1001GIR Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Global Governance, Good Governance, Human Security
4 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
L1. Introduction
Global Politics
• 'Global' implies that politics must be considered in a world-wide sense
• It has 'planetary', not only regional or national, significance
• Importance of global issues
• Environment
• Finance and economics
• Poverty and development
• Globalisation
• A complex web of interconnectedness that means our lives are shaped by events that
occur (and decisions that are made) at a great distance from us.
• Can be social, cultural or political
• For some theorists, the trend towards global interconnectedness is the defining feature
of recent decades (since late-1980s)
International Relations
• International Relations (sometimes called
International Studies or International
Politics) is an academic 'discipline'
• A sub-discipline of Political Science
(which is a 'social science')
• Draws on other Social Sciences such as
sociology, psychology, economics
• Draws on areas of the traditional
Humanities such as history, law,
philosophy
• International Relations is a
description/explanation of events,
relationships, trends, etc. in the real
world
• Help us to understand and explain
the world
Key Introductory Concepts
• Politics
• Is about power (who rules and who is ruled)
• Defines the rules/laws under which people live
• Inextricably linked to conflict and cooperation
• Inextricably linked to the distribution of resources
• Generally considered as a 'public' activity
• E.g. 'Public Affairs'
• Associated with government (although politics operates in many contexts)
• State (commonly termed 'country', 'nation', 'nation-state')
• The state is a political association that establishes sovereign jurisdiction within defined
territorial borders
• Max Weber's classic definition:
• "a human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use
of physical force within a given territory"
• The state rests on violence and the legitimate use of force
• The state has four key features
• A defined territory
• A permanent population
• A recognised government
• States only exist when they are recognised as state by other states
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• E.g. ISIS, although proclaiming it is a state, is not a state due to the
lack of recognition of this by other states.
• The capacity to enter into relations with other states
• Its defining characteristic, however, is sovereignty
• Prior to sovereignty there were no defined borders
• Sovereignty
• Principle of supreme authority, reflected in the claim of a state to be the sole author
and enforcer of laws within its territory
• In principle, states recognise no higher authority and all states are legally equal
• Authority
• The legitimate right to influence others on the basis of an acknowledged duty to obey
• Does not be control, but recognised authority
• Nations and states
• The term 'nation-state' is common, but nations and states are not the same thing
• Not all nations have states
• E.g. Indigenous people are not considered to have states
• Nationalism
• A nationality or 'nation' is an ethnic group usually with a shared language, history
and homeland, a geographical region over which they claim exclusive rights
• E.g. Japan, France, Germany, Poland, etc.
• Nationalism suggests that every nation should have a state
• Led to the breakdown of empires such as the Ottoman Empire
• Civic Nationalism
• A national identity based on shared values
• E.g. United States of America
• Multinational empires have been states
• E.g. Ottoman Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, etc.
• Problems in stateless nations and divided nations
• Stateless nations e.g. Palestinians, Kurds
• Divided nations e.g. North and South Korea
• 'Artificial' states created by colonial borders, decolonisation and the Cold War
• State boundaries are not always congruent with ethnic or national boundaries, leading
to movements/wars for secession or reunification
• International
• Relations between/among states
• Can be bilateral or multilateral within International Organisations
• Sometimes called 'intergovernmental'
• E.g. United Nations, World Bank
• Foreign Policy
• Refers to the efforts that governments make to influence or manage events
outside the state's borders
• Generally through their relations with foreign governments
• Foreign policy-making involves the formulation and establishment of prioritised
goals and a selection of the means to achieve them
• Transnational
• Movement of objects or ideas across state borders when one or both parties to the
transaction are not agents of a state
• Considered non-state relations
• May apply to social movements, ideas, businesses, non-government organisations,
criminal networks, etc.
• Associated with globalisation
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
"global" implies that politics must be considered in a world-wide sense. It has "planetary", not only regional or national, significance. Importance of global issues: environment, poverty and development. Finance and economics: globalisation, a complex web of interconnectedness that means our lives are shaped by events that occur (and decisions that are made) at a great distance from us, can be social, cultural or political. For some theorists, the trend towards global interconnectedness is the defining feature of recent decades (since late-1980s) Politics) is an academic "discipline: a sub-discipline of political science (which is a "social science") International relations is a description/explanation of events, relationships, trends, etc. in the real world: help us to understand and explain, draws on other social sciences such as the world sociology, psychology, economics, draws on areas of the traditional. Is about power (who rules and who is ruled: defines the rules/laws under which people live.
