The Globalization of World politics Introduction

From international politics to world politics international relations vs. international politics international politics  world politics  global politics nation states vs. nation states + NGOs + more… political issues vs. political, economic and more…

Theories of world politics Why did Al Qaeda attack the US? Why did George W. Bush attack on Saddam Hussein’s Iraq? Theories application = sunglasses with different colored lenses. A theory is some kind of simplifying device that allows you to decide which facts matter and which do not.

Realism and world politics Idealism vs. Realism Dominant realism and its main rivals – Liberalism, Marxism and Constructivism Main actors  states Framework  inter-state relations Human nature  selfish International nature  anarchy Sovereignty, power, national interests

Continues… Mechanism  balance of power (diplomacy) World politics is a self-help system Neo-realism: Kenneth Waltz, 1979. “the importance of the structure of the international political system.” The Cold War (bipolarity)  multipolarity

Liberalism and world politics Idealism tradition Many variants of liberalism (pluralism, transnationalism, integration…) Human being are perfectible Democracy is necessary Transnational actors in issue-areas of world politics State as a set of bureaucracies each with its own interests (vs. national interests)

Continues… Possibilities for cooperation among states The picture of world politics  a complex system of bargaining National interests are much more than military terms (economic, technological..) Order in world politics  laws, norms, international regimes & rules. (vs. BOP) Interdependence (vs. sovereignty)

Marxist theories and world politics Also known as structuralism or world-system theory World capitalist economy Classes are the most important actors of world politics States, MNCs, IOs represent the dominant class interest in the world economic system

Continues… World politics as the setting in which class conflicts are played out Order in world politics has been in economic rather than in military terms Division of the world: core, semi-periphery, periphery The most important feature of world politics is the degree of economic autonomy

Constructivism Optimistic account Human agency has a much greater potential role in world politics (we make and re-make the social world) Anarchy (self-help international system) is what states make of it. World politics as something that we can change (vs. neo-realism)

The fours and globalization For Realists: 1. globalization does not transcend the international political system of states . (Territory, sovereignty, balance of power) 2. it does not render obsolete the struggle for political power between states.

Continues… For Liberals: 1. states are no longer such central actors as they once were. (numerous actors of differing importance according to the issues-area concerned) 2. increased interconnectedness between societies, and as result the world looks more like a cobweb of relations.

Continues… For Marxist: 1. globalization is nothing particularly new, and is only the latest stage in the development of international capitalism 2. it further deepens the existing divide between the core, the semi-periphery, and the periphery.

Continues… For Constructivist: 1. constructivists think that we can mould globalization in a variety of ways. 2. it offer very real changes to create cross-national social movements aided by modern technological forms of communication such as the Internet.

Globalization and its precursors Globalization: the process of increasing interconnectedness between societies such the events in one part of the world more and more have effects on peoples and societies far away. Extensively, intensively, deeply, speeding up; the world seems to be ‘shrinking’

Continues… There have been several precursors to globalization: 1. theory of modernization (Modelski 1972; Morse 1976) 2. industrialization  economic growth (Walt Rostow 1960) 3. economic interdependence (Cooper 1968; Nye 1971)

Continues… 4. global village (McLuhan 1964) 5. world society (state system  non-state actors) (Burton 1972) 6. world order models project (WOMP) (Mendlovitz 1975; Falk 1975) 7. international society (Hedley Bull 1977) 8. end of history (Fukuyama 1992) 9. liberal peace theory (Bruce Russett 1993; Michael Doyle 1983)

Globalization: myth or reality? Arguments in favor of globalization: 1. The pace of economic transformation is so great; 2. Communication have revolutionized the way we deal with the rest of world. 3. There is now a global culture. 4. The world is becoming more homogeneous.

Continues… 5. Time and space seem to be collapsing. 6. There is emerging a global polity. (state  sub-state, transnational, international bodies) 7. A cosmopolitan culture is developing. (think globally and act locally) 8. A risk culture is emerging. (ex: pollution & AIDS)

Continues… The opposites: 1. Globalization is a myth. (Hirst & Thompson) (1). the present internationalized economy is not unique in history. (2). genuinely transnational companies are relatively rare. (3). there is no shift of finance and capital from the developed to underdeveloped worlds.

Continues… (4). the world-economy is not global. (three blocs – Europe, north America, and Japan) (5). three blocs could regulate global economic markets and forces. 2. Globalization is very uneven in its effects. (Western theories, WWW) 3. Globalization may well be simply the latest stage of Western imperialism

Continues… 4. Globalization are technologies that automatically benefit the richest economies in the world. 5. Not all globalized forces are necessarily ‘good’ ones. (WWW anarchy) 6. Global governance – to whom are the transnational social movements responsible and democratically accountable? 7. Paradox at the heart of globalization thesis (Western value vs. Asian Tigers’ values)

Stand for or against globalization? Is globalization a new phenomenon in world politics? Which theory discussed above best explains globalization? Is globalization a positive or a negative development? Is globalization merely the latest stage of capitalist development?

Lesson of 9/11… Continues… Does globalization make the state obsolete? Does globalization make the world more or less democratic? Is globalization merely Western imperialism in a new guise? Does globalization make war less likely? Lesson of 9/11…