The CONTEMPORARY WORLD

 Facilitator: VOLTAIRE B. JACINTO

 I. A History of
Global Politics:
Creating an
International Order
QUESTION OF THIS LECTURE:

What are the historical antecedents of contemporary

world politics?
Put simply, why is the world organized the way it is?

 Thislecture will
1. Examine the genesis of the nation-state
2. Examine the history of internationalism and global
governance
 Attributes of World Politics
1. Independent and Sovereign States
2. Diplomatic interaction of states
3. Internationalinteractions facilitated
by International Organizations like
UN
4. International
Organization function
on their own beyond facilitating
meetings between states
Nation and State

STATE in layman’s terms, refers to a country

and its government and it has four attributes

NATION according to Benedict Anderson, is

an imagined community.
Nation and State

NATION STATE

1. Imagined 1. Population
Community 2. Territory
2. Limited 3. Government
3. Some nations 4. Sovereignty
strive to become
States
1. NOT ALL STATES ARE NATIONS AND NOT ALL NATIONS
ARE STATES
e.g. Nation of Scotland not a State, it belongs to the
United Kingdom
2. STATES WITH MULTIPLE NATIONS
e.g. Philippines
3. NATIONS WITH MULTIPLE STATES
e.g. North Korea and South Korea (Korean Nation)
China and Taiwan
 Nationalism
The nation:
1. Imagined community
2. Limited
3. Seeks to govern itself

Effect:
As nationalism became entrenched in the 19th century, this
solidified the Westphalian order
- In Asia, earliest case of this was the Philippines
Interstate System
TREATY OF WESTPHALIA – an
agreement signed in 1648 to end the
thirty years war between major
continental powers of Europe
WESTPHALIAN SYSTEM – provided
stability for the nations of Europe
until it faced its major challenge by
Napoleon Bonaparte
GLOBAL POLITICS SINCE
WESTPHALIA: Responding to
notions of sovereignty

-Direct challenges to sovereignty

-Heighten interactions within the system
-Provide alternative loci of international
politics
NAPOLEONIC CODE BY NAPOLEON
BONAPARTE – a practice
implemented by French in every
country they conquered that forbade
birth privileges, encourage freedom
of religion and promoted meritocracy
in government service
CONCERT OF EUROPE – An
alliance of “Great Powers”-
UK, Austria, Russia, Prussia-
sought to restore the world
of monarchial, hereditary,
religious privileges before
the French revolution and
the Napoleonic Wars
Internationalism- the attempt to transcend the interstate system.
Desire for increased interstate relation.

TWO PRINCIPLES

1. LIBERAL INTERNATIONALISM
2. SOCIALIST INTERNATIONALISM
DEFINING
LIBERAL INTERNATIONALISM
• The idea of common international principles –
from Kant

• Cooperation and respect among nation-states –

Mazzini and Wilson

• Promotion of global democracy – Wilson

• These ideas became the foundation of the

League of Nations and United Nations in the
present
SOCIALIST INTERNATIONALISM
 Karl Marx
 “Workers of the world unite”
 “The proletariat has no nation”
 Marxistanti-nationalism: affinity to the nation retards
the worker’s struggle
 Organization of labor and socialist parties, mainly in
Europe
 Achievements:8-hour working day, International
Women’s Day, May 1
 Collapsed in 1916 as its member parties supported the
war efforts of their respective states
CONCLUSION
 Internationalism
is but one window into the
broader phenomenon of globalization

 It is a very crucial aspect of globalization

since global interactions are heightened by
the increased interdependence of states

 International relations are facilitated by

International Organizations that promote the
global norms and policies (e.g. UN)
 Suggested Learning Activities/Assignment
 1. Imaginary interview: research on Guiseppe Mazzini, Woodrow Wilson, Karl Marx and
Vladimir Lenin.
 Guide questions:
 A. What do you think is nationalism?
 B. what is necessary for the development on an international order?
 C. what do you think of the League of Nations?
 D. what is the role of revolution of internationalism?
 2. Allow a debate on important concepts:
 A. liberal vs. socialist internationalism
 B. Concert of Europe vs. Napoleonic
 II. THE UNITED NATIONS
AND THE CONTEMPORARY
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
THE UNITED NATIONS
 Created to preserve peace after the war
 Reinforced principles of sovereignty and non-
intervention
 Reflected the postwar balance of power
 Security council – to maintain peace and security
 Permanent 5 have veto (vestiges of the Concert)
 Took over the duties of the League
 Grew larger than the league because of
decolonization
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
 Itrefers to the various intersecting processes that create
an international order.

 The fact that states in an international order continue to

adhere to certain global norms means that there is a
semblance of world order despite the lack of a single world
government.

 Some regularity in the behavior of the states can be

regarded as Global Governance -----respect others
territorial boundaries, follow global navigation routes ---- if
they do not, then it causes global concern and debate
SOURCES OF GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
 TREATIES signed by states forming organizations in the
process of legislating international law

 INTERNATIONAL NON-GOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS (NGOs) which lobby to individual
states to behave in certain way (Ex. International
Animal Protection NGO can pressure governments to
pass animal cruelty laws)

 POWERFUL TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS have

tremendous effects on global labor laws, trade policy
and etc.
CHALLENGES OF UNITED NATIONS
 Major challenges of the United Nations are limits placed
upon its various organs and programs by the need to
respect state sovereignty.
 If states refuse to cooperate, the influence of UN can be
severely circumscribed.
 For example, the UN Council on Human Rights can send
rapporteurs to countries with alleged human rights
violations, if the country does not invite the major goals
usually fail.
 Issues of security are also the biggest challenge faced by
UN.
CONCLUSION
 Global Governance is such a complex issue, but this
discussion focused on the International Organizations
and the United Nations in particular because they are
the most visible symbol of global governance
 They are also groups of sovereign states as well as
organizations with their own rationalities and agenda
 Itis this tension that will continue to inform the
evolution of these organizations
 Note that there are many institutions, groups and ideas
that hold international and global politics together
Suggested Activities:
 Research/ present in class:
 1. Identify ten International Organizations (UN or Non-UN
agency) whose activities or projects have reached the
Philippines. Describe how each organization involved our
country into globalization?
 2. In UN a success or Failure?
THE WORLD REGIONS
INTERNATIONALISM AND THE
COLONIZED WORLD
 Colonized world largely ignored
 Concert-era international lawyers – did not
believe colonies were part of the same legal
terrain
 Wilson’s self-determination did not seem to
include colonies
 Internationalism did not support anti-colonial
struggles
 For a while, only Communists paid attention to
issues of imperialism and decolonization
DECOLONIZATION AFTER THE WAR
 Imperial
powers were in ruin
and could not maintain colonies
 Wartimedefeats exposed the
weakness of imperial powers
 Wartime heroes in the
colonized world became
prominent
THE THIRD WORLD
After WWII, Cold War divided the world
First world: NATO and the Western Alliance
Second World: Communist countries

ThirdWorld: Those caught in

between the superpowers
Suggested Activities/Assignment:

 Research and present in class:

 1. THE BANDUNG CONFERENCE (1955) a. purpose , b. legacies on world
order during the Cold War era, c. impact on globalization
 2. Ask students to create regions, categories or clusters of nation-states
today. Clusters may be based on political, economic, or cultural criteria.
Let them explain and characterize their regions. Ask for a more visual or
graphic representation of their output.
THANK YOU.