continent receives 36 per cent of UN system expenditures for development, the largest share
among the world’s regions. All UN agencies have special programmes to benefit Africa.

Promoting Women's Well-being: UN Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and
the empowerment of women.

3. Fighting Hunger: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) leads global efforts to
defeat hunger. FAO also helps developing countries to modernize and improve agriculture, forestry
and fisheries practices in ways that conserve natural resources and improve nutrition.

4. Commitment in Support of Children: UNICEF has pioneered to provide vaccines and other aid
desperately needed by children caught in armed conflict. The Convention on the Rights of the
Child-1989 has become law in nearly all countries.
5. Tourism: The World Tourism Organization is the UN agency responsible for the promotion of
responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
Its Global Code of Ethics for Tourism seeks to maximize the benefits of tourism while
minimizing its negative impact.

6. Global Think Tank: The United Nations is at the forefront of research that seeks solutions to global
problems.

 The UN Population Division is a leading source of information and research on global

population trends, producing up-to-date demographic estimates and projections.
 The UN Statistics Division is the hub of the global statistical system, compiling and
disseminating global economic, demographic, social, gender, environment and energy
statistics.
 The United Nations Development Programme’s annual Human Development Report
provides independent, empirically grounded analyses of major development issues, trends
and policies, including the groundbreaking Human Development Index.
 The United Nations World Economic and Social Survey, the Word Bank’s World
Development Report, the International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook and
other studies help policymakers to make informed decisions.

Social Development

 Preserving Historic, Cultural, Architectural and Natural Sites: The UNESCO has helped 137
countries to protect ancient monuments and historic, cultural and natural sites.

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 It has negotiated international conventions to preserve cultural property, cultural diversity and
outstanding cultural and natural sites. More than 1,000 such sites have been designated as
having exceptional universal value - as World Heritage Sites.

Taking the lead on global issues:

 The first United Nations conference on the environment (Stockholm, 1972) helped to alert
world public opinion on the dangers faced by our planet, triggering action by governments.
 The first world conference on women (Mexico City, 1985) put women's right, equality and
progress on the global agenda
 Other landmark events include the first international conference on human rights (Teheran,
1968), the first world population conference (Bucharest, 1974) and the first world climate
conference (Geneva, 1979).
 Those events brought together experts and policymakers, as well as activists, from around the
world, prompting sustained global action.
 Regular follow-up conferences have helped to sustain the momentum.

Human Rights

1. UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

 It has helped to enact dozens of legally binding agreements on political, civil, economic, social
and cultural rights
 UN human rights bodies have focused world attention on cases of torture, disappearance,
arbitrary detention and other violations.

2. Fostering Democracy: The UN promotes and strengthens democratic institutions and practices
around the world, including by helping people in many countries to participate in free and fair
elections.

 In the 1990s, the UN organized or observed landmark elections in Cambodia, El Salvador, South
Africa, Mozambique and Timor-Leste.
 More recently, the UN has provided crucial assistance in elections in Afghanistan, Burundi, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Nepal, Sierra Leone and Sudan.

3. Ending Apartheid in South Africa: By imposing measures ranging from an arms embargo to a
convention against segregated sporting events, the United Nations was a major factor in bringing
about the downfall of the apartheid system.

In 1994, elections in which all South Africans were allowed to participate on an equal basis led to the
establishment of a multiracial Government.

4. Promoting Women's Rights: The 1979 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, ratified by 189 countries, has helped to promote the rights of
women worldwide.

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Environment

 Climate change is a global problem that demands a global solution. The Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which brings together 2,000 leading climate change scientists,
issues comprehensive scientific assessments every five or six years.

 IPCC was established in 1988 under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization for the purpose of assessing “the scientific,
technical and socioeconomic information relevant for the understanding of the risk of human-
induced climate change.

 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) provides foundation for UN members

to negotiate agreements to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change and help
countries adapt to its effects. (UNFCCC-1992 is an international environmental treaty adopted
and opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 1992.)

 Global Environment Facility, which brings together 10 UN agencies, funds projects in developing
countries.

Protecting the Ozone Layer: The UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have been
instrumental in highlighting the damage caused to Earth's ozone layer.

 Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer-1985 provided the framework necessary
to create regulatory measures for international reductions in the production of chlorofluorocarbons.
Convention provided foundation for Montreal protocol.
 The Montreal Protocol-1987 is an international environmental agreement with universal ratification
to protect the earth’s ozone layer by eliminating use of ozone depleting substances (ODS) such as
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons.
 Kigali amendment (to the Montreal Protocol)-2016: was adopted to phase down production and
consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) worldwide.

Banning Toxic Chemicals: The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants- 2001 seeks to
rid the world of some of the most dangerous chemicals ever created.

International Law

1. Prosecuting War Criminals: By prosecuting and convicting war criminals, the UN tribunals
established for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda have helped to expand international
humanitarian and international criminal law dealing with genocide and other violations of
international law.

2. The International Criminal Court is an independent permanent court that investigates and
prosecutes persons accused of the most serious international crimes—genocide, crimes against
humanity and war crimes—if national authorities are unwilling or unable to do so.

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3. Helping to Resolve Major International Disputes: By delivering judgments and advisory opinions,
the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has helped to settle international disputes involving
territorial questions, maritime boundaries, diplomatic relations, State responsibility, the treatment
of aliens and the use of force, among others.

Stability and Order in the World's Oceans:

1. The 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which has gained nearly universal acceptance,
provides the legal framework for all activities in the oceans and seas.It also includes mechanisms for
settling disputes.

2. Combating International Crime: The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) works with countries
and organizations to counter transnational organized crime by providing legal and technical
assistance to fight corruption, money-laundering, drug trafficking and smuggling of migrants, as well
as by strengthening criminal justice systems.

3. It has played a key role in brokering and implementing relevant international Treaties, such as the
UN Convention against Corruption-2005 and the UN Convention against Transnational Organized
Crime-2003.

4. It works to reduce the supply of and demand for illicit drugs under the three main UN conventions
on drug control:

 the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 (amended 1972),

 the Convention on Psychotropic Substances-1971,
 and the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances-1988

5. Encouraging Creativity and Innovation: The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
promotes the protection of intellectual property rights and ensures that all countries are in a
position to harness the benefits of an effective intellectual property system.

Humanitarian Affairs

 Assisting refugees: Refugees fleeing persecution, violence and war have received aid from the
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

 UNHCR seeks long-term or "durable" solutions by helping refugees repatriate to their

homelands, if conditions warrant, or by helping them to integrate in their countries of asylum or
to resettle in third countries.

 Refugees, asylum-seekers and internally displaced persons, mostly women and children, are
receiving food, shelter, medical aid, education, and repatriation assistance from the UN.

 Aiding Palestinian Refugees: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near
East (UNRWA), a relief and human development agency, has assisted four generations of

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Palestinian refugees with education, health care, social services, microfinance and emergency
aid.

 Providing Food to the Neediest: The World Food Programme (WFP) is fighting hunger
worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve
nutrition and build resilience.

 Reducing the Effects of Natural Disasters: The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has
helped to spare millions of people from the calamitous effects of natural and man-made
disasters.

 Its early warning system, which includes thousands of surface monitors, as well as satellites,

o has made it possible to predict with greater accuracy weather-related disasters,

o has provided information on the dispersal of oil spills and chemical and nuclear
leaks and has predicted long-term droughts.

Health

 Promoting Reproductive and Maternal Health: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is
promoting the right of individuals to make their own decisions on the number and spacing of
their children through voluntary family planning programmes.

 Responding to HIV/AIDS: United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) coordinates global

action against an epidemic that affects some 35 million people.

 Wiping Out Polio: Poliomyelitis has been eliminated from all but three countries— Afghanistan,
Nigeria and Pakistan—as a result of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

 Eradicating Smallpox: A 13-year effort by the World Health Organization (WHO) resulted in
smallpox being declared officially eradicated from the planet in 1980

Challenges & Reforms

UN Administrative & Financial-Resources Challenges


Development Reform: Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030) will require bold
changes to the UN Development System (UNDS) for the emergence of a new generation of
country teams, centred on a strategic UN Development Assistance Framework and led by an
impartial, independent and empowered resident coordinator.

 Management Reform: To confront global challenges and to remain relevant in a fastchanging

world, United Nations must empower managers and staff, simplifies processes, increases
accountability and transparency and improves on the delivery of our mandates.

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 There are concerns for improving efficiency, avoidance of duplication, and the minimization of
waste in the functioning of the entire UN system.

 Financial Resources: Contributions of the Member States should have, as their fundamental
underpinning, the capacity to pay principle.

 The Member States should pay their contributions unconditionally, in full and on time, as delays
in payments have caused an unprecedented financial crisis in the UN system.

 Financial reforms hold the key to the future of the world body. Without sufficient resources,
the UN's activities and role would suffer.

Peace and Security issues

1. Threats to Peace and Security: The range of potential threats to peace and security that UN has to
face, are followingo poverty, disease, and environmental breakdown (the threats to human security
identified in the Millennium Development Goals),

• conflict between states,

• violence and massive human rights violations within states,
• terrorism threats from organized crime,
• and the proliferation of weapons - particularly WMD, but also conventional.

2. Terrorism: Nations that support groups that are widely linked to terrorism, such as Pakistan, are not
held accountable specifically for these actions. To this date, the UN still does not have a clear
definition of terrorism, and they have no plans to pursue one.

3. Nuclear Proliferation: In 1970, the nuclear non-proliferation treaty was signed by 190 nations.
Despite this treaty, nuclear stockpiles remain high, and numerous nations continue to develop these
devastating weapons. The failure of the non-proliferation treaty details the ineffectiveness of the
United Nations and their inability to enforce crucial rules and regulations on offending nations.

Security Council reforms

1. Composition of Security Council: It has remained largely static, while the UN General Assembly
membership has expanded considerably.

 In 1965, the membership of the Security Council was expanded from 11 to 15. There was no
change in the number of permanent members. Since then, the size of the Council has remained
frozen.

 This has undermined the representative character of the Council. An expanded Council, which is
more representative, will also enjoy greater political authority and legitimacy.

 India has been calling for the reform of the UN Security Council along with Brazil, Germany and
Japan (G-4). The four countries support each others' bids for the permanent seats in the top UN

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body.

 Any expansion of permanent members' category must be based on an agreed criteria, rather
than be a pre-determined selection.

2. UNSC Veto power: It is often observed that UN's effectiveness and responsiveness to international
security threats depends on judiciously use of the UNSC veto.

3. Veto Power: The five permanent members enjoy the luxury of veto power; when a permanent
member vetoes a vote, the Council resolution cannot be adopted, regardless of international
support. Even if the other fourteen nations vote yes, a single veto will beat this overwhelming show
of support.

There are proposals on future of Veto power:

• limiting the use of the veto to vital national security issues;

• requiring agreement from multiple states before exercising the veto;
• abolishing the veto entirely;

Any reform of the veto will be very difficult:

Articles 108 and 109 of the United Nations Charter grant the P5 (5 permanent members) veto
over any amendments to the Charter, requiring them to approve of any modifications to the
UNSC veto power that they themselves hold.

Non-Conventional Challenges

Since its creation, UN is working with goal of safeguarding peace, protecting human rights, establishing
the framework for international justice and promoting economic and social progress. New challenges,
such as climate change, refugees and population ageing are new fields it has to work.

4. Climate Change: From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels
that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and
unprecedented in scale. Without drastic action today, adapting to these impacts in the future will be
more difficult and costly.

5. Growing population: The world population is projected to increase by more than one billion people
within the next 15 years, reaching 8.5 billion in 2030, and to increase further to 9.7 billion in 2050
and 11.2 billion by 2100.

The world population growth rate must slow down significantly to avoid reaching unsustainable
levels.

6. Population Ageing: It is poised to become one of the most significant social transformations of the
twenty-first century, with implications for nearly all sectors of society, including labour and financial
markets, the demand for goods and services, such as housing, transportation and social protection,

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as well as family structures and intergenerational ties.

7. Refugees: The world is witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record.

 An unprecedented 65.6 million people around the world have been forced from home by
conflict and persecution at the end of 2016.
 Among them are nearly 22.5 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18.
 There are also 10 million stateless people, who have been denied a nationality and access to
basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement.

Criticism of the United Nations

Threat to national Some critics of the UN have alleged that it threatens national sovereignty and
sovereignty promotes globalism. In the United States, an early opponent of the UN was the John
Birch Society, which began a "get US out of the UN" campaign in 1959, charging that
the UN's aim was to establish a one-world government.

Charles de Gaulle of France criticized the UN, famously calling it le machin, and was
not convinced that a global security alliance would help in maintaining world
peace, preferring the UN to direct defense treaties between countries

Role of elite countries There has been criticism that the five permanent members of the United Nations
Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States),
who are all nuclear powers, have created an exclusive nuclear club whose powers
are unchecked. Unlike the General Assembly, the United Nations Security Council
does not have true international representation.

This has led to accusations that the UNSC only addresses the strategic interests and
political motives of the permanent members, especially
in humanitarian interventions: for example, protecting the oil-rich Kuwaitis in 1991
but poorly protecting resource-poor Rwandans in 1997.

Membership in the UN Any country may be elected to serve a temporary term on the Security Council, but
Security Council critics have suggested that this is inadequate. Rather, they argue, the number of
permanent members should be expanded to include non-nuclear powers, which
would democratize the organization Still other countries have advocated abolishing
the concept of permanency altogether; under the government of Paul
Martin, Canada advocated this approach
Veto power Another criticism of the Security Council involves the veto power of the five
permanent members. As it stands, a veto from any of the permanent members can
halt any possible action the Council may take.

One country's objection, rather than the opinions of a majority of countries, may
cripple any possible UN armed or diplomatic response to a crisis. As part of the
Soviet Union, Russia vetoed 90 resolutions between 1949 and 1991. As of July 2019,

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USSR and Russia vetoed 141 times, United States 83 times, UK 32 times, France 18
times, and China 14 times.

John J. Mearsheimer noted that "since 1982, the US has vetoed 32 Security Council
resolutions critical of Israel, more than the total number of vetoes cast by all the
other Security Council members."

Democratic character of Other critics object to the idea that the UN is a democratic organization, saying that
the UN it represents the interests of the governments of the countries who form it and not
necessarily the individuals within those countries.

World federalist Dieter Heinrich points out that the powerful Security Council
system does not have distinctions between the legislative, executive,
and judiciary branches: the United Nations Charter gives all three powers to the
Security Council.

Effectiveness While the UN's first and second Charter mandates require the UN: “To maintain
international peace and security.... (and if necessary to enforce the peace by) taking
preventive or enforcement action,” due to its restrictive administrative structure,
the permanent members of the Security Council themselves have sometimes
prevented the UN from fully carrying out its first two mandates Without the
unanimous approval, support (or minimally abstention) of all five of the permanent
members of the UN's Security Council, the UN's charter only enables it to "observe",
report on, and make recommendations regarding international conflicts. Such
unanimity on the Security Council regarding the authorization of armed UN
enforcement actions has not always been reached in time to prevent the outbreak of
international wars

In 1962, UN secretary general U Thant provided valuable assistance and took a great
deal of time, energy and initiative as the primary negotiator between Nikita
Khrushchev and John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis, thus providing a
critical link in the prevention of a nuclear war at that time.

Inability to prevent Other critics and even proponents of the United Nations question its effectiveness
conflicts and relevance because in most high-profile cases, there are essentially no
consequences for violating a Security Council resolution.

An early example of this was the Bangladesh Liberation War and the 1971
Bangladesh genocide committed by the Pakistan Army on Bangladeshis. Critics of the
UN argued that the UN was completely ineffective in preventing the genocide and
that military intervention by India was the only thing to stop the mass murder

Handling of the Cold War In 1967, Richard Nixon, while running for President of the United States, criticized
the UN as "obsolete and inadequate" for dealing with then-present crises like
the Cold War.

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Jeane Kirkpatrick, who was appointed by Ronald Reagan to be United States

Ambassador to the United Nations, wrote in a 1983 opinion piece in The New York
Times that the process of discussions at the Security Council "more closely resembles
a mugging" of the United States "than either a political debate or an effort at
problem-solving."

Allegations of anti- The UN has been accused by Dershowitz, human rights activists Elie Wiesel, Anne
Zionism and Bayefsky, and Bayard Rustin, historian Robert S. Wistrich, and feminists Phyllis
antisemitism Chesler and Sonia Johnson of tolerating antisemitic remarks within its walls Israeli
delegates to the UN "have been treated to a sickening litany of anti-Semitic abuse at
the General Assembly, in the UN Human Rights Commission, and sometimes even in
the Security Council" for decades

The most infamous example of this trend was the passage of United Nations
General Assembly Resolution 3379, which equated Zionism with racism, on
November 10, 1975. It was the first postwar ideology to ever be condemned in the
United Nations' history.

Recognition of Taiwan Since 1971, when the Republic of China (Taiwan) was forced to give up its seat at the
UN to the People's Republic of China, the self-governed island of 23 million has been
wandering in the diplomatic wilderness, barred from the United Nations and
affiliated bodies like the World Health Organization while its Olympic athletes are
forced to compete under the banner of Chinese Taipei.

The UN recognizes and abides by the One-China Policy which states that there is
only one China and Taiwan is part of it. This has created a gap between Taiwan and
the world because the People's Republic of China does not have jurisdiction over
Taiwan. Taiwan's United Nations Task Force director, Joanne Ou, has stated that
"The United Nations talks about justice and human rights, yet they pretend we don’t
exist. It’s humiliating, ridiculous and childish."

United Nations’ Failures U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said “The pandemic is a clear test of
On Coronavirus international cooperation – a test we have essentially failed.”
There is a “disconnect between leadership and power,”
Our societies have never been so interdependent,” And at the very moment when all
this is happening, never have we been so out of tune, so out of alignment.”

“At the end of the day,” “the United Nations can be only as effective as its
members are united.”—Angela Markel

Dag Hammarskjöld: "...setbacks in efforts to implement an ideal do not prove that

the ideal is wrong...

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Does UN have a future?

Shashi Tharoor

In the face of growing global disorder – including turmoil in the Middle

East, waves of migrants flooding into Europe, and China’s unilateral moves
to enforce its territorial claims – does the UN have a future?

• Grounds for pessimism are undeniable. Conflicts rage on, seemingly

unaffected by upholders of world order. Despite more than two
decades of talk, the Security Council’s permanent membership (China,
France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) still
reflects the geopolitical realities of 1945, not 2015.

• Denied accommodation in the Bretton Woods institutions (the World

Bank and the International Monetary Fund) commensurate with its
economic clout, China has established its own alternatives, which
other countries have flocked to join. The G-20 seems more representative than the Security Council
– and more imbued with common purpose.

• Yet the UN should not be written off. It continues to serve a vital purpose, and its history suggests
that it can be revitalized to meet the needs of the twenty-first century.

• The UN began, in 1945, as a vision shared by the leaders of the victorious Allies, who were
determined to ensure that the second half of the twentieth century did not play out like the first
half.

• After two world wars, countless civil wars, brutal dictatorships, mass expulsions of populations,
and the horrors of the Holocaust and Hiroshima, “never again” was not just a slogan: the
alternative was too apocalyptic to contemplate.

• To this end, the Allies sought an alternative to the balance-of-power politics that had wreaked such
havoc in the preceding five decades. Their idea – now called “global governance” – was to create an
institutional architecture that could foster international cooperation, elaborate consensual global
norms, and establish predictable, universally applicable rules, to the benefit of all.

• The hope that many placed in the UN Charter was soon dashed by the onset of the Cold War. And
yet global statesmen made good use of the new organization as a forum to contain superpower
tensions. Peacekeeping missions, not even mentioned in the Charter, were devised to contain
conflicts around the world, and to prevent them from igniting a superpower conflagration. Thanks
to the UN, World War III never happened.

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• Moreover, the UN’s contribution to peace during the Cold War is not the whole story. Its
decolonization efforts freed millions from the yoke of imperialist oppression. Economic and social
development rose to the top of its agenda.

