|
|
|
|
International System
or I: Defining Terms Kegley, Charles W. Jr.
World Politics: Trend and Transformation, 11th Ed. Belmont,
Barry B. Hughes, Continuity and Change in
World Politics, 3rd Ed. Upper Saddle River,
I: Defining Terms The Global Political System. How is the world organized politically? The global system is the term used to describe the most inclusive of human social system. It is a system of systems. The global system can be analyzed, like all social system, through the structural-functional method in terms of its spatial, political, economic, cultural, and sociological dimensions. Geographically, the global system refers to the entire planet earth. Politically, the world is divided into 192 independent, sovereign, territorially defined member-states of the United Nations and some other territories. Culturally, the world may be divided into eight broad culture regions, many world religions, language groups, and a large number of nationalities, ethnic minorities, and indigenous peoples. Economically, the world is divided into the Global North and the Global South. Market economies predominate within the global economic system. Rapid globalization is proceeding throughout the planet. Sociologically, the world contains more than 6.4 billion human beings organized into families, clans, tribes, ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities, and many cultures dominant in particular states. There is as yet neither a universal global culture nor is there a global government. The global system remains anarchic with only rudimentary decision making structures. The global political system is synonymous with the terms international system and international political system. Our course, International Politics, attempts to explain both global politics and the global decision-making process. How, within the global system, is it determined “who, gets what, when, and how.” Who are the global or international actors, whose actions and decisions, determine the future of the world. The primary international actors continue to be the central governments of the sovereign states of the world. These governmental actors may be classified in terms of their relative power. Powerful states or the Great Powers, as they have been traditionally called, have dominated the international system. Until very recently, the global political system was considered to have been exclusively a “state system or system of states” Since World War I, the League of Nations and its successor organization, the United Nations, have transformed this state system. International organizations, or more properly Inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), have added a new dimension to the state system. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), in particular multi-national corporations, form another category of international actors. In addition to these organizational actors, both governmental and non-governmental, various social groupings—religious, ethnic, and linguistic—can become international actors, usually on a sporadic basis. Riots, demonstrations, and revolutions can alter the international system. These religious, ethnic, and linguistic societal communities may provide the backdrop out of which various organized groups emerge. Militias, political parties, and terrorist organizations have their roots and support in various publics or societal communities. Private individuals, independent of their organizational roles, play minor roles within the international system unless aggregated into categories like tourists, refugees, displaced persons, etc. The global political system is so complex that it is difficult to describe and almost impossible to explain. A myriad of cultural and organizational patterns interweave with each other. One of the more useful concepts used in trying to unravel these complexities is the concept of “the level of analysis.” added November 30, 2006 A: Global System, International System, International Relations, International Politics, and Comparative Foreign Policies Global System: The same idea as that of the international system, but it avoids the ambiguous term "international." International System: The most inclusive system involving human beings, human cultures, societal communities, and states. All international actors and all transnational activities are included. International Relations: The totality of political and non-political interactions taking place within the international system. International Politics or World Politics: Concerns itself primarily with the political interactions of international actors within the international system. The behavior of central governments of sovereign states continues to be the primary concern of international politics. The interrelationships of nation-states with each other and other international actors constitute the subject matter of international politics. The exercise of power and authority are the primary concern of politics. The resolution of international conflicts, including the role of war within the international system, are the focus of this field of study. High politics concerns itself with international conflicts, conflict resolution, and war. Since nuclear war may be suicidal and has become unthinkable, low politics has become ever more important. Low politics concerns itself with international trade, aid, health, environment, and other economic and social issues. Foreign Policy: The goals, objectives, and tools used by central governments in their relationships with other sovereign, central governments of states and other international actors. U.S. foreign policy, Russian foreign policy, Chinese foreign policy may be studied separately. Comparative foreign policies compare how different central governments deal with their own questions of national security. Common patterns of how central governments conduct their respective foreign policies may give rise to various principles of international politics. For example, the principle of the balance of power may be abstracted from the ways in which central governments relate to each other. B. States, Nations, Countries, Societies No Global Community or Society. The International Systems remains primarily a State System. No global culture exists as yet, but there are the beginnings of some common elements: World airport culture; global communications network; global banking system; pop music; Americanization of the world; Hollywood and Bollywood culture; Coca Cola culture; Scotch and soda cocktail culture, etc. No world government exists as yet. The United Nations is not a world government, but it could be a first tentative step in that direction. States remain the primary organizational and cultural units within the world today. All states are considered legally equal to all other states. Sovereign equality of states is a legal principle, but not a fact. Some states are more powerful than others. Superpowers, great powers, minor powers, hegemonic leadership by powerful states within a particular region of the globe, and spheres of influence continue to be a factual characteristics of the international system. The system remains anarchic. A de facto balance of power provides some stability. The international system is anarchic and it has no central center of authority. It differs profoundly from its dominant units which are called states, nation states, state societies, or similar terms. SOCIETIES: Societies are the largest human collectivities that are culturally and organizationally integrated. See Talcott Parsons for a description of the requisite functions which any society needs to perform in order to survive over time. This includes primitive societies which have not yet developed bureaucratic institutions or centralized governments. Sometimes these are called stateless societies. STATE: According to international law, a state has the following four characteristics:
Sovereignty: factual and normative dimension. Factual question: Does the central government, in fact, have effective control? Normative question: Is the central government officially recognized by other central governments (sovereign states) as legitimate under international law? Absolute and Relative Sovereignty?
