Role OF State In World Politics
Article by AQEEL AHMED RAJPAR
State or some times called nation-state, is the main actor in international relations. State is basically a legal entity governed by law which possesses certain rights and duties. The modern nation state system took its form after the Peace of Westphalia (1648). Although states existed before
The key feature of state is government which able to make and enforce binding rules within a defined territory without external interference. Nation state that are effective in fulfilling domestic and international obligations are usually called strong states. However ineffective states, by contrast, do not generally have these characteristics and are called weak states.
Although the nation state has been and will continue to be the major actor in world politics, it is not the only entity which participates in world events. Other actors involve in international relation include Multinational co-operations (MNC’s), Intergovernmental Organizations (IGO’s), Non-governmental Organizations (NGO’s) etc and so much so that even individuals are very influential in international relations. These institutions, comprising of regional and universal organizations have increased enormously in number and influence the international relations. There were only 37 IGO’s in 1909 now there are more than 300 IGO’s.
But having said that, state remains to date the prime mover and shaker in the global affairs, for example, the making of foreign policy, it is the action of governmental officials to design a set of policies to promote national interest beyond countries territorial boundaries. Foreign policies are made to achieve the national goals and to conduct healthy relations in International Community. A state’s foreign policy can be fruitful or it could lead to conflicts or some times war. States always seek to have good economic relations with the world community and there fore economic policies are made by state to attract foreign investments, Aids, and technology transfer.
Some states project their hard power that is military power and can disturb the peace of international community. These power projections some times lead to aggression, use of force (militarily or economically) on the weaker states, for example, in 2003 US, and its allies carried out a massive surprise invasion of
States also engage in cultural activities to spread their cultural influence on others. This gives rise to Cultural Diplomacy, as can be seen that back in 60’s American Baseball culture was introduced and practice matches were arranged to introduce the sport, Y.M.C.A Karachi was the venue for this event. Another good example is mushroom growth of T.V channels and particularly that of Indian media. Plenty of Indian soap operas are famous in this part of the world and they influence our society so much so that hardly any house which has T.V connection doesn’t watch these Indian soap operas. Soaps like “Saas bhi kabhi baahu thi”, “Tulsi”, “Kahaanii ghar ghar kii”, have gained popularity and people here in
Religious influence plays an important part in global society, and in particular the religious organizations and movements associated with it. The influence of religious organization has been considerable in recent decades, for example, throughout the 1980’s religious organizations played a key role in condemning South African apartheid by supporting governmental economic sanctions. Moreover, religious organization has promoted such causes as human rights, hunger relief, and child labor etc. Recently we witnessed right wing Hindu nationalist protested against the sale of Big Mac Burgers of Mc Donald’s, citing the reason that the Beef (which is prohibited in Hindu religion) can not be sold by them, they were so strong in their protest that Mc Donald’s had to bow out.
In this globalizing world, media influence has played a vital role in shaping the society. Till late eighties and early nineties PTV (State owned television network) was the only source of information or entertainment here in
True to say that there are many more actors at the international stage, of some we discussed above, fast changing dynamics of global politics, the rapid march of global forces, which for some has caused decline in the power of the state, but for all practical purposes, from domestic policy making and implementation, to international community, the state, by and large, remains the most powerful sovereign power, thus a prime critical actor in international relations.
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