CONTEMPORARY WORLD

Lesson 3: A History of global Politics:

Creating an International Order
Attributes of Today’s Global System
1. There are countries or states that are independent
and govern themselves
2. These countries interact with each other through
diplomacy
3. There are international organizations , like the
United Nations (UN), that facilitate these interaction
4. Beyond simply facilitating meeting between states,
international organizations also takes on lives of
their own.
Definition of State
Weber (1997) – a state is a compulsory political
organization with a centralize government that
maintains the legitimate use of force within a certain
territory.
Characteristics:
Population
Territory
Government
Sovereignty
Definition of Nation
Emphasizes the organic ties that hold groups of
people together and inspire a sense of loyalty and
belonging.
Characteristics:
Ethnicity
Language
Religion
Culture
Definition of Nation-State
Political community that emanates from civic society
to legitimately execute peace. Thus the civic society is
the basis of the people’s oneness.
Note: When a nation of people has an independent
State of their own it is often called Nation-State. The
Kurds are a Nation without a state, but France,
Germany, and Japan are examples of nation-state.
Definition of Interstate System
It is one side of the many sides of the contemporary
political globalization that seeks collaboration among
nation-states through the stablishments of
Intergovermental Organizations.
Effects of Globalization on Nation-States
1. Impose a forced choice upon Nation – States
2. Establishment of economic and political integrations
3. Establishment of International laws and principles.
4. Rise of Transnational Activism
5. Creation of new communications network.
Intergovernmental Organization
Aim: To foster strong economic, political, cultural,
educational and technical intergovernmental
relationships. All IGOs serve purposes based on the
common interest of their member – states that is
deemed beneficial to all parties invovled.
Example:
 ASEAN ( 1967) Association of Southeast Asian Nations
with 10 members
Example: EU ( 1993) European Union, 28 State members
.
Intergovernmental Organization
Example:
WTO World Trade Organization with 164 members
ICC – International Criminal Court
NATO North Atlantic treaty Organization
OPEC Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
Definition of Internationalism
The theory and practice of interdependent
collaboration. It is anchored on the opinion that
nationalism should be outrun because links that bind
people of different countries are more powerful than
those that disconnect them.
Definition of Globalism
Attitude that seeks to understand all the
interconnections of the modern world and to highlight
 Lesson 4: The United Nations and
Contemporary Global Governance
What is International Organization?
The United Nations is an intergovernmental
organization aiming to maintain international peace
and security, develop friendly relations among nations,
achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for
harmonizing the actions of nations.
The Active organs of UN
General Assembly
Security Council
Economic and Social Council
the Secretariat
the International Court of Justice
The Trusteeship Council
The General Assembly
The General Assembly is the primary deliberative and
policymaking arm of the UN, at which all 193 member states
are represented.  It meets annually in September to debate
pressing issues and to make decisions and recommendations
on important questions of peace and security, economic and
social development, the protection of human rights, the
codification of international law, and the admission of new
member states, among other matters.  It also approves the
UN's budget and the financial assessments of member
states.  Some decisions require a two-thirds majority while
others are decided by a simple majority.
The Security Council

The Security Council has primary responsibility for maintaining

international peace and security.  It is comprised of 15 members,
five of which are permanent (China, the Russian Federation,
France, the U.K., and the U.S.).  The other ten members are
elected by the General Assembly to two-year terms.  The Security
Council investigates acts of aggression and other threats to
peace.  Whenever possible, it attempts to settle disputes through
peaceful means, but it also has the authority to impose sanctions
and authorize the use of force.  Nine votes, including the votes of
all five permanent members, are required for the Council to issue
a decision.  The UN Charter obligates all member states to
comply with Council decisions.
The Economic and Social Council

The Economic and Social Council, usually referred to by the

acronym ECOSOC, provides a central forum for discussing
the world's economic, social, and environmental challenges
and for formulating policy recommendations to address
them.  It coordinates about 70 percent of the UN's human
and financial resources, including those of the 15 specialized
agencies, eight functional commissions, and five regional
commissions under its jurisdiction.  ECOSOC is comprised
of 54 UN member states, which are elected by the General
Assembly to serve overlapping three-year terms.  Seats are
allocated among five regions in order to ensure equitable
geographic representation.
The Secretariat

The Secretariat is UN's administrative arm, comprised of civil

servants responsible for carrying out the day-to-day operations of
the organization.  Led by the Secretary-General, the Secretariat
collects and analyzes data, conducts research on a wide range of
economic and social issues, maintains the facilities used by other
UN organs, provides interpreter services, and translates
documents into the UN's official languages.  The Secretary-
General is appointed by the General Assembly on the
recommendation of the Security Council for a 5-year, renewable
term.  In addition to mediating international disputes and
coordinating peacekeeping activities, the Secretary-General serves
as the public face of the UN and acts as the principal spokesperson
for its policy initiatives.
The International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court,

is the UN's principal judicial organ.  It is located in the Peace
Palace in The Hague, a city in the Netherlands, making it the only
one of the UN's principal organs that is not based in New York
City.  The Court adjudicates interstate disputes in contentious
cases in accordance with international law and issues advisory
opinions on questions of law referred to it by authorized UN
organs. The Court is comprised of 15 judges elected by both the
General Assembly and the Security Council to serve nine-year
terms.  No two judges from the same jurisdiction may serve
simultaneously.  Seats are informally apportioned geographically to
ensure that judges from all of the world's main legal systems are
represented on the Court.
The Trusteeship Council

The Trusteeship Council was established to oversee the

11 "trust territories" established under the UN Charter. 
These included former colonies previously administered
under mandates issued by the League of Nations, as well
as territories seized from nations that were defeated in
World War II.  The Council suspended its operations in
1994 when Palau, the last remaining trust territory,
gained its independence.  Should the need arise, the
Council may resume operations at the request of the
majority of its members, the members of the General
Assembly or the members of the Security Council.
 Lesson 5: A World of
Regions
Global Division are not geographical division but
socioeconomic division.
Global Divides

The Global North

The Global South

Terms that denote the generic geographic, historical,

economic, educational, and political division between
North and South. North America, Europe, and
developed parts of East Asia disproportionately
control global resources. 
Watch this video: https://youtu.be/NRivQdsrYYE
Regionalism
Is a process which is not natural. It is constructed and
defined by policymakers, economic actors, and even
social movement.
Why there is a need to form Regional
associations?
1. Military defense – example: The North Atlantic
Treaty Organization ( NATO) was formed during the
Cold War when several countries plus the United
States agreed to protect the Europe against the threat
of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union responded by
creating its regional alliance , the Warsaw Pact,
consisting of the Eastern European countries under
Soviet domination.
Why there is a need to form Regional
associations?
2. To pool of the resources. – Example: the Organization
of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was
established in 1960 by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
and Venezuela to regulate the production and sale of
oil.
Why there is a need to form Regional
associations?
3. To protect their independence from the pressures of
superpower politics. Example: The President of Egypt,
Ghana, India, Indonesia and Yugoslavia created the
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in 1961 to pursue
world peace and international cooperation, human
rights, national sovereignty, racial and national
equality.
Why there is a need to form Regional
associations?
4. Because of Economic Crisis. Example: The
International Monetary Fund ( IMF) tried to reverse
crisis when the Thai economy colapse in 1996. But it
was only solved when the ASEAN countries agreed to
establish an emergency fund to anticipate a crisis that
the Asian economies stabilized.