GEC 3
The Contemporary World
MIDTERM Coverage
Prepared by:
Luanne C. Salise
Richard Garcia
Mikael Dominik Abad
Joreann Domingo
Todd Coddy Aguilario
Arianne Ucag
College of Arts and Sciences
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Chapter 4 – The Origins of Interstate System
In This Lesson
Explain the effects of globalization on governments
Identify the institutions that govern international relations
Differentiate internationalism from globalism.
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY
THE FACTORS BEHIND GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
• The declining power of nation-states
• The flow of digital information of all sorts through the internet;
• Mass migration of people and their entry, often illegally into various nation-states;
• Nation-states have long struggle to problems that deals with interstate system.
What are the origins of this system?
The nation-state is relatively a modern phenomenon in human history, and people did not always
organize themselves as countries.
What then is the difference between nation and state?
Nation should not be confused with the State as they are not the same.
The State is a political concept, while Nation is an ethnic concept.
A nation is a cultural and especially a linguistic grouping of people who feel that they belong
together; a state is a political unit with sovereignty.
State refers to the community of persons permanently occupying a definite portion of territory,
independent form external control, and possessing an organized government to which greater body
of inhabitants renders habitual obedience. It is not subject to external control. A single state may
consist of one or more nations or people.
State has four attributes or elements:
1. Population – called the citizens
2. Territory – it governs a specific territory
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3. Government – crafts various rules that people follow
4. Sovereignty – refers to internal and external authority
Internal sovereignty - no individuals or groups can operate in a given national territory by
ignoring the state.
External sovereignty - means that a state’s policies and procedures are independent of the
interventions of other states.
International Recognition - In modern times relations among nations have grown and many
international organisations and institutions have come into being. Therefore, some scholars have
argued that international recognition be an essential element of state. The recognition of the
sovereign status of a new state by other states is called international recognition.
According to famous jurist, Oppenheim, "A state is and becomes an international person by recognition
only and exclusively. But there is no agreement on how many countries would have to recognize a new state
so that the latter gains statehood in the eyes of international law.
A state may consist of one or more nations and conversely, a nation may be made up of several states. A
state is a political unit that has ultimate sovereignty — that is, a political unit that has ultimate responsibility
for the conduct of its own affairs.
Example:
The United States is a melting spot of several nationalities. United States of America is a federal
republic comprising of fifty states and one federal district.
They are states of Nevada, California, Utah, Arizona, Nebraska, Texas Indiana, Florida, Montana,
Colorado, Maine, Kentucky, Georgia, New York, etc. and Washington D.C.
A nation is a group of people bound together by certain characteristics such as common social
origin, language, customs and traditions, and who believe that they are one and distinct from others.
Nation is an “imagined community”; limited for it has boundaries; a single nation may be made up
of several states.
Examples:
Arab Nation is divided into several states, such as: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon,
and others. They have the same ethnical origin.
Philippines is a nation. Filipinos belong to a common race. Filipinos have a common history even
though Mindanao claims to be unconquered by the colonizers, and has attempted to separate from
the Philippine Republic. The peculiarities of the Philippines as a nation are manifested in its
contemporary history of EDSA Revolution, a social and political revolution which had shown
nationalism. (S.S.Daquila;2012)
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Nation-state is a type of state that conjoins the political entity of a state to the cultural entity of a
nation, from which it aims to derive its political legitimacy to rule and potentially its status as a
sovereign state.
