Impact of Political Globalisation | A Level Global Politics

Summary

This video explores the impact of political globalization, focusing on how it challenges traditional state sovereignty. It highlights the role of international institutions like the UN, ICC, and regional bodies such as the EU and ASEAN, which influence geopolitics. Case studies, including the NATO intervention in Kosovo and tribunals for war crimes, demonstrate how international actors intervene in cases of human rights abuses. The video also addresses the limitations of political globalization, particularly regarding state resistance to international rulings, such as the U.S. and Israel challenging ICC jurisdiction.

Takeaways

• 🌍 Political globalization challenges the traditional concept of sovereignty and the role of nation-states in international law.
• 🏛️ International organizations like the United Nations, World Trade Organization, and International Criminal Court play increasingly significant roles in global politics.
• 🛡️ The UN has suggested that national sovereignty is conditional on a state's protection of human rights, impacting interventions like NATO’s 1999 bombings in Kosovo.
• ⚖️ The establishment of tribunals, such as the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, showcases the international community's response to crimes like genocide and war crimes.
• 🇪🇺 Regional institutions like the European Union wield growing influence in political and economic processes, showcasing the link between economic and political union.
• 🌱 Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and influential individuals like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk also impact global politics by shaping political and economic agendas.
• ⚡ Limitations of political globalization include the absence of enforcement mechanisms in bodies like the International Court of Justice, which relies on the goodwill of states.
• 🛑 Some countries, such as the United States and Israel, challenge the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, complicating its role in global justice.
• 💡 Nationalism and Euroskepticism are growing in regions like the European Union, exemplified by Brexit, and nationalist movements in Poland, Hungary, and Italy.
• ❗ International organizations face challenges, such as Russia's expulsion from the Council of Europe due to the annexation of Crimea and the invasion of Ukraine.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video?

The video focuses on the impact of political globalization, exploring both its influence and limitations, using various examples from recent history.

How has political globalization challenged the concept of sovereignty?

Political globalization has challenged traditional sovereignty by introducing international institutions and frameworks that influence nation-state governance, especially concerning human rights and international law.

What role does the United Nations play in political globalization?

The United Nations plays a significant role by establishing sub-institutions and asserting that sovereignty is conditional on a state's protection of human rights, as demonstrated by the 'Responsibility to Protect' doctrine.

Can you provide an example of an international intervention in response to human rights abuses?

One example is NATO's bombing campaign in Kosovo in 1999, which was aimed at preventing ethnic cleansing, though it was legally controversial as it lacked a UN mandate.

What are the ad hoc tribunals established by the UN Security Council?

The UN Security Council established ad hoc tribunals such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to prosecute those responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

How has the European Union impacted political globalization?

The European Union has significantly influenced political globalization by creating a supranational system of governance, including regulations like the single market and competition law, which affect both economic and political policies across Europe.

What limitations exist within political globalization regarding international law enforcement?

A key limitation is the lack of enforcement mechanisms for rulings by international bodies like the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which relies on the goodwill of nation-states to implement its decisions.

How have countries like the United States and Israel challenged the International Criminal Court's (ICC) jurisdiction?

The United States and Israel have both challenged the ICC's jurisdiction, particularly regarding investigations into war crimes in Afghanistan and Palestine, respectively, arguing about state sovereignty and membership in the ICC.

What challenges does rising nationalism present to political globalization?

Rising nationalism, as seen in movements like Brexit and in countries like Hungary and Poland, challenges political globalization by pushing back against supranational institutions like the EU and questioning their legitimacy.

How have non-governmental organizations (NGOs) impacted political globalization?

NGOs such as Human Rights Watch and Greenpeace influence political globalization by advocating for specific causes, shaping public opinion, and putting pressure on governments and international organizations to act on issues like human rights and environmental protection.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 The Impact of Political Globalization and Sovereignty

This paragraph introduces the topic of political globalization, focusing on how it challenges traditional concepts of sovereignty and the role of the nation-state in international law. It highlights the rise of international institutions and organizations like the United Nations, World Trade Organization, and International Criminal Court, and their influence on state sovereignty. Additionally, it touches on the evolving notion that state sovereignty is conditional, particularly when human rights abuses occur, citing NATO's 1999 intervention in Kosovo as an example of morally justified but legally questionable action under international law.

05:00

⚖️ International Tribunals and the Role of Regional Institutions

This section discusses the establishment of international tribunals, such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), in response to war crimes and genocide. It examines how international law holds states accountable for human rights abuses. The paragraph also covers the increasing authority of regional institutions like the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which have developed legal frameworks and regulations that impact both politics and economics within their regions, showcasing the growing complexity of political globalization.

