Global Politics Notes
, 1.0 The state and globalisation 3
1.1 The state: nation state and national sovereignty 3
1.2 Globalisation 6
2.0 Global Governance: Political and Economic 11
2.1 Political global governance 12
2.2 Economic global governance 14
2.3 The ways and extent to which these institutions address and resolve
global issues (poverty, con ict, human rights and the environment). 27
3.0 Global governance: Human rights and Environmental 28
3.1 Human rights 29
3.2 Environmental 43
4.0 Power and developments 50
4.1 Di erent types of Power 50
4.4 Di erent systems of government 51
5.0 Regionalism and the EU 55
5.1 Regionalism 55
5.1.2. Debates about the reasons for and the signi cance of regionalism 58
5.2 Development of regional organisations 60
5.3 EU Factors that have fostered European integration and the major
developments through which this has occurred 63
5.4 Signi cance of the EU as an international body/actor, including the
constraints and obstacles a ecting; its political, economic, structural and
military in uence in global politics 69
6.0 Comparative theories 71
6.1 Realism 71
6.2 Liberalism 76
ff fifl flff fi
, 1.0 The state and globalisation
1.1 The state: nation state and national sovereignty
A nation state should have (according to the Montevideo Convention 1933)
- De ned territory
- E ective authority/government
- National identity e.g. ag, language
- Permentant population
- A capacity to enter International organisation
- Sovereignty
Sovereignty - the ability for a state to have absolute power to control its citizens, laws and a airs.
Internal sovereignty - The state being in control of what happens within its own territory
External sovereignty - When a state is powerful in its relations with other nation states
Peace of Westphalia 1648 which ended the ‘Thirty years’ war’ was the rst concept of
independent sovereign states in Europe
ff fi fl fi ff
, Problems with reaching a judgement if states meet the criteria above:
De ned territory
- Boarder disputes e.g. Tanzania (Tanganika and Zanzibar)
- Dadura (boarder in law) and Defacto (no legal boarder exists) - e.g. South china sea
E ective government
- What is de ned as an e ective government?
- Governments are constantly changing so it is di cult to measure in the long term
- Hard for outsiders to conclude as it is citizens that experience the direct e ects of government
- e.g. Afghanistan, Catalonia, Myanmar Coup, Libya 2011 (2 rival governments)
Permanent population
- Citizenships can be removed e.g. USA revoke citizenships after not living in the US for a set
period of time
- Refugees lead to vulnerabilities of citizenship
Capacity to enter into relations with other states
- Being a member of an IGO can limit capacity to enter relations with other states e.g. EU trading
relations
- Some nation states are under control and their foreign policy could be in uenced by a
superpower e.g. African states are under the in uence of china due to the belt and road
initiative.
What are the most serious threats facing nation states today?
1. Violent con ict - especially a threat for nation states with less internal sovereignty as they
have very little control over violent non-state actors and therefore internal con icts could arise.
It is also commonly known that internal con icts are a much more serious threat than external.
2. IGO’s - they are eroding national sovereignty as they increasingly have a greater political
in uence on decision making. However, states are involved in the decision making of IGO’s so
point is awed.
3. Economic globalisation - takes control out of states hands as economic prosperity is the key
to a strong state. Economic relationships can also impede what a state wants to do politically
e.g. UK trading fuel deals with Saudi Arabia despite their violations of human rights laws.
ffflfi fl fi fl ff fl flffi fl ff fl
,What are the most important opportunities/advantages over other nation states that nation states
enjoy today?
1. A community with a sense of identity but no independent government - this allows
cultures, languages and identities to ourish so that sometimes they can be the main aspect
of a country. This is di erent (although not that serious) when compared to the countries
whose governments dictate their culture.
2. No need for de ned territory - means there is less tension over boarder control and
therefore easier trade routes e.g. EU.
3. COVID-19 - The pandemic allowed each state to gain sovereignty by implementing
quarantines, boarder controls and rules. Whilst it is short term and temporarily serious, how
well the situation is dealt with may dictate how long the sovereignty will last.
What competitors to nation states have in global politics?
1. Other nation states - compete politically to gain regional and worldwide power and in uence
e.g. Pakistan and India over Kashmir.
2. Non state actors - TNC’s are becoming more prevalent and are having a greater say in
international law and a airs.
3. NGO’s - interfere with nation state sovereignty e.g. UN us able to get permission to send relief
and enter countries without the government in the state being aware.
4. Pressure groups - can force implementation of policy into international law in the form of
protest and media etc. e.g. Extinction rebellion to enforce MDG’s and SDG’s
5. International/regional organisations - have power to implement international law that
applies for all sovereign members states e.g. EU policies account for all 27 members.
