The State and Globalisation Flashcards
Bretton Wood Institutions influence
Promote free market economic models and courage states to adopt them
Economic globalisation has created the consensus that neo-liberalism is the best economic model for acheiving prosperity
FOR Globalisation resolving Issue of Global Poverty
Developing countries can attract investment by engaging in free trade
E.g. Botswana in the 60s exporting natural resources
Nation States using comparative advantage within a global market to expand
E.g 1999 Republic of Ireland lowered corporation tax to 12.6% encouraging large investment
Levels of global poverty have decreased in developed nations since they engaged in globalisation
E.g in 1990, 36% of people in developed states lived in poverty, by 2021, this had reduced to 9.2%
AGAINST Economic Globalisation resolving Issue of global poverty
Race to bottom
Job Security
Social harmony
Volatile
Quality
Economic globalisation creates a “race to the bottom” as governments reduce costs by limiting workers’ rights
E.g Prevalence of Chinese sweatshops
Job security is threatened as businesses move production to lower-cost areas
E.g. moving to places with fewer labour laws such as Cambodia
Social harmony is undermined by the income gap between countries
E.g 10% of global population takes home 52% of the income
Global capitalism has proved to be volatile
E.g. 2008 financial crisis
Core states dump poor-qualtiy products on developing states keeping them in a state of dependency
FOR Globalisation encouraging Global Human Rights Protection
Greater interconnectedness makes human rights abuses harder to cover up
E.g ICC and Putin
Technology provides immediate evidence of human rights abuses
E.g Pressure groups using satellites to discover concentration camps in China
Human rights NGOs such as Human Rights Watch provide instantly accessible records of human rights abuses
Examples of Failed Military Intervention
2003 US and UK invaded Iraq without UN’s endoresement resulting in a humanitarian disaster, combined with the rise of militant Islamism it destabilised the region and challenged the justification and effectiveness of interventionism
Failure of the intervention in Afghanistan in spite of 20 years of “nation building” has meant that intervention is subject to further scrutiny
Although it helped to topple Gaddafi, NATO’s 2011 intervention in Libya has left the country in a state of anarchy
Cultural Globalisation is becoming more prevalent
2020 Biggest restaurant chain was Subway with almost 43000 outlets
-Also over 40000 McDonalds’ branches
In China the largest restaurant chain is KFC, followed by McDonalds and Burger King
Arguments Against Globalisation = Americanisation
US dominates the world in cultural outreach e.g. Halloween celebrated worldwide
Biggest box-office hits are American
9/10 biggest restaurants are American
US is dominant global economy
Arguments Against Globalisation being Americanisation
British media such as Harry Potter, The Crown and Downton Abey all have global appeal
2000 83% of British citizens had favourable views of the US, by 2020 it was just 43%
Chinese Economic Influence
South Korean cultural influence - KPOP, Squid Game
The Arab Spring was influenced by Islamic Fundamentalism not liberal democracy
Hyperglobalisers
Globalisation is creating a revolutionary shift in the structures of global power which will ultimately make the nation-state obsolete
Rise of MNCs and influencial NSA’s challenges the centrality of the state in IR to the point it cannot determine its future and must work within the political and economic parameters established by Globalisation
Hyperglobalisaers infer that an increasingly borderless world is being created
-state borders are becoming more permeable to goods, people, capital and ideas
Cultual Homogenisation
Process by which the characteristics that make the cultures of nation-states diferent from each other are flattened out, encouraging the establishment of a more uniformly similar global culture
Globalisation Sceptics
Question the extent to which globalisation is new and whether its had any impact on the authority of the state.
Point out events such as global gold standard being adopted and the interconnectedness resulting from advances in communications between nations which advanced globalisation but did not undermine state sovereignty
Ineffectiveness of Institutions such as ICC or Brexit confirm the ongoing significance of the nation-state in IR
Transformationalists
Acknowledge Globalisation has had a deep impact on state sovereignty as they have had to engage with a new set of rules and ways of dealing with other states.
However, they do not believe that globalisation signals the decline of the state, rather, the state has to continously adapt to the challenges that globalisation presents
Ways Globalisation has challenged the nation-state
Economic - due to interconnectedness, states cannot insulate themselves from global financial crises - 2008. A global consensus favouring free-market reforms also restricts governments freedom of actions
Intergovernmentalism - Interests of governments are bound together with IGOs. Nation-states have to accept their authority. E.g. member states must accept WTO judgemetns. increasingly IGOs tackle collective dilemmas such as climate change
Regionalism - Spread of regionalism has imapcted state sovereignty - e.g. decisions made by the EU Council of Ministers are legally binding to all member states. Others such as ASEAN has imposed free-trade rules on its members.
Internet - reach of the internet can compromise a states’ physical borders - e.g. access to anti-government websites and the organisaing power of social media contributed to the Arab Spring. Cyber crime/warfare can also threaten the nation-state
NGOs - NGOs with transnational influence undermine nation-states in their influence - e.g. the Clinton Foundation plays a massive role in fighting poverty
Challenges from Below - Forces from within also challenge the nation-state, as internal political divisons both in government and amongst the people can make it difficult to exert power - E.g. in 2013 when Parliament stopped Cameron from pursuing military intervention in Syria
Ways in which the nation-state is still important
The limits of liberalism - The nation-state remains the key decision-maker when negotiating with other states and chooses the extent to which they will cooperate with other countries. IGOs are not always legally binding and members can leave them.
Policy and the State - The state still retains power over most issues that determine the life of its citizens and their fiscal strategies. They determine how education is administered and control their borders. The state can also police the internet.
National borders and security - States are determined to protect their borders e.g. US Department of Homeland Security is the third-biggest federal employer. In the UK there has been a recent drive to prevent illegal immigration.
Human Rights and Civil Liberties - Differing religious and political worldviews have led to different standards of liberties and rights in different nation-states. E.g. in some Muslim countries, the Qur’an informs the nature of one’s human rights.
International law - When the ICC was established, China refused to join arguing that it was trying to interfere with the domestic affairs of a sovereign nation. The US signed a number of bilateral trade agreements with nations obligating them not to submit US personnel to the court. Furthermore, ICJ judgements require a state to accept them if they are to be enforced meaning they can easily be ignored.
National allegiance - State loyalty remains a potent force. National identities still matter when determining an individual’s sense of who they are. In America, nationalism and patriotism is incredibly prominent.
State egoism - States generally act out of sovereign self-interest rather than according to more liberal cosmopolitan values. The UN did not give the US and UK a mandate to invade Iraq in 2003 but they did so anyway.
State sovereignty less important
Global acceptance of free-market liberalism restricts the economic choices that governments can take
States now share power with non-state actors
Global opinion formers are often non-state actors e.g. BLM
Collective dilemmas such as climate change require intergovernmental solutions
States accept legal limits on their sovereignty e.g. ICC and ECHR
