Everything you'll need for the OCR Politics papers- including tips on how to answer essay questions, along with notes on the full course. Case studies and key dates that you need to memorise are also highlighted & key words are also highlighted
Post-Cold War Global Order
World Order: The distribution of power between and amongst states and
other key actors giving rise to a relatively stable pattern of relationships
and behaviours.
The most prominent feature of the Cold War period was bipolarity – that two major power
blocs confronted one another; a US-dominated West and a Soviet-dominated east. In the
aftermath of WWII the USA and Soviet Union emerged as ‘superpowers’.
What were the implications for the international system of Cold
War bipolarity?
Neorealists: bipolarity is baiased in favour of sability and order. Bipolar systems tend
towards a balance of power. Once a condition of MAD was achieved, the two
superpowers effectively cancelled each other out, albeit through a ‘balance of terror’.
Second stability of this period was guaranteed by the fact that there were but two key
actors, fewer great powers reduced the possibilities of great-power wars.
One criticism of the bipolarity system was that it strengthened imperialist tendencies,
discouraging direct confrontation as each sought to extend its control over its sphere
of influence. Leading to neo-colonialism in the capitalist West – Vietnam – and
Soviet invasions – Afghanistan 1979.
Superpower rivalry and a strategy of nuclear deterrents produced conditions of
ongoing tension that always threatened to make Cold War ‘hot’
In many ways the USA become the hegemonic power in 1945, with the Soviet Union always
as a challenger but never as an equal. This was reflected in the fact that while the SU was
undoubtedly a military superpower it, arguably, never achieved the status of an economic
superpower. Moreover, the imbalance between its military capacity and its level of economic
development always made it vulnerable. This vulnerability was exploited by Ronald Regan’s
‘Second Cold War’ in the 1980s, when increased US military spending put massive pressure
on the fragile and inefficient Soviet economy, providing the context for Gorbachev reform
process.
The ‘New World Order’ and its Fate
The end of the Cold War produced a burst of enthusiasm for the ideas of liberal
internationalism. The idea that the post-Cold War era would be characterised by a ‘new
world order’ was first mooted by Gorbachev in a speech ot the UN General Assembly in
December 1988. In 1989 Bush Sr and Gorbachev committed themselves to a shift from an
era of containment and superpower antagonism to one of superpower cooperation based on
new security arrangements. In his ‘Towards a New World Order’ speech to Congress in 1990
Bush outlined his vision for the post-Cold War world:
US leadership to ensure the international rule of law
A partnership between the USA and the Soviet Union including the integration of the
latter into the world economic bodies
, 1991 Gulf War showed that the international community should protect the sovereign
independence of all regimes, regardless of their complexion, and not give priority to
liberal-democratic states on the grounds that they are likely to be more peaceful
However this did not last long and it is mostly seen as a catchphrase as opposed to
something grounded in a developed strategic vision. There were also many problematic
questions to these aims. The advent of superpower cooperation was only a manifestation of
Soviet weakness and owed much to the personal relationship between Bush Sr and
Gorbachev.
Moreover, alternative interpretations of the post-Cold War world order were not slow in
emerging: The rise of a new world disorder: release of tensions the Cold War had controlled
– a common enemy promoted cohesion. This occurred particularly in eastern Europe as
demonstrated by the prolonged bloodshed in the 1990s amongst Serbs, Croats and Muslims
in the former Yugoslavia until the Kosovo crisis of 1999.
The main significance of the end of the Cold War was the collapse of the Soviet Union as a
meaningful challenger to the USA, leaving the USA as the world’s sole superpower. Indeed
talk of a ‘new world order’ may have been nothing more than an ideological tool to legitimise
the global exercise of power by the USA. In other words, the ‘liberal moment’ in world affairs
turned out to be the ‘unipolar moment’.
, Power and Global Politics
Power, in its broadest sense, is the ability to influence the outcome of
events, in the sense of having the ‘power to’ do something. In global
politics, this includes the ability of a country to conduct its own affairs
without interference of other countri es, bringing power very close to
autonomy. However, power is usually thought of as a relationship: that
is, as ability to influence the behaviour of others in a manner not of their
choosing, or ‘power over’ others. Power can therefore be said to be
exercised whenever A gets B to do something that B would otherwise not
have done. Distinctions have nevertheless been drawn between
potential/actual, relational/structural and ‘hard/soft’ power.
Power as Capability
The traditional approach to power in international politics is to treat it in terms of
capabilities. Power is therefore an attribute or possession. However, the idea that power can
be measured in terms of capabilities has a number of drawbacks, making it an unreliable
means of determining the outcome of events. The often quoted example of the Vietnam War
(1959-75) helps to illustrate this. The USA failed to prevail in Vietnam despite enjoying
massive economic, technological and military advantages over North Vietnam. At best
capabilities define potential or latent power rather than actual power, and translating a
capability into a genuine political asset may be difficult and perhaps impossible. This applies
for a number of reasons:
The relative importance of the attributes is a matter of continual debate
Some elements of national power may be less beneficial – high levels of education
may hinder warfare or the ‘paradox of the plenty’
Subjective factors may be as significant as quantifiable, objective factors e.g. national
morale
It may oly be possible to translate resources or capacities into genuine political
efficacy in particular circumstances. For instance the possession of nuclear weapons
may be irrelevant when a state is confronting a terrorism/fighting a guerrilla war
Power is dynamic and ever-changing, meaning that power relations are never fixed or
‘given’. Power may shift due to economic booms/new discoveries etc.
Relational Power and Structural Power
Relational Power: The ability of one actor to influence another actor or actors in a
manner not their choosing
Structural Power: The ability to shape the frameworks within which global actors relate
to one another, thus affecting ‘how things shall be done’.
Power relations between state or other actors may be taken to reflect the balance of their
respective capabilities. In this case, the relationship model of power suffers. For this reason
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