• As global governance has evolved, the UN system has become the port of call for innumerable
“problems without passports”: the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the degradation
of our common environment, epidemics, war crimes, and mass migration. Such problems require
solutions without passports, because no country or group of countries can solve them alone.

• With universality comes legitimacy. Because all countries are members, the UN enjoys a global
standing that gives its decisions and actions a degree of authority that no individual government
enjoys beyond its own borders.

• The binary international order of the Cold War is long gone. Instead, the metaphor for today’s
globalized world is that of the World Wide Web, in which we increasingly function through multiple
networks. Sometimes those networks overlap, with common participants, and sometimes they are
distinct; they all serve our interests in different ways and for different purposes.

• Many countries once felt insulated – by wealth, strength, or distance – from external dangers. But
now they realize that local security forces are not enough to protect their citizens, and that the
safety of people everywhere depends on internationally coordinated efforts to combat terrorism,
pollution, infectious diseases, illegal drugs, and weapons of mass destruction, and to promote
human rights, democracy, and development.

• The UN has not fully succeeded in turning recognition into reality. But at its best and its worst, the
UN is a mirror of the world. As the legendary Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld famously put it,

“The United Nations was not created to take mankind to heaven, but to save
humanity from hell.”

• I believe strongly that the UN needs reform, not because it has failed, but because it has succeeded
enough to be worth investing in. As the agreement on the SDGs demonstrates, there is much that
can be accomplished with the UN as the lynchpin of our system of global governance.

• Moreover, the UN has proved a remarkably adaptable organization; it would not have survived so
long if it was not. While it must be reformed to accommodate today’s world, all that is needed is a
smidgen of the statesmanship shown seven decades ago, when world leaders subordinated their
immediate short-term interests to a long-term vision of the kind of world they wanted their children
to inhabit.

• The UN remains the source of laws and norms that countries negotiate together and agree to
uphold as the “rules of the road.”

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• And it remains the pre-eminent forum where sovereign states can come together to share burdens,
address shared problems, and seize common opportunities.

• In other words, the UN’s foundations, laid down in 1945, remain strong. But they must be
buttressed if they are to withstand the ongoing shifts in countries’ strategic weight. As the UN turns
70, it is time to reaffirm its founders’ guiding vision – a vision born of devastation that remains a
source of universal hope for a better world.

United Nations Security council

All about UN Security Council and India’s non-permanent membership for the 8th time

UN Security Council

 The UN Security Council is one of the six main organs of the UN, and is primarily responsible for
maintaining international peace and security.
 The other five organs of the UN are the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the
Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice and
the Secretariat.
 The UNSC held its first session on 17 January 1946 in
Westminster, London. Since then, the main headquarters for
the council has been in New York City at the UN
Headquarters.
 It consists of 15 members — five permanent members and
10 non-permanent members. The five permanent members
are the US, UK, Russia, China and France. Every year, five
non-permanent members are elected for a tenure of two
years.
 For a long time, India has pushed to be considered for permanent membership in the council. It
has also been backed by several countries in this regard, including US President Donald Trump.
 To be elected as a non-permanent member of the council, each member-country requires a two-
third majority of the entire assembly.
 At the eighteenth session of the UNSC in 1963, the General Assembly had decided that the non-
permanent members of the council should be elected according to the following pattern: Five
members from African and Asian countries, one from Eastern Europe, two Latin American countries
and two from Western Europe and other countries.
 The current non-permanent members are Belgium, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Germany,
Indonesia, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, South Africa and Tunisia.

Responsibilities and powers of the UNSC

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 If there is a security crisis anywhere in the world, the matter is brought before the UNSC and
they try to reach an agreement either through mediation, appointing special envoys, dispatching
a UN Mission or requesting the UN Secretary-General to settle the dispute.
 If the matter escalates, ceasefire directives are issued and peacekeeping forces and military
observers dispatched.
 Furthermore, if the circumstances are very dire then sanctions and financial penalties are
imposed, arms embargoed, and travel bans can also be issued.

Powers of permanent and non-permanent members

• The permanent members of the UNSC have a veto power. This veto allows any of these five
countries to block the adoption of a resolution. However, they cannot end or prevent a debate
through this power.
• Until 2012, as many as 269 vetoes had been used in the UNSC. China used it nine times, it was
used 18 times by France, 32 times by UK, 83 times by US and 128 times by Russia (and USSR).
• Unlike permanent members of the council, the non-permanent members do not have veto
power. However, they have “collective right of veto” — any resolution of the UNSC has to be
passed by at least seven non-permanent members even if all the permanent members support it.
• Every member-country of the council, including the non-permanent members, also assumes the
presidency of the council every month. The presidency is determined in an alphabetical order.
• This allows them to decide the content and theme of the debates, which can draw attention to
important issues for each member country with respect to international peace and security.
• The current president of the council is France for June 2020.
• India was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for
a two-year term Wednesday, with an overwhelming majority. It garnered 184 votes in the
General Assembly that consists of 193 members.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said he was “deeply grateful” for the support of the global
community towards the security council membership.
• The two-year term will begin on 1 January 2021, and along with India — Ireland, Mexico and
Norway were also elected to the council.
• India was the sole candidate from the Asia-Pacific region vying for a non-permanent
membership. Its candidature was unanimously endorsed by the 55-member Asia-Pacific Group in
June last year.
• This is the eighth time India has been elected a non-permanent member of the UNSC. Previously,
it has been elected as a member for the period of 1950-1951, 1967-1968, 1972-1973, 1977-
1978, 1984-1985, 1991-1992 and 2011-2012.

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Questions of UNSC reforms and various views

Questions of UNSC reforms and various views

Permanent seat in UNSC neither necessary nor only way for India to assert its ‘arrival’ on global centrestage

Bhopinder Singh October 03, 2020

• Countries, ie, United States, Russia, Britain and France, out of the Five permanent members of the
United Nations Security Council (UNSC) are willing to expand the Security Council to include India,
but the dogged spoke in the wheel is China.

• The irony is that it was the idealist-internationalist and the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal
Nehru, who in the 50’s had insisted on China getting a permanent seat of the United Nations on
priority, as part of his ‘moral’ imperative in foreign policy, as also, his reading of cold war calculus.
• The American suggestion and support for India’s inclusion then, was driven by the tactical purpose
of diminishing Communist powers, as opposed to sovereign credentials – nonetheless, India
missed the golden opportunity as it did not want to be get dragged into hegemonic power
struggles, and envisaged itself as a ‘moral power’ that stood for non-alignment and developing
world.
• Today, morality in international affairs has now been unabashedly replaced by realpolitik, and
China is the apogee of realpolitik. With this backstabbing history, the ongoing frustration for the
Indian cause is justifiable, and unfortunately with the China’s deliberate amnesia and intransigence,
expected.
• But it is equally important to question if a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council
(UNSC) is as powerful and necessary, as earlier. The short answer is, no it isn’t, and it is increasingly
diminishing in relevance.

Beyond the psychological sense of ‘arriving’ on the global centrestage, the only
functional lever of the permanent seat member is the ‘power of vetoing’ on any
substantive draft resolution – question is, does that really matter?

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• Israel has emerged as a powerful, persuasive and progressive power that has made significant gains
for itself, even though the number of UN resolutions condemning Israel are more than the total
number of UN resolutions, against the rest of the world!
• Forty-six anti-Israel UN resolutions in the last 46 years, has only strengthened the core of the
unconcerned Jewish state, as the rest of its neighbourhood is self-combusting in its own flames of
irreconcilable, revisionist and contradictory politics.
• In the chessboard of realpolitik, power respects power, and a nation like Israel that was historically
hounded for annexing land, nuclear armament, unilateral actions, etc, is now seen shaking hands
with erstwhile opponents like United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, etc, towards its own advantage.
• Germany is another successful narrative of a more ‘moral’ dimension, despite not having a
permanent seat in the United Nations. The genealogical logic underpinning the United Nations as
the bastion of victorious ‘allies’ notwithstanding, Germany (like India) qualifies all necessary
sovereign instincts, presuppositions and behaviours, which when contexualised to its scale and
impact, makes it worthy of a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council.
• Germany contributes more to the United Nations budget than Great Britain, France or Russia
(whereas, Japan does the second highest contribution, after the United States), yet it is denied its
rightful place.

However, this denial has not come in the way of Germany becoming the de facto
powerhouse in the European Union and amongst the most stable, future-ready and
influential countries in the globe.

• Similarly, Japan too evolved from the rubbles, sanctions and continued denials of a permanent seat
in the United Nations to emerge as an economic powerhouse, with a GDP that is only lower to that
of United States and China.
• Countries like Israel, Germany, Japan and India have had very different compulsions, journeys and
trajectories to still emerge as global ‘pivots’ – as thriving democracies, with necessary economic-
military wherewithal and expansive stakes on the global highway. Only unfair spokes and vested
interests keeps them out of an expanded council. Whereas, the sun has certainly set on the colonial
grandeur of Great Britain and France, which are undergoing their own atrophying and irrelevance, as
compared to the rising ‘pivot’ of India or the impact of a Germany.
• To decry the illiberal, expansionist and amoral moorings of a China that do not behoove the
responsibility of a ‘veto’ power, is to state the obvious – but since the hard lines are already drawn,
to expect any substantial or reformatory change, is foolhardy.

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India must manage, invoke and even circumvent the constraints of the prevailing
situation by baking another cake, instead of seeking a slice in the existing one, where
it will be perennially denied.

• Creative multilateral options like ‘Quad’ (United States, Japan, Australia and India) have the
necessary ‘bind’, ‘bite’ and economic-substance to emerge as a counterpoise on the global stage –
like the erstwhile possibilities and potentialities of a pre-Brexit European Union or the pre-Trump
thriving of a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) comity.
• The pusillanimity and ineffectiveness of the United Nations could be gauged by the recent remarks
of US President Donald Trump against another permanent seat member, ie, China, at the same
venue and occasion as Prime Minister Modi’s pitch for inclusion of India, where Trump insisted that
‘United Nations must hold China accountable for their actions’, and chided the United Nations by
saying that, ‘you should be putting your countries first’!
• Beyond rhetorical flourish, vacuous posturing and galvanising domestic constituents with grandiose
statements (Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, a case in point) – the multilateral platform offers
little, other than opportunities for political one-upmanship, meaningless vetoes and sabre-rattling.

The enfeeblement of the United Nations is a clear reality, though it institutionally still
bears relevance for a ‘moral power’ like India, that seeks to win the marathon of
righteousness over the Chinese leverage of ‘buy-outs’, intimidation or transactional
improbabilities.

• India has to continue seeking its rightful place in any expanded United Nations Security Council
without unnecessarily vesting all its hopes, plans and ambitions in the quest for a such a status, as
the changed world offers examples like Germany, Japan and Israel who have stitched alternative
arrangements that could be multilateral (European Union), bilateral (US-Israel), regional or
creatively/strategically relevant, eg, ‘Quad’.
• A permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council is more significant from the perspective of
sovereign pride, rather than any meaningful lever of national transformation.
• India has already won the moral and functional requirements for a permanent seat at the UNSC, and
therefore the denial of the same, only underscores the illogical stranglehold of an insecure and
ignoble state, nothing else.
• It is unfortunate, but beyond a point, a permanent seat in the UNSC is no longer

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Chinmaya R. Gharekhan

Let us be realistic about the UNSC

The veto question

 Primarily at our initiative, the question of Security Council reform, euphemism for expansion,
has been under consideration since 1970s. There is near unanimous support for increasing the
number of non-permanent seats. The controversial question is about the increase in the
category of permanent seats. The rationale for expansion has been accepted in-principle by
nearly all, but the difficulty arises when the actual numbers and their rights are discussed.

 India, along with Brazil, Germany and Japan, has proposed an increase of six additional
permanent seats, the other two being for Africa. The African group is demanding two
permanent seats, recognised as reasonable by every member, but there are at least three and
perhaps more claimants for the two seats. Then there is the question of the rights of the
additional members.

 The G-4’s initial position was for the same rights as the present permanent members, essentially
the veto right. Over the years, they have become more realistic and would be willing to forego
the veto right. The firm position of the Africans is that the new members must have the same
rights as the existing ones. This is a non-starter.

The larger picture

 The P-5 will never agree to give up their veto right, nor will they agree to accord this right to any
other country. (France supports veto for additional permanent members.) Also, the general
membership of the UN wants to eliminate the existing veto; they will never agree to new veto-
wielding powers. Variants of the veto provision have been suggested, such as the requirement
of double veto, i.e. at least two permanent members must exercise veto for it to be valid. The P-
5 are not willing to dilute their self-acquired right.

 Many member-states have been pledging support for our aspiration for permanent
membership. This is welcome and should be appreciated; it would come in useful if the question
ever comes up for a vote in the UNGA. Several P-5 countries have also announced support.

 The principal P-5 member opposing us is China. We should not be misled by their ambiguous
statements on the subject. It has to be underscored that there is no way that India alone, by
itself, can be elected as permanent member. It will have to be a package deal in which the
demands of all the geographical groups, including the Latin America and Caribbean group which,
like Africa, does not have a single permanent member, will have to be accommodated.

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 Even if the Americans are sincere in their support for us, they will simply not lobby for India
alone; it will be unthinkable for them to try to get India in without at the same time getting
Japan also in. It is equally unthinkable, for a long time to come, for China to support Japan’s
candidature. The P-5 will play the game among themselves but will stand by one another, as was
evident recently at the time of election to the ICJ.

 So, we should be realistic. If a permanent seat is not available, there are other proposals on
the table. One proposal is for the creation of ‘semi-permanent’ seats, according to which
members would be elected for six-eight years and would be eligible for immediate reelection.
Given India’s growing prestige and respect, it should not be difficult for us to successfully bid for
one of these seats; it might be a better alternative than to unrealistically hope for a permanent
seat.

Syed Akbaruddin

By any calculus, India qualifies for UNSC permanent seat

One of those aspirational goals was, is and will remain permanent membership of the Security Council,
because we feel by any present day calculus, we would qualify. Now, the issue of the expansion and
reform of the Security Council is not an India-centric issue. It is an issue which entails a whole host of
teams, because, as I told you, everybody acknowledges that India is sui generic.

India and the UN System

India and the UN System: Role in UN Peace-keeping; demand for Permanent Seat in the
Security Council.

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Introduction
 As a founding member of the United Nations, India strongly supports the purposes and
principles of the UN and has made significant contributions to implementing the goals of the
Charter, and the evolution of the UN’s specialized programmes and agencies.
 India’s deepening engagement with the United Nations is based on its steadfast commitment to
multilateralism and dialogue as the key for achieving shared goals and addressing common
challenges.
 India strongly believes that the United Nations and the norms of international relations that it
has fostered remain the most efficacious means for tackling today's global challenges including
those related to sustainable development, poverty eradication, environment, climate change,
peace building and peacekeeping, terrorism, disarmament, human rights, migration and health
and pandemics.
 The UN also has an important role in new emerging areas such as cyber security, space and
frontier technologies like Artificial Intelligence.
 India is steadfast in its efforts to work with the comity of Nations in the spirit of multilateralism
to achieve comprehensive and equitable solutions to all global challenges As a strong votary of
reformed multilateralism, India favours a comprehensive reform of the United Nations and its
institutions, to make them reflective of 21st century realities, thereby facilitating stronger
collective action.

India’s contribution as a founding member of UN

 India was among the select members of the United Nations that signed the Declaration by
United Nations at Washington on 1 January 1942 and participated in the historic UN Conference
of International Organization at San Francisco in 1945.
 India stood at the forefront during the UN's tumultuous years of struggle against colonialism
and apartheid.
 India was the co-sponsor of the landmark 1960 Declaration on UN on Granting of Independence
to Colonial Countries and Peoples which proclaimed the need to unconditionally end
colonialism in all its forms and manifestations.
 India was also elected the first chair of the Decolonization Committee where its ceaseless
efforts to put an end to colonialism are well on record.
 India was amongst the most outspoken critics of apartheid and racial discrimination in South
Africa. In fact, India was the first country to raise this issue at the UN (in 1946) and played a
leading role in the formation of a Sub-Committee against Apartheid set up by the General
Assembly.
 When the Convention on Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination was adopted in 1965,
India was among the earliest signatories.
 India’s status as a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77
cemented its position within the UN system as a leading advocate of the concerns and
aspirations of developing countries and the creation of a more equitable international economic
and political order.

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Representation in UN Bodies
India enjoys strong goodwill and support at the UN and has been elected to several UN bodies. In the
last few years, India was elected to --

 The Human Right Council (HRC)

 Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
 International Narcotics Control Board (INCB)
 International Court of Justice (ICJ)
 UN Board of Auditors, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)
 International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)
 International Law Commission (ILC) and Joint Inspection Unit (JIU), among others.
 Currently India is represented in 22 UN Bodies.

India on the UN Security Council

 India has served in the UN Security Council seven times (1950-51, 1967-68, 1972-73, 1977-78,
1984-85, 1991-92 and 2011-12). During its last term (2011- 12) on the UN Security Council, India
chaired the UNSC 1373 Committee concerning Counter-Terrorism, the 1566 Working Group
concerning threat to international peace and security by terrorist acts and the Security Council
751/1907 Committee concerning Somalia and Eritrea.
 India played an active role in discussions on all issues related to international peace and
security, including several new challenges which the Security Council was called upon to deal
with in Afghanistan, Cote d’Ivoire, Iraq, Libya, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen. In view of the
serious threat posed to international maritime trade and security by piracy off the coast of
Somalia, India promoted concerted international cooperation against the pirates.
 At India’s initiative, the Security Council mandated international cooperation for release of
hostages taken by pirates as well as for prosecution of those taking hostages and those aiding
and abetting the acts of hostage-taking.
 In its participation in the decision making process at the Security Council, India underscored its
commitment to promoting peaceful resolution of conflicts by diplomatic means, including by
supporting regional efforts. India also worked for enhancing international cooperation in the
areas of counter-terrorism, prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to
non-state actors, and the strengthening of UN peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts.

Reform & Restructuring of the UN

 India strongly advocates the process of reform and restructuring of the UN to make it better
equipped to effectively respond to the evolving needs of its membership, particularly
developing countries.
 The expansion of the Security Council and improvement of its working methods must be integral
part of Security Council Reform. It is essential that the Security Council is expanded in both the
permanent and non-permanent categories.

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 The inclusion of countries who are capable of global responsibility regarding peace and security,
including developing countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America, will contribute to optimal
decision by the Council as well as address the concerns of the developing countries.

India’s bid for UNSC permanent seat

India is eminently suited for permanent membership of the UN Security Council by any objective criteria,
such as

 Population
 Territorial size
 GDP
 Economic potential
 Civilizational legacy
 Cultural diversity
 Political system and past and
 Ongoing contributions to the activities of the UN—especially to UN peacekeeping operations.

 India has affirmed its willingness and capacity to shoulder the responsibilities of permanent
membership of the UN Security Council.
 India in collaboration with other like-minded countries actively participates in the efforts G-4
(India, Brazil Germany and Japan) and L.69 (Group of like-minded countries from Asia, Africa
and Latin America) to push forward the inter-governmental negotiations in the UN on the
question of reform and expansion of the UN Security Council.

