Global Developments that Affect State Sovereignty and Territoriality Essay

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Introduction

Sovereignty is a word that is exclusively used to mean the independence of states in the international system. On the other hand, territoriality is a word commonly used in political science and history to mean an enclosed ecological space that offers a basis for material capital, political authority, and universal loyalty (Maier 816). This implies that a state should have powers and the authority to make internal and external decisions affecting its people without external influence.

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Sovereignty is a product of the treaty of Westphalia that was signed in 1648, which ended the role of religion in the management of state affairs. Before the signing of the treaty in 1648, the state and religion were intertwined meaning that religious leaders were both temporal and civic leaders. They offered directions on matters affecting the state, the education system, and society in general. After the signing of the treaty, states had full powers to protect their territories using all possible means.

Since the signing of the treaty, states had the powers and authority to determine their destinies without necessarily consulting or considering the positions of other actors and units in the international system. For instance, the state could declare war without necessarily seeking the approval of the public or even the support of the international system. In other words, the state could make unilateral decisions on matters affecting it. However, things have so far changed mainly because of the global developments.

These global developments are political, social, and economic. Before 1945, the world system was multi-polar meaning that there were various centers of power, including Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Spain in Europe, Japan, and China in Asia, and Canada and the United States in the American content. In Europe, the balance of power was sustained by a fragile relationship whereby states engaged in conflicts that were mainly unarmed.

With the global developments since 1945, such as the end of the Second World, the emergence of the Cold War, decolonization process, the rise of economic institutions, and neo-colonialism, the state sovereignty has been in jeopardy. In other words, the shift in the polarity affected the behavior of many states in the international system, which automatically affected the sovereignty and the power of the state to protect its territories.

For instance, the shift from multi-polarity to bi-polarity affected the foreign policy making processes of many states. For example, the centers of power could no longer claim international recognition because the Second World War had weakened them economically. In particular, Germany was no longer a power to reckon with while Britain and France were in the process of collapsing since the war had affected them adversely (Herz 488).

In this article, it is noted that the rise of international economic institutions, the Cold War, and neocolonialism affected the sovereignty and territoriality of many states in a number of ways. The ways in which these global developments affected territoriality and sovereignty of states in the international system after the end of the Second World War would be discussed. With global developments, the state is forced to adjust its policies and enter into pacts.

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The Rise of the International Economic Institutions

In this section, the effects of international economic institutions on state sovereignty and territoriality would be discussed in detail. It is noted that after the Second World War, Europe was faced with a serious economic crisis because states had spent too much in sustaining the war.

World Bank was established to provide loans to European countries and oversee the economic growth of the region. The whole of Europe had been badly destroyed during the war because the infrastructure had been damaged, which meant that goods could not be transferred from one region to the other.

The railway in Germany, Britain, and France was badly affected, forcing the governments and other investors to seek alternative means of transport. A number of airstrips and airports that were critical to the development of the region were destroyed. The loans offered to various states were meant for reconstruction of infrastructure and improvement of the living standards of the locals who had been badly affected by the war.

European states failed to pay back the loan, which forced the US to distance itself from the financial problems affecting Europe. However, only Germany and Japan have so far paid their debts successfully to date. This is because the two countries were put under caretaker ship after the war. Other states in Europe were forced to abide by the rules of the United States and the provisions of the IMF and World Banks in order to receive the much needed supported.

For instance, Germany was forced to enter into a military pact that prevented it from coming up with any form of arm in order to receive any aid. This interfered with the strategic interest of the state because the major aim of any state is to protect its national borders and its people. Germany was forced to sign a deal that made it a toothless dog, which would easily expose it to enemies, given the fact that it had made a number of enemies during the Second World War.

After the Second World War, GATT was established to regulate the conduct of states regarding trade and participation in investment worldwide (Stiglitz 16). It was believed that IMF would control and regulate the behavior of states in the international system as regards to trade and commerce.

Apart from controlling economic activities, the IMF was charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the global financial system is stable. In this regard, the institution was supposed to ensure that each state meets the minimum requirements before being awarded any financial help. In many parts of the world, governments were forced to adopt what they referred to as structural adjustment programs in order to receive financial aid.

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This was a violation of the ideals of sovereignty and the principles of territoriality because a state should have the power and authority of deciding the techniques in which to expand its economy. The IMF suggested that governments wishing to apply for financial aid had to restructure their governments by first streamlining the civil service. Moreover, they had to embrace democracy based on the western model. Some states were forced to retrench some of the civil servants in order to meet the requirements set by the institution.

Moreover, the institution had the power to determine the sector in which the funds could be channeled. It became very hard for the governments to operate without the financial aid from IMF owing to poor agricultural returns and climatic change that hit the various parts of the world. Many countries of the East African region were facing serious economic and social problems because of droughts.

In this regard, it is observed that the economic institutions were never established to fulfill the interests of poor in the world, but instead they further the interests of the American people. For any state to receive financial help from the organization, it must follow all the rules, some of which inter with the sovereignty and territoriality. For instance, a state should open up its economy for external investment, something that tempers with territoriality because foreign firms would be allowed into the economy without any restriction.