Challenges regarding sovereignty
1. Authoritarian states - strengthen control through their human rights abuses/dictatorships
2. Democratic, powerful states - shape IGO’s in their interest e.g. Choosing treaties to ratify
and have strong internal control e.g. Any P5 state with the UNSC veto
3. Responsibility to protect (RP2) - Was a global commitment endorsed by all UN member
states at the 2005 world summit and it aims to create ‘responsible sovereignty’ where states
abusing human rights will witness humanitarian intervention and sanctions.
4. Democratic, less powerful states - need to pool sovereignty and in doing so erode their
sovereignty through membership to supra-national IGO’s.
5. Fragile or failed states - loose territory to non-state actors e.g. Afghanistan, Syria, or could
be invaded by other states e.g. Russia to Ukraine 2022
fi ffff fl fl
, Non state actors
• Any ‘actor’ that has a role in global politics that is not a state
• An individual organisation that has political in uence but is not allied to any country or state
• Intergovernmental organisations (IGO’s) e.g. UN, EU, ASEAN, WHO, AU
• Non-governmental organisations (NGO’s) e.g. Amnesty, Human right watch
• Multi-national cooperations (MNC’s) e.g. Apple, Samsung, Media
• Religious groups
• Some are illegitimate and violent e.g. Al Qaeda, Islamic State, Al Shabaab, South America
drug cartels
Are nation states still the most important actors in global politics?
Yes No
International law is made by states allowing them to However, this is not common due to the growing
decide the level of involvement of non state actors. powers of NGO’s, IGO’s and MNC’s.
Therefore they have the ability to restrict NGO’s and
IGO’s from interfering in internal politics.
States face the greater ability to protect their Non-state actors can make immediate decisions
sovereignty meaning they have greater power and meaning they can often act faster than government
in uence and are legitimate. bodies e.g. Humanitarian interventions.
Legitimacy = ability to make law, have territory, However, counteracted with the UNSC gridlock that
make allies, trade and have resources. prevents the UN from making fast decisions without
the cooperation of its P5 members.
Having de ned territory and resources means there
is an ability to make their own money and achieve
economic prosperity rather than relying on funding
like NGO’s.
Without economic power also means a lack of
military power e.g. UN relies on its members to
provide a military.
1.2 Globalisation
What is globalisation
- The increasing interdependence between states joined through a complex web of
interconnectivity
- Countries are inevitably becoming closer as they are sharing more common issues e.g. Climate
change
- The liberal view is that boarders are becoming less signi cant due to their lack of relevance in a
globalised community - there is some disagreement with those who believe states need tighter
immigration controls
fl
fi fl fi
, 1.0 The state and globalisation 3
1.1 The state: nation state and national sovereignty 3
1.2 Globalisation 6
2.0 Global Governance: Political and Economic 11
2.1 Political global governance 12
2.2 Economic global governance 14
2.3 The ways and extent to which these institutions address and resolve
global issues (poverty, con ict, human rights and the environment). 27
3.0 Global governance: Human rights and Environmental 28
3.1 Human rights 29
3.2 Environmental 43
4.0 Power and developments 50
4.1 Di erent types of Power 50
4.4 Di erent systems of government 51
5.0 Regionalism and the EU 55
5.1 Regionalism 55
5.1.2. Debates about the reasons for and the signi cance of regionalism 58
5.2 Development of regional organisations 60
5.3 EU Factors that have fostered European integration and the major
developments through which this has occurred 63
5.4 Signi cance of the EU as an international body/actor, including the
constraints and obstacles a ecting; its political, economic, structural and
military in uence in global politics 69
6.0 Comparative theories 71
6.1 Realism 71
6.2 Liberalism 76
ff fifl flff fi
, 1.0 The state and globalisation
1.1 The state: nation state and national sovereignty
A nation state should have (according to the Montevideo Convention 1933)
- De ned territory
- E ective authority/government
- National identity e.g. ag, language
- Permentant population
- A capacity to enter International organisation
- Sovereignty
Sovereignty - the ability for a state to have absolute power to control its citizens, laws and a airs.
Internal sovereignty - The state being in control of what happens within its own territory
External sovereignty - When a state is powerful in its relations with other nation states
Peace of Westphalia 1648 which ended the ‘Thirty years’ war’ was the rst concept of
independent sovereign states in Europe
ff fi fl fi ff
, Problems with reaching a judgement if states meet the criteria above:
De ned territory
- Boarder disputes e.g. Tanzania (Tanganika and Zanzibar)
- Dadura (boarder in law) and Defacto (no legal boarder exists) - e.g. South china sea
E ective government
- What is de ned as an e ective government?
- Governments are constantly changing so it is di cult to measure in the long term
- Hard for outsiders to conclude as it is citizens that experience the direct e ects of government
- e.g. Afghanistan, Catalonia, Myanmar Coup, Libya 2011 (2 rival governments)
Permanent population
- Citizenships can be removed e.g. USA revoke citizenships after not living in the US for a set
period of time
- Refugees lead to vulnerabilities of citizenship
Capacity to enter into relations with other states
- Being a member of an IGO can limit capacity to enter relations with other states e.g. EU trading
relations
- Some nation states are under control and their foreign policy could be in uenced by a
superpower e.g. African states are under the in uence of china due to the belt and road
initiative.
