Week 2: Chapter 4.4 - The Triumph of the Nation State Flashcards
What is the main reason why the nation-state (which emerged in the West) has become the norm in the contemporary world?
The expansion of Europe/the West starting with efforts to develop new trade routes in the fifteenth century
What did the Age of Discovery, Age of Exploration and the Great Navigation do?
Sent the impoverished from a minor corner of the globe to the centre stage due to a combination of multiple factors: geopolitics, religion, economic necessity, and technology.
This phase of the expansion of Europe then led to…
a phase of imperialism and colonization by European powers
Imperialism + colonisation consisted of…
- European powers took over the control of territories in the Americas, Africa, and Asia in order to exploit their resources
- To run plantations for the European centre’s benefit & sometimes as the destination for excess population in Europe
What happened to the USA as a colony in the 18th century?
Became independent in the 18th century + joined the Westphalian order of independent states.
What did colonies of Latin America do in the 19th century?
Following the North American example - gain independence
When did most of the colonies in Africa and Asia achieve independence?
After the Second World War
Explain what happened with the Westphalian system & Sino-centric order in East Asia - how did Westphalian system prevail the world?
- they collided in the 19th century
- Defeat of the Qing dynasty in the Opium Wars (1839–42 and 1856–60) signalled = the superiority of the Westphalian order and the nation-state system that it was based on
- Prompted Japan to abandon the old order + to enter the Westphalian system in 1868
- This gave the Westphalian order more legitimacy
- With this, the Westphalian order prevailed in the world
- The nation-state was established as a global norm
What is the first sketch of liberal world order?
Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points
argued peaceful co-existence of states > conventional balance-of-power policies
Which organisation was an embodiment of Wilson’s ideal?
An intergovernmental organisation to regulate the relationship among states respecting idea of state sovereignty in the Westphalian sense
What are some of the things the Covenant of the LON stated?
- Colonies could become part of LON apart from states if they were supported by 2/3 of the GA
- Colonies - power to self-govern
Which organization was created after WW2?
UN
The UN still…
Draws from the Wilsonian vision of liberal world order + upholds the principle of national self-determination
What is one of the aims of the UN chapter?
develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace (art 1)
James C Scott’s (2009) opinion on how the nation-state system did not reach every corner of the world
- Because it was largely affected by the development of technology
- enabled some people to exercise their agency to choose not to be incorporate in the nation state system
- South East Asia; the great mountain realm covering roughly 2.5 million square kilometres (which he terms ‘Zomia’) was not fully incorporated in the state system based on grain cultivation until well into the 20th century
- Some inhabitants of various states in the region could choose to flee to the mountains in order to escape enslavement and exploitation by the state and in order to not to be governed they adopted crops and lifestyle that were unsuited for the state
- This possibility of escaping the nation state’s rule finally disappeared, according to Scott, when land transport technology developed and infrastructure to support land transport was put in place—well after the Second World War
- combined forces of the advancement in technology and development of capitalism appear to have placed the nation state at the apex of the hierarchy of polity in the world.
