Hedley Bulls Comment the International Society Has Always Been Present in the World Political System - Essay Example

Do you agree with Hedley Bull’s comment the ‘international society has always been present’ in the world political system? Renowned political scholarHedley Bull’s has argued that the ‘international society has always been present’ in the global political system. In an era of globalization, his comments certainly ring true. We live in an era in which political actors of all stripes and nationalities live together, work together and trade together. Modern globalization is best expressed through international trade and international institutions such as the United Nations or its precursor, the League of Nations. Exploring Hedley Bull’s comments about the internationalisation of the world political system for centuries, the following essay will chart how global interdependence is not a uniquely modern phenomenon but something which has existed for many years. Unfortunately though, international society has often been characterized by violence and competing claims over natural resources. The following explores colonialism and the role that it has played in the international system. Human interaction over the past few centuries has been characterized by violence, aggression and the physical subservience of one people under another. Nationalism has been the driving force of inter-cultural exchange for hundreds of years and remains an important force in international relations. Different nations (as well as civilizations) have fought long and bloody wars since the dawn of time. Colonialism was driven by nationalism and has had a lasting impact on many countries of the developing world. Few countries of the world were immune to colonial penetration and the enduring influence of the colonial legacy can be found in the underdeveloped regions of the world today. The British colonial enterprise was one of the largest and most successful making the British Empire one of the largest known empires in human history. Stretching from the Western North American shores, down to the Caribbean, through the Middle East and into Asia, British colonialism was unmatched at its height in sheer global supremacy. Progressively established over more than a hundred years, the British colonial experiment in Africa has left a lasting imprint on a continent which remains severely underdeveloped. Seeking to explore the impact of the colonial enterprise on the countries of the Africa, the following will discuss British colonialism in South Africa with an emphasis on the British role in the development of racially discriminatory legislation, more than one hundred years before the introduction of Apartheid in South Africa. International society, expressed through the colonial enterprise, allowed European intrusion into the far reaches of the globe (see Hobsbawm, 1994). Exploitation was a major feature of the British colonial experience in South Africa. British interest in the land which would later become known as South Africa began with a strategic foray into the Cape Colony and protect the sea route to their Indian empire. As a concerted strategy to limit the cost of this new territory to British state, imported slave labor became the primary means of production and revenue generation in the British Cape Colony. Instead of encouraging the immigration of Europeans to till and develop the land, slavery was the modus operandi during the early years of British control. In addition to the active promotion of slavery, the British were the first to introduce racially-charged legislation to force so-called “free” blacks to work for as little wages as possible. The infamous Hottentot Code of 1809 introduced racially discriminatory legislation which forced indigenous groups such as the Khoikhoi and other non-white natives to carry identity cards listing both their residence and their employment. Persons without identity cards could be forced, under compulsion, to work for a white master. This system mandated forced labor for non-whites without identity cards and firmly engrained a system of racial inequality early on in the modern history of South Africa (Crankshaw, 1997, 33-44). Seeking to exploit both the people and the land black slavery and forced labour became integral to the development and growth of the Cape Colony during the early period of British imperial administration. Despite the fact that black slavery and forced labour were the backbone of the budding settler community in the southern tip of the continent, the international tide was turning against slavery and the practice became the subject of much debate in the West. Although by 1807 the British Parliament in London ordered a wholesale end to British participation in the sinister practice of slavery, this prohibition was ignored by many in the Colony since it threatened the very existence of the Cape’s labour supply. Due to both Boer (Dutch settler) and British resistance to the prohibition, the Hottentot Code of 1809 was not abolished until 1828. Although this infamous code was eventually done away with, the Hottentot Code and the identity cards which served to represent it, entrenched racial discrimination in South Africa almost a century and a half before the introduction of one of the most insidious state practices known to humankind, the Apartheid system. Colonialism was imperialistic in nature and was based upon the notion of violent subservience and domination of one culture over the other. Nationalistic to its core, colonialism represented inter-cultural encounters based on violence and aggression. Despite the fact that colonialism was inherently nationalistic and violent, it also inculcated a sense of international society and helped shape the international system. Importantly, colonialism paved the way for the establishment of a unifying political culture, which will be explored below with reference to Europe and the Europe Union today (Crankshaw, 1997, 33-44). Looking at the European continent in the Statement of St Pierre’s Project, its authors show how the continent was “united” many years ago. Accordingly, Thus all members of the Empire were united in one body politic. They were further united by laws and civil institutions which reinforced the political bond by denning equitably, clearly and precisely, so far as this was possible in so vast an