Are states the driving force behind globalisation, or its victims - Essay Example

It is for this reason that arguments and counterarguments have been advanced, concerning states as the driving forces in international relations, or victims of the same. A clear analysis of international relations and politics reveals that states are the main actors or the driving force in international relations, as shall be seen in the discussion that ensues forthwith. That states are the main actors behind globalisation, is a matter that is well underscored by the events that surrounded and succeeded Cold War.

Although globalisation can be said to have started towards the end of the 16th century AD as feudalism was being replaced by capitalism in Western Europe, yet states played a pivotal role in triggering the advent of globalisation. The role of the state in globalisation is underscored by the fact that the pace in which globalisation takes place has mainly been commensurate with interests and input of the major powers in international relations. This is in complete consistence with all the theoretical frameworks that make attempt at explaining international relations.

This is to say that if states have the might to hinder globalisation, then they also have the wherewithal to catalyse globalisation (Peet, 2009, 105). Scholte (2005, 125) is poignant that the role that states play in international relations is even more pronounced when international relations is viewed through the prism of realism. Realism has it that the world of politics is driven by self-interests which are highly competitive in nature. Realism continues that the very international system wherein states compete is anarchic.

By this, it is not meant that international system is inherently chaotic, but that there is no higher power that can hinder aggression or make arbitrations on disputes. Because of this, this anarchical system forces states to arm themselves in