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Chapter 5 The Global Interstate System

Intended Learning Outcomes: At the end of this chapter, the students are expected to:

1. identify the challenges of global governance in the twenty-first century;

2. identify the institutions that govern international relations;
3. differentiate globalization and globalism;
4. analyze the effects of globalization on governments;
5. create a personal definition of global citizenship.

In this chapter, we will discuss the third structure of globalization – global

interstate system. The interstate system refers to the relationship of states, the
processes, and how the states interact with each other.

5.1 Introduction

State is viewed as “the institution that creates warfare and sets economic
policies for a country.” It is also defined as a political unit that has authority over its own
affairs – meaning, its borders are recognized by other countries. Based on the Treaty of
Westphalia of 1648, which established the notion of “nation-state” and “state
sovereignty”, it is assumed that whoever is in-charge of those borders has the right to
determine exactly what is going to happen in their country.
Today, the globalization of politics created an atmosphere where the ideas of the
nation-state, state sovereignty, government control, and state policies are challenged
from all sides. With globalization, some scholars suggest that other entities that cross
national boundaries are becoming more powerful than the state. These entities include
multinational corporations and global civil society organizations (e.g. Red Cross).
In this chapter, we will look at regional alliances and worldwide organizations of
states. This manifests the efforts of countries and governments in the word to
cooperate and collaborate together.

5.2 Global Governance in the Twenty-first Century

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

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

 Mass migration of people and their entry, often illegally – if states are unable to
control this flow, then there is a need for some sort of global governance to help
deal with the problem.

 Flow of criminal elements and their products (e.g. drugs, laundered money,
etc.) – a strong factor in the call for global governance. There is a need for some
degree of order, some sort of effective authority, and at least some potential for
the improvement of human life.

3. Horrendous events within nation-states that the states themselves either formant
and carry out, or unable to control.
 Example: In Sudan, hundreds of thousands have been killed, millions of
people displaces, and the lives of many disrupted in a conflict that date back
to early 2003. The gov’t of Sudan and its military have been implicated in the
conflict between ethnic and tribal groups and the Sudanese government has
been resistant to outside interference in its internal affairs.

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

 Example: global financial crises – some nations like those in Southeast Asia
have often been, and are being, victimized by such crises. Unable to help
themselves, such nations are in need of assistance from some type of global
governance.

5.3 Effects of Globalization to Governments

Government is one of the key aspects of state sovereignty. A government is a

group of people who have the ultimate authority to act on the behalf of a state. Each
state has its own right to self-determination and that other country should not
intervene in the affairs of that state unless there are extraordinary reasons to do so.
Other countries must recognize sovereignty or the right to govern one’s own territorial
borders. Each state is autonomous unto itself and responsible within its own system of
government to those who are governed. The decisions, the conflict, and the resolution
of that conflict are done through the institutions of government established and
codified in that particular state, whether or not through elections.

A civil society within a state can also act as a counterweight or as supplement to

government. Civil society includes:

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  private economy (i.e. innovators, entrepreneurs, activists),
 unions and other collective-bargaining groups
 cooperatives and collectives
 educational institutions,
 churches and other faith-based organizations,
 hospitals,
 fraternities and sororities,
 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other nonprofits
 online groups and social media communities, and
 grassroots organizations.
More about the civil society is discussed below.

 Four (4) challenges to the government and ultimately to state economy

1. Traditional Challenges – the three (3) challenges governments have experienced

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

o Internal political challenges – Examples:

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

o Regional organizations challenging state autonomy – Example: the United

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

2. Challenges from National/Identity Movements

• A nation has cultural identity that people attached to, while a state is a definite
entity due to its specific boundaries. But different people with different
identities can live in different states.
• Examples: the Kurds reside in several different countries including Iraq, Iran and
Turkey. The Catalans live primarily in Spain but we can also find some of them in
France.

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 • Global movements, such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS, are other examples of national or
identity movements. In this case, they are structured around the fundamentalist
version of Islam.

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

4. Global Social Movements

• Social movements – movements of people that are spontaneous or that emerge
through enormous grassroots organization. These social movements are
transnational governments which means they occur across countries and across
borders. Thus, states have less control over them.

• Examples of Social Movements:

- Human rights movements create a public sentiment, value and agenda. The
idea is that there are certain rights that states cannot neglect or generally,
what we call human rights. If a country decides that they are going to have a
particular policy and if that policy violates the international standard of human
rights, there is a challenge to the ability of states to fully implement it.
- Environmental movement is related to public policy – sample case is Blockadia
or the state where social movements emerging in local areas fight back as a
response to the controlling efforts by the apparatus of gov’t to protect the
interest of neoliberal capitalists.
- Consensus on women’s rights – arguably the biggest conflict between the
West and fundamentalist Islam is over the role of women in society.
- Rights of personal autonomy – includes issues on homosexuality, same-sex
marriage, and gender equality.

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 - Increased role in international organizations (e.g. UN, UN International
Criminal Court in Hague), role of non-governmental organizations (e.g.
Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International), and role of global media.

5.4 The Relevance of the State amid Globalization

State is a distinctive political community with its own set of rules and practices
and that is more or less separate from other communities. There are four (4) elements
of a state:

1. people (permanent population),

2. territory (has clear boundaries),
3. government (regulates relations among its own people and with other
states) and
4. sovereignty

o Difference bet. nation and state:

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

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

individuals sharing a collective history, identity, and culture.

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

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5.5 Institutions that Govern International Relations

A. Peace Treaties and Military Alliances: The UN and NATO

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

B. Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)

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

C. Global Economic Associations: WTO and NAFTA

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

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5.6 Globalization and Globalism

Globalization is the “increase or decline in the degree of globalism”. While

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

5.7 Global Citizenship

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

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