Social Science:- Critically assess the view that the relationships between states are ordered - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages Order is crucial in the achievement of these ideals and ultimate goals by which the relationship between states are founded on. In order to explain the relationship between states as well as the significance of order in it, it is important to put the discourse in perspective. States represent their collective citizenry in their relations with others who represent their own as well in a magnified global society. As an entity, it is analogous to being a citizen within a greater global organization not unlike when an individual forms part of a community and interact with other people and forge relationships. According to Bromley and Clarke, the international community is a society writ large – that “we can think of international affairs as being ordered and governed by analogy to the ways we understand what makes any given society.” (p. 434) Today, a state can no longer exist in isolation. One way or another, it has to deal with its neighbors, its trading partners in our age of globalization and the Internet, its allies and enemies in the modern geopolitical game. It is for this reason why for thousands of years, countries have attempted to forge pacts, cooperate and confederate with each other in order to avoid war, which today is considered to be morally and economically repulsive. Bromley and Clarke stressed that as with any society, the international community depend on the work done by institutions, agencies and actors that make and enforce order in order to achieve and maintain stability and order. (p. 440) There two important spheres by which order plays an important function in international relations: the political and economic spheres. Political The United Nations represents the order by which states subject itself into. Under its rules and regulations, states determine their legitimacy because the recognition of the collective force that the UN claims and exercises constitute the modern conception of state sovereignty and independence. For instance, when China was recognized by the United Nations, Taiwan ceased to be the rightful Chinese state. The UN also serve as the forum by which countries resolve their conflicts such as when countries clash over border disputes. What this means is that the UN demonstrates the way by which states respect and value world order. It is, hence, the manifestation of the legitimate global order by which states universally acclaim in international relations. Both the powerful and weak states adhere to it because the UN legitimizes their behaviors and protects them from aggressions from other states or other parties and individuals. Even the United States can no longer do a unilateral action against another state or individual, blindsiding the UN, lest such act would be considered immoral, illegal and unacceptable. During the time of George W. Bush and his War on Terror, the international community was highly critical of the Iraq invasion. The consequence is illustrated in the way the succeeding Obama administration worked hard to build consensus and multilateral co-operation in its foreign policies and actions. Even if the United States or any powerful country such as China and Russia could muscle its way in ...Download file to see next pagesRead More