10:01

🏢 The Influence of NGOs and Multinational Corporations on Politics

This paragraph highlights the influence of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and multinational corporations on political globalization. It uses examples like Human Rights Watch, Greenpeace, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to illustrate how these entities can push political agendas and affect political processes globally. Additionally, it mentions the political influence wielded by corporate leaders like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, whose actions and statements often shape financial markets and international policies, further complicating the dynamics of political globalization.

15:02

🛑 The Limits of Political Globalization: Challenges to International Authority

This final section explores the limitations of political globalization, focusing on how nation-states retain power despite global institutions. It examines the lack of enforcement mechanisms in bodies like the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and challenges to the International Criminal Court (ICC) by countries like the U.S., China, and Israel, which question its jurisdiction. The paragraph also discusses rising nationalism and skepticism toward international organizations, using Brexit, the rise of nationalism in Europe, and Russia's exit from the European Council as examples. These instances show how nation-states can push back against global institutions and maintain sovereignty in certain areas.

Keywords

💡Political Globalization

Political globalization refers to the increasing influence of international institutions and organizations on national political systems. It challenges traditional concepts of sovereignty by involving global institutions in domestic affairs, as seen with organizations like the UN and international laws. In the video, the speaker discusses how political globalization impacts state sovereignty, especially when states commit human rights abuses.

💡Sovereignty

Sovereignty is the authority of a state to govern itself without external interference. However, political globalization challenges this concept, as international organizations can sometimes override national sovereignty, particularly in cases of human rights violations. The video uses the example of the UN's 'Responsibility to Protect' doctrine to illustrate how sovereignty is conditional in certain circumstances.

💡United Nations (UN)

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945, aimed at promoting peace, security, and cooperation among countries. It plays a significant role in political globalization by creating sub-organizations and influencing international laws. In the video, the UN's role in establishing human rights standards and intervening in situations like the Kosovo conflict is highlighted.

💡International Law

International law refers to the legal framework that governs relations between states and international entities. While traditionally state-centric, political globalization has introduced new dynamics where global institutions like the International Criminal Court (ICC) hold states accountable. The video explains how international law is evolving, particularly through cases of war crimes and human rights abuses.

💡Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

R2P is a global political commitment endorsed by UN member states in 2005, which asserts that sovereignty is not absolute if a state fails to protect its citizens from mass atrocities. The video discusses how R2P justifies interventions like NATO's bombing in Kosovo to prevent ethnic cleansing, even though such actions may conflict with traditional international law principles.

💡International Criminal Court (ICC)

The ICC is a permanent international tribunal created to prosecute individuals for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The video discusses how the ICC challenges state sovereignty by holding leaders accountable for international crimes, even if their countries do not recognize the court, as seen in cases involving the U.S. and Israel.

💡European Union (EU)

The EU is a political and economic union of European countries that has developed significant regulatory and legislative power, impacting national politics. The video highlights the EU’s role in political globalization by discussing its authority over the single market, competition law, and external relations, which affect member states' sovereignty.

💡Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)

NGOs are independent organizations that often influence political processes by advocating for specific causes, such as human rights or environmental protection. In the video, NGOs like Human Rights Watch and Greenpeace are mentioned as key actors in political globalization, pushing political agendas and influencing governments.

💡NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance between North American and European countries. It plays a role in political globalization by intervening in conflicts where human rights are at stake, as seen in the Kosovo bombing campaign. The video uses this example to demonstrate the tension between legality and morality in global interventions.

💡Regional Institutions

Regional institutions, such as the European Union and ASEAN, are organizations that represent the interests of specific geographic regions. They increasingly exert political influence over member states, as seen with the EU's legislative authority. The video explains how these institutions contribute to political globalization by shaping policies beyond national borders.

Highlights

Political globalization challenges the concept of national sovereignty, influencing international law and nation-state dynamics.

International institutions such as the United Nations, World Trade Organization, and International Criminal Court have increased in influence through political globalization.

The United Nations’ doctrine of the 'responsibility to protect' claims that sovereignty is conditional on preventing human rights abuses.

The 1999 NATO bombings of Kosovo are a case study of moral versus legal justification in international intervention.

International criminal tribunals, like the ICTY for Yugoslavia and ICTR for Rwanda, exemplify how political globalization addresses war crimes and genocide.

Regional institutions like the European Union and ASEAN show the growing political influence beyond nation-states in Europe and Southeast Asia.

