Has Globalization Undermined the Concept of State Sovereignty - Essay Example

?Introduction to International Relations Has globalization undermined the concept of sovereignty? Table of Contents Introduction 3 Globalisation 3 Sovereignty 5 Globalisation undermining State Sovereignty 6 Conclusion 9 References 10 Introduction ‘Globalisation’ which is perhaps the most discussed terms throughout the world over the past decade, is often considered as the most influential forces that shaping the today’s world. It is not an easy task to define the term in a single sentence. According to Maher M. Dabbah, “globalization is a multi-tiered, multi-dimensional and multi-faceted concept that embodies an extremely long process of human evolution.” (Dabbah, 2010, pp 92-93). Sometimes it is considered as a whirlwind that brings disruptive and relentless changes that result in some unique social, economic, environmental and cultural problems that make the governments helpless (Brittan, 1998, pp 1-2). Sovereignty, on the other hand is a very important concept which is also not an easy one to describe. Sovereignty, in simple words can be defined as the quality that allows one to have independent and supreme authority over a particular geographic region. Globalisation is one of such powers that have challenged the concept of state sovereignty. The principle objective of this paper is to identify and analyse the effect of globalisation on the state sovereignty. The question, ‘has globalization undermined the concept of state sovereignty?’ will be tried to be properly answered in this paper. In the process of doing so it is crucial to have a clear idea about both ‘globalisation’ and ‘sovereignty’. This paper is attempted to give a brief but clear understanding regarding both the concept and then it tries to analyse the fact whether globalisation has weakened the concept of state sovereignty. Globalisation Globalisation is perhaps the most popular terms in the recent time. It can be identified by the integration of global societies and economies. In the words of David Colander one can also say that the globalisation has “something to do with businesses changing their reference point – thinking globally rather than locally” (Gangopadhyay, Chatterji, 2005, pp 57-58). Furthermore, globalisation can also be characterised by way in which technologies from all the corners of the world are getting integrated. There are experts who believe that the term ‘globalisation’ may be a new one but the main concept and context are not. For instance, the economic integration among various economies of the world has been going on over the past fifty years. Organisations like GATT and WTO are actually the results of such integration (Gangopadhyay, Chatterji, 2005, pp 57-58). During the period of 1960-70 one of the most widely discussed subjects was the growth of different multinational corporations in terms of change in their operational mode i.e. from domestic to international. In simple words it can be said that globalisation is nothing but a new name which is given to the most recent sequence of internationalisation. According to David Colander, the most significant incident that has led to arise of the concept of globalisation is the breakdown of Soviet Union. This breakdown created a situation where intergovernmental relations started to focus on the economic aspects rather than on the political aspects (Gangopadhyay, Chatterji, 2005, pp 57-58). Business organisations also started to take people from other countries into consideration as their potential customers. Governments also began to understand the importance of investments from foreign organisations to their economies and started to withdraw various restrictions regarding trade. With the gradual removal of different barriers entire globe started to emerge as a single market for the business organisations and as a result of this, ‘internationalisation’ started to turn into ‘globalisation’. Almost all the economies in the world are greatly impacted by the globalisation. Areas like investment, production and employment are significantly influenced by this ‘whirlwind’. One of the most significant results of globalisation is the growth in foreign direct investment. Such investment is likely to play a crucial role in the process of industrial restructuring and technology transfer. Moreover, formation of a true global enterprise is greatly facilitated by the concept of globalisation. All these events are very important for the economy of any nation (Gangopadhyay, Chatterji, 2005, pp 70-71). Another crucial result of globalisation is the increased competition. In other words globalisation has made most of the global industries more competitive than they were ever before. Most importantly competitive industries have forced their member organisations to increase their productivity. Over all it can be said that globalisation has been greatly impacting most of the developing and developed economies throughout the world over the past few years. Sovereignty State sovereignty signifies the legal equality, competence and independence of the states. Over the past hundred years it has been the defining principle behind the interstate relationships. The concept of state sovereignty is mainly based on the United Nations Charter and customary international law. It plays crucial role in maintaining international peace and in safeguarding weak states from the stronger ones. State sovereignty concept is normally used for encompassing all the matters in which a particular state is allowed to decide as well as act without interventions from other states that are sovereign as well. Such matters can be associated with political, social, economic and foreign policies. A sovereign state is likely to have three types of capacity. These are “absolute supremacy over internal affairs within its territory, absolute right to govern its people and freedom from any external interference in the above matters” (Wang, 2004, pp 473-483). From this definition it can be said that a state is sovereign when it has the capability of making and implementing laws in its territory and when it can be run without any assistance of any external power. Furthermore, a sovereign state is most unlikely to acknowledge the presence of any higher authority on top of itself. As per the international law there are significant limits of sovereignty and these limits are widely accepted. For instance, state sovereignty can be limited by treaty obligations. States are legally accountable for their performance regarding their international obligations. State sovereignty is threatened by several factors including the increase in human rights activities and growth of institutions which are ‘supranational’ in nature. However, the most significant challenge that the ‘state sovereignty’ has been facing is the ‘globalisation’. Globalisation undermining State Sovereignty If the three conditions (mentioned earlier) of attaining