Terrorism
 The international effort against terrorism is a key priority for India in the UN.
 Terrorism is a global phenomenon whose destructive potential and lethal reach is enhanced by
linkages to illicit trafficking in drugs and small arms, and international money laundering
operations. Domestic measures alone cannot deal with terrorism as long as countries continue
to provide safe havens for terrorists, therefore, to be effective, the fight against terrorism must
be long- term, sustained and global; it must tackle not just the perpetrators of the acts but also
those who sponsor them.
 India is a party to the 13 sectoral conventions on terrorism adopted by the UN.
 With the objective of providing a comprehensive legal framework to combat terrorism, India
took the initiative to pilot a draft Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT)
in 1996. A text of the Convention is being negotiated in the 6th Committee of the UN General
Assembly.
 India also supports strict global implementation of anti-terrorism mechanisms established by UN
Security Council Resolutions, including Resolutions 1267/1989 (related to sanctions against ISIS
(Da’esh) and Al-Qaeda) and 1988 (related to sanctions against Taliban), 1373 (related to

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Counter-Terrorism Committee), and 1540 ( pertaining to non-proliferation of WMDs), and other

international mechanisms such as Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Human Rights
 On human rights, India advocates a holistic and integrated approach that emphasizes the inter-
dependence, inter-relatedness, indivisibility and university of human rights. India’s position
reinforces the inter-relationship between democracy, development, human rights and
international cooperation for development. India’s participation in debates within the UN on
this topic are guided both by India’s status as the world’s largest democracy, and by its
experiences as a large developing country.
 From a historical perspective, India played an active role in drafting the Universal Declaration on
Human Rights and is fully committed to the rights proclaimed in the Universal Declaration. India
is party to the five core human rights covenants/conventions, namely, the International
Covenant on civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination (ICERD), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). India has also signed the
UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC).
 India was an active participant in the former UN Commission on Human Rights, of which it was a
member since the Commission’s inception in 1947. Following the replacement of the
Commission by the Human Rights Council in 2006, India was elected to HRC five times (2006,
2007, 2011-14, 2014-17 and 2019-21) India has been actively participating in the new peer
review mechanism of Universal Period Review (UPR) process in the Human Rights Council.
 India started its latest three-year term to the Human Rights Council in 2019. It continued its
engagement and participation in, inter-alia, sessions of the Human Rights Council (HRC), annual
forum meetings, intergovernmental working group proceedings, and human rights Treaty Bodies
reporting process.

Development and Economic issues

 Over the decades, India has urged the UN to play a more active role and be more effective in
pursuing a more equitable international order and an economic environment that is conducive
to rapid economic growth and development in developing countries. In the context of the new
globalized system, India has also actively urged the UN to work to ensure that developing
countries can harness the benefits of these processes in an equitable manner.
 India has also consistently supported a higher profile and a more central role for the UN in
consideration of developmental issues. Specifically, India has emphasized the need for enhanced
flows of official development assistance (ODA) to developing countries--in particular, raising
ODA from developed countries to 0.7% of their Gross National Income—transfer of technology
to developing countries, more equitable terms of trade, accelerating industrialization,
agricultural development and food security in developing countries.
 India has exercised leadership on these issues in fora such as Non-Aligned Movement and the G-
77 to ensure that economic development and eradication of poverty remain priority issues at
the UN. India is a significant contributor to the core resources of the UN Development

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Programme, the UN Population Fund (UNFP), the United Nations Childrens’ Fund (UNICEF) and
the World Food Programme.

India at the 74th UNGA Session (2019-20)

 Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi led the Indian delegation to the High- level segment of
74th Session of the UN General Assembly (22-27 September 2019). He was accompanied by External
Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, Minister of State for External Affairs Shri V Muraleedharan and
other senior officials.
 PM attended high level meetings viz. Climate Action Summit, High- Level Meeting on Universal
Health Coverage, and the Leaders’ Dialogue on Strategic Responses to Terrorist and Violent
Extremist Narratives.
 PM also announced the launch of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the
initiative of the “Leadership Group”, an outcome of the Industry-Transition Track that India co-led
with Sweden as part of the Climate Action Summit.
 During his visit to the UNGA, PM hosted two major plurilateral engagements, namely, meeting with
the leaders of the Pacific Small Islands Developing States (PSIDS) (24 September 2019) and meeting
with the leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) (25 September 2019).
 This was the first time, Summit level meetings were held with these Groups and PM announced
several measures for enhanced partnerships with countries belonging to these Groups.
 Commemorating Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th Birth Anniversary at the UN On the side lines of the 74th
UNGA in New York, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi hosted a high-level event (24 September
2019) titled, “Leadership Matters: Relevance of Mahatma Gandhi in the Contemporary World” to
mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
 The event was attended by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, President of Republic of
Korea Mr. Moon Jae-in, Prime Minister of Singapore Mr. Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of
Bangladesh Ms. Sheikh Hasina, PM of Jamaica Mr. Andrew Holness and PM of New Zealand Ms.
Jacinda Ardern.
 Participating dignitaries paid rich tributes to Gandhian thought and ideals and the influence it had
on their lives. On the occasion, the leaders jointly inaugurated the Gandhi Solar Park that was
commissioned on the roof of the UN Headquarters. The project consisting of 193 solar panels,
symbolic of the 193-member states of the United Nations, was executed by the UN at a cost of US$1
million. A special postage stamp on Mahatma Gandhi was also released on the occasion.

Significant Achievements (2014-20)

• The UNGA Resolution declaring 21 June every year as the International Day of Yoga was adopted in
Dec 2014 with a record number of 177 co- sponsors. This set-in motion global annual observance of
the International Day of Yoga.
• Usage of Hindi in UN public communications (UN news, weekly audio bulletins on UN radio and UN
social media) began in March 2018 following the first MoU signed by the UN with any country.
• The first ever single-country South-South cooperation initiative at the UN was launched in June 2017
through the “India-UN Development Partnership Fund”, a $100 million fund facility to undertake
projects across the developing world. In April 2018, a US$50 Million Commonwealth window was
created under the Fund to support SDG related projects in developing countries of the
Commonwealth.

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• India worked closely with its partners in the UN Security Council to successfully accomplish the
listing of Pakistan based terrorist Masood Azhar under the United Nations Security Council’s 1267
Sanctions Committee (May 2019) concerning Al-Qaida and ISIS (Da’esh)and associated individuals
and entities, which was pending since 2009.
• India was elected to the Human Rights Council in Oct 2018 for the period 2019-2022 with highest
number of votes (188/193).
• India was unanimously elected by ECOSOC for another three year term from 2020-22.
• At the virtual Session of the 73rd World Health Assembly in May 2020, India, along with over 60
countries, co-sponsored the resolution on Covid- 19 pandemic. India was also elected the Chair of
the Executive Board (EB) of the World Health Organization at the virtual meeting held on 22 May,
2020; Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, would be the Chairman of EB for
the next one year.

All about UN Security Council and India’s non-

permanent membership for the 8th time
 In July 2020 India was elected as a non-
permanent member of the United Nations
Security Council with an overwhelming
majority.
 India was elected as a non-permanent member
of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
for a two-year term, with an overwhelming
majority. It garnered 184 votes in the General
Assembly that consists of 193 members.
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said he was
“deeply grateful” for the support of the global
community towards the security council membership.
 India was the sole candidate from the Asia-Pacific region vying for a non-permanent
membership. Its candidature was unanimously endorsed by the 55-member Asia-Pacific Group
in June last year.
 This is the eighth time India has been elected a non-permanent member of the UNSC.
Previously, it has been elected as a member for the period of 1950-1951, 1967-1968, 1972-1973,
1977-1978, 1984-1985, 1991-1992 and 2011-2012.
UN Security Council

 The UN Security Council is one of the six main organs of the UN, and is primarily responsible for
maintaining international peace and security.
 The other five organs of the UN are the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the
Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice and the Secretariat.

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 The UNSC held its first session on 17 January

1946 in Westminster, London. Since then, the
main headquarters for the council has been in
New York City at the UN Headquarters.
 It consists of 15 members — five permanent
members and 10 non-permanent members. The
five permanent members are the US, UK, Russia,
China and France. Every year, five non-
permanent members are elected for a tenure of
two years.
 For a long time, India has pushed to be
considered for permanent membership in the
council. It has also been backed by several
countries in this regard, including US President
Donald Trump.
 To be elected as a non-permanent member of
the council, each member-country requires a
two-third majority of the entire assembly.
 At the eighteenth session of the UNSC in 1963,
the General Assembly had decided that the non-
permanent members of the council should
be elected according to the following pattern:
Five members from African and Asian countries,
one from Eastern Europe, two Latin American
countries and two from Western Europe and
other countries.
Responsibilities and powers of the UNSC
G4 nations
The G4nations comprising Brazil, Germany, I
ndia, and Japan are four countries which
support each other's bids for permanent
seats on the United Nations Security
Council.
Unlike the G7, where the common
denominator is the economy and long-term
political motives, the G4's primary aim is
the permanent member seats on the
Security Council.
Each of these four countries have figured
among the elected non-permanent
members of the council since the UN's
establishment.
Their economic and political influence has
grown significantly in the last decades,
reaching a scope comparable to the
permanent members (P5).
However, the G4's bids are often opposed
by the Uniting for Consensus movement,
and particularly their economic competitors
or political rivals

 If there is a security crisis anywhere in the world, the matter is brought before the UNSC and
they try to reach an agreement either through mediation, appointing special envoys, dispatching
a UN Mission or requesting the UN Secretary-General to settle the dispute.
 If the matter escalates, ceasefire directives are issued and peacekeeping forces and military
observers dispatched.
 Furthermore, if the circumstances are very dire then sanctions and financial penalties are
imposed, arms embargoed, and travel bans can also be issued.

Powers of permanent and non-permanent members

 The permanent members of the UNSC have a veto power. This veto allows any of these five
countries to block the adoption of a resolution. However, they cannot end or prevent a debate
through this power.
 Until 2012, as many as 269 vetoes had been used in the UNSC. China used it nine times, it was
used 18 times by France, 32 times by UK, 83 times by US and 128 times by Russia (and USSR).
 Unlike permanent members of the council, the non-permanent members do not have veto
power. However, they have “collective right of veto” — any resolution of the UNSC has to be

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passed by at least seven non-permanent members even if all the permanent members support
it.
 Every member-country of the council, including the non-permanent members, also assumes the
presidency of the council every month. The presidency is determined in an alphabetical order.
 This allows them to decide the content and theme of the debates, which can draw attention to
important issues for each member country with respect to international peace and security.
 The current president of the council is France
for June 2020.
Uniting for Consensus
Committees of the UN Security Council
Uniting for Consensus (UFC) is a movement,
 The non-permanent members also preside nicknamed the Coffee Club, that developed in
over committees and working groups of the the 1990s in opposition to the possible expansion
UNSC. of permanent seats in the United Nations
 The subsidiary bodies of the council are Security Council.
known as committees — Counter-Terrorism
Committee, Non-Proliferation Committee, Under the leadership of Italy, it aims to counter
United Nations Military Staff Committee and the bids for permanent seats proposed by G4
Sanctions Committee. nations (Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan) and is
 The council uses sanctions to put pressure on calling for a consensus before any decision is
a country to comply with its objectives, reached on the form and size of the Security
without using force. Council.
 The UNSC has used sanctions when peace has
been threatened and diplomatic efforts
failed.
 Sanctions include economic and trade sanctions along with diplomatic restrictions and travel
bans. Currently, there are 14 ongoing sanction regimes in the world that focus on settlement of
political conflicts, nuclear non-proliferation and counter-terrorism.

The challenge of reforming the UN

Harsh V. Pant

• The UN is structured in such a way that the decision-making process is distributed

among a wide range of countries and constituencies with often competing and
contradictory views and interests. Russia and China, for example, did not attend
the UN meeting on reforms.
• For its part, India has suggested that the UN reforms need to be “broad-based and
all-encompassing" and the changes should not be restricted to its secretariat only.
India’s permanent representative to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin, has made it clear Harsh V Pant
that reforms cannot sidestep issues related to the governance of UN bodies. But
India has extended its support to Trump’s efforts at UN reforms, saying it should
include the expansion of the world body’s permanent and non-permanent members to keep pace
with the changed times.
• Since the end of the Cold War, India has been spearheading a move for reforms at the UN to make
the world body more representative of the changing global realities while enhancing its credibility
and effectiveness. India remains one of the largest contributors to the UN peacekeeping

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operations, providing almost 200,000 troops in nearly 50 of the 71 peacekeeping missions

mandated over the past six decades.
• It is not surprising, therefore, that New Delhi has been concerned about the post-Cold War
international acceptance of the UN’s questionable “right to intervene" where it believed it to be
necessary, allowing the UN to act with little debate. The nature of the military operations increased
both in number and complexity over an extremely short timescale.
• Additionally, the UN peacekeepers were deployed to environments in which the belligerent parties
were not entirely on board with the deployment, thus seriously threatening the safety of the
troops under the UN flag. India has repeatedly underlined the dangers inherent in such a rapid
transformation from traditional UN missions to these new operations.
• Since the cessation of the Cold War there have been attempts to reform the international legal
system to reflect the rights of the individual over and above those of the state. But India, along
with other largely non-Western nations, has remained sceptical of these attempts at reforms,
believing that any such reforms would afford the privileged few with the means to intervene, the
moral justification to do so. Therefore, the Trump administration’s focus on “sovereignty" as the
defining feature of UN reforms will be welcomed by New Delhi.
• But as India continues to expend its diplomatic capital on finding a seat at the UN Security Council,
it will also have to articulate new ways of how the UN can be made more effective and efficient.
There is a need to create a new balance between India’s pursuit of its narrow national interest and
its responsibility as a rising power to maintain global peace and stability.

UN must go back to its original mandate

Updated: Sep 28, 2020 19:55 IST

Shyam Saran

• The United Nations (UN)  is observing the 75th anniversary of its founding amid the Covid-19
pandemic. Heads of States/governments marked the occasion with speeches delivered through the
digital medium. They applauded the UN and the role it has played in the maintenance of
international peace and security and in addressing major social and economic challenges.

• The reality is that the original and uplifting vision, which underlay the establishment of the UN, has
lost its focus. The UN faces a crisis of credibility at the root of which is the enfeeblement of the
spirit of internationalism and related to that, the diminishing role of multilateral processes in
addressing cross-cutting and global challenges. This is evident in the marginal role that the UN is
playing in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic and the doubts expressed over the credibility and
effectiveness of the World Health Organization (WHO) in mobilising the international community in
the fight against the virus. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of the concerns of countries like
India and the need for reform in his address to the UN.

• Despite the pandemic being a global crisis, it is being tackled as a public health emergency mostly
at the national level. The results are suboptimal as is to be expected. The pandemic has spawned a
major economic crisis, but countries are held in thrall by the growing confrontation between the
largest and the second-largest economies of the world: The United States (US) and China. Without a
minimal agreement between them on supporting the recovery of the global economy and trade, it is
impossible to recreate the G-20 collaboration which dealt successfully with the global financial and
economic crisis of 2007-08.

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• The World Trade Organization has been rendered irrelevant by the growing salience of large multi-
nation regional trade and investment arrangements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP) and the increasing recourse to bilateral deals. Both global economy and trade
flows are becoming fragmented and the international economic environment is less conducive to
the development of countries like India.

• Multilateralism is more important to emerging countries whose bargaining clout is still limited.
But India, too, appears to have adopted the current preference among major countries to deal with
issues through a narrower and more self-centred nationalism prism. The UN today is a depleted
version of its founding ideals and there are several reasons for this. Its original democratic impulse,
limited though it was by the institution of the UN Security Council with five permanent members
with veto power, is now weak. Resolutions of the UN General Assembly are rarely taken seriously.
Its agenda is limited by the narrow sensitivities of its most powerful members.

• A major problem relates to finance. The assessed contributions to the UN, based on the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) of its members, is barely enough to support the UN establishment leaving
virtually nothing for its wide range of activities, including peace-keeping. The UN and its specialised
agencies are able to engage in their mandated activities only through project funding from major
donor countries. They determine where and how these funds will be spent. It should come as no
surprise, therefore, that the activities of the UN are heavily oriented towards the preferences of the
donors and not the priorities of its larger membership.

• Developing countries who are in the category of middle powers, such as India, Indonesia, Brazil,
South Africa and Mexico, for example, could prevent the capture of the UN by a small cluster of
richer countries, China now among them, through larger contributions to the general budget.
However, even among these countries the tendency is to mimic the behaviour of the affluent
countries. They, too, would rather seek to influence the activities of the UN to pursue their own
foreign policy aims rather than serve the larger purpose of a relatively more autonomous UN.

• It is now apparent that in key areas of technology and public health, large multinational
corporations are playing an increasingly influential role. The turnover of five big tech companies,
Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft and Facebook together exceeds the GDP of some of the largest
economies of the world at over $5 trillion. They run large philanthropic foundations and agencies
but it would be naïve to think that their activities are de-linked from their business interests. When
the UN becomes a partner of these foundations and receives funds from them, then it is unlikely to
encourage any questioning of their activities. The credibility of the UN is further undermined
through these associations.

• The major powers and more affluent nations have no interest in leading the UN back to its original
vision and mandate. They are comfortable with its current role as their handmaiden and its
collaboration with big business. It is the large constituency of developing countries, including middle
powers like India, whose interests would be served by a UN which in its role and activities, truly
reflects the interests of its larger membership. I recall my experience as India’s Alternate
Representative to the Committee on Disarmament (CD) in the early 1980s. The Disarmament
Secretariat led by Ambassador Rikhi Jaipal, played the role of adviser and counsellor to the Non-
aligned and Neutral Countries in the CD, helping them set the agenda, marshall their arguments and

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acquaint them with procedural issues. If such secretarial positions are financed by project funds,
independence of action by UN functionaries is impossible. It is these fundamental issues which need
to be addressed by the UN at 75 if it is to regain its credibility and effectiveness.

UN Peacekeeping

Context: Last year marked the 70th anniversary of the UN Peacekeeping operations .

What is peacekeeping – an introduction

United Nations Peacekeeping helps countries torn by conflict create conditions for
lasting peace.

 Peacekeeping has proven to be one of the

most effective tools available to the UN to
assist host countries navigate the difficult
path from conflict to peace.
 Peacekeeping has unique strengths,
including legitimacy, burden sharing, and an
ability to deploy and sustain troops and
police from around the globe, integrating
them with civilian peacekeepers to advance
multidimensional mandates.
 UN peacekeepers provide security and the
political and peacebuilding support to help
countries make the difficult, early transition from conflict to peace.

UN Peacekeeping is guided by three basic principles:

 Consent of the parties;
 Impartiality;
 Non-use of force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate.

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 Peacekeeping is flexible and over the past two decades has been deployed in many
configurations. There are currently 13 UN peacekeeping operations deployed on three
continents.
 Today's multidimensional peacekeeping operations are called
upon not only to maintain peace and security, but also to Responsibility to Protect
facilitate the political process, protect civilians, assist in
the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former  The Responsibility to
combatants; support the organization of elections, protect Protect (R2P or RtoP) is a
and promote human rights and assist in restoring the rule of global political commitment
law. which was endorsed by all
member states of the United
 Success is never guaranteed, because UN Peacekeeping Nations at the 2005 World
almost by definition goes to the most physically and Summit in order to address its
politically difficult environments. However, we have built up four key concerns to
a demonstrable record of success over our 60 years of
prevent genocide, war
existence, including winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
crimes, ethnic
 Peacekeeping has always been highly dynamic and cleansing and crimes against
has evolved in the face of new challenges. Former Secretary- humanity.
General Ban Ki-moon established a 17-member High-level  The principle is based on a
Independent Panel on UN Peace Operations to make a respect for the norms and
comprehensive assessment of the state of UN peace principles of international law,
operations today, and the emerging needs of the future. especially the underlying
Global partnership principles of law relating to
sovereignty, peace and
 UN peacekeeping is a unique global partnership. It brings security, human rights, and
together the General Assembly, the Security Council, the armed conflict.
Secretariat, troop and police contributors and the host
governments in a combined effort to maintain international
peace and security.

