Political Community & State Functions

• Political Community describes a group sharing identity and organized under a government.
• Modern states are defined by universality and sovereignty.
• Universality applies to everyone within its territory.
• Sovereignty is the right to self-determination.
• Internal Sovereignty: Centralized authority with a monopoly on force.
• External Sovereignty: Recognition from other states.
• Modern states are composed of territory, population, and government.
• Social contract theory suggests that individuals give rights to the state for security and order.

State Functions

• Defense
• Facilitation of collective action
• Control of violence
• Taxation
• Maintenance of rule of law
• Provision of public goods
• Administrative roles
• Correction of market failures

State Capacity and Failure

• State capacity is a state's ability to effectively perform its functions.
• Weak states have low state capacity.
• Failed states are unable to perform basic functions, as indicated by the Fragile States Index.
• Factors contributing to state failure include colonialism, conflict/war, political instability, economic underdevelopment, lawlessness, and ethnic/cultural divides.

Westphalian State and Inter-State System

• The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 ended the Thirty Years' War, establishing state sovereignty.
• The inter-state system involves institutions and relations between modern, sovereign states.

Colonialism and the State

• Colonialism occurs when a state assumes direct political and territorial control over another territory and society.
• Modern European colonialism (1493-1914) featured extractive practices, autocratic rule, coercive methods, inequality, imposition of European systems, and politicization of identities.

Globalization

• Globalization is the increasing economic, political, and social integration throughout the world.
• Globalization involves a complex, multidimensional force synonymous with time-space compression.

Globalization in the Modern Era

• Integration speed, technological advances, economic liberalization, and government policy characterize globalization.
• Globalization benefits and costs are unequally distributed, particularly between the Global North and Global South.

Globalization and Non-State Actors

• Global civil society encompasses values, institutions, organizations, networks, and individuals operating internationally and independently.
• INGOs (International Non-Governmental Organizations) are formal, organized manifestations of global civil society.
• Transnational movements are less organized, politically driven international movements and are less organised.
• Multinational corporations are for-profit, market-based private sector actors.

Globalisation Debate

• Benefits of globalisation include decreased potential for conflict, increased economic growth and democracy, and more cross-cultural contacts.
• Problems of globalisation include potential hindrance of democracy, unequal distribution of benefits, and disempowerment of the working class.

Nationalism

• A nation is a group of people sharing culture, history, community, and a desire for self-government. Nations are ideas.
• Nationalism is the belief that the nation is the ultimate basis of political identity and is an ideology.
• A nation-state combines a pre-existing nation with a modern state.

Nationalism: Trends and Faces

• Early beliefs that nationalism would decline have been disproven, with a resurgence after the Cold War, fueled by political events and the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Positive aspects of nationalism include offering a political community, promoting democracy, discouraging imperialism, fostering independence, and promoting economic growth.
• Negative dimensions can catalyze conflict, foster differentiation, promote parochialism, xenophobia, nativism, discrimination, and imperialism.

Unilateralism, Multilateralism, and International Institutions

• Unilateralism is action by a single state.
• Multilateralism is coordination among three or more states towards a shared goal.
• International institutions shape, constrain, guide, or pattern state behavior.
• Cooperation reasons involve increasing state contact, interdependence, transnational issues, legitimacy, and leverage.
• Sovereignty costs include relinquishing some sovereignty.

Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)

• IGO structure consists of three or more states with activities in multiple states; and only state-based members.
• Formal multilateralism involves legally binding agreements (e.g., the UN Charter).
• IGOs have their own organizational structures and decision-making processes, often based on unanimity, to minimize sovereignty costs.

IGO Examples

• Examples such as the UN, Bretton Woods institutions (World Bank and IMF), WTO, NATO, EU, OECD, OPEC, AU, MERCOSUR, and BRICS (+).
• Regional IGOs also exist in Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia.

The United Nations (UN)

• A universal multilateral organization where states make decisions. Operates through intergovernmentalism, not supranationalism.
• It is central to world politics and governance, including international law, peacekeeping, and addressing global issues.
• UN functions include global security, facilitating international laws, providing a forum for debate, international development, and sponsoring global conferences.
• The UN System has principal bodies like the General Assembly, Security Council, ECOSOC, Secretariat, and ICJ, as well as specialized agencies and funds/programs.

The UN System: Principal Bodies

• The General Assembly serves as an international hub, sets the global agenda, and provides a forum for multilateralism.
• Decisions are not binding.
• The Security Council makes decisions on peace and security, with 15 members, including 5 permanent members (P5) with veto power.
• Key roles include peacekeeping, collective security, enforcement measures, and humanitarian interventions.
• ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council) is a central forum for economic and social issues.
• The Secretariat is the UN's administration, headed by the Secretary-General.
• The ICJ (International Court of Justice) is the World Court that resolves inter-state disputes.

Constraints on the UN

• The UN faces contradictions with state sovereignty, competing interests in world politics, lack of sufficient funding, and ongoing/new transnational issues.

International Law

• International law has mechanisms regulate interactions and settle disputes.
• Whether international law is truly "law" is debated.
• International Law is consent-based, sovereignty is central.
• It differs from domestic law because of its anarchic context, multiple sources, lack of centralized enforcement, and facilitative nature.
• Sources such as Treaties, soft law, and customary law.