empire, the mutual rights and duties of the ruler and the subject, of one citizen as against another. The Code of Theodosius and the later legislation of Justinian constituted a new bond of justice and reason, which came in to replace the sovereign power at the very moment when it showed unmistakable signs of slackening. This did more than anything else to stave off the break-up of the Empire and to maintain its authority even over the barbarians who ravaged it (Statement of St Pierre’s Project, n.d.). Importantly, the unity mentioned by the authors of the Statement of St Pierre’s Project has actually come to fruition today. Although Europe benefited tremendously from violent exploitation throughout the globe, today this continent is the expression of international ideals and the much of modern-day Europe, is characterized today by unifying democratic political culture. The notion of democracy originated on the shores of Europe centuries ago and the European Union today is home to democratic institutions and democratic ideals of the local governance. It is important to note that during the early half of the 20th century democracy in Europe was challenged by authoritarian local movements such as communism, which existed within the Soviet Union for nearly 90 years, as well as by fascism which remains forever tied to the policies of Adolf Hitlers not to Germany and Bonito Mussolini Italian Fascist Republic. With the victory of the free world over the forces of communism towards the end of the 20th century as well as the Allied victory during the Second World War, democratic governance and liberal democracy have been entrenched throughout much of the European peninsula. Thus, the pan-European political framework of the European Union emphasizes a democratic liberal tradition. Members of the European Union must subscribe to the democratic ideals of this organization and membership is contingent upon it. Today, international society is represented by the United Nations, which evolved from the League of Nations more than a half century ago (Almond et al, 2002, 3-17). The internationalisation of the world order is most clearly expressed by the United Nations (UN) today. The UN is a multilateral organization which operates on the basis of negotiation between member states and relies on collective decision-making to achieve its ends. Members are joined together and bound by treaties signifying their participation within the larger UN political framework. The political decisions of member-states are thus constrained by their allegiance to overarching United Nations treaties. Established in the wake of the Second World War, the United Nations was created to ensure that the horrors of World War II never happen again. Since the United Nations represents multilateralism, collective decision-making and negotiation on a global scale it is the most pronounced example of a supranational political body ever created (Green, 1956, 44-48). An international organization which promotes world peace through a variety of social initiatives, the United Nations grew out of the calamity of the Second World War. Presently composed of 192 member states from all corners of the globe, members of this multilateral organization include nearly every recognized country in the world and membership in the UN is considered the international stamp of approval for statehood. Founded in 1945 after the Second World War, the United Nations replaced the League of Nations, a multilateral organization which was similar in scope but failed to prevent the Nazi terror and the Second World War and was subsequently replaced in the aftermath of that conflict. The United Nations exists to promote peace and harmony on an international scale. As a result, the United Nations represents the internationalisation of politics and concurring with Bull, is the culmination of centuries of international cooperation in the international system (Green, 1956, 44-48). Concluding Remarks International society has always been present in the international system although world history has shown us that peace between peoples has not always been a feature of the international order. Political scholar Hedley Bull’s remarked that ‘international society has always been present’ in the global political system and this brief essay has sought to show how an international order which was once shaped by violence and extreme nationalism has evolved to produce multilateralism and global interdependence. Although we take the globalization phenomenon for granted today, peace among nations has not always been the way in which the world operated. Colonialism shaped an international system based on the superiority of one people above another and the British case of South African colonialism best exemplifies this. While the authors of the Statement of St Pierre’s Project sought to show the unity of the European peninsula, actual unity and peace among the various nations of the world has not been achieved until the 20th and 21st centuries. Although globalization today is expressed through international bodies such as the United Nations or the European Union, for much of world history, violence and oppression have been the ways in which much of the world related to one another. Global interdependence is not a uniquely modern phenomenon but something that has existed for many years. Despite this, international society has been fraught with conflict and competing claims over natural resources. Today, peace and stability reign supreme though international bodies such as the United Nations and the European Union and the internationalisation of the world order is expressed through democratic governance and the rule of law. While the international society has always been present in international politics, it has evolved dramatically over the centuries. References Almond, GA, et al., 2002, European Politics Today, 2nd edition, Longman, New York. Crankshaw, O, 1997, Race, Class, and the Changing Division of Labour Under Apartheid, Routledge, London. Green, JF, 1956, The United Nations and Human Rights, Brookings Institution, Washington. Hobsbawm, E, 1994, Age of Extremes: The Short History of the Twentieth Century: 1914-1991, Abacus, London. Lapping, B, 1987, Apartheid: A History, University of Michigan, Detroit. Statement of St Pierre’s Project. n.d. 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