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 Its strength lies in the legitimacy of the UN

Charter and in the wide range of contributing
countries that participate and provide precious
resources.
Evolution of UN peacekeeping forces
 Peacekeeping became the most important
tool available to the UN in order to maintain
peace and security in conflict areas at a time
when cold war rivalries frequently paralysed
the Security Council.
 The first UN peacekeeping mission was
authorised in May 1948 and a team was
deployed to the West Asia during the 1948
Arab–Israeli War. It consisted of unarmed
military observers whose primary role was to
monitor, report and build confidence.
 The earliest armed peacekeeping operation was the first UN Emergency Force deployed
during the Suez crisis in 1956.
 The first large-scale mission having nearly 20,000 military personnel was the UN
Operation in Congo launched in 1960. Since then, the UN has deployed more than 70
peacekeeping operations.
 Over the years, hundreds of thousands of military personnel, as well as tens of
thousands of UN police and other civilians from more than 120 countries have
participated in UN peacekeeping operations.
 The nature of conflicts changed over the years, and peacekeeping, which originally
emerged to deal with interstate conflicts, began to be applied to intrastate conflicts
including civil wars.
 The accomplishments from past missions have raised the expectations from UN
Peacekeeping beyond its capacity to deliver.
 UN Peacekeepers are now undertaking a wide variety of complex tasks, from
establishing sustainable governance structures, human rights monitoring, security sector
reforms, to the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of former combatants.
 Moreover, there has been a rise in civilian casualties due to inadequate resource
allocation to peacekeepers on the ground. This forced the Security Council to limit the
number of new peacekeeping missions and at present, there are only 14 UN
peacekeeping operations deployed in 4 continents.

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 However, this does not mean that the challenges that they face are diminishing. The UN
is undertaking a major exercise to introduce reforms in peacekeeping operations.

Issues and scope of reforms

 The biggest challenge that UN peacekeeping forces are facing today is the difference of
opinion between the countries of the Global North and South with regards to the scope
and mandates of peacekeeping operations.
 There are inconsistencies in the positions adopted by actors on both the sides. For
instance, countries of the South are demanding more aggressive peacekeeping and
condemning the North for not intervening adequately in Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and
Congo, yet at the same time accusing them of interventionist policies.
 Northern countries also hesitate to engage their troops with the UN due to its
deficiencies and, also refuse to finance the measures needed to improve the UN. The
countries of the north are asking for more robust peacekeeping mandates, while
countries of the south fear that this may threaten their sovereignty.
 The peacekeepers are demanding more resources, whereas Global South fears that this
would divert resources better spent on fighting poverty. The Security Council is accused
of using these operations only in areas, which are geopolitically significant to them,
and ignoring the rest.
 The Secretary-General of the UN, António
Guterres, launched an Action for
Peacekeeping (A4P) initiative on 28 March
2018, to renew the individual and collective
commitments of Member States to
strengthen peacekeeping operations on the
ground and resolve these conflicting issues.
 Peacekeepers also came under criticism
because of their failure to protect those who
are vulnerable and trust peacekeepers to Peacekeeping is one of the most effective tools
available to the United Nations in the
protect them. For instance, peacekeepers in
promotion and maintenance of international
South Sudan failed to protect the public from peace and security. A4P represents the core
attacks despite repeated calls for help while agenda for our action and a driver of change
being stationed just a mile away. permeating all aspects of the UN's
peacekeeping work.
 UN Security Council has adopted the
resolution 2272 – to hold peacekeepers

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accountable for sexual abuse. The United States has introduced a new resolution to
accelerate progress on peacekeeping performances, which has three critical
performance priorities.
o First, the Security Council and the concerned member states need to report their
performance failures in a time-bound and transparent manner.
o Second, an accountability mechanism for failure needs to be established and
incentives should be given for stronger performance (suggestion for any
incentive mechanism).
o Third, data is necessary in order for troops to be deployed for the right roles, and
deployment should only be on the basis of training and operational readiness,
and not politics.

India and UN Peacekeeping

“My message is of gratitude for the enormous contribution that India has been giving to all causes of the
United Nations but in particular to peacekeeping and (I) express my enormous admiration for the
courage and the spirit of sacrifice of Indian peacekeepers – women and men, a high percentage of
women – in support of the ideals of UN,”

---António Guterres Secretary-General of the United Nations

“Peacekeeping has been a difficult endeavour but it has not deterred all of us from
working together for international peace and security,” --India’s
UN envoy Syed Akbaruddin

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 India has a long history of cooperation with the UN

peacekeeping. One of the earliest peacekeeping
missions deployed in India was the UN Military “UN peacekeeping operates in
Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) in increasingly complex
1948 itself. environments and we are
 India has been at the vanguard of peacekeeping right grateful for steadfast partners
like India, who have risen to new
from 1950 when it supplied medical personnel and
challenges and continue to
troops to the UN Repatriation Commission in Korea.
participate meaningfully in our
Since then, India has participated in 49 missions efforts to protect vulnerable
sending more than 2,08,000 troops. 156 Indians have civilians,”
sacrificed their lives in these peacekeeping operations,
Jean-Pierre Lacroix
the largest sacrifice by any troop-contributing nation.
 India has developed a well-rounded policy for Under-Secretary-General for
participation in UN peacekeeping operations. It has Peacekeeping Operations
established a training centre in Delhi under the Centre
for UN Peacekeeping. This centre has provided the secretariat for International
Peacekeeping Institutes for almost two decades. This has enhanced its image and it has
begun to be accepted as an important player on the world stage.
 India has been very vocal and at the forefront regarding re forms for peacekeeping
forces. India wants a greater say in decisions pertaining to peacekeeping. From India’s
point of view, better training of peacekeepers is required.

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 It is against the idea of a more robust peacekeeping and wants greater allocation of
funds. India wants that the UNSC should decide peacekeeping operations within 30 days
or a maximum period of 90 days in order to avoid tragedies because of delays.
 India also wants the involvement of experts from various fields in peacekeeping in order
to better deal with emerging challenges. There should also be a sound exit policy for
peacekeepers.
 New Delhi has a huge role to play when it comes to introducing reforms to
peacekeeping. The Declaration of Shared Commitments on UN Peacekeeping Operations,
part of the A4P initiative, has highlighted the crucial areas for reforms. For instance,
improving the safety of peacekeepers, holding them accountable for their actions,
strengthening protection provided by peacekeeping forces, and finding political
solutions to conflicts and enhancing the political impact of peacekeeping.
 India should take advantage of its rising global stature and should take a lead in order to
make this arm of the UN more effective.

INDIA AND UN PEACKEEPING AT GLANCE

 More than 200,000 Indians have served in 49 of the 71 UN peacekeeping missions established
around the world since 1948.
 Here, Indian troops join Danish and Swedish peacekeepers on a training exercise on a beach in
Gaza in 1958 as part of the UN Emergency Force (UNEF).
 India has a long tradition of sending women on UN peacekeeping missions. In 1960, women
serving in the Indian Armed Forces Medical Services were interviewed by UN Radio before being
deployed to the Republic of the Congo.
 In 2007, India became the first country to deploy an all-women contingent to a UN
peacekeeping mission. The Formed Police Unit in Liberia provided 24-hour guard duty and
conducted night patrols in the capital Monrovia and helped to build the capacity of the Liberian
police.
 Indian peacekeepers have served in UN peacekeeping missions around the world. They protect
civilians and support peace processes, and also carry out specialist tasks. In Eritrea, Indian
engineers helped to rehabilitate roads as part of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea
(UNMEE).
 Indian doctors provide medical care to the local population in missions around the world,
including in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
 Veterinary doctors are also sometimes deployed as part of the peacebuilding process. Here, the
owner of a cow in South Sudan receives help from an Indian vet serving with the UN
peacekeeping mission in the country, UNMISS.
 Indian peacekeepers have served in some of the most physically demanding and harshest
environments, including South Sudan.
 Peacekeepers have also brought the ancient Indian practice of yoga to UN missions. Here,
members of the UN mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL, take to the mat on International Yoga Day.

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 Currently, there are more than 6,700 troops and police from India who have been deployed to
UN peacekeeping missions, the fourth highest amongst troop-contributing countries.
 More than 160 Indian peacekeepers have paid the ultimate price in service to peace, losing their
lives serving under the UN flag.
Ways Forward

 The five permanent members of the Security Council remain willing to work together in areas where
they perceive a common interest—for instance, in the nuclear negotiations with Iran, or in sub-
Saharan Africa, where United Nations peacekeeping missions continue to be set up by unanimous
Security Council resolutions, many of which continue to invoke the Responsibility to Protect, despite
the acrimony that followed the NATO action in Libya, perceived by many as abusing the authority
given under this heading in Security Council resolution 1973 (2011).
 The humanitarian challenges continue to be daunting, especially with the rising number of people
displaced not only by conflict, but by a complex range of factors including climate change. Yet,
whatever their criticisms, few see anybody other than the United Nations capable of leading and
coordinating the response.
 Similarly, while humanity as yet has by no means found an adequate response to the threat of
climate change itself, the United Nations is still generally seen as the inevitable forum within which
such a response must be hammered out and coordinated.
 Furthermore, the sustainable development goals due to be adopted in autumn 2015 will provide the
essential framework for the world’s joint efforts to achieve economic and social progress over the
next 15 years.
 It is in the peace and security field that the need to strengthen the Organization is most glaring. The
agony of Syria especially, continuing year after year, makes a mockery of the founders’ determination
“to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”; and the role of the five permanent
members seems increasingly anachronistic to the vast majority of other Member States, and indeed
of the world’s people.
 Reform of the Security Council is a more urgent matter. However, given the difficulties that the
founders put in the way of Charter amendment, it cannot be achieved without a compromise, which
will involve painful concessions both by those who aspire to become new permanent members and
by those who seek to deny them that status.

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Conclusion

 Despite having many short-comings, UN has played a crucial role making this human society
more civil, more peaceful & secure in comparison to time of its origin at 2nd World War.
 United Nations, being the world’s largest democratic body of all nations, its responsibility
towards humanity is very high in terms of building democratic society, economic development
of people living in acute poverty, & preserving the Earth’s Ecosystem in concern with Climate
Change.

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Case study for UN

75th U.N. anniversary: Surplus of

multilateral challenges, deficit of
multilteral solutions, says Gutteres

Sriram Lakshman
WAS HINGTON, SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 2 1:45 IST

Speaking at the United Nations’ 75th anniversary commemoration, Secretary General

António Guterres said the world had a surplus of multilateral challenges but not enough
multilateral answers to these.

“Never in modern history have we gone so many years without a military confrontation
between the major powers, this is a great achievement of which Member States can be
proud and which we must always strive to preserve,” U.N. Secretary General António
Guterres said.

Mr Guterres said much remained to be done, however. He called gender inequality the
“greatest single challenge for human rights” globally. Biodiversity “collapsing”, hatred
that was engendering geopolitical tensions and increasing the threat from nuclear
weapons, were among the challenges the Secretary General listed.

“And the COVID-19 pandemic as laid bare the world's fragilities. We can only address
them together today. We have a surplus of multilateral challenges and the deficit of
multilateral solutions,” Mr Gutteres said.
On Monday morning, the 193 members of the United Nations adopted a Commemorative
declaration marking 75 years since the victors of World War II met in San Francisco to
bring the organization into being. The UN charter was signed on June 26, 1945 . The UN
itself was established later that year, in October when enough signatory countries had
ratified it.

The UN75 Declaration resolves to take action on a range of subjects from digital
cooperation to reform of the UN. Through the first half of this year, Qatar and Sweden,

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co-facilitated the crafting of Monday’s declaration – which involved disagreements and

protracted negotiations on wording and substance. At one point India and the Five Eyes
(the U.K., New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the U.S.) had together objected to a
phrase on the grounds that it was influenced by Chinese Communist Party language.
In a televised message , Chinese president Xi Jinping used phrases that have been
problematic before for other member states – such as those around common objectives
and the down-ranking of human rights in the scheme of global challenges.
“The U.N must focus on real action. It should aim at problem solving as it advances,
security, development and human rights in parallel. The issue of development should be
highlighted in the global macro framework,” Mr Xi said.

U.S. President Donald Trump was expected to deliver a video message on Monday
morning but instead the U.S.’s Deputy Ambassador to the UN, Cherith Norman Chalet,
delivered remarks on the country’s behalf.

Ms Chalet praised the U.N. for its achievements but also said the U.N had been resistant
to reform and vulnerable to autocratic regimes – presumably a reference to China.
“The United Nations has for too long been resistant to meaningful reform, too often
lacking in transparency, and too vulnerable to the agenda of autocratic regimes and
dictatorships. New threats also require new agility from the UN, threats that include theft
of intellectual property and efforts to undermine internet freedom,” Ms Chalet said.

Further readings
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/un-security-
council-needs-expansion-to-reflect-global-realities-report/articleshow/47690090.cms

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Regionalization of World Politics

Syllabus
Regionalisation of World Politics: EU, ASEAN, APEC, SAARC, NAFTA.

Past year UPSC questions

1. The effort in restricting illegal migration from Mexico to U.S.A. and Canada has been one major gain
for the United States through NAFTA. Comment.
2. Give reasons for Regionalism of world politics.
3. Substitantiate APEC as a regional economic and trade arrangement.
4. The European Union has become, the most politically influential, economically powerful and
demographically diverse regional entity in the world’ Discuss.
5. A combination of internal pressures (ethnic and regional forces) and external threats (EU, UN, TNC,
global market, etc) has produced what is commonly referred to as a 'crisis of the nation-state'."
Elaborate.
6. How does the regionalism shape the world politics? Explain with examples
7. American President: Donald Trump's proposal to withdraw from the ‘NAFTA’ would bring unforeseen
consequences to the regionalisation of world politics. Elaborate.
8. How has ‘BREXIT’ affected the regionalisation process initiated by European Union and what could be
its likely impacts in the regionalisation process of world politics?

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Regionalisation of World Politics: EU, ASEAN, APEC,

SAARC, NAFTA.

Defining regionalisation of world politics

 Joseph Nye defined an international region "as a limited number of states linked by a geographical
relationship and by a degree of mutual interdependence", and (international) regionalism as "the
formation of interstate associations or groupings on the basis of regions".

 Regional integration means the development of piecemeal non-political cooperative

organisations which are established most effectively at the regional level and in the economic,
technical, scientific, social and cultural spheres. These sectors are functional sectors in which states
can develop mutually cooperative institutional relations without jeopardising their national
sovereignties.

 Regional integration can also be described as inter-state integration. It is an instrumentality of

the modern multi-state system. In its most elementary form, the term denotes both the act of
cooperation among the states for .enhancing common purpose, institutions and the methods they
employ to achieve this objective.

 In other words, regional integration means the process towards and /or an end product of
integration of nation-states. It is the process by which a group of nation states come forward to
establish institutionalised cooperation among themselves. The organized institutions or mechanisms
that these nation-states establish for conducting their relations also form a part of regional
integration.

In brief regionalization
 The common view that world politics is being reconfigured on global lines has been increasingly
challenged by the rival image of an emerging ‘world of regions’. In this view, regionalism is both the
successor to the nation-state and an alternative to globalization.
 Since 1945, regional organizations have sprung up in all parts of the world. The first phase of this
process peaked in the 1960s, but the advance of regionalism has been particularly notable since the
late 1980s. This has given rise to the phenomenon of the so-called ‘new’ regionalism.
 Whereas earlier forms of regionalism had promoted regional cooperation, and even integration,
over a range of issues – security, political, economic and so on – the ‘new’ regionalism has been
reflected in the creation of regional trade blocs, either the establishment of new ones or the
strengthening of existing ones.

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Approaches to Integration

Different approaches to integration

There are three different schemes of thought regarding the preferred methods and approaches
to regional integration.

The Federalist View

 The Federalist school of thought conceives of integration in legal and institutional terms. It views
integration as an end product rather than a process. It stands for a political union among sovereign
states. The supporters of World Federation belong to this school of thought.
 The federalist vision of ‘unity through diversity’ is achieved by a system of shared sovereignty
between international and national bodies and undoubtedly had a powerful impact on the founders
of the European Communities, expressed, in the words of the Treaty of Rome (1957), in the desire to
establish ‘an ever closer union’.

The communication Model of Regional Integration

 Communication theorists like Karl W. Deutsch, conceptualise integration as the process of flow of
international transnational transactions which eventually can and will lead to the of security
communities" or" an integrated socio-political system."

The Neo-Functionalists view of Regional Integration

 The third school of thought is represented by the neo-functionalists. They view integration as both a
process and an outcome. They prefer to emphasise cooperative decision-making process as the hall-
mark of integration.

Identifying regions in some basis

 Continental identity: The case of Europe (through the European Union (EU) Africa (through the
African Union (AU)) and America (through the Organization of American States).

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 Sub-continental identity: Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Southern African
Customs Union and the Central American Common Market.

 Transcontinental identity: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO).

 Cultural identity: Arab League and the Nordic Council.

Because of multiple and overlapping identities it becomes problematic to classify and also regional
identities are often contested.

Types of Regionalism
Regionalism takes different forms depending on the primary areas over which neighbouring states
choose to cooperate. Three types of regionalism can thus be identified:

 Economic regionalism
 Security regionalism
 Political regionalism

1. Economic regionalism refers to the creation of greater economic opportunities through cooperation
among states in the same geographical region. It is the primary form of regional integration. Under
‘new’ regionalism they got manifested in trade blocks.

In most cases, these trade agreements establish free trade areas, but in other cases they may
establish customs unions or common markets. Such agreements are accepted by the WTO as the
only exception to its principle of equal treatment for all trading partners, based on granting all WTO
members ‘most favoured nation’ status.

2. Security regionalism refers to forms of cooperation designed to protect states from their enemies,
both neighbouring and distant ones. In the words of Karl Deutsch it is called security community.

They seek to enmesh their members within a system of ‘peace through cooperation’, in which ever
deeper levels of interdependence and integration, particularly over economic matters, make war
between member states unthinkable and/or to gain protection against a common external enemy.

For example: the reason for formation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1952,
and the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1958 was to prevent a future war between France
and Germany. European integration was seen as a means of safeguarding Europe from the threat of
Soviet expansionism;

3. Political regionalism refers to attempts by states in the same area to strengthen or protect shared
values, thereby enhancing their image and reputation and gaining a more powerful diplomatic voice.

The Arab League was formed in 1945 to ‘draw closer the relations between member states and
coordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty.

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Regionalism and Globalization

Does Regionalism challenge Globalisation, or build on it?

 The two mainstream assumptions that seem to emerge out of that debate either say that
Regionalism poses a serious challenge and threat to Globalisation or that that Regionalism builds on
Globalisation and that it could only develop the way it did because of Globalisation.

 The relationship between the two is not so much about Regionalism challenging Globalisation or
building on it. Rather, it will be shown that the more important characteristic of this relationship is
that Regionalism represents a stepping-stone on the way to Globalisation; that it offers what one
might call a ‘safer’ version of Globalisation – providing the benefits of inter-state trade and
exchange while at the same time offering more protection than those states would experience in
the global market.

Regionalism and Globalisation are by definition two entirely different concepts, where one could never
act as a replacement for the other.

 Globalisation, on the one hand, is an ongoing process that is not largely initiated by states, but
one that is constantly happening around us and that is influenced by all sorts of actors, state or
non-state, that form part of the international system.

 Regionalism, on the other hand, is a process that happens on a more conscious level. That is to
say, states in a particular region consciously make the effort to form a regional organisation and
they themselves are the ones who set up the rules and guidelines of this organisation according
to regionally accepted norms and values. Regionalism is a far more voluntary process and also
far more influenced and initiated by the states of the region in question.
 As Jagdish Bhagwati put it, are regional trade blocs ‘building blocks’ or ‘stumbling blocks’ within the
global system? How does the regional interact with the global?

 The technological revolution that was brought about by Globalisation definitely forms a vital basis
for Regionalism to flourish.

 The fact that suddenly due to Globalisation “developments in one region inform and indeed feed
into developments in others” has also definitely increased the desire and/or the need for regional
cooperation of some sort. So, in a way, it could be argued that “regionalism emerges in response to
globalisation” and that thus Regionalism partly builds on Globalisation.

 National firms or organisations that would like to benefit from the effects of Globalisation but that
fear the insecurity that comes with it, would have the opportunity to take advantage of

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international trade on a smaller, regional scale, whilst being provided with more security due to the
involvement of regional organisations.

 Andrew Hurrell captured this trend nicely by saying that “the region is the most appropriate and
viable level to reconcile the changing and intensifying pressures of global capitalist competition on
the one hand with the need for political regulation and management on the other”

 Thus in this way, Regionalism does not challenge Globalisation, but rather “regional cooperation is
certainly a good preparation for an open international economy”.