Non-governmental actors, such as multinational corporations and organizations like Human Rights Watch and Greenpeace, significantly influence global politics.

Despite global institutions, the nation-state remains powerful, as seen with the International Court of Justice’s lack of enforcement mechanisms.

The U.S., Israel, and Russia have challenged the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Regional nationalism, as seen in Brexit and rising euroscepticism in Hungary and Poland, limits the reach of political globalization within the European Union.

Russia’s exit from the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights demonstrates the geopolitical limits of political globalization.

The African Union is developing into a more significant political institution, with ambitions to mirror the European Union’s model of political and economic unity.

NAFTA regulated trade and investment between North American countries, showcasing another layer of globalization through multilateral trade agreements.

Challenges to the International Criminal Court's jurisdiction by powerful states reveal the limits of international law in enforcing global standards.

The interplay between economic and political globalization shows how political unions often arise from economic interdependence, as seen in Europe and Asia.

Transcripts

welcome back everyone to a-level

politics we're continuing looking at

global politics in this video focusing

on the impact of specifically political

global globalization so we're going to

be focusing on

both the actual impacts that we can

describe using a number of different

examples from the last few years and

then we'll talk about the limits of

political globalization to what extent

has it not been as impactful as we might

think or first suggest

now this is going to carry on and pick

up where we left off from the last

lesson which we did on the impact and

the limitations of economic

globalization so we looked at the impact

of economic globalization now we're

looking at the impact of political

globalization

so

as we know already political

globalization has challenged the nature

of sovereignty and a number of core

concepts that relate to the nature of

the nation-state we know that the

traditional understanding of the nation

state places the concept of the state at

the center of the regulation within

international law and with international

relations when we think about

international law even today even though

we have seen um the

growth the ever-growing uh creation of

new international institutions

regardless even today international law

is still a very state-centric um body of

work a body of authority and while the

nation-state still remains the central

figure within international law we have

to reconcile the fact that there are now

growing numbers of international

organizations such as for example the um

and that they have all had an increasing

role to play as globalization has taken

shape and as political globalization

specifically has taken shape within

geopolitics

now there is a lot of influence that can

be exerted by organizations such as i've

named three here but there are plenty of

others that we can think about so we

have the united nations which is

actually the united nations is

responsible for the creation of other

sub uh so other sub-institutions or

other organizations

but you also have

institutions such as the world trade

organization as well as from the

perspective of criminal justice the

international criminal court

now since 2005 increasingly it has been

the case that united

nations has um

made the claim that sovereignty of the

nation state is actually conditional on

the ensuring that that state does not

commit human rights abuses and this is

really where we can begin when we talk

about the impact of political

globalization because we can take a very

specific area of political globalization

that is the the the international

aspects of

mass human rights abuses and we can

think about the extent to which there is

actually political sovereignty and

international sovereignty for the nation

state when they commit mass human rights

abuses and we can see with various

examples that this quote here from the

united nations responsibility to protect

is actually relatively

true or it is at least valid in some in

some instances

for example we have the nato bombings of

kosovo in 1999 in response to the

growing impetus of the people

being

threatened with the concept of ethnic

cleansing this says something similar

that happened in albania and all of this

sort of

forms part of the pretenses of a very

long and very complicated history uh in

the region when it comes to the yugoslav

wars the collapse of the yugoslavia uh

the the the civil wars that takes place

within bosnia herzegovina

and other countries as well like

montenegro and kosovo as an example and

the

and the obvious uh mass human rights

abuses that takes place in international

crimes that are committed in that period

as well which we'll talk about in a

second

but arguably um as a way to prevent the

serb forces from committing any more

acts of ethnic cleansing in kosovo nato

intervened with a series of bombing

campaigns in 1999.