Suggested Reading:
International System (excerpt)
from Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS)
by Ryūhei Hatsuse
[An international system] are “groups of independent states held together by a web of economic and
strategic interests and pressures so that they are forced to take account of each other and those
which make a conscious social contract by instituting rules and machinery to make their relations
more orderly and predictable and to further certain shared principles and values.” – Hedley Ball and
Adam Watson – The Expansion of International Society
1.1 The Concept of System
In studies of international politics, the conception of “system” has been used mainly in two ways,
international system, and world system(s). First, the term “international system” is a concept for
analysis or description of international politics or relations, but therein lies a sense of prescription for
diplomatic or military action too. Used as an analytical term, it is predicated upon a definite notion of
system. But it is not necessarily so when it is used to describe situations of international relations at a
given time. Second, the term “world system(s)” is a concept with which to analyze or describe mainly
politico-economic global situations, while its implications for political action are derived but only
indirectly. Third, “international system” came to be accepted as an academic term in the late 1950s,
soon becoming fashionable, but more or less obsolete in the late 1990s. “World system(s)” began to
be discussed in the 1970s, still maintaining popularity in the academe. Terms such as “international
regimes” and “global governance” seem to have taken the place of “international system” as an
academic keyword in the 1990s, although the latter still holds validity. The new terms are more
normative and descriptive than analytic, having explicit implications for promoting international
cooperation.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines “system” to be (a) a set or assemblage of things connected,
associated, or interdependent, so as to form a complex unity, or (b) a whole composed of parts in an
orderly arrangement according to some scheme or plan. This is a well-conceived definition, but when
we apply this to these systemic approaches, we find it insufficient. As a basic definition, it is fairly
useful and satisfying, but it is not fully sufficient, in that it does not take into consideration what
powers, military, economic, political or cultural, circulate among the parts so as to connect or
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disconnect them. Besides, it greatly matters how deeply a structure exerts influences on its
constitutive units. Here the problem is whether the influences reach just the surface only to change
the behavior patterns of the units, or whether they penetrate deeply enough to transform even the
inner structures. Within the framework of international system, they are assumed to impose
restraints on the freedom of action of states, and in terms of world system(s), to change the nature
of the units. The conception of system in the former is, so to speak, mechanical or of the modern
Western origin, but that in the latter can be said to be organic, and of the classical Asian origin.
1.2 International System and Society
While the first part of OED definition is more extensive in usage, the second is limited to such cases
as can be related to a preconceived scheme or plan. When we extrapolate this contrast to
international relations, we reach the argument developed by Hedley Bull in elaborating on the
distinction between international system and society. As to the former, he defines: a system of states
(or international system) is formed when two or more states have sufficient contact between them,
and have sufficient impact on one another’s decisions, to cause them to behave—at least in some
measure—as parts of a whole. This corresponds very well to the first definition of system noted in the
above. Turning to international society, he defines: a society of states (or international society) exists
when a group of states, conscious of certain common interests and common values, form a society,
in the sense that they conceive themselves to be bound by a common set of rules in their relations
with one another, and share in the working of common institutions. Thus he notes that an
international society in this sense presupposes an international system, but an international system
may exist that is not an international society. This usage is quite similar to the second definition of
system cited from the OED in the above. His distinction between the two is more persuasive in the
light of the change in international relations since the end of the Cold War (1989).
The term “international system” in Bull’s sense was very popular among the academics
of all nations during the Cold War period. But it has increasingly lost popularity in the 1990s, the role
of which is beginning to be taken over by such terms as international regimes or global governance,
reflective of formative changes in international society. We see international schemes or plans more
activated in the post-Cold War world than ever before. If we borrow Bull’s concepts, international
relations have been rapidly changing from international system to international society. However, we
should not forget that the notion “international system” still holds some validity, regardless of
changes in real politics and academic fashions, because interstate relations compose an integral part
of the current international relations. So, to analyze or depict them, we need both the terms of
international system and international society in Bull’s sense. (Hatsuse 2004)
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The Interstate System
The origins of the present-day concept of sovereignty can be traced back with the Treaty of
Westphalia, which was a set of agreements signed in 1648 to end the “Thirty Years Wars” between
the major continental powers of Europe.
Westphalian system provided stability for the nations of Europe until it faced its first major
challenge by Napoleon Bonaparte – believed in spreading the principles of the French Revolution –
liberty, equality and fraternity.
The civil code or the Napoleonic code of 1804 was introduced by Napoleon Bonaparte in many parts
of Europe to maintain its control. Under this code, 1) Feudal system was abolished. 2) Equality before
the law was established. 3) Right to property was given.
Feudalism was the medieval model of government predating the birth of the modern
nation-state. Feudal society is a military hierarchy in which a ruler or lord offers mounted
fighters a fief, a unit of land to control in exchange for a military service.
Anglo and Prussian armies finally defeated Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815;
To prevent another war, the new system created by the Royal Powers- “The Concert of Europe,”
an alliance of Great powers (United Kingdom, Austria, Russia, Russia, and Prussia restoring the world
of monarchical, hereditary, and religious privileges of time before the French Revolution and the
Napoleonic Wars).
This system is called, the Metternich system named after the Austrian diplomat, Klemens von
Metternich.
The Concert’s power and authority lasted from 1815 to 1914 at the dawn of World War I.