Limits on sovereignty:
The question of revolution and its impact on a given state. STATE-SOCIETIES: Largest culturally and organizationally integrated human collectivities. COUNTRY: territorial unit NATION: cultural emphasis;
SOCIETAL-COMMUNITY:
II: THE GLOBAL SYSTEM Characteristics of the Global System Geographic Characteristics. This Planet called Earth is divided into seven continents. These are Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Oceania (including Australia). Some 6.6 billion people live on our planet in 2007. This number is expected to increase to 8 to 9 billion before it stabilizes. Politically, the planet is divided into more than 192
independent sovereign states. Cultural Characteristics Culturally, this planet may be divided into eleven major
culture regions.
There is as yet no Global Community or Society No World Empire ruling over the entire world has ever been established in the entire history of the world. No World Government has ever existed or exists at the present time. The United Nations is not a World Government. It is a (nearly) universal International Organization (IO) or Intergovernmental Organization (IGO) with a membership of 192 Member States as of November 2006. Switzerland became the 190th member-state on September 10, 2002, Timor-L'Este joined as the 191st member on September 27, 2002 and Montenegro was added as the 192nd member on June 28, 2006. (See http://www.un.org/Overview/unmember.html) In addition to the 192 member-states of the United States, there are an additional dozen or so states that do not belong to the United Nations. Taiwan is an example of a state, which for political reasons, has not been admitted to membership. The Republic of China claims Taiwan as Chinese territory that will some day be reunified with the "homeland." There are also a few remaining colonies, most of which have fewer than 500,000 inhabitants. Altogether there are some 200 plus states in the world. THE GLOBAL SYSTEM remains predominantly a STATE SYSTEM, BUT NON-STATE ACTORS DO EXIST AND PLAY AN INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT ROLE WITHIN THE SYSTEM. The World as a State System The world is a system of states. Politicians refer often to the community of states. It should be noted that this "community" is not a community in the usual meaning of that word. It is not a community of human beings sharing common values. An assembly of heads of governments from 200 countries (that is a meeting of 200 men and women) is not a community of the world's peoples. As stated above, there is as yet no global community of humanity nor a world government. A multiplicity of states ultimately results in a kind of EQUILIBRIUM and a BALANCE OF POWER between these states. TYPES OF BALANCE OF POWER SYSTEMS: GLOBAL BALANCE OF POWER
REGIONAL BALANCES OF POWER. In addition to the global balance of power, there are also various regional balances. The regional balance of power will be determined largely by the countries that are located in the given region. However, the dominant hegemonic state and other major powers, not located in the given region, may also play a role in the given region. The United States, for example, is an actor in all the regional balances of power within the world. ALLIANCES and the Balance of Power, both Global and Regional. States form alliances to increase the power that they exercise in the world. This is true both of major powers and weak states. Hegemonic states assemble alliances to gain both legitimacy for their actions and to achieve overwhelming superiority over their adversaries. Weak states seek to build alliances to compensate for their weaknesses. WAR, unfortunately, remains a normal condition within this system of sovereign states. Despite efforts to establish peaceful methods of conflict resolution between states, the international system remains anarchic. The international system continues to remain in a Hobbesian State of Nature where each "warres" against all. WAR is a normal condition within a system of states. There are are many
different types of war. TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES AND WARFARE. Nuclear Weapons since 1947. Nuclear Powers and Non-Nuclear Countries. Nuclear Proliferation. Chemical Weapons have been used at least since World War I Biological Weapons. Germ warfare. As far as we know, this has not been used in actual warfare but there is a growing risk that it may be used particularly by weak states and terrorist organizations. ABC Weapons: Atomic, Biological, Chemical THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM remains predominantly a STATE SYSTEM; Global Balance of Power Military
