Lecture 5 - Globalisation And Political Institutions Flashcards
Global political institutions - political institutions are slow to change and historically economic developments move quicker than political. List 3 things why this is?
- Danger of instability
- No global political authority
- Tensions between nation states remain key to global instability
The European Union is an example of many of the trends of globalisation. However it’s not fully global. List 5 things what it creates?
- Reduction of power of state
- Liberalised economy
- Politically liberal
- Linguistic domination
- Reduction in tariffs and borders
The UN are a global institution concerned with stability. Also international law and human rights. However what issues are there?
There’s no proper system of international law an stability
For law to be credible it must have:
- Consistency
- Jurisdiction/Coverage
- Enforceability
What challenges face the UN?
- the security council
- the general assembly
- UNSC dominated by 5 permanent states
- the USA as a global actor
USA are the core actor in what?
The UNSC
the USA is the core actor in the UNSC, what is it prepared to do? List 3
- Deploy troop abroad with assertive ROE
- It has global military coverage
- US are the only ‘global policemen’
Name 2 areas the US failed in intervention and 2 they succeeded
2 failures
- Somalia
- Rwanda
2 successes
- Cambodia
- El Salvador
What are the NATO?
Regional actors as peacekeepers, want to destroy communism and do humanitarian interventions
List 5 interventions done by NATO
- Bosnia
- Kosovo
- Afghanistan
- Libya
- Syria
Global law has become what?
STRONGER
After WWII what has happened towards global war? List 3
- UN Deceleration of HR
- Int Cov Civil and Pol Rights
- Int Cov Econ and Soc rights
However ignored by many states
International law - what would be classed as a crime against this?
Humanity/ war crimes e.g
- Int Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia
- Int tribunal for Rwanda
- Criminal court for Cambodia
The enforcement of relevant law
Who supports International law?
Global NGOs
International criminal court
Who refuses to sign up to international law and why?
US as it conducts bilateral agreements with states which have US complex relationship to international law
The idea of human rights is the core to what type of globalisation?
Political
Who opposes human rights?
Asian Values
Singapore, Malaysia, China , Japan
Also, China and Russia who see state sovereignty as vital
Samuel Huntington devised clash of civilisations, what does it consist of?
Cultural not economic etc
Eight cultural blocks
Biggest source of conflict - West, Islamic and Chinese world
Huntington also warns what? 2 things
Western forcing culture on other will lead to war
Concept of blow back - 9/11
Criticism of Huntington
Too simplistic
Fails to recognise linkages between civilisations
Ben barbers theory?
Jihad vs McWorld
Jihad vs McWorld what are they?
McWorld - forces of economic globalisation
Jihad - reaction against it
Also a metaphor for anti western, anti universalist struggle throughout the world
Ben Barber summarise in 5 points
- Power of neo liberalism, advertising, culture and consumption creates resistance
- Need to (re)create a community through nation, ethnicity, religion
- May be violent opposition
- Resistance often uses globalisation
- Problems with Barbers ideas
What’s Paul Colliers theory?
The Bottom Billion
Paul Collier opposite to Huntington and Barber, list 5 aspects of his theory?
- Poorer countries likely to be conflict prone
- They have natural resources (greed vs grievance)
- More isolated
- Average GDP of conflict prone countries $19bn
- Complex interdependence
List 5 more ways Collier tries to resolve it?
- Average cost of war to them $50bn
- Solution more globalisation not less
- Help stabilise them
- Then integrate them… E.g via trade
- Even foreign intervention e.g UK in Sierra Leone collier estimates saved country $30bn
There is an idea of a New War, list 4 points in context with the idea?
- A new type of organised violence has developed
- Civilian focused
- How is it classified?
- Mary Kaldor says modern type of organised violence is ‘new’
What are the 7 key points to an Old War?
- State, war is fought between States
- Clear distinction between combatants and non combatants
- Civilian deaths were not an end in themselves
- War economy
- Strategy - take territory through military means
- Laws of War
- Distinction between war and peace
8 key points of new wars?
- Privatisation and internationalization of conflict
- These groups have an interest in keeping the war going
- More non formal violence
- Strategy - e.g child soldiers in Sierra Leone
- Focus on identity politics
- Impact of globalisation
- No separation between war and crime
- Produces a political rather than a military challenge
What is shadow globalisation list some key point?
- Terrorism
- crime
- people smuggling
- hijacking of aid
- drugs
- money laundering
- easy access to globalised financial system
Worlds most deadly conflict since WWII, estimated 4-6 million killed from 1998-2012. What conflict, case study is this?
The Democratic Republic of the Congo
Name 3 things that describe the context of this conflict
- 2006 Joseph Kabila - 1st democratically elected president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- 3.3 million dead by 2006
- Three Congolese rebel groups, 14 foreign armed groups and countless militias then in 2001, the UNs - largest ever peacekeeping force, then 2003 peace agreement, then 2006 democratic elections
2 million died since these elections
Why is the so much violence in the Congo?
Because of land, the Congo has massive reserves of gold and diamonds. Also Coltan.
Also different ethnic groups fight over land claims. There is a spill over from 1994 Rwandan genocide.
So how does Kaldor think we should minimalise the violence of New Wars?
You work form the bottom up instead of the top down, then create local peace based on human rights protection. Then instead of focusing on war fighting, focus on peacekeeping, creates a minimum rather than maximum war.
So how would Kaldors theory work in the Congo?
an International intervention exacerbated the conflict. A large UN Peacekeeping force to keep the peace and work from ‘bottom up’. At the heart of it all, humans have to identify themselves as humans rather than as tribes etc.
What are the 4 critiques of Kaldor?
- ‘The word is new but the crime is ancient’, Leo Kuper.
- Stathis Kalyvas highlights that civil wars and so-called new wars are extremely similar.
- Kaldor often has a romantic view of the past
- Kaldor places a variety of conflicts under the label new wars but some of these are nothing like each other.
Two types of new wars which are dissimilar are what?
Failed state: Somalia - The lack of a central authority led to a breakdown in political order and widespread chaos. Resulted in war lords was chaotic
Genocide: Rwanda - A government led systematic extermination of the Tutsi and moderate Hutu. Not chaotic, very well planed.
However list 4 points to defend Kaldor?
- Highlighted the combination of features within ‘new wars’
- Kaldor shed light on conflict within states.
- Highlighted the darker side of globalisation
- Pushes the cosmopolitan world