now

generally speaking the consensus that we

have on this particular incident is that

within international law the nato

bombings were actually illegal they did

not have a u.n mandate and it was not

acting in self-defense on the part of

nato but it was still nevertheless

morally justified in the sense that they

could have or potentially prevented the

loss of of thousands of lives and the uh

displacement of millions of people

so there's sort of a dichotomy here

between the actual legal implications on

the international law and the use of

force with the actual moral implications

of intervening in a situation that was

clearly something that was going to

devolve into

really problematic instances of mass

human rights abuses so you can really

see the dichotomy there with the nato

bombings of kosovo and it's a very good

case study to talk about

also within this region we have the u.n

security council establishing the

international criminal tribunal for the

former yugoslavia the icty now what the

icty did was um try anybody who was

found to be charged with

war crimes crimes against humanity and

the crime of genocide uh within the

bosnian conflicts in the civil war and

the yugoslav wars that devolved into

that the same thing happened a few years

later with the international criminal

tribunal for rwanda the ictr again this

was in response to the civil war in

rwanda and the subsequent genocide that

took place there so we can see that even

though the nation-state and nation-state

sovereignty is something that is

supposedly

central and key to the to the general

corpus of international law when it

comes to the

committing of mass international human

rights abuses such as genocide or crimes

against humanity or war crimes you can

see here that the international

community does seem to intervene in

certain regards with the u.n security

council establishing these what they

call ad hoc tribunals

we can also see a number of examples of

regional institutions having increasing

authority as well so for example the

european union has an increasing amount

of authority in the political processes

that take place within europe and the um

the general justification for this is

for there to be economic union and for

there to be economic union across europe

there ought to also have to be a certain

amount of political union as well and so

the european union has

developed an increasingly large body of

case law an increasingly large body of

legislation and

law itself that has been able to

regulate a number of different aspects

of economics and politics at the

european level at what we call the

supranational level

so this includes things like the single

market the european single market which

regulates the free movement of goods

people services establishment and

capital we also have things like

competition law that is regulated at the

eu level the way in which the eu

is related to other

third parties external parties in terms

of eu external relations is very

interesting so the european union is an

increasingly um authoritative

institution

similarly within asia you have the

association of south east asian nations

or ancient or asean and again asean

is beginning to take shape in such a way

as to begin to be quite reminiscent of

that of the european union and we'll see

because some of these uh you'll know

institutions are actually relatively new

you will see that their their growth and

development within international law is

something that is going to take place

over the next few decades

a little bit more uh

from a a much smaller perspective and

one that is not necessarily in force at

the moment because there is a lot of

complications regarding a uh the the

creation and the uh the re-establishment

of nafta in america but you do have the

north atlantic free trade agreement

because the north atlantic free trade

agreement despite the fact it was simply

a multilateral trade agreement it did

regulate a number of different things

and it did

establish a number of principles in

regards to the conference of disputes to

an arbitration for example as well as

the regulation of both trade and

investment regulation too so nafta is

quite an interesting one that you can

examine not necessarily a regional

institution as in having its own

legislature or anything like that but

you can see that a number of different

things were taken out of the hands of

the sovereign nation state and placed

into the hands of the the the the the

the

the group as a whole if you will

you then also have a very new

institution or at least a a very quickly

developing institution this being the

african union again trying to be

reminiscent of the european union we

have the union of african states as well

so

those were examples of how we can say

that institutions

and

global institutions have had an impact

on the process of political

globalization what about

non-governmental institutions what about

organizations that are global in nature

that also have an impact on political

globalization well there are a number of

different examples that we can use

because the fact is that a

non-government institution is quite a

broad concept so for example leaders of

large multinational corporations such as

jeff bezos and elon musk have very large

impacts on the political processes you

only have to look at the kind of things

that elon musk tweets about on online

that we see the kind of

impact that he has not only on the

political process but also on on

financial markets more broadly

and then when we talk about globe

institutions and organizations more more

specifically we can talk about things

like human rights watch you talk about

greenpeace to an extent you have the

international committee for the red

cross and red crescent which you could

really place into any category you could

place it into an organization or you

could argue that it is an international

institution to a certain extent i would

place it more within an organization

so therefore in this category rather

than the latter category however you

could still make a claim with that with

regards to the icrc they all have the

ability to influence political processes

in certain regions and also

to push their own political messages and

their own political agendas that they

want to push in certain regions of the

world

so those were examples of the impacts of

political globalization but what about

instances where there we have seen

political globalization being quite

limited to what extent can nation states

exert political of influence over

international organizations and in that

regard to what extent is the

nation-state still a formidable force

within geopolitics

well there are ways in which we can

examine this for example we can talk

about the fact that the principal

judicial organ of the united nations the

international court of justice not

having any uh valid or any legal

enforcement mechanisms