Levels of Analysis and Theories of World Politics

• Analyzing world politics involves systematic examination of events using deconstruction and theory.
• Levels of Analysis:
• Individual-level focuses on individuals and their decisions.
• State-level focuses on state institutions and internal politics.
• System-level to focus on the structure of the international system.

Theories of World Politics

• Theory simplifies complex phenomena and must be falsifiable.
• Realism focuses on states as primary actors in a self-help system, emphasizing power struggles and relative gains. It explains international conflict well but struggles with cooperation.
• Concepts include the balance of power and the security dilemma.
• Liberalism emphasizes cooperation, interdependence, and international institutions. It highlights the importance of absolute gains and mitigation of anarchy.
• Constructivism views world politics as a socially constructed system, emphasizing the role of ideas, norms, and identities in shaping state interests.
• Marxist and Neo-Marxist theories emphasize economic factors and class relations as the primary drivers of world politics.
• Dependency theory focuses on the historical and continuing exploitation of the Global South by the Global North.

Introducing World Politics: Key Concepts

• Terms International Relations, World Politics, and Global Politics can be used interchangeably.
• World Politics features a shift from state-centric views to broader understandings of actors.
• Intermestic refers to the interconnectedness of domestic and international spheres.
• The study of world politics is multidisciplinary and relatively young.

21st Century International Relations: Key Themes and Concepts

• International Relations (IR) in the 21st century encompasses sub-fields such as international law, international organizations, foreign policy, security studies, global political economy, international ethics/philosophy, refugee/migration studies, and human rights.

Issues in World Politics

• Critical issues that shape include conflict, war, peacekeeping where armed conflict remains a central concern and cyber security emerges as a severe threat.
• Humanitarian crises and human rights are in focus, as the 21st century sees the growth of humanitarian crises and high refugee numbers.
• Economic downturns and financial crises are high, necessitating both unilateral and multilateral responses.
• Increased rising economic nationalism, isolationism, is a high risk, and protectionism poses risks and can escalate global conflict levels.
• Immigration and forced migration are a challenge which requires further international cooperation.
• International trade and investment issues and global health issues, exemplify how the COVID-19 pandemic is a transnational issue.
• Climate change, nuclear proliferation, weak and failing states cause risks to regional and global stability, and transnational crime are key issues in world politics.

Basic Concepts: Power, Politics, and Global Governance

• Politics: The processes and practices of power relations.
• Power: The ability to influence others' actions.
• Includes "Hard power" that uses resources to achieve goals.
• Structural power is institutional power derived from one's position within a system.
• Ideological Power is "Soft power" and describes the influence of how people think.
• Global Governance: The formal and informal actors, institutions, and processes involved in addressing international problems.

Basic Concepts: Institutions, Globalization, and Actors

• Institutions: Anything that shapes, constrains, or guides behavior. Structures are sets of institutions within a context, and agency is the capacity for actors guided by institutions to act.
• Organizations are institutions with agency.
• Transnational Issues: Problems that impact multiple states and cannot be attributed solely to one state

Key Terms

• Multilateralism: Coordination among three or more states.
• Unilateralism: States acting independently.
• Bilateralism: Coordination between two states.
• Polarity: Distribution of power among major states.
• Globalization: Increasing integration of economics, communication, and culture across national boundaries.
• Began with colonialism and accelerated significantly since the 1970s with advancements in technology.

Actors in World Politics

• Actors in Word Politics
• States are dominant in International relations
• This includes hegemons (dominant powers).
• State sovereignty is paramount.
• International Governmental Organizations (IGOs): Such as the UN and NATO. Non-State Actors:
• NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations): Organizations of civil society, acting to achieve specific goals
• Civil society functions separately from the state and the market, but engages with them voluntarily.
• Market-Based Actors: Entities with significant influence on global policy, such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Major Critical Junctures in World Politics

Event | Description | Significance

• -- | --- | --- Peace of Westphalia (1648) | Ended the Thirty Years' War; established state sovereignty and the modern state system. | Foundation of modern international law and state relations. Industrial Revolution | 18th-19th centuries; provided Europe with a competitive advantage, driving colonialism. | Technological advancements fueled European expansion and global power dynamics. Modern European Colonialism | 1493-1914; Imposed European political structures on colonized nations. | Reshaped global political organization, leading to enduring inequalities. WWI & WWII | 1914-1918 & 1939-1945; Reshaped the international system drastically. | Led to the creation of the UN and much of modern international law. Great Depression (1930s) | Global economic crisis; drove the creation of Bretton Woods institutions. | Reshaped economic relations and governance. Cold War | End of WWII – early 1990s; Defined by nuclear proliferation and major power blocs | Shaped post-war security structures and global politics. Decolonization (1960s) | Independence of many African and Asian nations. | Drastically increased the number of UN member states. 9/11 | 2001; Terrorist attacks on the United States, initiating the "War on Terror." | Shifted global security priorities, leading to significant interventions in the Middle East. 2007/08 Financial Crisis | Global economic crisis, stemming from a lack of regulation in financial practices. | Reshaped economic policies and governance. Arab Spring (2011) | Series of uprisings in several Arab nations. | Demonstrated widespread dissatisfaction with authoritarian regimes. Global COVID-19 Pandemic | 2020-present; highlighted the interconnectedness of the world and challenges to global health governance. | Exemplifies the transnational nature of challenges requiring international cooperation.