What are the most serious threats facing nation states today?
1. Violent con ict - especially a threat for nation states with less internal sovereignty as they
have very little control over violent non-state actors and therefore internal con icts could arise.
It is also commonly known that internal con icts are a much more serious threat than external.
2. IGO’s - they are eroding national sovereignty as they increasingly have a greater political
in uence on decision making. However, states are involved in the decision making of IGO’s so
point is awed.
3. Economic globalisation - takes control out of states hands as economic prosperity is the key
to a strong state. Economic relationships can also impede what a state wants to do politically
e.g. UK trading fuel deals with Saudi Arabia despite their violations of human rights laws.
ffflfi fl fi fl ff fl flffi fl ff fl
,What are the most important opportunities/advantages over other nation states that nation states
enjoy today?
1. A community with a sense of identity but no independent government - this allows
cultures, languages and identities to ourish so that sometimes they can be the main aspect
of a country. This is di erent (although not that serious) when compared to the countries
whose governments dictate their culture.
2. No need for de ned territory - means there is less tension over boarder control and
therefore easier trade routes e.g. EU.
3. COVID-19 - The pandemic allowed each state to gain sovereignty by implementing
quarantines, boarder controls and rules. Whilst it is short term and temporarily serious, how
well the situation is dealt with may dictate how long the sovereignty will last.
What competitors to nation states have in global politics?
1. Other nation states - compete politically to gain regional and worldwide power and in uence
e.g. Pakistan and India over Kashmir.
2. Non state actors - TNC’s are becoming more prevalent and are having a greater say in
international law and a airs.
3. NGO’s - interfere with nation state sovereignty e.g. UN us able to get permission to send relief
and enter countries without the government in the state being aware.
4. Pressure groups - can force implementation of policy into international law in the form of
protest and media etc. e.g. Extinction rebellion to enforce MDG’s and SDG’s
5. International/regional organisations - have power to implement international law that
applies for all sovereign members states e.g. EU policies account for all 27 members.
Challenges regarding sovereignty
1. Authoritarian states - strengthen control through their human rights abuses/dictatorships
2. Democratic, powerful states - shape IGO’s in their interest e.g. Choosing treaties to ratify
and have strong internal control e.g. Any P5 state with the UNSC veto
3. Responsibility to protect (RP2) - Was a global commitment endorsed by all UN member
states at the 2005 world summit and it aims to create ‘responsible sovereignty’ where states
abusing human rights will witness humanitarian intervention and sanctions.
4. Democratic, less powerful states - need to pool sovereignty and in doing so erode their
sovereignty through membership to supra-national IGO’s.
5. Fragile or failed states - loose territory to non-state actors e.g. Afghanistan, Syria, or could
be invaded by other states e.g. Russia to Ukraine 2022
fi ffff fl fl
, Non state actors
• Any ‘actor’ that has a role in global politics that is not a state
• An individual organisation that has political in uence but is not allied to any country or state
• Intergovernmental organisations (IGO’s) e.g. UN, EU, ASEAN, WHO, AU
• Non-governmental organisations (NGO’s) e.g. Amnesty, Human right watch
• Multi-national cooperations (MNC’s) e.g. Apple, Samsung, Media
• Religious groups
• Some are illegitimate and violent e.g. Al Qaeda, Islamic State, Al Shabaab, South America
drug cartels
Are nation states still the most important actors in global politics?
Yes No
International law is made by states allowing them to However, this is not common due to the growing
decide the level of involvement of non state actors. powers of NGO’s, IGO’s and MNC’s.
Therefore they have the ability to restrict NGO’s and
IGO’s from interfering in internal politics.
States face the greater ability to protect their Non-state actors can make immediate decisions
sovereignty meaning they have greater power and meaning they can often act faster than government
in uence and are legitimate. bodies e.g. Humanitarian interventions.
Legitimacy = ability to make law, have territory, However, counteracted with the UNSC gridlock that
make allies, trade and have resources. prevents the UN from making fast decisions without
the cooperation of its P5 members.
Having de ned territory and resources means there
is an ability to make their own money and achieve
economic prosperity rather than relying on funding
like NGO’s.
Without economic power also means a lack of
military power e.g. UN relies on its members to
provide a military.
1.2 Globalisation
What is globalisation
- The increasing interdependence between states joined through a complex web of
interconnectivity
- Countries are inevitably becoming closer as they are sharing more common issues e.g. Climate
change
- The liberal view is that boarders are becoming less signi cant due to their lack of relevance in a
globalised community - there is some disagreement with those who believe states need tighter
immigration controls
fl
fi fl fi