Economic
US
US Regional Balances of Power North America Central America and Caribbean South America Pacific Region East Asia South East Asia South Asia Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa South Africa Eastern Europe Western Europe Antarctica High Seas Outer Space
3. Global Actors Global-Level Actors State-Level Actors Individual-level
Actors IV: POWER, BASES OF STATE POWER, TOOLS OF STATE POWER POWER is an elusive concept but widely used in political science. Power may be defined as the ability to persuade others to do things that they would not do ordinarily unless pressured to do so. Within domestic politics, power is usually based on numbers, wealth, and organizational skills. A small group that is well organized may exercise considerable influence even without large sums of money. In international politics, power depends on both geopolitical factors and idiosyncratic factors. Inequalities of State Power
Bases of State Power Bases of National Power depends on many variables, such as:
Tools of State Power for the Conduct of Foreign Policy
V: The Level of Analysis Problem VIII: HISTORY OF THE STATE SYSTEM
Barry B. Hughes, Continuity and Change in World Politics (1991), Cht 8, pp. 218 - 232 Evolution of the Modern Nation State. Feudal kingdoms --> Absolute monarchies --> Modern states Progression of human societies from clans, tribe, city-state, kingdoms, empires, states, nations, nation state, world state? Hegemon, Hegemony, Hegemonic Leadership; Spheres of Influence Role of Technology and Commerce Gunpowder, handguns, cannons, rifles Fall of Constantinople (Byzantium) in 1453 by Ottoman Turks using cannons to breach impregnable fortifications Battleships, submarines, aircraft carriers Blitzkrieg: massed tanks and fighter aircraft. Nuclear weapons; Strategic Air Command; Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles Important Treaties Treaty of Westphalia 1648 Treaty of Utrecht 1714 Congress of Vienna 1815 Treaty of Versailles 1919 Hegemonic Leaders Spain: 16th and first half of 17th centuries United Provinces of the Netherlands France: second half of 17th and 18th centuries United Kingdom:
Germany: 1871 - 1945.
USSR 1917 - 1991; Russian
Revolution, 1917 US: 1890 - Three Worlds of Economic Development First World: Free Market Economies Second World: Former State-Run Economies; former communist countries Third World: Developing World: Underdeveloped Countries Changing Regimes Elections, the Middle Class, and Democracy Internal Coup d'Etat Revolution Civil War Foreign Interventions Major Wars Types of Societies Traditional Societies Transitional Societies Modern Societies Dependency Relationships Colonialism and Imperialism Winds of Change: Anti-Colonialism Spheres of Influence Hegemony Junior Partners in Alliance Systems IX: NATIONALISM Nations, Nationalism, Modern Nation-State System Religion, Religious Communities, Secular Religions, Ideologies, Universalism. Zealots, Terrorists, and Revolutionaries. Capturing Control of the State through Elections, Coup, or Revolution X: WORLDVIEWS A Science of Politics? Facts and Values. Empirical and Normative. Description and Prescription. Opinions and Beliefs. Data, Facts, Concepts, Propositions, Theories. World Views. Unpatterned Information, Generality, Explanation, Prescribe. Regional cultures. Regional Balances of Power. Civilizations. The International System. Global Balance of Power. High Politics. Political-Military Power. Low Politics. Economic Power. Ecological Dynamics. Competing World Views: Realism and Idealism; Liberalism and Structuralism; Modernism (Progress) and Eco-pessimism. XI: MANAGING THE GLOBAL SYSTEM It seems to me that every central government of a sovereign state-society seeks to 1. Protect its own National Security Looked at from a Global Level of Analysis, the Global System can be managed through: 1. Maintenance of the Global Balance of Power 2. Collective Security 3. Conquest and Expansion 4. Hegemony 5. World Empire 6. World Federalism 7. Functionalism 8. Gradually Building a Global Community
9. World War, Ecological Collapse, or Other Cataclysm that Forces Radical System Transformation Updated August 27, 2007 |