 Larry Summers argues that regional liberalization is the best way towards liberalization and
globalization”

 Since Regionalism is concerned with an increase in political and economic cooperation based on
shared interests, norms and values in a certain region, this “make(s) it possible for large companies
to expand and train for world competition”.

 It is true that this form of cooperation is a lot easier among a smaller and more similar group of
states, however this form of “regional cooperation often becomes a means of enabling regional
companies and national economies to be internationally competitive” and the fact that even “the
WTO applauds “open-regionalism”, shows that it does not challenge Globalisation. Hence, it has
been shown that Regionalism is a stepping-stone and not a stumbling block towards Globalisation.


Impact of regional integration on state

Impact of regional integration on state

Effect on the nature and functions of the state

We can say that in a regional arrangement

1. Geographic factor is not an absolutely essential condition;

2. It may involve the idea of promoting cooperation and collaboration among a group of states
which consider themselves bound by geographic, cultural, economic, and political interests;
3. Such arrangement may be of military or economic or political nature with a limited purpose or
multipurpose.

In such a scenario where states themselves are partners in concluding or forging a regional
arrangement, the question as to what impact does it have on the nature and functions of the state

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1. Such an arrangement does not ,at all jeopardise their national sovereignty.
2. In the modern period of history, with conceptualisation and practical establishment of sovereign
states that comprise the family of nations the trend towards integration, cooperation and
regularisation of international relations has taken on new forms of greater urgency and has not,
in any way, affected the original nature and functions state.
3. Since it is a process of peaceful and voluntary unification of sovereign nation-states, it has
helped the nation-states to safeguard their own identities as well as to secure the benefits of
integration and cooperation without in any way affecting the nature and functions of the state.

Effect on Sovereignty and Regional Obligations

 It is useful to keep in mind a distinction introduced earlier between de jure and de facto sovereignty
or we can say between sovereignty and autonomy. This distinction is sometimes made in order to
separate the problems facing a state due to loss of aspects of legal sovereignty from problems which
stem from a loss of political and economic autonomy.

 With the development of the global system of states, characterised by the existence of hegemonic
powers and blocs, the origin of number of regional organisations have sometimes operated to
undercut the state's authority and integrity.

 The dominance of the USA and the erstwhile USSR as world powers, and the operation of alliances
like the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the Warsaw Pact,clearly constrained decision
making for many nations.

 A state's capacity to initiate particular foreign policies, pursue certain strategic concerns, choose
between alternative military technologies and control certain weapon systems located on its own
territory may be restricted by its place in the international system of power relations.

 To illustrate this point take the example of NATO. NATO's concern with collective security has drawn
a fine line between, on the one hand, maintaining an organization of sovereign states (which in
principle, an individual member state not to act if it judges this appropriate) and, on the other,
developing an international organization which de facto, if not de jure, operates according to its
own logic and decision-making procedures.

 The sovereignty of a national state is and decisively qualified once it is committed to a regional
organisation. But even without such a commitment, state autonomy as well as sovereignty can be
limited and checked, for the routine conduct of regional affairs involves the integration of national
policies into the larger regional policy framework.

 Hence regional obligations automatically curtail the autonomy of the state. Such systems, based on
regional integration, lead to the establishment of but none the less supra governmental personnel
networks or coalitions which are to monitor by national mechanisms of accountability and control.

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 Besides, the members of regional organisations are, at times, rivals competing for scarce resources,
arms contracts, international prestige and other means of national enhancement.

 The insistence on the part of the sovereign states to adhere to its own decisions keeping into
consideration its national interests and the demands of the regional bodies of which such sovereign
states are members sometimes raises serious questions about the sovereignty of such a country.
 For example: the member states of European community are no longer the sole centre of power
within their own territorial boundaries.

 On the other hand, it, is important to bear in mind that the Community's powers are limited when
considered in relation to those of typical European state; for the community does not possess, for
instance, coercive powers of its own - an army, a police force and other institutions of direct law
enforcement.

 Hoffman has put it in this way: the nation-state today survives even though some of its powers
have to be pooled with others, and even though many apparently sovereign decisions are seriously
constrained, or made ineffective by, the decisions of others as well as by economic trends
uncontrolled by anyone. The European Community helps the state survive, by providing modicum of
predictability and a variety of rewards. It has strengthened the nation-state's capacity to act at
home and abroad."

 In short, the idea of de jure sovereignty remains compelling, especially with regard to the state's
capacity to wield coercive power. However, the operation of states in an ever more complex
international system, which limits their autonomy and infringes their sovereignty, undermines the
clarity of those traditions of sovereignty-stemming from Hobbes, on the one side, and Rousseau, on
the other- which interpret sovereignty as an illimitable and indivisible form of political power.

 Instead, if sovereignty, as a concept, is to retain its analytical and normative force - as the
rightful capacity to take final decisions and make and enact the law within a given community it has
to be conceived as divided among a number of agencies and limited by the very nature of this
plurality and the rules and procedures which protect it. Such an idea is implicit in the conception of
political community, and is central to the traditions of political analysis which do not locate and
reduce sovereignty to either state or society.

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European Union

European Union

Must watch videos: The European Union Explained

The History of formation of EU
Understanding Brexit in brief

 The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located
primarily in Europe.
 The EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in
all member states in those matters, and only those matters, where members have agreed to act as
one.

 EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the
internal market; enact legislation in justice and home affairs; and maintain common policies on
trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development.

 Passport controls have been abolished for travel within the Schengen Area. A monetary union was
established in 1999, coming into full force in 2002, and is composed of 19 EU member states which
use the euro currency.

A history of European Union in brief

 In 1951, the Treaty of Paris established the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the first of a
series of treaties with the aim of increasing cooperation in Europe. The founding countries of the
ECSC were Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

 Following the success of the ECSC, the founding fathers broadened their cooperation by signing the
Treaties of Rome in March 1957, establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) and the
European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM). The aim of the EEC was to create a common
market based on the freedom of movement of people, good and services and capital.

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 In 1968, customs duties between the countries of the EEC were removed and the first common
policies relating to agriculture and trade were introduced. Alongside the EEC, EURATOM was
established to promote the pacific use of nuclear energy in Europe.

 Under the Merger Treaty, all three communities were fused into one, managed by the Single
Commission, Council and Assembly.

 Leaders realised they needed to enhance the free movement of goods and services. This would help
the EC create wealth and jobs. Consequently, they created the single market as stipulated in the
Single European Act (SEA), undoubtedly one of the EU’s greatest achievements. The single market
paved the way for more competition, better efficiency and lower prices.

 The Treaty of Maastricht signed on 7th February 1992, established the European Union (EU) on the
basis of three pillars: the European Communities, the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP),
and the Police and Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters (JHA). It introduced the concept of
European citizenship, enhanced the powers of the European Parliament and launched the economic
and monetary union (EMU).

 Treaty of Amsterdam included new provisions on the Schengen Agreement into the EU framework.
The Treaty of Nice, signed in 2001, streamlined the institutional system in a bid to maintain efficiency
in preparation for the fourth and largest enlargement of the EU; Malta was part of this enlargement.

 After the 5th enlargement, the EU faced new bureaucratic challenges. As a result, the Lisbon Treaty—
signed in 2007—simplified the working methods, voting rules and created a President of the European
Council. In addition, the Treaty created the post of High Representative of the Union for Foreign
Affairs and Security Policy. This strengthened the EU’s presence in the international sphere.

Is the EU a Model of Regional Integration?

 In most discussions about regional integration, however, references are made at some points to the
experience of the European Union, regarding its level of integration, evolution over time, policy
coverage (with its three pillars and their increasing coverage), institutional development,
membership, or relations with the rest of world, etc. If the EU is not always perceived as the
ultimate model for regional integration processes, it is at least commonly referred to as a chief
example and a likely benchmark.

 Many of the regional integration initiatives have been inspired by the EU experience, in terms of
policy agenda or institutional development. A case in point is the West African Economic and
Monetary Union (UEMOA), which has attempted to mimic some of the norms, legal provisions,
institutions and policies of the EU. This development can be traced back from the colonial past of
this region and its cultural, political and economic close ties with France, as well as the endogenous

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belief by West African countries that regional integration will foster development and strengthen
their position. Economic integration is therefore perceived as a tool to pursue deeper forms of
integration with broader objectives.

 More generally, many other regions have followed a similar approach, adopting economic
integration objectives and institutional designs that resemble, at least in their form, some of the
features of the EU model. Of course, institutions should reflect the level of integration and policy
mandate of the region. Beyond the desire to emulate the EU experience, institutional development
also depend of the effective degree of integration pursued.

 Some aspects of the EU model, which is a complex mix of intergovernmental and supranational
approaches, have not been carried over to some other regional groupings. Most developed
countries, while calling for greater integration, have also resisted the delegation of sovereignty that
would have been necessary to development effective supranational institutions, preferring to rely
more heavily on an intergovernmental model of integration. This resistance has also contributed to
put the institutional design and policy agenda of some of the regional groupings (e.g. ECOWAS,
SADC, etc.) at odds with the effective implementation of their integration programmes.

The International Impact of Brexit

 The advocates of Brexit have argued that it will have little

impact on the UK’s international standing. The Prime
Minister says we are leaving the EU, not Europe, and that
we will continue to seek the strongest security and foreign
policy links with other European countries. We maintain one
of the largest and most effective militaries in Europe,
alongside France with whom we coordinate closely; we will
remain a leading member of NATO and of the
Commonwealth, will retain our Security Council seat, and are still the seventh largest economy in
the world and one of the largest aid donors as well as being a world leader in sport, language,
literature, culture, the arts and all aspects of soft power.

 Some may concede that Brexit might cause a temporary blip in Britain’s international engagement
while we sort out the departure arrangements, but nothing a little Dunkirk spirit cannot overcome.
We will then be free to pursue what the former Foreign Secretary called our buccaneering tradition
in world affairs
 The Second World War revealed starkly the depth of Britain’s dependence on the US, but this
country has nevertheless been adept in managing its relative decline while remaining a global actor.
Dismantling the empire before it started costing too much and joining the Common Market were
two masterstrokes of British foreign policy, along with our unstinting support for the mechanisms of
multilateral diplomacy – the UN, the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization
(WTO) and NATO.

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 The EU is part of that mix, in fact the lynchpin of maintaining a stable neighbourhood in Europe.
Margaret Thatcher and John Major were the architects of the UK’s successful relationship with the
EU: sorting-out the budget costs, building the single market, supporting enlargement and creating a
variable geometry that kept us out of much that did not suit us.

 The UK has profited enormously, both economically through inward investment and the export of
goods (e.g. cars) and services (especially financial) not only to the rest of the EU but through its free
trade deals to the rest of the world, and diplomatically through the amplification of British foreign
policy. Many EU members acknowledge that the UK has played a disproportionate role in defining
and implementing the EU’s foreign policy.
 The UK has continued to “punch above its weight” in world affairs because of its alliances – with
the US on one side, and the EU on the other. That is what gave heft to its positions in the UN,
NATO and the Commonwealth.

 Both those alliances are now called into question, by an “America First” nationalism in the US
which is likely to outlast Trump, and by Brexit. For all the bluster of the Brexiteers, far from
demonstrating our strength, Brexit illustrates our weakness, as already shown clearly to the
world in the exit negotiations themselves. In reality, since the referendum Britain has been
punching well below its weight.

 Brexit will impact the world in four areas: Britain’s image; its relations with the EU; the EU’s
own role in the world; and the solidity of the multilateral structures we so value. In global
terms, the beneficiaries of Brexit are not the UK nor the EU, but Mr Xi, Mr Putin and Mr Trump.

 Britain’s international credibility has taken a hard hit. To renege on signed treaties and ditch
your friends of 40 years leaves a mark. The shock and disillusion of other EU member states has
resolved itself into a resignation that the UK is no longer acting rationally and there is nothing
they can do about it. Yet, this image is further tarnished by pushing a mantra about “global
Britain” that is clearly contradicted by everything other countries read in the media about what
is happening here. The only ones deluded are ourselves.

 Secondly, for all the Prime Minister’s pledges of warm and close relations with Europe after
Brexit, trust has been lost and will take time and effort to restore.

 With another five years or more of fractious trade negotiations to follow our formal departure,
good relations with the EU will not be restored swiftly. There will always be something to argue
about, and inter-state relations are all one ball of wax: it is never easy to argue furiously on one
thing and cooperate intimately on another, even with friends as close as France and Germany.
So even where we agree on foreign policy issues – on Russia, China or the Middle East –
cooperation will be less easy than it was.

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 This, thirdly, will also weaken the EU in the world. British membership gave the EU collectively
greater weight, greater reach and wider contacts, to our mutual advantage. In speaking with
one voice on trade, sanctions and human rights, the EU was able to exert significant influence in
Eastern Europe, the Balkans and Africa. This will be harder to organise after Brexit, and the EU
voice may sound less like Britain’s than it did, losing some of the influence and balance the UK
brought to bear.

 It is not in Britain’s interests for the EU to be weaker on the world stage: we will be weaker
acting separately than together, and outside parties will be happy to drive wedges between us.
No one will be happier than Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin who both seek to weaken the EU
by all possible means, for their own advantage. Former German foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel,
has eloquently made this point.

 This highlights the fourth challenge: that in leaving the world’s most effective multilateral
institution, which was a model for others, the UK is significantly weakening the multilateral
system as a whole at a time when its integrity is seriously under threat. It is wrong to argue it
will make no difference: it will significantly weaken the very system we depend on.

 All this will have consequences for the UK, the EU and others. The international environment is
no longer benign. Those who prefer the law of the jungle are gaining ground on those who
advocate the international rule of law, and the big beasts of that jungle will not hesitate to bully
the small that need to stick together if they are not to be eaten for lunch.

 Though Brexiteers like to think of Britain as a big beast, sadly it is not. A country that can barely
afford the aircraft to put on its aircraft carrier, let alone the fleet necessary to protect it, will
scarcely inspire fear or respect in others. Post-Brexit, the UK will be in a profoundly vulnerable
international position, deeply divided internally and with no coherent foreign policy – at sea on
a rudderless raft.

 There are choices, of course: to cosy up to a US ally who has made it increasingly clear that any
alliance must be strictly on their terms; to curry favour with authoritarian governments from
Beijing to Riyadh in the hope of some economic advantage; or to eat humble pie and hang close
with the European friends we have just turned our back on.

 There are three ironies in all this. Firstly, in weakening ourselves and the international system
that protects us, we will weaken our own claim to a leading role in that system. When UN
reform finally comes about (which may be sooner than we think), our permanent membership
of the Security Council will be hard to defend. As David Cameron found out, a veto is only useful
if you have the power to enforce it. Britain will not.

 Secondly, Brexit reveals the truth that true sovereignty comes not from autonomy but from
participation, not from ditching your friends, but from keeping them close.

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 Thirdly, to continue to play the global role it aspire to and keep its economy growing, Britain will
have to open its borders to more visitors and immigrants from the rest of the world, not less.

 So the whole exercise will have been in vain. Unless of course the dying wish of the ageing
British middle class is to end its days in a comfortable nursing home by the sea, wearing its
slippers, and slipping gently into international irrelevance while a world in disorder creeps ever
closer to the front door.

 There is time to change this fate. But not long. The die are almost cast. To endorse the Prime
Minister’s misbegotten deal will set the seal on Britain’s decline and fall.

What can be done to save Europe?

 Europe faces three pressing problems: the refugee crisis; territorial disintegrations as
exemplified by Brexit; and the austerity policy that has hindered Europe’s economic
development. Bringing the refugee crisis under control may be the best place to start.

 Allocation of refugees within Europe should be entirely voluntary. Member states should not be
forced to accept refugees they don’t want and refugees should not be forced to settle in
countries where they don’t want to go.

 The voluntary principle ought to guide Europe’s migration policy. Europe must also urgently
reform or repeal the so-called Dublin Regulations which have put an unfair burden on Italy and
other Mediterranean countries with disastrous political consequences.

 The EU must protect its external borders but keep them open for lawful migrants. Member
states in turn must not close their internal borders. The idea of a “fortress Europe” closed to
political refugees and economic migrants alike violates both European and international law
and in any case it is totally unrealistic.

 Europe wants to extend a helping hand towards Africa (and other parts of
the developing world) by offering substantial assistance to democratically inclined regimes. This
would enable them to provide education and employment to their citizens. They would be less
likely to leave and those who did would not qualify as refugees.

 At the same time, European countries could welcome migrants from these and
other countries to meet their economic needsthrough an orderly process. In this way migration
would be voluntary both on the part of the migrants and the receiving states. Such a “Marshall
Plan” would also help to reduce the number of political refugees by strengthening democratic
regimes in the developing world.

 Present day reality falls substantially short of this ideal.

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1. First and most importantly, the European Union still doesn’t have a unified migration
policy. Each member state has its own policy, which is often at odds with the interests of
other states.
2. Second, the main objective of most European countries is not to foster democratic
development but to stem the flow of migrants. This diverts a large part of the available
funds to dirty deals with dictators, bribing them to prevent migrants from passing through
their territory or to use repressive measures to prevent their citizens from leaving. In the
long-run this will generate more political refugees.
3. Third, there is a woeful shortage of financial resources. We estimate that a meaningful
Marshall Plan for Africa would require at least 30 billion euros a year for a number of years.
Member states could contribute only a small fraction of this amount even if they were ready
to do so.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

ASEAN
What Is ASEAN?
 The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional grouping that promotes
economic, political, and security cooperation among its ten members: Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vie tnam.
 ASEAN countries have a total population of 650 million people and a combined gross domestic
product (GDP) of $2.8 trillion. The group has played a central role in Asian economic
integration, signing six free-trade agreements with other regional economies and helping
spearhead negotiations for what could be the world’s largest free trade pact.
 Yet experts say ASEAN’s impact is limited by a lack of strategic vision, diverging priorities
among member states, and weak leadership.
 The bloc’s biggest challenge, they say, is developing a unified approach to China, particularly in
response to Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea, which overlap with claims of several ASEAN
members.

How ASEAN works?

 ASEAN is chaired by an annually rotating presidency assisted by a secretariat based in Jakarta,
Indonesia. Important decisions are usually reached through consultation and consensus guided
by the principles of noninterference in internal affairs and peaceful resolution of conflicts.
Some experts see this approach to decision-making as a chief drawback for the organization.
 These norms of consensus and noninterference have increasingly become outdated, and they
have hindered ASEAN’s influence on issues ranging from dealing with China and crises in
particular ASEAN states.
 Other experts say ASEAN has contributed to regional stability by developing much-needed
norms and fostering a neutral environment to address shared challenges.

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ASEAN’s History
 Formed in 1967, ASEAN united Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand,
which sought to create a common front against the spread of communism and promote
political, economic, and social stability amid rising tensions in the Asia-Pacific.
 In 1976, the members signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, which
emphasizes mutual respect and noninterference in other countries’ affairs.
 Membership doubled by the end of the 1990s. The resolution of Cambodia’s civil war in 1991,
the end of the Cold War, and the normalization of relations between the United States and
Vietnam in 1995 brought relative peace to mainland Southeast Asia, paving the way for more
states to join ASEAN.
 With the addition of Brunei (1984), Vietnam (1995), Laos and Myanmar (1997), and Cambodia
(1999), the group started to launch initiatives to boost regionalism. The members signed
a treaty in 1995, for example, to refrain from developing, acquiring, or possessing nuclear
weapons.

 Faced with the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which started in Thailand, ASEAN members pushed to
further integrate their economies. The Chiang Mai Initiative , for instance, was a currency swap
arrangement first initiated in 2000 between ASEAN members, China, Japan, and South Korea to
provide financial support to one another and fight currency speculation.
 In 2007, the ten members adopted the ASEAN Charter , a constitutional document that provided
the grouping with legal status and an institutional framework. The charter enshrines core
principles and delineates requirements for membership. The charter laid out a blueprint for a
community made up of three branches: the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), the ASEAN
Political-Security Community, and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.