In many parts of the world, economic institutions are accused of interfering with the internal matters of the state because they influence the local leaders, otherwise referred to as the comprador bourgeoisie, to make laws that expose the locals to inhuman treatment.

In Africa, states are never sovereign and the territories are never respected because Multinational Corporations violate even the internationally recognized labor laws and internationally cherished business ethics. For instance, they usually move goods from one country to the other without necessarily acquiring necessary documentation simply because they can bribe the border officials.

In African countries that are known for producing agricultural goods such as flowers and fruits, workers are forced to work without protective gears since labor organizations are controlled by the international financial institutions. The citizen of the sovereign state are exposed to unhealthy conditions, such as using strong chemicals without necessary gears without sufficient clothing, yet the government cannot complain for the simple reason that the organizations are the pillar of the economy.

It is concluded in this section that the economic institutions were mainly created to promote the interests of the US in the world. The organizations act as custodian of financial institutions in a number of countries. They offer financial advices to private and public financial institutions.

For instance, IMF is charged with the responsibility of storing valuable resources belonging to various countries. This forces many states to rely on the international organizations for economic survival. States are forced to believe that the formation of the organizations promotes globalization and development in the world.

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The Cold War

In this section, it is observed that Cold War is one of the global developments that affected the sovereignty of the state. Cold War is a term used to refer to the strained relations between the United States and the Soviet Union just after the Second World War in 1945. The war was never a real war because it was not about armed conflict, but instead it was about ideological differences.

Ideological differences existed at a time when the world was highly divided as regards to the best ideology that would enhance economic development. The United States and its allies such as Britain, Australia, Canada, and France were of the belief that states could achieve their economic objectives through the adoption of the capitalistic ideas whereby the state does not engage in economic matters, but instead it leaves it to the market forces.

This was based on the idea that the market has its own internal logics that have the capability of regulating the behavior of buyers and sellers. On the other hand, the Soviet Union was of the view that society could keep off from economic injustices by adopting communism whereby resources are produced centrally and are distributed equally to all individuals in society. In this regard, the state should play a key role in regulating the economy.

These ideological differences affected the sovereignty and territoriality of states in a number of ways because states were forced to support either the capitalist west or the communist east. Moreover, the Cold War had serious effects regarding decolonization and neocolonialism because the superpowers helped colonized states in their quest to attaining independence, but at a cost.

In fact, some paid huge costs because they were forced to engage in intra-state and inter-state wars. In many occasions, civil wars were witnessed because of the varying ideologies. In Africa, many states had sent their soldiers to support the allied forces during the Second World War.

A majority of colonized states engaged in the Second World War without their approval because the world was highly polarized. After the war, poor states were left with no option. They had to rely on their masters on everything, especially military assistance (Westad 79). Conflicts were rampant because the states attaining independence were very unstable economically and politically. Their levels of economic development were extremely low, which exposed them to exploitation and misuse.

Some of the states acted as the battlegrounds for the two superpowers. One superpower would fund a recently independent state to engage in armed conflict with the neighbor simply because the neighbor did not want to subscribe to capitalistic or communistic ideas. These conflicts persisted to an extent of causing civil strives in a number of countries, such as Congo and Sudan.

The sovereignty of even powerful states such as Turkey and Cuba was in threat. The United States used Turkish soil as the training ground for soldiers preparing to attack the Middle East. Pakistani’s sovereignty and territorially were not respected because the US could walk in and move out without necessarily requesting for permission. In East Africa, the Indian Ocean played a critical role because it was strategic to the superpowers, given the fact that the coastal region has good harbors.

Capitalistic states in the third world were frequently used for military training without necessarily compensating the locals for the damages caused. In many occasions, leaders in the developing countries during the Cold War rarely made independent policies because they had to examine the global trends before designing any foreign policy.

In Cuba, citizens were under threat of attack yet they had no conflicts with the American people. The Soviet Union had prepared weapons in Cuba that would be used to attack their major adversary, the United States.

In 1991 to 1992, Iran and Iraq engaged in armed conflicts yet they had nothing to fight over since similar ethnic groups occupy the two countries. Because the two superpowers wanted to achieve their interests, Iran and Iraq were dragged into the war. Iran and Iraq realized later that they were being forced to engage in conflicts that would never benefit them economically or even politically.

As earlier noted, the two superpowers fought proxy wars whereby they used weak states as their battlegrounds to measure their strength. The United States developed a policy of containment as soon as it realized that the USSR was the major threat to its global interests.

In this regard, it could go to an extent of funding criminal gangs to overthrow democratically elected governments just because the regimes did not support its policies. Because of the Cold War, some new states were created such as East Germany, West Germany, South Korea, and North Korea.

The sovereignty and the territory of Germany and Korea were tempered with because the division forced some people to be administered by the regimes they never preferred. The formation of new states served the interests of the superpowers because they could extend their ideologies. For instance, West Germany and South Korea were under the influence of the American ideals while East and North Korea were under the control of the Soviet Union.