so for example if we look in a domestic

court for example we look at like a

magistrates court in the uk or in

england and wales

if you are found guilty of a crime for

example the enforcement is done by the

state you're in for you will then be

sent to prison or you'll be given a fine

or whatever

it is that you've done

if

a country has been found to have been in

violation of international law in one

way or another by the international

court of justice there is no enforcement

mechanism there's no remedy that can be

enforced by the international court of

justice the international court of

justice relies on the good will of

nation-states to accept the terms and

policies of that particular institution

and for the most part this generally

takes place there is generally a quite a

high level of respect for international

law uh globally but there have been

instances where there have been

countries that have rejected the rulings

of the international court of justice

because it didn't go their way so for

example there was a case of the united

states and iran quite recently that if

you want to examine that you can

research that one further but the fact

remains that because they have no

enforcement mechanisms these kinds of

things are possible it's possible for a

country to just reject any kind of

ruling by the icj

and so

when we talk about um

other instances of the limits on

political globalization we can talk

about the challenges that have been

presented by

countries like the united states like

china and like israel over the

jurisdiction of the international

criminal court so the international

criminal court

if you remember from a previous video

has jurisdiction in two main regards

technically three main regards but we'll

talk about the third one in a second so

in in one regard it has jurisdiction

over crimes that have taken place

in the region in which the crime has

taken place so for example if the crime

has taken place in the united kingdom

and because the united kingdom is a

member of the icc then the icc would

have jurisdiction in that regard it will

also have jurisdiction when it comes to

people from that country committing

crimes in other jurisdictions so they're

the two main kinds of jurisdiction and

then the final kind of jurisdiction is

that you can we can see the uh deference

of a case to the international criminal

court if they pass a u.n security

council resolution so for example

if there's a country that has committed

genocide or something or although

there's been war crimes committed and

that country is not a part of the

international criminal court then the

international community even though

there's no jurisdiction technically at

that point but the international

community community could pass a u.n

security council resolution to defer the

icc prosecutor to that particular

incident and so therefore would have

jurisdiction

um

and we have seen in this sense that the

united states and israel have challenged

the jurisdiction of the international

criminal court the united states

challenged it with regard to

investigations into war crimes committed

by u.s soldiers in afghanistan the u.s

is not a part of the icc afghanistan is

therefore the international criminal

court has jurisdiction over us

over u.s troops committing crimes in

afghanistan that's how it works

similarly with israel there is uh the

challenge that was presented when it

came to crimes

that were alleged to have taken place in

2014 with a number of flare-ups between

israel and palestine now the

general rule that was uh had was uh that

israel argued that palestine is not a

state and so therefore it cannot have uh

it cannot be a member of the

international criminal court the

international criminal court disagreed

they said that um while they are not

making a determination of statehood for

palestine for the purposes of the

international criminal court it is a

state and it can be part of the

jurisdiction of the icc so you have a

challenge there in israel

there's also challenges that will i

believe continue to be levied when it

comes to the ongoing conflict in russia

or sorry in ukraine by the russian

federation ukraine is not a formal

member of the icc but it has deferred

jurisdiction it has consented to having

jurisdiction ever since the um illegal

annexation of crimea in 2014 so

therefore the icc does have jurisdiction

over war crimes committed by russian

soldiers in the country of ukraine and i

can imagine and you should probably

follow the news as this carries on that

as this unfolds as this uh

conflict unfolds and this case unfolds

the russian federation will be

increasingly

becoming more and more hostile to the

icc

when examining regional institutions

such as the european union we can see

limits of political globalization here

as well with a rise of nationalism

within the european union as well as

euro skepticism in 2016 the uk voted to

leave the european union and we have

since done so with 2020 and then leaving

the single market in 2021. similar ideas

have been presented in italy and most

notably in poland and hungary along with

more and more nationalist

and far-right ideas in fact in poland

and hungary

multiple states have also challenged the

legitimacy of another european

institution that being the council of

europe and the subsequent european

convention on human rights

so you should remember that the council

of europe is different to the european

union so for those studying global

politics a level in the uk we are not a

member of the european union we are

still a member of the council of europe

um for now uh touchwood

we'll see how we'll see how the next few

years go but we still are a member of

the council of europe and therefore the

european convention on human rights

there have been conversations in the uk

about leaving

we've also seen

russia the russian federation leave the

council of europe and the echr

firstly being suspended from voting from

the council of europe in 2014 with their

illegal annexation of crimea and then

the full invasion of ukraine in 2022

got them kicked out essentially they

were kicked out the council of europe

for the gross human rights violations

and violations of the chr

we also saw that in the i believe the

1960s or 1970s greece momentarily left

the echr and the council of europe but

then rejoined so if you want a bit more

information about that then that's there

as well

so overall we can see that there is

quite a lot we can talk about for the

impact of political globalization now

we're going to continue talking about

the impact of globalization but not

necessarily the broad types of

globalization but mainly the impact of

globalization on specific international

issues so for example armed conflict

human rights protection of the

environment and i believe there's one

more as well that we'll do as well so

all of these things are to come in the

next few weeks