Economic Progress
 ASEAN has made notable progress toward economic integration and free trade in the
region. In 1992, members created the ASEAN Free Trade Area with the goals of creating a
single market, increasing intra-ASEAN trade and investments, and attracting foreign

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investment. Intra-ASEAN trade as a share of the bloc’s overall trade grew from about 19
percent in 1993 to 23 percent in 2017.
 Across the grouping, more than 90 percent of goods are traded with no tariffs. The bloc has
prioritized eleven sectors for integration, including electronics, automotives, rubber -based
products, textiles and apparels, agro-based products, and tourism.
 Despite the progress, some of the region’s most important industries are not covered by
preferential trade measures, and differences in income among members could make
economic integration challenging. Some experts see the AEC, through which ASEAN defines
its trade goals, as a potential catalyst for further economic integration.
 ASEAN is also party to six free trade agreements with countries outside of the grouping.
Since 2012, it has been negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
(RCEP), a proposed free trade agreement that would include all ASEAN members, Australia,
China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea. If approved, RCEP would become the
world’s largest trade bloc by population and GDP. However, negotiations have hit
stumbling blocks, with India saying in November 2019 that it will not join.

ASEAN Regional Forum.

 Launched in 1993, the twenty-seven-member multilateral grouping was developed to facilitate
regional confidence-building and preventive diplomacy on political and security issues. The
forum represents a wide array of voices—including ASEAN, its dialogue partners, North Korea,
and Pakistan, among others—yet it is often mired in geopolitical disputes that limit its
effectiveness.
ASEAN Plus Three.
 The consultative group, which was initiated in 1997, brings together ASEAN’s ten members,
China, Japan, and South Korea.
East Asia Summit.
 First held in 2005, the summit seeks to promote security and prosperity and is often attended by
the heads of state of ASEAN members, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South
Korea, and the United States.
 The summit remains the only opportunity for the president of the United States to sit down and
collectively engage his Asia-Pacific counterparts on the main political and security issues of the
day. However, U.S. President Donald J. Trump has never attended an East Asia Summit,
sending relatively low-ranking officials instead.

Achievements and Challenges Ahead

As the grouping turns 53, it faces old and new challenges, both internal and external.
August 15, 2020

On August 8, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) commemorated its

53rd birthday.

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 ASEAN is a mature regional organization with many notable achievements but with stiff
challenges ahead.

 It has provided peace and enhanced security in Southeast Asia. It has fostered economic
development and has contributed to social progress for its people. But ASEAN now confronts
numerous external and internal headwinds: the competition of major powers in the Indo-Pacific
region; implications of the US-China trade war for ASEAN; and potential collective ASEAN
humanitarian assistance in Rakhine State, Myanmar.

 ASEAN has done a good job in key political-security, economic and socio-cultural areas over the
last five decades.
Achievements

1. ASEAN has preserved peace and stability

 ASEAN has preserved peace and stability in the region. In 2015, ASEAN established the ASEAN
Community, which consists of a political and security community, economic community and
socio-cultural community. This was a substantial step toward regional integration. In addition,
ASEAN has developed and expanded the Treaty of Amity and Co-operation in Southeast Asia as
a foundation of inter-state relations that has been endorsed by 27 states within and outside
Southeast Asia. ASEAN and China also reached a framework for the Code of Conduct in the
South China Sea in 2017, a crucial phase for the formal conclusion of a Code of Conduct.
Hopefully, both parties will finalize the Code of Conduct in the future (ASEAN Secretariat,
2018a).

 ASEAN has also adopted two conventions to counter transnational crime: the ASEAN
Convention on Counter Terrorism in 2007 and the ASEAN Convention against Trafficking in
Persons in 2015.

 ASEAN has established the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting (ADMM) and the ADMM-plus for
external partners as foundations of intra-ASEAN defense co-operation and military co-
operation between ASEAN and its external partners.

 There are numerous areas of potential co-operation: maritime security, humanitarian

assistance, peace keeping operations, disaster response, counter terrorism, cyber security and
military medicine (ASEAN Secretariat, 2018a).

2. ASEAN’s political and security achievements

 ASEAN’s political and security achievements contribute positively to economic development.

 The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) has established a single and open market with many
economic opportunities since 2015. For business actors, the AEC decreases costs, supports free
flow of goods and increases investment. ASEAN is working to integrate the association with the
world economy and has developed free-trade agreements with several partners including
Australia, China, Japan, India, South Korea and New Zealand. Recently, ASEAN is still working on

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a mega trade pact known as a “regional comprehensive economic partnership” with these
above external partners (ASEAN Secretariat, 2018a).

 The ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025 provides a guide for member states to pursue
regional integration. The Blueprint envisions
1) an integrated and cohesive regional economy;
2) a competitive and dynamic ASEAN;
3) enhanced connectivity and sectoral co-operation;
4) a resilient, inclusive, people-oriented ASEAN; and
5) a global ASEAN (ASEAN Secretariat, 2019a)

 Based on ASEAN’s selected basic indicators released in October 2018, it has a huge population of
around 642 million people as of 2017. The grouping’s gross domestic product growth increased
from 4.8 percent in 2016 to 5.3 percent in 2017. Total trade value grew from US$2.238 trillion
in 2016 to US$2.574 trillion in 2017. Additionally, Southeast Asia is a favorite region for
investors both from member states and outside, receiving a massive amount of foreign direct
investment — US$122.6 billion in 2016 and US$135 billion in 2017 (ASEAN Secretariat, 2018b).
This demonstrates that its economic prosperity has attracted enthusiastic external partners
(Pakpahan, 2018a).

3. ASEAN is focused on building socio-cultural relationships

 ASEAN is focused on building socio-cultural relationships among member states through the
ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, which positively contributed to social progress by reducing
the proportion of people living on less than US$1.25 a day from one in every two persons to one
in every eight within two decades and minimizing infant and maternal mortality in the region.
Life expectancy in ASEAN has risen from 55.6 years in 1969 to 70.9 in 2016 (ASEAN Secretariat,
2018a).

 The ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community also attempts to build ASEAN’s identity and character,
both of which are people-centered. One other project, the ASEAN Co-ordinating Center for
Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Response and Management (AHA Center), is seeking to
develop regional disaster risk management and climate change adaptation capabilities (ASEAN
Secretariat, 2018a).

Challenges ahead

Despite ASEAN’s positive record, it faces continued challenges and must respond to uncertainty in the
world (Pakpahan, 2018c and 2019). I focus here on three main areas.

Rising struggle among major powers in the Indo-Pacific region

 The US and China are competing on South China Sea issues and the current dynamics in the
Pacific and Indian oceans. China has recently expanded its sphere of influence into South Asia
and Africa. The US, together with Japan, Australia and India, have established The Quadrilateral

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Security Dialogue (QSD) (CSIS, 2018) in order to mitigate and balance the geo-political shift in
the Indo-Pacific region.

 China is also promoting the Belt and Road Initiative as a grand infrastructure push across the
Pacific and Indian oceans (World Bank, 2018). The project seeks connectivity between Asia,
Africa and Europe. However, the US and its allies are also offering infrastructure funds and
capacity building as an alternative to China. They also have guaranteed freedom of navigation in
the South China Sea and the Pacific and Indian oceans.

 Against this backdrop, Indonesia wants to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific
region; create prosperity; establish ASEAN’s regional integration; and build maritime co-
operation to de-escalate the tensions of great power rivalry in the Indo-Pacific region (Indonesia
Foreign Ministry, 2019).

 Indonesia has proposed an Indo-Pacific concept to ASEAN member states and is urging talks to
establish an ASEAN outlook on the Indo-Pacific. The outlook aims to guide co-operation;
promote peace, stability and economic prosperity based on a rule-based architecture and
closer economic engagement; enhance the ASEAN Community and strengthen ASEAN-led
mechanisms; and to execute and identify areas of co-operation such as maritime co-operation,
connectivity, the realization of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and economic
partnership (ASEAN Secretariat, 2019b). In short, ASEAN is an axis of co-operation based on
symmetrical interests in the Indo-Pacific region (Pakpahan, 2018b and 2018c). The architecture
is open and inclusive, with ASEAN in the driver’s seat on the agenda and policy-making process.

 Before the 34th ASEAN summit last June, the challenge was that Singapore had still not
endorsed an ASEAN outlook on the Indo-Pacific. Finally, leaders reached a consensus on the
outlook. ASEAN member states worked together on this issue, with Indonesia taking the lead on
the outlook from initiating it to finalizing it, which demonstrated ASEAN’s unity, centrality and
leadership in the evolving regional architecture (ASEAN Secretariat, 2019c).

 With Jakarta’s leadership secure, at the 52nd ASEAN Foreign Minister’s Meeting at the
beginning of August in Bangkok, Indonesia and ASEAN promoted the ASEAN outlook on the
Indo-Pacific to ASEAN external partners in order to reach common understanding and co-
operation (Kompas, 2019a). The challenge for ASEAN is to see how its member states and its
external partners work together to implement the outlook in an effective way.

US-China trade war

 US-China trade war started on July 6, 2018. The US imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel imports
and a 10 percent import tariff on aluminum. China responded with a 15 percent import tariff
on fresh fruit, wine and nuts and 25 percent on pork and aluminum scrap.

 On Sept. 24, 2018, the US expanded its 10 percent import tariff to 5,745 imported products
from China with a total value of roughly US$200 billion. China responded by imposing an import
tariff on 5,207 products from the US with a total value of US$60 billion (Kompas, 2018c).

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 On May 10, US President Donald Trump employed additional tariffs with a total value of US$200
billion. In June, he added a 25 percent import tariff on Chinese products for a total of US$325
billion per year.

 At the G-20 Summit in June, the US and China agreed to negotiate their disagreements and
resolve their trade war. However, on Aug. 2, Trump announced that the US will impose a further
tariff of 10 percent on products from China with a total value US$300 billion (BBC, 2019a).

 In order to improve exports and maintain competitiveness in international trade, China

predictably is declining the value of its currency.

 Meanwhile, ASEAN and its external partners (Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Japan and
South Korea) recognize the uncertainty of the regional and global economy and want to
conclude talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) this year (ASEAN
Secretariat, 2019c).

 They launched the first RCEP negotiations in 2013, with the aim of establishing a regional trading
pact in the Asia-Pacific region to liberalize trade in goods, services and investment. Today, they
have agreed on seven of the 20 chapters in the RCEP structure, with the negotiations stalled by
market access issues between China and India. RCEP could hopefully mitigate the impact of the
current trade war and bring benefits to all. The challenge for ASEAN and its partners is to resolve
their differences and conclude the trade pact quickly.

Humanitarian assistance for the repatriation

 ASEAN’s humanitarian assistance for the repatriation of displaced persons from Rakhine State
and sustainable development in that province are potentially collective actions. ASEAN supports
co-operation with the Myanmar government to facilitate the process of repatriation from
Bangladesh to Myanmar and to contribute to development in Rakhine State.

 ASEAN hopes the MoU between the Myanmar government, the office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Development Program
(UNDP) and the dialogue between the Myanmar and Bangladesh governments on the
repatriation process will bear fruit.

 ASEAN supports the efforts of Myanmar to create peace, reconciliation, and the rule of law as a
path to harmony among the various communities in Rakhine state (ASEAN Secretariat, 2019c).

 However, the Rakhine state issue is quite sensitive for Myanmar. In fact, ASEAN member states
still preserve the principle of non-interference in domestic affairs and thus ASEAN cannot
directly intervene. ASEAN may implement positive engagement with Myanmar but this remains
a tough challenge.

 To respond to the challenges above, ASEAN must preserve its centrality and unity in the evolving
regional architecture of the Indo-Pacific. The challenges are complex but ASEAN’s past should
predict a bright future.

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Divergent interests and priorities

Moreover, ASEAN countries tend to have divergent interests and priorities. Each member faces
their own unique social, economic, and political challenges. As a result, each seems to have no
choice but focus on addressing their own internal affairs. This emphasis on domestic affairs will
definitely affect the wellbeing of ASEAN as a whole.

Internal and external security challenges

ASEAN is not free from internal and external security challenges either.

Within the region, there are border disputes and conflicts, illegal migration, ethnic crises, and
issues surrounding the life of the dammed Mekong River, which has increasingly made headlines
in the last few years.

Outside of the region, there are serious challenges concerning the territorial disputes in the
South China Sea and other concerns regarding ASEAN’s role and relevance in the region and
beyond.

Other key challenges

ASEAN is also constrained by other key challenges, including corruption, demographic changes,
uneven social development, disparities in economic development and technology adoption,
environmental degradation, and other issues related to politics and the rise of authoritarianism.

Way forward for ASEAN

 ASEAN must put in extra efforts to sustain and enhance its existing successes and achievements.
The bloc has been regarded as a catalyst for peace; therefore, it is vital that ASEAN increase its
strengths and step up to promote rule of law in the region.

 ASEAN must also promote transparency and work to reduce corruption. At the same time, this
association needs to enhance closer coordination and regional connectivity. More collective
efforts are required to address the development gap, especially regarding health care,
education, technology adoption, and infrastructure development.

 More importantly, ASEAN must work hard to enhance the development of good governance,
inclusive growth, sustainable development, and democracy, which is in decline. It needs to work
together to help less developed members to catch up with others in the region. Closer attention
and investment should be placed on the development of the knowledge-based and digital
economy.

 ASEAN needs to work collaboratively rather than individually, particularly with regard to a
regional response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the face of the COVID-19 storm, it is not the
time for ASEAN members to adopt isolationism, protectionism, and nationalism. Rather, ASEAN

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must support and embrace regionalism and multilateralism by constructively and genuinely
working together to achieve common goals and realize the ASEAN Community Vision.

 ASEAN also needs to enhance cooperation and coordination as well as proactively engage
regional and global powers, especially Australia, China, Japan, India, South Korea, and the
United States, to support the realization of its goals and vision as well as to address regional
challenges the bloc is facing.

 Also important is the need to strike a good balance between commercial gains and
environmental protection if ASEAN wishes to achieve inclusive growth and sustainable
development. The association must work in unison to tackle critical issues concerning
the Mekong River and the disputes in the South China Sea.

 Both bilateral and multilateral mechanisms should be pursued and prioritized. The way forward
for ASEAN to thrive despite the growing uncertainty in the region and the world is to
stay united and resilient. ASEAN needs to uphold a rules-based international order, work to
conclude the South China Sea Code of Conduct, and promote the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-
Pacific.

North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement

NAFTA

What is NAFTA?
 NAFTA is a trade agreement between the US, Mexico, and Canada that virtually eliminated all
tariffs between the countries, as well as other trade barriers, such as setting higher regulatory
standards for foreign goods than for those produced locally.
 Unlike other agreements hammered out around the same time—Europe’s Maastricht Treaty or
South America’s Mercosur—NAFTA hardly addresses the movement of people or broader
political cooperation. It mainly concerns itself with the free trade of goods and services.

How did NAFTA come about?

 NAFTA is the successor to a free-trade agreement the US already had with Canada, the Canada-
United States Free Trade Agreement, which was enacted in 1989. Mexico later proposed to
make a deal with the US as it sought to open its economy. In the US, the idea was seen as a way
to help boost the economic development of Mexico and curb illegal immigration from there.
Access to Mexico’s oil reserves were also an enticing incentive.

 Canada joined the effort and the three countries started talks in 1991. They had reached an
agreement by 1992, but its approval in the US Congress stalled because of deep opposition
among US constituents.

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What did NAFTA change, exactly?

 Since the US and Canada already had a free trade deal, most of the changes under NAFTA were
related to exchanges between those two countries and Mexico.

 The day it went into effect, Mexican tariffs on American exports, which on average had been
much higher than those applied by the US to Mexican goods, disappeared for about half of the
products. Other tariffs were phased out in the following years. Today, there are virtually no
tariffs on merchandise circulating between NAFTA members.

 To prevent other countries from benefitting from the agreement, NAFTA established rules of
origin that mandate that whatever is exported duty-free must have a certain degree of North
American components or labor. It also set up a mechanism to resolve conflicts between the
three countries.

How does Trump want to revamp NAFTA?

 Trump, who fashions himself as an expert negotiator, sees NAFTA as a raw deal. He’s repeatedly
said that American workers are losing out as US companies move south of the border drawn by
cheaper labor. At first, he said he would scrap the whole thing. Now he wants to renegotiate it.

 As US president, he has broad authority to set trade policies. And NAFTA contains provisions
under which the treaty can be amended if all members agree. But from the outset, it looks like
it’s going to be a complicated negotiation.

 A top Trump adviser who met with Canadian officials this week indicated that the focus will be
Mexico, not Canada. And Mexico is unlikely to easily concede on what Trump wants to do. The
bulk of his anti-NAFTA rhetoric suggests what he’s after is making Mexican labor more
expensive, in order to make American workers more competitive. A border tax, which he
suggested he might want to see tacked onto goods made by American companies that move
jobs abroad, would achieve that goal.

 Mexico has already said it does not favor that approach. The country’s economic minister said
on Jan. 24 that Mexico would pull out of NAFTA if the changes don’t benefit it. Indeed, if Trump
insists that Mexico pay for his proposed border wall or taxes remittances from Mexican
immigrants in the US, Mexico would likely walk out of renegotiation talks.

 Even if Mexico accepted the renegotiated terms, it would have the right under World Trade
Organization rules to impose its own tariffs on American exports in response to any US policy
that discriminates against Mexican products, said Sean Ehrlich, a Florida State University
professor who studies trade policy. The US exported more than $235 billion in products to its
southern neighbor in 2015, and was on track to reach a similar amount in 2016. It’s less than
what Mexico exported to the US, but not insignificant.

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 Another, less confrontational way to level the playing field between US and Mexican workers is
to raise labor and environmental standards in Mexico closer to US levels.

What does free trade have to do with illegal immigration?

 It’s unclear how Trump might seek to modify NAFTA to help block undocumented immigrants,
one of his top priorities. Experts say there’s little precedent of using a free trade agreement to
achieve a goal of that sort.

 NAFTA does have some provisions to allow the movement of people between the three
countries, but they refer to professionals and business executives, who can come to the US
under a non-permanent visa.

 The number of Mexicans who come to the US under the auspices of NAFTA is relatively tiny. In
2015, roughly 21,000 Mexicans were issued NAFTA visas. The total number of non-immigrant
visas the US issued that year topped 10 million.

How did NAFTA fit into the broader debate over trade policy?

 When negotiations for NAFTA began in 1991, the goal for all three countries was the integration
of Mexico with the developed, high-wage economies of the United States and Canada. The hope
was that freer trade would bring stronger and steadier economic growth to Mexico, by
providing new jobs and opportunities for its growing workforce and discouraging illegal
migration.

 For the United States and Canada, Mexico was seen both as a promising market for exports and
as a lower-cost investment location that could enhance the competitiveness of U.S. and
Canadian companies.

 Opponents of NAFTA seized on the wage differentials with Mexico, which had a per capita
income just 30 percent that of the United States. U.S. presidential candidate Ross Perot argued
in 1992 that trade liberalization would lead to a “giant sucking sound” of U.S. jobs fleeing
across the border.

 Supporters such as Presidents Bush and Clinton countered that the agreement would
create hundreds of thousands of new jobs a year, while Mexican President Carlos Salinas de
Gortari saw it as an opportunity to modernize the Mexican economy so that it would “export
goods, not people.”

 NAFTA also ushered in a new era of FTAs, which proliferated as the World Trade Organization’s
(WTO) global trade talks stagnated, and it pioneered the incorporation of labor and
environmental provisions, which have become progressively more comprehensive [PDF] in
subsequent FTAs. The USMCA achieved stronger enforcement mechanisms for labor provisions

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than the original deal, leading the AFL-CIO, the largest collection of U.S. labor unions, to support
the pact—a rare endorsement from a group that heavily criticized NAFTA.

 Economists largely agree that NAFTA benefited North America’s economies. Regional
trade increased sharply over the treaty’s first two decades, from roughly $290 billion in 1993 to
more than $1.1 trillion in 2016. Cross-border investment also surged, with U.S. foreign direct
investment (FDI) stock in Mexico increasing in that period from $15 billion to more than $100
billion.