Internationalism
Internationalism is a political principle which transcends nationalism and advocates a greater
political or economic cooperation among nations and people. It is a system of heightened interaction
between various sovereign states with the desire for a greater cooperation and unity among states
and people.
Divided into broad principles: liberal internationalism and socialist internationalism.
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Liberal internationalism is a foreign policy doctrine that argues that liberal states should intervene in
other sovereign states in order to pursue liberal objectives. Such intervention can include both
military invasion and humanitarian aid.
The Socialist International (SI) is a worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish
democratic socialism. It consists mostly of democratic socialist, social-democratic and labour political
parties and other organisations.
The major thinker of Liberal Internationalism in the late 18th century was Immanuel Kant –
believed that people living together require a government to prevent lawlessness, without form of
world government, international system will be chaotic.
Another British philosopher Jeremy Bentham coined the word “international” in 1780. He
advocated the creation of “international law” that would govern the inter-state relations. He also
believed that objective global legislators should aim to propose legislation that would create “the
greatest happiness of all nations taken together.”
Another thinker (19th century) that reconcile nationalism with liberal internationalism was an Italian
Patriot Giuseppe Mazzini; believed in a Republican government (without Kings, Queens and
hereditary succession) and proposed a system of free nations that cooperated with each other to
create an international system. He was a nationalist internationalist, who believes that free, unified
nation-states should be the basis of global cooperation.
Another internationalist in the 20th century was US President Woodrow Wilson – saw nationalism
as a prerequisite for internationalism; forwarded the principle of “self-determination”- the belief
that the world’s nations had a right to free, and sovereign government. He hoped that these free
nations would become democracies able to build a free system of international system of
international relations based on international law and cooperation; Wilson became the most notable
advocate for the creation of the League of Nations. He became the strong advocate of the League of
Nations at the end of WWI in 1919. At the end of WWI in 1918, he pushed to transform the League
into a venue for conciliation and arbitration to prevent another war. He was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1919.
League of Nations
• Came into being that same year (1919);
• US was not able to join due to the strong opposition from the senate;
• unable to hinder another war for breaking out and helpless to prevent the onset of WWII;
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Axis Powers
• Hitler of Germany
• Mussolini of Italy
• Hirohito of Japan
• Who were *ultra-nationalists and had an instinctive disdain for internationalism and preferred
violently impose their dominance over nations.
*Ultra nationalism is extreme nationalism, the belief in the superiority of one's nation and of the
paramount importance of advancing it.
Nationalism is patriotism; the idea of supporting one's country and culture.
Allied Powers
• Composed of US, UK, France, Holland, and Belgium
Failure of the League
• Gave birth to some of the more specific international organizations that are still around until
today.
• The most popular are: WHO, ILO which serve as the blueprint for future forms of international
cooperation.
Karl Marx
• A German socialist philosopher who was one of the critics of Mazzini; an internationalist who
differ with the latter who did not believe in nationalism;
• He placed a premium on economic equality; did not divide the world into countries but classes.
• Believed with Ernst Engels that in a socialist revolution seeking to overthrow the state and alter
the economy, the “proletariat had no nation.” Engel's law is an observation in economics stating
that as income rises, the proportion of income spent on food falls, even if absolute expenditure
on food rises.
• After he died in 1883, his followers soon sought to make his vision concrete by establishing their
international organization, the Socialist International (SI)- a union of European socialist and labor
parties established in Paris in 1889; Achievement: May 1 as Labor Day and International
Women’s Day; and successful 8-hour work day.
• SI collapsed during WWI
Russian Revolution of 1917
• After the collapsed of Socialist International, a more radical version emerged.
• Czar Nicolas II was overthrown and replaced by a revolutionary government led by the Bolshevik
Party and its leader, Vlademir Lenin and the new state was called Union Soviet Socialist Republics
or USSR.
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Communist International (Comintern)
• Established by Lenin in 1919 to encourage socialist revolutions across the world.
• Served as the central body directing communist parties over the world.
• Dissolved by Stalin in 1943
Communist Information Bureau (Cominform)
• Like comintern, it helped direct the various communist parties that had taken power in Eastern
Europe;
• After the collapse of USSR in 1991, communist internationalism also disappeared.
CONCLUSION
• Examined the roots of the international system;
• Internationalism is but one window into the broader phenomenon of globalization;
• Increasingly international relations are also facilitated by international organizations that promote
global norms and policies. The most prominent example is the United Nations.