The formation of new states had various effects to the citizens because both economic and political developments were affected. In Germany, the west developed so much while the east languished in great poverty, with communist ideas. Investors preferred West Germany because of the free market, unlike the east whereby the market was highly controlled.

Up to date, the economy and the security of North Korea are under threat because the country is in the process of setting up nuclear energy plants. This has raised a number of controversies in the international system since the state risks international sanctions and bans. This would make it difficult for the state to engage in international activities, especially trade.

The US has always designed foreign policies that aim at sidelining North Korea because of the fear of its nuclear energy program. The activities going on in North Korea are attributed to the Cold War because the problems could not be addressed by the two superpowers then. The sovereignty and the territorial ideals of North Korea are never respected because the state has had to be contended with the presence of terrorists within its borders.

Neocolonialism

This section gives some of the effects of neocolonialism on the sovereignty of states. In the international system, weak states, especially those of the third world, will never claim that they are sovereign because their foreign policies must be in line with the wishes of the superpower, as well as their colonial masters.

In the third world, the state is always reliant on the colonial master, both politically and economically. With the emergence of what is referred to as the global commons, the sovereignty of the state is very limited since these global commons are issues that demand global solutions. In this regard, the sovereignty of the state does not matter so much, but what matters is the global problem (Jackson 21).

These global commons include terrorism, environmental degradation, the increasing gap between the south and the north, and the emergence of weapons of mass destruction. The international system no longer respects the sovereignty of the state, given the fact that these global problems affect the existence of all states. Due to the prevalence of these global problems, neocolonialism has been viewed as the only way to coerce weak states to sign international treaties and agreements.

Terrorism is another factor that has forced many states to reconsider their sovereignty in the modern international system. States prefer engaging in global negotiations on matters related to security, which expose them to neocolonialism, particularly weak states. In the current international system, terrorism is the major threat facing all actors.

This has perpetrated neocolonialism because weak states are coerced to formulate retrospective policies aimed at oppressing certain groups who are perceived as enemies of the neocolonialists. Countries are faced with both internal and external threats, but terrorism remains the major threat.

Terrorism is a problem that cannot be solved unless states delve into its origins. Terrorists use violence to frustrate governments in the world, irrespective of whether the country is developed or poor. This is an automatic threat to the sovereignty of the state, as well as the principle of territoriality. Some states have been forced to share the state power with terrorists.

In other words, no country or individual is spared by the heinous acts of terrorists. States have been forced to cooperate in order to combat terrorism. In the modern international system, there are various categories of terrorists, each with its own mode of operation. Some of the terrorists posses weapons of mass destruction while others resort to suicide bombing. Scholars argue that terrorism is a result of depression, melancholy, hopelessness, helplessness, and defeat.

Before the Cold War era, terrorism was not a big issue in the international system because Islam was under control of the US and the Soviet Union. The hostilities between the US and the Soviet Union did not give room to terrorism. In fact, countries suspected to support terrorism were constantly frustrated. The US and the Soviet Union ensured that Islamic states, such as Iraq and Iran, could not unite. The US supported the invasion of Iran while the Soviet Union supported Iran through provision of arms.

The US emerged victorious in the Cold War in early 1990s. It went ahead to support Islamic governments in the Middle East. It created a strong relationship with some states in the region. This was meant to benefit it from oil. The US had all the reasons to oppose the creation of Islamic states in the Middle East region, but it opted to remain silent.

Regarding production of weapons and availability of weapons of mass destruction, neocolonialism plays a role because states are not allowed to manufacture certain weapons without the approval from powerful states. The Atomic Agency was created by the powerful states to supervise the production and distribution of weapons of mass destruction.

Before the Cold War, only powerful states, such as Russia and the US, had the capability of producing weapons of mass destruction. However, the weapons could not be used to destroy life and property. In fact, the superpowers wanted to prove to each other that they were well off technologically. They could not engage in war because they were mutually assured of destruction.

Conclusion

Global developments have affected the sovereignty and territoriality of all states in the world. In the current international system, the state is no longer the only actor mainly because of the emergence of other units, such as international economic organizations. The Cold War paved way for bi-polarity whereby there were only two centers of power in the international system, including the United States and the Soviet Union. These powers were the rulers of the world because they would impose policies even on sovereign states.

For instance, the Breton Hood organizations, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund forced sovereign states to adopt defective policies that only benefited the powerful states. With the emergence of what is commonly referred to as the global commons, neocolonialism is inevitable. Terrorism, environmental degradation and the nuclear energy crisis are some of the global problems that have perpetuated neocolonialism. It is concluded state power is expected to fade more due to global developments.

Works Cited

Herz, John. Rise and Demise of the Territorial State. New Haven: Sage, 1957. Print.

Jackson, Robert. Quasi-states: Sovereignty, International Relations, and the Third World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Print.

Maier, Charles. “Consigning the Twentieth Century to History: Alternative Narratives for the Modern Era.” The American Historical Review, 105.3 (2000): 807-831. Print.

Stiglitz, Joseph. Globalization and its Discontents. New York: W.W. Norton, 2003. Print.

Westad, Odd. The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Print.

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