ETIT 102 - WEEK 3

Defining International Relations and Basic

Concepts

1.International Organizations (IOs)

“A body that promotes voluntary cooperation

and coordination between or among its

members.” There are many types of IOs, but one

way of categorizing them is to distinguish

between intergovernmental organizations (IGO)

and supranational organizations.

1.1. IGOComposed of nation-states and it promotes

voluntary co-operation and coordination among its

members. Decisions and agreements reached in this

type of organization however are not enforceable,

and the members remain independent. The crucial

aspect of an IGO is that the members do not

surrender any power (or sovereignty) to it. The

United Nations (UN) is an IGO.

1.2.Supranational Organizations

Member states do surrender power in specific areas to the higher organization. Decisions taken by a supranational organization must be obeyed by the member states. Often there are courts to determine when violations have occurred, although frequently enforcement mechanisms are not as effective as they are within nation states.

The European Union (EU) is partly an IGO and partly a supranational organization. Both of these elements exist in the EU.

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATION (NGO)

Increased interconnectedness, partly associated with improvements in communications technology and transport, has given rise to literally thousands of specialised organisations, agencies, and groups.

They are made up of private individuals, both paid and unpaid, and are committed to a vast range of issues, including protection of the environment, improving the level of basic needs in the Third World, stopping human rights abuses, delivering food and medicine to warzones, advancing religious beliefs, and promoting the cause of women.

What stands out about these organisations is that they establish networks and links between individuals across the globe.

Multinational corporations (MNCs)

A corporation that has its facilities and other assets in at least one country other than its home country. Such companies have offices and/or factories in different countries and usually have a centralized head office where they co-ordinate global management. Very large multinationals have budgets that exceed those of many small countries.

Globalization The acceleration and intensification of mechanisms, processes, and activities that are allegedly promoting global interdependence and perhaps, ultimately, global political and economic integration. It is, therefore, a revolutionary concept, involving the deterritorialisation of social, political, economic, and cultural life.

InterdepedenceThe condition of a relationship between two parties in which the costs of breaking their relations or of reducing their exchanges are roughly equal for each of them. It has two dimensions: sensitivity and vulnerability. Sensitivity refers to the degree to which states are sensitive to changes taking place in another state. One way to measure this dimension is to examine whether changes in particular areas (for example, rates of inflation or unemployment) vary in similar fashion across territorial boundaries. Vulnerability refers to the distribution of costs incurred as states react to such changes. Thus two states may be equally sensitive to oil price rises but they may not be equally vulnerable. One of them might find it easier than the other to switch to alternative supplies of energy, thereby reducing its dependence on oil. (i.e. American diversification away from Middle Eastern resources)

IntegrationAs a process it involves (a) a movement towards increased cooperation between states (or regionalism); (b) a gradual transfer of authority to supranational institutions; (c) a gradual homogenisation of values; and (d) the coming into being of a global civil society and with it, the construction of new forms of political community. The most advanced state of integration would be one where states were either federated on a global scale or allowed to atrophy altogether in favour of a global or world government.

Regionalism• Intensifying political and/or economic processes of

cooperation among states and other actors in particular geographic regions.

• Results from the increasing flow of goods, people, and ideas within a spatial entity which thus becomes more integrated and cohesive.

• Ensuring that regionalism and multilateralism grow together is perhaps the most urgent issue facing trade policymakers today.

• The stronger the cooperation among the 3 major traders of the world economy (Asia, Europe, and North America), the more likely it is for the world economy to be integrated globally, rather than be fragmented into several regional trade blocs.

Global Civil Society

- A public space where citizens and groups can engage in

political activities independently of the state.

- It consists of diverse NGOs that are strong enough to

counterbalance the state and, while not preventing the

state from fulfilling its role as peacekeeper and arbitrator

between major interests.

The significance of NGOs for Global Civil Society-2

1) Form political communities and maintain a sense of solidarity among their ranks.2) Organised on a global scale and they do not regard borders as an impediment to effective political action.3) Do not regard the state as the only legitimate authority in theinternational arena.4) Concerned with political issues that transcend territorial boundaries.5) Promote a cosmopolitan ethical code that theywould like to see all states accept and practise.

Global Civil Society -3

Developing a strong civil society is often seen as a strategy for overcoming political tyranny and is crucial to the whole process of democratisation.Part of the architecture of globalisation and, as such, provides new ways for individuals to think and act politically. It provides a space for marginal groups to have a political voice, it helps to create new collective identities, it increases the level of awareness of global problems, and fosters opportunities for new forms of global governance.

Cosmopolitanism - Ancient roots in Western civilisation, the idea of a

‘cosmopolis’, or universal city, played a central role in Stoic philosophy.

- A number of social and political theorists haverecently resurrected the concept, most of whom as an alternative to ethnocentric nationalism.- A call for some kind of cosmopolitanism in international relations emerged due to an increasing awareness of transnational realities on various levels (human rights, crime, and the environment) are beyond the capacity of any one country to deal with effectively.

Global Governance-1 - The techniques, institutions, rules, norms, and legal arrangements used to manage relations between states and to facilitate cooperative action across various issue-areas. - In the current international context, governance is carried out

in the name of the global polity by both governmental and non-governmental organisations.

- Liberals have sought to foster global governance by developing elaborate institutional arrangements to promote cooperation between states.

- After early setbacks, such as the failure of the League of Nations, the liberal approach has made a spectacular comeback after 1945 with the formation of the United Nations and the development of regimes to manage the global economy.

3 Sources of recent surge of interest in global governance

1) The end of the cold war. This increased the expectation that

international institutions (particularly the UN ) would play a

more central role in the management of the international

system.

2) The rise of globalisation and a new sense of ‘globality’ that

pervades much contemporary thinking.

3) The heightened awareness that our planet is confronted by

problems that require a concerted and coordinated global

approach.

Thanks