 But experts also say that it has proven difficult to tease out the deal’s direct effects from other
factors, including rapid technological change and expanded trade with countries such as China.
Meanwhile, debate persists regarding NAFTA’s effect on employment and wages. Some
workers and industries faced painful disruptions as they lost market share due to increased
competition, while others gained from the new market opportunities that were created.

How did NAFTA affect the U.S. economy?

 Most estimates conclude that the deal increased U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) by less
than 0.5 percent, an addition of up to $80 billion to the U.S. economy upon full implementation,
or several billion dollars of added growth per year.

 NAFTA supporters estimate that some fourteen million U.S. jobs rely on trade with Canada or
Mexico, and that the nearly two hundred thousand export-related jobs created annually by
the pact pay 15 to 20 percent more on average than the jobs that were lost.

 On the other hand, critics of the deal argue that it was to blame for job losses and wage
stagnation in the United States, driven by low-wage competition, companies moving
production to Mexico to lower costs, and a widening trade deficit. The Center for Economic and
Policy Research’s (CEPR) Dean Baker and the Economic Policy Institute’s Robert Scott argue that
the surge of imports after NAFTA caused a loss of up to six hundred thousand U.S. jobs over
two decades, though they admit that some of this import growth would likely have happened
even without NAFTA.

 Many workers and labor leaders blame trade agreements such as NAFTA for the decline in U.S.
manufacturing jobs.

 But other economists, have emphasized that increased trade produces overall gains for the
U.S. economy. Some jobs are lost due to imports, but others are created, and consumers benefit
significantly from falling prices and often improved quality of goods.

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 In fact, NAFTA helped the U.S. auto sector compete with China. By contributing to the
development of cross-border supply chains, NAFTA lowered costs, increased productivity, and
improved U.S. competitiveness.

 Because Mexico is so close, U.S. can have a regional industry cluster where goods can go back
and forth. The manufacturing industries in the three countries can be very integrated. These
linkages, which have given U.S. automakers an advantage over China, would be much more
difficult to achieve without NAFTA’s tariff reductions and protections for intellectual property.

How did it affect the Mexican economy?

 NAFTA boosted Mexican farm exports to the United States, which have tripled since the pact’s
implementation. Hundreds of thousands of auto manufacturing jobs have also been created in
the country, and most studies have found that the agreement increased productivity and
lowered consumer prices in Mexico.

 The pact catalyzed Mexico’s transition from one of the world’s most protectionist economies
to one of the most open to trade. Mexico had reduced many of its trade barriers upon joining

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the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the precursor to the WTO, in 1986, but still
had a pre-NAFTA average tariff level of 10 percent.
 Mexican policymakers saw NAFTA as an opportunity to both accelerate and lock in these hard-
won reforms of the Mexican economy. In addition to liberalizing trade, Mexico’s leaders
reduced public debt, introduced a balanced-budget rule, stabilized inflation, and built up the
country’s foreign reserves. So although Mexico was hard hit by the 2008 financial crisis due to its
dependence on exports to the U.S. market—the next year, Mexican exports to the United States
fell 17 percent and its economy contracted by over 6 percent—its economy bounced back
relatively quickly, returning to growth in 2010.

 Between 1993 and 2013, a period when Latin America was undergoing a major economic
expansion, Mexico’s economy grew at an average rate of just 1.3 percent yearly.
Poverty remains at the same levels as in 1994. And the expected convergence of U.S. and
Mexican wages didn’t happen, with Mexico’s per capita income rising at an average of just 1.2
percent annually in that period—far slower than Latin American countries such as Brazil, Chile,
and Peru.

 Unemployment also rose, which some economists have blamed on NAFTA for exposing Mexican
farmers, especially corn producers, to competition from heavily subsidized U.S. agriculture.

 NAFTA put almost two million small-scale Mexican farmers out of work, in turn driving illegal
migration to the United States. (Migration to the United States, both legal and illegal, more
than doubled after 1994, peaking in 2007. The flow reversed after 2008, as more Mexican-born
immigrants began leaving the United States than arriving.)

 Ultimately, many experts say, Mexico’s recent economic performance has been affected by non-
NAFTA factors. The 1994 devaluation of the peso drove Mexican exports, while competition
with China’s low-cost manufacturing sector likely depressed growth. Unrelated public policies,
such as land reform, made it easier for farmers to sell their land and emigrate. Mexico’s
struggles have largely domestic causes: poorly developed credit markets, a large and low-
productivity informal sector, and dysfunctional regulation.

What was the impact on Canada?

 Canada saw strong gains in cross-border investment in the NAFTA era: Since 1993, U.S. and
Mexican investments in Canada have tripled. U.S. investment, which accounts for more than
half of Canada’s FDI stock, grew from $70 billion in 1993 to more than $368 billion in 2013.

 However, the most consequential aspect for Canada—opening its economy to the United States,
by far Canada’s largest trading partner—predated NAFTA, with 1989 entry into force of
the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA). Overall Canada-U.S. trade increased rapidly in
the wake of Canada’s trade liberalization.

 Post-NAFTA, Canadian exports to the United States grew from $110 billion to $346 billion;
imports from the United States grew by almost the same amount.

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 Agriculture, in particular, saw a boost. Canada is the leading importer of U.S. agricultural
products, and Canadian agricultural trade with the United States has more than tripled since
1994, as did Canada’s total agriculture exports to NAFTA partners.
 Neither the worst fears of Canada’s trade opponents—that opening to trade would gut the
country’s manufacturing sector—nor the highest hopes of NAFTA’s advocates—that it would
spark a rapid increase in productivity—came to pass. Canadian manufacturing employment held
steady, but the productivity gap between the Canadian and U.S. economies wasn’t closed: by
2017, Canada’s labor productivity remained at 72 percent of U.S. levels.

 Overall, Canada became more dependent on trade with the United States, relying on its
southern neighbor for 75 percent of its exports. Other high-income countries tend to be much
more diversified, rarely relying on a single partner for more than 20 percent.

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What’s next for North American trade?

Here’s a brief overview of what’s in it:
 NAFTA was long a political target. In 2008,
then presidential candidate Barack Obama
responded to widespread trade
skepticism among the Democratic base by
promising to renegotiate NAFTA to
include tougher labor and environmental
standards.
 The Obama administration sought to
address the issues with NAFTA in
negotiations for the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, a massive trade deal with
eleven other countries including Canada
and Mexico.
 President Trump withdrew the United
States from the TPP in one of his first acts
in office.
 During the 2016 presidential campaign,
both Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders,
an independent, criticized NAFTA for
bringing U.S. job losses. After entering
office, Trump opened renegotiations to
get a “better deal” for the United States.
Trade remains a hot-button issue, with
candidates in the 2020 race divided over
whether to support the USMCA.
 Much of the debate among policy experts
has centered on how to mitigate the
negative effects of deals such as NAFTA,
including whether to compensate workers
who lose their jobs or provide retraining
programs to help them transition to new industries. Experts say programs such as the U.S. Trade
Adjustment Assistance (TAA), which helps workers pay for education or training to find new
jobs, could help quell anger directed at trade liberalization.
 Country of origin rules: Automobiles must
have 75 percent of their components
manufactured in Mexico, the US, or Canada to
qualify for zero tariffs (up from 62.5 percent
under NAFTA).
 Labor provisions: 40 to 45 percent of
automobile parts must be made by workers
who earn at least $16 an hour by 2023.
Mexico agreed to pass new labor laws to give
greater protections to workers, including
migrants and women. Most notably, these
laws are supposed to make it easier for
Mexican workers to unionize.
 US farmers get more access to the Canadian
dairy market: The US got Canada to open up
its dairy market to US farmers, a big issue for
Trump.
 Intellectual property and digital trade: The
deal extends the terms of copyright to 70
years beyond the life of the author (up from
50). It also includes new provisions to deal
with the digital economy, such as prohibiting
duties on things like music and ebooks, and
protections for internet companies so they’re
not liable for content their users produce.
 Sunset clause: The agreement adds a 16-year
sunset clause — meaning the terms of the
agreement expire, or “sunset,” after 16 years.
The deal is also subject to a review every six
years, at which point the US, Mexico, and
Canada can decide to extend the USMCA.

 Many economists argue that current TAA funding levels are far from sufficient to address the
increase in trade-related job losses.

 Eschewing these policy proposals, Trump instead made good on his campaign promise to
renegotiate NAFTA. He used tariffs as bargaining leverage throughout the process,
applying import tariffs on steel and aluminum in early 2018 and threatening to do the same with
automobiles. Trump’s demands included more access to Canada’s highly protected dairy

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market, better labor protections, dispute resolution reform, and new rules for digital
commerce.

 In late 2019, the Trump administration won support from congressional Democrats for the
USMCA after agreeing to incorporate stronger labor enforcement. In the updated pact, the
parties settled on a number of changes: Rules of origin for the auto industry were tightened,
requiring 75 percent of each vehicle to originate in the member countries, up from 62.5 percent;
and new labor stipulations were added, requiring 40 percent of each vehicle to come from
factories paying at least $16 per hour.

 A proposed expansion of intellectual property protections for U.S. pharmaceuticals—long a red

line for U.S. trade negotiators—was sacrificed. The USMCA also significantly scales back
the controversial investor-state dispute settlement mechanism, eliminating it entirely with
Canada and limiting it to certain sectors with Mexico, including oil and gas and
telecommunications.

 As part of the deal, Canada agreed to allow more access to its dairy market and won several
concessions in return. The USMCA will keep the Chapter 19 dispute panel, which Canada relies
on to shield it from U.S. trade remedies. It also avoided a proposed five-year sunset clause,
instead using a sixteen-year time frame with a review after six years.

 In early 2020, the U.S. Congress approved the USMCA with large bipartisan majorities in both
chambers, and the deal entered into force on July 1. Yet some critics have complained that the
new rules of origin and minimum wage requirements are onerous and amount to government-
managed trade. CFR’s Alden was more sanguine, saying the administration can take credit
for restoring bipartisanship to U.S. trade policy. He warns, however, that “if this new hybrid of
Trumpian nationalism and Democratic progressivism is what it now takes to do trade deals with
the United States, there may be very few takers.”

Watch video to understand better

https://youtu.be/371CRxnGkA8

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Contemporary Global Concerns

Syllabus
Contemporary Global Concerns: Democracy, human rights, environment, gender justice, terrorism, nuclear
proliferation.

Past year UPSC questions

1. Is ‘terrorism’ an essentially ‘contested’ concept ? What are the different manifestations of ‘terrorism’
as a concept, and as practice?
2. Bring out linkage between environmental degradation and neo-corporatism in the globalised era.
3. State the place of Gender Justice in global agenda.
4. “Global commons belong to global society and requires global attention”.Comment.
5. Do you agree that the U.N. has failed to contain transnational terrorism? Elaborate your answer with
examples.
6. Discuss the grounds for India’s opposition to NPT.
7. What are the real objectives of Millennium Development Goals (MDG)? Do you think that millennium
development goals have been able to achieve the desired goals of poverty alleviation and sustainable
development?
8. Why does global human security need to be emphasized along with economic security? Explain with
examples
9. Discuss the evolution of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in the post-Cold War period.
10. Examine the main problems and challenges involved in looking after environmental concerns in world
politics.
11. Explain the socio-economic impacts of arms race and identify the obstacles in the way of disarmament
12. Examine the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) movement: in developed societies and
how it is affecting the political participation in developing societies
13. Give an assessment of the Feminist critique of contemporary global issues.
14. The recent move of USA to withdraw from the Paris climate Agreement is a setback in the consensus
achieved on protecting the world environment. In this context, assess the future prospective on
climate control.
15. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has failed to achieve the ultimate objective of Global
Nuclear Department. Discuss the deficiency in the provision of NPT.
16. Would you agree that the on-going debates on international environmental politics continue to be
marred by a new North-South ideological divide over historical responsibility and developmental
model ? Illustrate your answer with suitable examples

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Critically examine the notion of "Asian Values" in the context of the on-going debates on human rights.
Discuss the implications of the Trump-Kim Singapore Summit on the prospects of denuclearisation
of the Korean Peninsula

Contemporary Global Concerns

Democracy

Why democracy?

 Democracy helps to prevent rule by cruel and vicious autocrats;

 Modern representative democracies do not fight wars with one another;
 Countries with democratic governments tend to be more prosperous than countries with
nondemocratic governments; and
 Democracy tends to foster human development—as measured by health, education, personal
income, and other indicators—more fully than other forms of government do. Other features of
democracy also would be considered desirable by most people, though some would regard them
as less important than features 1 through 4 above:
 Democracy helps people to protect their fundamental interests;
 Democracy guarantees its citizens fundamental rights that nondemocratic systems do not, and
cannot, grant; and
 Democracy ensures its citizens a broader range of personal freedoms than other forms of
government do. Finally, there are some features of democracy that some people—the critics of
democracy—would not consider desirable at all, though most people, upon reflection, would
regard them as at least worthwhile:
 Only democracy provides people with a maximum opportunity to live under laws of their own
choosing;
 Only democracy provides people with a maximum opportunity to take moral responsibility for
their choices and decisions about government policies; and
 Only in a democracy can there be a relatively high level of political equality.

Significance of democracy

Democratic peace theory: The democratic peace theory posits that democracies are hesitant to
engage in armed conflict with other identified democracies.
Among proponents of the democratic peace theory, several factors are held as motivating peace
between democratic states:

 Democratic leaders are forced to accept culpability for war losses to a voting public;
 Publicly accountable statespeople are inclined to establish diplomatic institutions for resolving
international tensions;

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 Democracies are not inclined to view countries with adjacent policy and governing doctrine as
hostile;
 Democracies tend to possess greater public wealth than other states, and therefore eschew war to
preserve infrastructure and resources.
 Democracy provides an environment for the protection and effective realization of human
rights and human dignity.

Amartya Sen’s views on Democracy

 Amartya Sen states that he has always been a firm believer in democracy and applauds its vast
progress since Independence. He has always maintained that it is the most stable way of
governance. However, he believes that unless the government focuses on improving and developing
the terrible social conditions and infrastructure that plagues the majority of the Indian population,
there can be no rapid economic growth.

 Although Sen believes in democracy as the best form of governance, he states that sometimes it
could lead to infectivity when it comes to execution for ongoing deficiencies, although it is great for
crisis management. For instance, he says that if tomorrow a flood was to hit the Bay of Bengal, then
the government would ensure that the 200 people living by the coast were safely evacuated.
However, in the case of, say, improving healthcare conditions, putting money into state schools and
hospitals would take forever considering that substantial time would be spent in just deliberations
and convincing the concerned authorities to get on board.

Democracy is damaged when people are afraid to speak out: Amartya Sen

Issues in democracy as a global concern

Clash of civilizations:

 The Clash of Civilizations is a thesis that people's cultural and religious identities will be the primary
source of conflict in the post-Cold War world. The American political scientist Samuel P.
Huntington argued that future wars would be fought not between countries, but between cultures.
 Huntington began his thinking by surveying the diverse theories about the nature of global politics in
the post-Cold War period. Some theorists and writers argued that human rights, liberal democracy,
and the capitalist free market economy had become the only remaining ideological alternative for
nations in the post-Cold War world. Specifically, Francis Fukuyama argued that the world had
reached the 'end of history' in a Hegelian sense.

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 Huntington believed that while the age of ideology had ended, the world had only reverted to a
normal state of affairs characterized by cultural conflict. In his thesis, he argued that the primary
axis of conflict in the future will be along cultural lines

Dominant form of democracy is neo-liberal

 Thomas Biebricher : The relation between neoliberalism and democracy has always been fraught
with tensions, as even the very first experiments with neoliberal reforms in Chile and other South
American countries during the 1970s indicate. In most of these cases it was military dictator- ships
or other kinds of authoritarian regimes that pushed through measures aimed at marketization,
liberalization and individualization. And while neoliberal reforms in the OECD world were initiated
and implemented by democratically elected governments, the question as to what extent the
ensuing processes of neo-liberalization would ultimately undermine democracy in its various aspects
has led to a lively and ongoing political as well as scholarly debate.

Article How Neoliberalism Reinvented Democracy argues:

 There is no doubt that the neoliberal sovereign consumer was invented as an attack on socialist
thought, and that an attempt to answer the socialist notion of economic democracy was crucial in
this endeavor.
 To gain the moral high ground, neoliberals presented the notion of consumer democracy as the real
economic democracy, which, in contrast to the socialist ideal, effectively ensured that all members
of society could hold a share in economic decision-making, power, and wealth. And, obviously, by
speaking of consumers as “lords of production,” neoliberals also launched a defense against the
Marxist conception of capitalism as a system run by and merely enriching the owners of the means
of production.

Democracy interventions

 A democratic intervention is a military intervention by external forces with the aim of

assisting democratization of the country where the intervention takes place.
 Examples include intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq. Democratic intervention has occurred
throughout the mid-twentieth century, as evidenced in Japan and Germany after World War II,
where democracies were imposed by military intervention.
 States engage in democratic intervention for a variety of reasons, ranging from national
interests to international security. Proponents of democratic intervention acknowledge the
superiority of democracies to autocratic regimes in facets of peace, economics and human
rights.
 Criticisms of democratic intervention surround the infringement of state sovereignty of the
country where the intervention takes place and the failure of democratic intervention to
consider a nation’s cultural complexities.

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Methods of democratic intervention

 Western liberal democracies like the United States (US) are
in favor of democratic intervention while other countries The various methods that may be
such as China and North Korea view it as a mechanism of used to enact policies of democratic
furthering the hegemony of an intervening state intervention range from military
aggression to non-violent means.
They include:
Democratic deficit in global governance
 Military aggression: the use of
 Deliberative democracy theorists harshly criticize the IMF military force to forcefully
and World Bank for their lack of accountability. Stiglitz, impose democratization on
being one of them, argues that the World Bank and IMF another country via occupation
both suffer from lack of accountability. or other means.
 Proxy warfare: the funding, co-
Impact of globalization on democracy ordination and incitement of pro-
democratic armed groups against
 Globalization has a great impact on promoting democracies their non-democratic opponents
and perhaps the most available evidence will be based on and their non-democratic allies.
the infusion of democratic values and human rights into the  Economic sanctions: the
regional and international institutions. For instance, the EU imposition of commercial and
requires democratic governments only to apply for financial penalties against non-
membership and more importantly to promote the democratic states with the intent
democratic values and norms through their foreign policy. of inspiring democratization.
 Information warfare: the use of
 Democracy is accelerated through globalization by the most information and communication
important tools of communication between states and the technology to
people. Trade, foreign investment, finance, migration, spread propaganda and disinfor
environment, and culture are the tools which help in mation in non-democratic states
promoting democracy by creating more integration. to instigate pro-democratic
movements.
Undermining democracy  Foreign aid: the provision of
 The financial disasters, recessions, and important security resources to encourage and
issues and dilemmas are rising in democratic states in the support the transition from
west and east. Globalization is introducing new autocracy to democracy
international dangerous problems to states and to the idea
of sovereignty and it undermines the democratic norms by
making them weak and vulnerable compared to other
political regimes.
 For instance, the Asian economic crisis of 1997 showed that countries that had more democratic
links with the west had suffered the most and that was a warning which showed that
globalization is dangerous.

 Many scholars such as Jens Bartelson would agree with the idea that globalization poses a
threat to the democratic state instead of aiding its expansion. It is believed that it undermines
the essential requirements of state autonomy, patriotism and national identity.

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 Globalization is causing the decline of the nation state, as governments no longer have control
over their economy, their trade and their borders. Now, trans-national companies are becoming
increasingly imperative to the economy, and the state is becoming obsolete. This supports the
argument that globalization is reducing the power of democracy and the state, resulting in
hollow democracy.

 Post-modern and Radical theorists: Seen as an excuse for interventionism and

promoting geo-pol aims
 No clarity on what rights to be constituted as HRs and who to be considered human
(Eg. - Terrorists)

Reverse wave of democracy.

