GEC04 MODULE 4
The Contemporary World
Prepared by:
Maria Charnilene R. Palma
2020
Overview
This module is all about the contempary world. It includes the global interstate system
and global governance in the 21st century.
Objectives
Explain the effects of globalization on governments
Identify the institutions that govern international relations
Compare internationalism and globalism.
Discussion
READ
The Global Interstate System
The world system is composed of nation states. Every state plays as unitary actor, and
their actions are explained in terms of structural chracteristics of the global interstate system
which administers power distribution. Eventually, in the birth and growth of globalization, the
impact of interstate system and the roles of nation-states have changed. Globalization entails
to the fading and total dissolve of the economic, social and cultural borders between
countries. It has created a sense of interdependence among nationswhich has also created an
uneven distribution of power among countries of different economic strengths.
In terms of global interdependence, the role of nation-state is to regulate and organize
the domestic agendas to fit the economic, social and political global scope. But as the
globalization continuously trends, nation-state’s roles are being run-over by the prioritization
of the global oriented activities. This made the impact of interstate system less visible and
irrelevant to globalization.
The power distribution driven by the interstate system has been neglected in terms of
economics. It is undeniable and very evident that globalization is being dominated by
transnational corporations. This means that nation-states are now less powerful and being
overpowered by the capitalists who have now the advantage in economic role distribution.
EXAMPLE :
The impact of globalization in raising the living standards throught the world.
Other scholars believe that it will become possible through “trickle down” effect the bit by bit
flow of wealth from rich to poor. But it is very questionable if it is really working because it
does not any positive result.
As the world becomes more globalize, the political power of the nation-states has
been transferred to the most powerful financial and corporate institutions. This made the
nation-states to have less power in administering the financial oriented activities of the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), World bank as well as the World Trade Organization
(WTO). This also made the regulations in global politics become in favor of those countries
that can contribute and participate well in global trades.
A nation-state is also defined as a state in which a great majority shares the same
culture and is conscious of it. The nation-state is an ideal in which cultural boundaries match
up with political ones. This definition has now become irrelevant as globalization grows,.
Instead of promoting and accepting multiculturalism among countries, clash of culture has
been made and it is very evident today.
Just like in the Philippines , there is a certain issue about neglecting the Filipino-
country’s national language to prioritize more in English acquisition because of its
communicative demand in globalization. Countries have the conclusion that culture is one of
the big factors in socio-economic and political progress. Because of globalization, nation-
states become weak in regulating even cultural diversities between countries.
Moreover, there is a serious lag between what globalization supposed to create and
what it has been creating today. It has been providing opportunities for the powerful ones. But
it is undeniable that there are still countries being left behind. This means that the
globalization has overtaken the impact of interstate system and has made the nation-states
global regulatory roles in terms of economy, politics, and culture irrelevant.
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY
FACTORS BEHIND THE MERGENCE OF GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
Declining power of nation-states
Vast flows of all sorts of things that run into and oftem right through the borders of
nation-states.
Mass migration of people and their entry
Flow of criminal elements as well as their products
Horrendous events within nation-states
Global financial crises and panic
Nation-states have long struggled to deal with problems like these through various interstate
systems (e.g., alliances such as NATO), but the more recent trend is toward the development
of more truly global structures and methods of dealing with various sorts of issues and
problems.
EFFECTS OF GLOBALIZATION TO GOVERNMENTS
Government - is a group of people who have the ultimate authority to act on behalf of a state.
There have been several challenges to the government and ultimately, to state autonomy. We
can divide these challenges into four:
1. Traditional Challenges
External intervention can genereally be described as invasion by other countries.
Example : when saddam hussein was the ruler of Iraq in 1990, he decided he was going to
take over the oil field of Kuwait. He invaded Kuwait and took it over. As a result, he was
dislodged by an international coalition led by the U.S.
Internal political challenges can also happen
Example : After the Arab Spring in Egypt , a new constitution was craeted and a government
was elected. That government was more fundamentalist and rejected the notion of a plural
society that included religious diversity. The military staged coup that deposed the
government in order to restore stability.
2. Challenges from national or identity movements
It is important to know that a nation has cultural identity that people attached to, while a state
is a definite entity due to its specific boundaries
Example: Global movements, such as the Al Qaeda and ISIS. In this case, they are structured
around the fundamentalist version of Islam.
3. Global economics
Global economy demands the staes to conform to the rules of free-market capitalism.
Government austherity comes from developments of organizations that cooperate across
countries, such as WTO and regional agreements, such as NAFTA, the European Union
(EU), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Example : The use of IMF and the world bank in forcing government reforms in poorer
country. Furthermore, the regional economic development efforts focused on expandig free
trade and market liberalization.
4. Global social movements
Social movements are movements of people that are spontaneous or that emerge through
enormous grassroots organization. These social movements are transnational movements
which means they occur across countries and across borders. Therefore, states have less
control over them.
Example : United States position on the death penalty. There is an international consensus,
with a few dissenting countries like China, South Africa and Russia, against the death penalty.
This means that if somebody is sentenced by death penalty and somehow he is in a country
around the world, tehre are rule against that state extraditing into the U.S.
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. It has four elements:
1. People
- Permanent population is the first element. This population does not refer to a nomadic
people that move from one place to another in an indefinite time.
2. Territory
- Territory is the second element. It has clear boundaries and controlled by the third element
which is the government.
3. Government
- Government regulates relations among its own people and with other states. This means that
state is a formally constituted sovereign political structure encompassing people, territory, and
its institutions on the one hand, and maintaining its autonomy from other states on the other
hand.
4. Sovereignty
- Sovereignty is the fourth element.
INSTITUTIONS THAT GOVERN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
These are several international organizations that governments of countries around the world
and individuals participate in. These include:
The United Nations
International Court of Justice
NAFTA
NATO
These are also non-governmental organizations promoting social and economic growth.
GLOBALIZATION AND GLOBALISM
Globalization - described as “globalization would be better described as the “increase or
decline in the degree of globalism”.
Globalism - refers to the network of connections that transcends distances of different
countries in the world.
In other words, the links among countries and people are better associated with globalism
while the speed in which they become linked with one another is globalization.
INFORMATIONALISM
The growth of information as the binding force among people, things, and places around
the globe. This technological paradigm, associated with computer science and modern
telecommunication, that replaces industrialism.
Assessment
Process Questions
1. Examine the interaction between the nation state and international organizations. Which
has the greatest impact on governments?
2. Do civil society and INGOs strenghten or undermine the role of the governments in
international relations? Why or why not?
3. Are the civil society and other organizations truly separated from the governments actions
and policies? In what ways can the states maintain its sovereignty amid globalization?
4. Compare and Contrast globalism and informationalism.
RUBRIC
REFERENCES
Aldama, P. K. (2018). The Contemporary World; REX Book Store