sovereignty are properly analysed it can be found that the most important term among all the conditions is ‘absolute’. In reality it is almost impossible to achieve ‘absolute supremacy’ for any states. As a result, it can be said that the main pillar of the concept is challenged by the reality of the world. Apart from this, there are several other factors that have been undermining the concept. Globalisation is one of such major factors. Globalisation has resulted in the erosion of state sovereignty. It allows the interests of powerful and influential nongovernmental organisations, intergovernmental organisations as well as individuals over the interests of the state. In today’s competitive world business organisations are more focused on their profit related aspects. As a result, they always look for places where they can find more tax benefits, lower-waged work force and lower environmental standards (Joshua, 2008, pp 40). Now, in the present global economic condition intense competition is not restricted to the business community only, rather it is present among the nations also. Each and every developing and developed country wants to retain the business organisations that are already having their operations in that particular country and bring more organisations so that more jobs are created and the government can receive more tax revenues. In such a situation states are almost bound to change their policies according to the needs of other external forces (Joshua, 2008, pp 40). Another important fact is that the state sovereignty and international borders are ignored by the global environmental problems. In a globalised world, pollution created by one nation affects the people who live in other countries. As a result, environmental degradation has become a global issue. In order to deal with this issue environmentalists (both individuals and organisations) pressurise the governments for changing their policies regarding environment. Furthermore, globalisation promotes homogenization of culture (Joshua, 2008, pp 40). In today’s globalised world many cultures have come in touch with each other and as a consequence the concept of one ‘single global culture’ has arrived. This in turn has threatened the indigenous languages and values (Joshua, 2008, pp 40). So, overall it can be said that globalisation has undermined the concept of state sovereignty. However, there are experts who do not agree to this fact. Expert like Steven Krasner is agreed to the fact that the state sovereignty is under threat but he does not believe that globalisation is the principle reason behind that (Kranser, Stephen D. 2001, pp 20-25). According to him, nations have enough adaptability to deal with the challenge like globalisation and retain their sovereignty. He argues that state sovereignty cannot be died as it has adapted to several new challenges that include globalisation as well. As per his opinion globalisation cannot be considered as a new phenomena or challenge to the state sovereignty (Kranser, Stephen D. 2001, pp 20-25). However, there is still a question that remains unanswered – “Is today’s globalisation different from what it was before in terms of its nature and intensity?” If the present form of globalisation is different from its previous form then its effect on state sovereignty is expected to be different. One fact that has to be accepted by most of the experts that today’s globalisation is more effective and intense as compared to its previous form’s effectiveness and intensity. In order to support this statement one can analyse the results of today’s globalisation. Today, the extent to which information are exchanged throughout the world, the extent to which the technologies are innovated and integrated and the degree to which societies, cultures and economies have come together in the present form of globalisation, one can easily say that globalisation is playing a completely different role than what it was playing in the past. In today’s globalised world, nations are bound to be dependent on each other in order to ensure the economic development and stay ahead in the competition. For instance, previously European country used to dominate the world trade. With the passage of time situation has changed. At present almost all the western countries are greatly dependent on the eastern countries like China and India. In a more generalised way it can be said that today all the developed countries are dependent on the developing countries and vice versa. As a result, most of the nations in the world have been changing their policies in accordance to the needs of themselves as well as to the needs of others. Hence, the sovereignty gets hampered. According to O. Schachter, no state irrespective of its size and power can achieve absolute sovereignty as it cannot prevent the external influences (Wang, 2004, pp 473-483). Erosion of state sovereignty can also be viewed from the point of view of criminology. According to Garland, national investigating agencies and criminal justice agencies are unable to solve all the cases without the help of external bodies. He opined that the fact that a sovereign state has the capability of controlling crime, providing security and maintaining law and order without taking help from external bodies has started to be eroded (Garland, 1996, pp 448-449). The increasing rates of crime and increase in the number of cases where criminal agencies are failing are supporting the Garland’s argument. Since, states are unable to provide security to their citizens and cannot guarantee internal order; one of the most fundamental criteria of state sovereignty is questioned. Conclusion The concept of state sovereignty is undermined with the increasing extent of interdependency among the states and with the increase in the volume of economic, technological and social integrations throughout the world. Thanks to the globalisation, even crimes are global in nature. Nation states are incapable of guarantying the security for the citizens. In short, it can be said that the idea of state sovereignty is greatly undermined by the globalisation. References Brittan, Leon. 1998, Globalisation vs. sovereignty?: the European response : the 1997 Rede lecture and related speeches, Cambridge University Press, pp 1-2 Dabbah, Maher M. 2010, International and Comparative Competition Law, Cambridge University Press, pp 92-93. Garland, David. 1996, “The limits of the Sovereign state: strategies of crime in contemporarysociety.” The British Journal of Criminology, 36/4: 448-449. Gangopadhyay, Partha., Chatterji, Manas. 2005, Economics of globalization, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, pp 57-58 Joshua S. Goldstein, 2008, International Relations, 8/E, Pearson Education India, pp - 40 Kranser, Stephen D. 2001, Sovereignty, Foreign Policy, 122: 20-29. Wang, Guigo, 2004, “The impact of Globalization on State Sovereignty.” Chinese Journal ofInternational Law, 3/2: 473-483. Read More