A-Level Politics: Political Globalization

Introduction

• Focus on political globalization's impact, examples, and limitations.
• Continuation from previous lesson on economic globalization.

Impact on Sovereignty and Nation-State

• Political globalization challenges traditional sovereignty and the role of the nation-state.
• International law still state-centric but evolving with new international institutions.

Role of International Organizations

• United Nations (UN):
  • Conditional sovereignty linked to human rights protection since 2005.
  • Responsibility to protect doctrine.
• Examples: NATO bombings in Kosovo (1999) to prevent ethnic cleansing.
  • International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY): Ad-hoc tribunal for war crimes.
  • International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR): Response to Rwandan genocide.

Regional Institutions

• European Union (EU):
  • Increased political authority for economic and political union.
  • Develops legislation regulating economics and politics (e.g., single market, competition law).
• Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): Reminiscent of EU's structure.
• North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA): Multilateral trade regulation.
• African Union: Emerging institution similar to EU.

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Influential Figures

• Influence of Multinational Leaders: Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk.
• NGOs: Human Rights Watch, Greenpeace, International Committee for the Red Cross.

Limitations of Political Globalization

• International Court of Justice (ICJ):
  • Lacks enforcement mechanisms.
  • Relies on nation-states' compliance (e.g., U.S. and Iran case).
• International Criminal Court (ICC):
  • Jurisdiction challenges by U.S., China, Israel (e.g., U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, Israel and Palestine).
  • Russia's potential challenges over Ukraine.

Regional Challenges

• Rise of nationalism and Euroscepticism in EU.
• Brexit and its implications.
• Poland, Hungary, and challenges to the Council of Europe and ECHR.
• Russia's expulsion from the Council of Europe following Ukraine invasion.

Conclusion

• Broad impacts of political globalization on international issues will continue to be explored in future lessons.
• Upcoming topics: Impact of globalization on armed conflict, human rights, and environmental protection.