 Huntington notes the existence of both waves of democracy formation and “reverse waves” of
anti-democratic reaction.
 During the cold war, the erosions of democracy occurred by means of coups. Currently, the
erosions of our democracies are being inflicted by democratically elected leaders.
 Democracy is being eroded from within its very institutions: in Hungary, Prime Minister Orban
has ordered the detaining of refugees and asylum seekers he has described as “Muslim
invaders”. Furthermore, Hungary has erected a fence on its border with Serbia and
performs extra-judicial expulsions of migrants that are illegal under international law. This, with
the support of the population which elected Orban and fuels this counter-revolution. All of
these instances have sparked the unprecedented European Parliament recommendation on the
triggering of the EU’s Article 7, never before applied and only used in severe violations of EU
law.
 The role the United States has played in the decrease in faith in democratic institutions should
not be underestimated. As a country which prided itself on its Cold War mission to export
democracy, it is now veering away from its global influence drastically.
 President Donald Trump has alienated the international community with his tariff wars and talk
of removing the US from key international organisations and treaties. Nevertheless, even if
Trump has alienated the globalists, Trump’s US is a bastion of hope for increasingly autocratic
Eastern European countries like Hungary, Poland and Bulgaria. Trump embodies precisely the
solution to the most pressing issues post-Soviet young democracies, or grey-area democracies
face: nationalising policies to counter-weigh the impacts and effects of juxtaposed ethnic
identities within the nation-state, a closed-border policy towards migration, and a nativist
revival.

Democratizing Globalization: Agents and Strategies

 Jan Aart Scholte: Perhaps one of the first democratizing moves to make, as we move away from
the notion of a neoliberal model as the single answer for the entire world, is to begin saying that
"other worlds are possible" rather than "another world is possible." It would be a terrible
mistake if we moved from the dictatorial imposition of one neoliberal model to an alternative
model which would equally be singular and imposed. I would hope that as we move towards

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"another world", we are actually thinking about how plural worlds can coexist at a time when
we can no longer hide behind buffers of distance and borders.

 That said, we come to the question of civil society activity as a means of creating those "other
worlds" and of doing so in a democratic fashion. It does seem to me that collective citizen action
in trade unions, NGOs, faith-based groups, community associations, and so on, is a way to
mobilize citizens and bring them into direct and active engagement with globalization, with
shaping it and reshaping it.

 Civil society activity does provide great possibilities for increasing public awareness about
globalization, stimulating public debate about it, and providing channels and opportunities for
public participation in global politics. Civil society groups have also helped to make the
governance of globalization more transparent, more open, and more visible to us as citizens,
and have (although still to a rather limited extent) encouraged greater accountability in the
governance of global relations.

 Finally, civil society groups have also pushed for a redistribution of resources that might begin to
create a more level playing field in global politics and reduce some of those arbitrary structural
hierarchies of opportunity that I talked about earlier. This all suggests the very promising
potential of civil society activity as a force for democratizing globalization and helping to create
other worlds.

Scholte’s Postmodern Global Democracies

 Scholte proposes that global democracy is best envisioned through a new approach, which he labels
“postmodern global democracies.” His approach responds to what he identifies as the central
inadequacies of two current strains of thought on global democracy – statism and cosmopolitanism.
 According to Scholte, statism is the view that “global democracy is best achieved through
multilateral collaboration among democratic nation-states” whereas cosmopolitanism suggests that
“global democracy is optimally realized by elevating pillars of Western liberal democracy…from the
national to the global level”
 Among other things, Scholte contends that both of these perspectives fail to adequately account for
the social structures and characteristics of global governance that dominate the current global
environment. He argues that in the contemporary world, global connections are greater than ever
before, collective identities are often non-territorially based, suprastate, substate and non-state
actors as well as states are global regulators, and the Western-modern state is critically looked upon
by some cultural views.
 Scholte suggests that instead of the vision of global democracy put forward by statism or
cosmopolitanism, global democracy should be built on five principles – transcalarity, plural
solidarities, transculturality, egalitarian redistribution and eco-ship.
1. Transcalarity recognizes that “democracy is not achieved at one or the other
geographical ‘level’, but through fluid mobilizations across scales”

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2. Plural solidarities as a principle tells us that “an individual can embrace multiple
solidarities and that the relative weight of these attachments can fluctuate,” and thus
there is no one demos but a plural demoi behind global democracy
3. The principle of transculturality requires that within all cultures or life-worlds global
democracy “be practiced in ways that are meaningfully democratic within each of these
multiple life-worlds”
4. Egalitarian redistribution recognizes that truly democratic rulemaking requires not only
legal and moral equality of persons, but also economic equality.
5. Eco-ship “would embed democracy in a concern with ecological integrity”

Human Rights

Human Rights

Human Rights in the Context of International Relations

 Sixty-six years after the founding of the United Nations, human rights looks like an insular world
unto itself: A system with its own standards, institutions and mechanisms, a world of experts
still far from being intrinsically connected to people’s daily life worlds.

 Insofar as the mass media pay attention to human rights questions and issues, their focus is
primarily on international relations and foreign policy. This would not give any reason for
concern if the emphasis were just on human rights as an end to be achieved.

 What permeates international relations is, however, human rights as an instrument to uplift a
state’s own credibility while undermining that of other states. In that respect two distinctive
ways of twisting human rights may be discerned: Offensive and defensive human rights.

1. Offensive human rights implies a focus on violations by other states. Illustrative in this
respect is the usual practice in the relations between Cuba and the United States: In whatever
forum possible, motions are put forward to censure the rival state.

2. Defensive human rights, on the other hand, refers to the practice of signing and ratifying
whatever treaty possible (not uncommonly with pre-announced reservations) as well as
incorporating human rights standards in the country’s national constitution, not as a first step
towards implementation but simply as a point of positive reference whenever questions are
asked as to the country’s human rights record.

 To be sure, the ensuing state obligations are internationally enforceable only if systematic non-
compliance were first reported to the UN Security Council and next resulted in action in the
form of sanctions.

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 This could happen only very rarely as international governance is extremely weak in practice.
Consequently, state sovereignty – also a UN foundational principle (UN Charter Article 2) – has
remained a crucial obstacle to the enforcement of international human rights law. Thus, in
practice, the states participating in Treaty-based mechanisms can refrain from submitting
country reports as well as ignoring conclusive observations that require a clear follow-up, and in
the Charter-based bodies they can disregard motions and resolutions requesting essential
changes in their human rights policies and practices, while even denying access to UN-mandated
representatives seeking entry into the country under scrutiny.

 The point is that while international standards and mechanisms have been created as a legal
venture, implementation has always been dominated by international relations. Thus, there is
no world court of human rights comparable to the European Court of Human Rights in
Strasbourg, whose judgments are executed as standard practice. As mentioned, membership of
the Charter-based bodies is through state representation, implying that states are involved in
judging their own cases

 In the context of globalization and the end of the Cold War, one would have expected a revival
of human rights as a genuine global venture capable of engaging and mobilizing mass
constituencies. That such support has not been forthcoming must be seen as a disappointment.
In this respect, some observations may serve to clarify certain flaws in the global human rights
venture.

Defects in international human rights

 The UN project as envisaged in the Charter was never meant to be legally enforceable
by international means. The terminology was remarkably weak from the start, with the core
expression of “protection and promotion of human rights” as testimony to its “soft law”
character.

 Whereas rights signify abstract commitment to protection of interests by law, human rights
refer to interests directly connected to human dignity, viz. fundamental freedoms and basic
entitlements. To “protect human rights,” then means protecting the protection of these
interests by law. Such discourse obviously weakens the mission.

 Even when country assessments and cases of human rights violations are treated as very serious
matters, there is remarkably little attention to the follow-up of cases in which evident
violations of human rights were established. This is one explanation why the global human
rights deficit – manifested in impunity of state-related perpetrators of gross and systematic
violations, structural non-implementation of the rights of the poor, lack of protection of non-
dominant collectivities, and domestic violence against women and children – strongly persists.

 The juridical nature of the international human rights venture went together with an emphasis
on case-by-case approaches. Yet, national non-implementation is often of a structural nature,
requiring primarily international political action. Insofar as such action has been forthcoming, it
has suffered from the almost inherent double standards in the world of states.

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 Effective action requires decision-making by the UN Security Council and that implies consent on
the part of its permanent members, including China, Russia, and the United States. Thus, gross
and systematic violations of human rights cannot be effectively addressed in territories such as
Chechnya and Tibet.

 Effective protection of collectivities requires close co-operation between the UN’s political set-
up, which deals with international peace and security, and its juridical branch, which is tuned to
the “promotion and protection” of human rights.

 Likewise, the realization of economic, social, and cultural rights needs the full commitment of
relevant development-oriented agencies, including the international financial institutions (IFIs).
Yet, “mainstreaming” human rights as envisaged in the whole UN system of governance has,
above all, resulted in documents that reflect policy briefs, reports and policy guidelines rather
than the genuine operationalization of human rights at all levels and layers

 There has not been much interest in global human rights as a common mission of the “United
Nations,” as envisaged in Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Declaration,
UDHR). Instead, member states appear to believe in setting up their own human rights
mechanisms – not as complementary to the international framework but as an alternative –
rather than committing themselves to truly supranational supervision and enforcement.
Strikingly, even in academic circles the grounds of human rights, are rarely discussed except for
philosophical reflections on human dignity.

 Certain interpretations, which utilize Article 19 of the Declaration as a licence to use offending
language and to disseminate dignity-offending material, such as pornography, tend to alienate
huge portions of the necessary constituency for the human rights mission, while also
contributing towards a political constituency for relativist positions such as “Asian” or “Islamic”
human rights.

 International human rights are not yet sufficiently focused on the economic, political, social, and
cultural aspects of the distinct environments in which these rights have to be realized. As the
whole international venture for the protection of human dignity against the abuse of power is
based on well functioning legal systems that connect enforceable national law to international
law, efforts to realize these rights primarily require the creation of good governance based on
the rule of law.

 In order to overcome the obstacles connected to failing and dictatorially ruled states, well
functioning economies and policies to overcome cultural prejudice are essential. That would
entail a shift of resources from purely juridical action towards policies supporting political
transformation.

 Devoid of global governance, economic globalization has increased socio-economic inequality

while creating an adverse environment for the realization of economic, social, and cultural
rights. Simultaneously, non-state agencies or actors became more relevant in the whole
international endeavour for structural protection of human dignity.

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 Effective check on human rights-affecting actions by multinational corporations (MNCs) is

primarily the duty of states under whose responsibility these companies operate. While at the
level of states an increased focus on MNC violations of human rights is clearly noticeable,
international regulation will have to follow if violations reach a globally intolerable level.
Notably, even international governmental organizations such as the World Trade Organization
(WTO) distance themselves from responsibilities for human rights implementation.

 In the aftermath of 11 September 2001 (9/11) the world has seen a strong revival of
“exceptionalism” in respect to international law. Exceptionalism is a term generally used to
describe the ways and means by which states exempt themselves from the international legal
and political order. The United States is the most obvious example of state-based
exceptionalism.
 In the wake of the “Global War on Terror” as the Pentagon termed the United States’ response
to 9/11, even rights very close to the core of human dignity such as due process and the
prohibition of torture have been grossly and systematically violated. Highly problematic from a
human rights perspective is the exceptionalist spillover to the rest of the world, including
countries like Israel and Iran, too.

Globalization and human rights

Opponents of globalization see it as a threat to human rights in several ways.

 First, local decision-making and democratic participation are undermined when multinational
companies, the World Bank, and the IMF set national economic and social policies.
 Second, unrestricted market forces threaten economic, social, and cultural rights such as the right to
health, especially when structural adjustment policies reduce public expenditures for health and
education.
 Third, accumulations of power and wealth in the hands of foreign multinational companies increase
unemployment, poverty, and the marginalization of vulnerable groups.

Impact of Globalization on women’s rights

 Globalization is a particular issue for women, because they often bear a disproportionate
burden of poverty, which may be exacerbated by economic restructuring, deregulation and
privatization.
 Investors have demonstrated a preference for women in the “soft” industries such as apparel,
shoe- and toy-making, data-processing, and semi-conductor assembling—industries that require
unskilled to semi-skilled labor, leading women to bear the disproportionate weight of the
constraints introduced by globalization.
 The process of economic liberalization has also led to growth in the informal sector and
increased female participation therein. Employment in the informal sector generally means that
employment benefits and mechanisms of protection are unavailable. Underemployment seems
to be as big a problem as open unemployment.

Impact on labor rights, minority rights and poor

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 It also has been asserted that states feel compelled to ease labor standards, modify tax
regulations, and relax other standards to attract foreign investment, seen especially in the
export production zones (EPZs) where employment may be plentiful, but working conditions
poor.
 Labor unions claim that EPZs are sometimes designed to undermine union rights, deny or
restrict rights to free association, expression, and assembly. There are some twenty-seven
million workers employed in such zones worldwide.
 It is estimated that the number of developing countries with EPZs increased from twenty-four in
1976 to ninety-three in 2000, with women providing up to 80% of the labor force.
 Another impact observed in many countries is a shift from companies hiring permanent
employees with job security and benefits, to the use of contingent or temporary workers lacking
health care, retirement, collective bargaining arrangements, and other security available to the
permanent work force.
 As with other negative impacts of globalization, this one also has more severe impacts on
women, minorities, and migrant workers. Women comprise the largest segment of migrant
labor flows, both internally and internationally.
 States often do not include migrant workers in their labor standards, leaving women
particularly vulnerable. Overall, only some 20% of the world’s workers have adequate social
protection. In addition, some 3000 people a day die from work-related accidents or disease.

Trans-boundary crime

 Globalization also has produced an important new type of transboundary criminal enterprise.
International crimes that involve or impact human rights violations are increasing: illegal drug
trade, arms trafficking, money laundering, and traffic in persons are all facilitated by the same
technological advances and open markets that assist in human rights.
 Traffic in women for sexual purposes is estimated to involve more than $7 billion a year, but the
sex trade is not the only market for humans. Coercion against agricultural workers, domestic
workers, and factory workers also is evident.

Right to privacy in globalized world

 Certain human rights are particularly threatened by globalization. Respect for private life needs
protection against personal data collection.

Cultural and linguistic rights

 They can also suffer under global assault, but the evidence seems contradictory. There is no
doubt that globalization facilitates the transfer of cultural manifestations and cultural
property. A study by the U.N. Economic and Social Council (UNESCO) indicates that commerce
in cultural property tripled between 1980 and 1991 under the impulse of satellite
communications, Internet, and videocassettes.
 Yet, in this field, as in others, mergers and acquisitions have concentrated ownership to the
detriment of local industry. The Hollywood film industry represented 70% of the European
market in 1996, more than double what it was a decade earlier, and constituted 86% of the Latin
American market.

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 In the opposite direction, traditional cultures across the world are being transmitted and
revived in multiethnic states through the movement of peoples, their languages, and their
beliefs.

Structural Adjustment Programs

 According to the independent expert appointed by the U.N. to study the impact of structural
adjustment programs on human rights, there are two main consequences of such programs.
o First, they have led to a significant erosion of the living standards of the poor and
investment in the productive sectors of many countries;
o second, such countries have ceded their right to independently determine their
country’s development priorities .
 According to the expert, structural adjustment shifted from being a mechanism to handle
national debt into a vehicle for deregulation, trade liberalization, and privatization—all reducing
the role of the state in national development. Properly structured debt relief is essential to
alleviate poverty and build democratic institutions

Human rights under Neo-liberal capitalism

 The Preamble of the Declaration of the Right to Development, adopted by the UN General
Assembly in 1986, describes “development as a comprehensive economic, social, cultural and
political process that aims at the constant improvement of the well-being of the entire
population and of all individuals on the basis of their active, free and meaningful participation in
development and in the fair distribution of resulting benefits”.

 A development strategy that disregards or interferes with human rights is the very negation of
development.

 The aims and objectives of the so-called development models promoted by different
governments or international development agencies are not compatible with human rights
standards. A new model of development ideology is being promoted that is based on the
market and its logic.

 As a result of the globalization process, more negative effects are visible now. Global integration
of the structures, processes, and ideologies produce injustice, oppression, exploitation and mal-
development in society. The systematic integration of the forces that are dominant in the
globalization process intensifies human rights violations.

 Global trade is being liberalized and opened up in this era of globalization. A set of new rules
and regulations have been promoted through international firms like WTO and new initiatives
have been taken through the formation of regional economic trading blocs. At the same time
several developed countries in the world have been trying to inter-relate trade policy with
human rights policy.

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 Under mounting pressure from the business lobby in the irrespective countries, several Western
governments have altered their policies depending up on their business interests. Under the
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) which provides for trade benefits for developing
countries, the USA has withdrawn or threatened to withdraw preferences from some countries
that violate human rights.

 Some developed countries are pressing for trade sanctions against states found to violate
human rights, especially human rights standards that are generally based on the Conventions
and Recommendations of the International Labor Organization. They have tended on the whole
to oppose trade liberalization treaties such as NAFTA and currently WTO.

 Virtually all developing countries at the present time seek private foreign investment for
development. Such investment now greatly exceeds loans or grants from official sources. The
growth of Transnational corporations - now numbering about 35,000 with 1,50,000 foreign
affiliates - is evidence of the increased role of the private sector and of market economies in
developing countries.

 The human rights implications of these trends are outlined by an economist, David Korten in the
following terms:
Today the most intense competition in the globally integrated market is not between
the gigantic Transnational Corporations, but it is between governments that find
themselves competing with one another for investors by offering the cheapest and
most compliant labor; the weakest environmental, health, and safety standards, the
lowest taxes; and the most fully developed infrastructure.

Rolling back of state

 The imperative to liberalize has demanded a shrinking of state involvement in national life,
producing a wave of privatization, cutting jobs, slashing health, education and food subsidies,
etc. affecting the poor people in society. In many cases, liberalization has been accompanied by
greater inequality and people are left trapped in utter poverty.

 The Human Development Report of 1997 revealed that poor countries and poor people too
often find their interests neglected as a result of globalization. Although globalization of the
economy has been characterized as a locomotive for productivity, opportunity, technological
progress, and uniting the world, it ultimately causes increased impoverishment, social
disparities and violations of human rights.

Positives of globalization and human rights

 Trade liberalization promotes the growth of stability-promoting middle class all over the globe;
trade enhances efficiency and wealth and thereby creates potential revenue for environmental
protection. Trade creates jobs in developing as well as developed countries, thereby reducing
the pressure on both illegal immigration and illicit drug trafficking.

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 In general, trade theory predicts a significant increase in global welfare stemming from
globalization, indirectly enhancing the attainment of economic conditions necessary for
economic and social rights. Many thus believe that market mechanisms and liberalized trade
will lead to an improvement in the living standards of all people.
 Some also posit that free trade and economic freedom are necessary conditions of political
freedom, or at least contribute to the rule of law that is an essential component of human
rights.
 According to Schumpeter’s Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy globalization has helped
promote economic development which has augmented the number of educated and well
trained citizens, which has resulted, in a decrease in economic inequality. This illustrates the
freedom and development of the people in allowing them to prosper from the benefits of
globalization.
 Globalization encourages authoritarian states to decentralize power as they hand over their
control to make progress for the market, which is fundamentally democratic. Many other
advantages of globalization also help promote democracy. Other advantages of globalization
reducing borders is that is strengthens the distribution of democratic values over borders. The
more democracies border non-democratic countries, the more the chances that country has of
becoming democratic.

Critic to above argument

Realist view: globalization infringe on sovereignty of state. Human rights transcends

national boundaries and thus promotes cosmopolitan solidarity, which erodes the role of
state in the sphere of human rights.

 In addition, with the increase in the demand for human rights and humanitarian interventions in
countries which abuse power, democracy is progressively becoming the only alternative to
autocratic regimes. As the preponderance of states withholds democratic values, it is expected
that any other state that is non-democratic is in violation of human rights as they are not
allowing their citizens to voice their opinion and have a say in the way their government is run.

Note

Remaining topics in the current chapter will be covered in updated

supplement which will be released soon.

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