Chapter 2: Fundemental Concepts of Politics

Sovereignty

Definition and Early History

Sovereignty can be defined as control over a territory. In current usage and application, it refers to control over a given area in a legal sense. This control now includes defined borders. In international terms, the present understanding dates back to the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 whereby statehood was defined as an entity with specific borders in the territorial sense. Sovereignty as a concept had existed long before this time, but it was defined as jurisdiction over assorted peoples (Brummett et. al., 2000: 419). Nonetheless, the notion of people(s) predominated during this period as sovereignty was defined as inclusive of people who lived in a certain space rather than in a defined territory (De Blij et. al, 2007: 223).

Sovereignty Since 1648

After 1648, with the Peace of Westphalia, the concept of legally recognized borders took hold. Later, national identity was associated with a certain area. As such, sovereignty came to be considered fixed and exclusive. This concept was interpreted as full authority over a defined territory that might include one set or many sets of peoples (De Blij et. al., 2007: 222). In modern times, sovereignty has acquired an additional meaning that now has legal standing. Influenced by the writings of political philosophers such as John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (see previous chapter for a full analysis of their writings), scholars developed popular sovereignty, which means that ultimate authority lies with the people. John Locke wrote that government exists to serve the people in their pursuit of life, liberty, and property. Jean-Jacques Rousseau went even further in the refinement of this ideal of the arrangement between the rulers and the ruled that came to be known as social contract (social compact). National sovereignty has become a pressing issue in recent times with the rise of supra-national and international organizations such the United Nations, the World Court (the International Court of Justice), the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

State, Nation-State, and Country

Definitions

State, nation-state, and country are often used both interchangeably and synonymously. State has become a legal term usually ratified by international law. State is related to the concept of sovereignty as sovereignty is understood to occupy a defined territory where the state exercises jurisdiction. A nation is group of people of a common culture derived from a feeling of unity based on customs and beliefs. If a nation lacks treaty recognition but occupies a defined territory, it can be called a country. Currently, nation-states are the most common political entities. They have a combination of international recognition of authority within defined borders and have a population of one or more dominant or charter groups with the same language, religion, culture, and tradition. After WWI and the development of political units based on international treaties as well as the postcolonial emergence of Asian and African units, this characterization of political entities became dominant.

The Heritage of Colonialism

The heritage of colonialism has played havoc with many newly independent countries. e tendency of some colonial nations to play one group against the other (the strategy of “divide and rule”) has had consequences. e formerly Belgian Congo (then named Zaire, now named the Democratic Republic of the Congo to differentiate it from the former French colony of the Congo Republic) has had numerous military insurrections, secessionist conflicts, and mini-civil wars due to its huge size and numerous separate groups. Its next-door neighbors saw long held animosity between Hutu and Tutsi that was exacerbated by its Belgian suzerain which led to both genocide in Rwanda and ethnic conflict in Burundi. At the other end of the spectrum is the desire of a nation-state to annex its fellow group members in other officially recognized states. The desire to unite all members of a group in one state is called irredentism (Fellman et al., 2007: 429-430). Another form of nation-state is a situation where one nation splits into separate states. After the Soviet Union had dissolved, the mostly Romanian speaking Moldova formed a separate state (although it is also plagued by a Russian-speaking Trans Dniester region).

Territoriality

Territorial integrity is not always the case in terms of states. There are exclaves and enclaves. After World War II, Russia and Poland divided up the former German East Prussia. Russia took a 500 square mile around the former capital of Konigsberg, which was renamed Kaliningrad, on the southern Baltic. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia retained the exclave, which basically has become an army base. It can only be reached today through Belarus, Lithuania, and Poland (by land).

Legitimacy

Definitions and Pre-Modern Foundations

Legitimacy, in the political science context, can be defined as recognition of the right of rulers to govern. e issue of legitimacy has been a factor in governance since the beginning of history. During the period of dominance by monarchy, it could refer to birth that a claimant to the throne would claim. In recent times, if elections are fairly conducted, election outcomes result in claims to legitimacy even though dictators also use them and often conduct them in a questionable manner to justify their rule as legitimate. In democracies, public opinion can eventually determine legitimacy.

Contemporary Meaning

In contemporary times, legitimacy can be gained in a number of ways. Since the advent of constitutionalism in many societies, a ruler can claim legitimacy by maintaining that he or she has observed the social contract (social compact) with the people (because of the understanding that government rules on behalf of the people). This tendency recurs whether a government claims to be capitalist, socialist, or mixed. A democrat or dictator can claim legitimacy through military success. In many cases, an appeal to nationalism has given validity to an otherwise dubious government. Economic success can help a government gain legitimacy. The successful transition to democracy in post-war Germany and Japan was assisted by the economic success of the German and Japanese “miracles.”

Constitution and Constitutionalism

Definitions and Background

A constitution can be defined as a set of laws or legal provisions that outline the rights of citizens and the duties of government. Contrary to the public impression, constitutions go back four thousand years to the times of the Sumerians and their successors in Mesopotamia. The modern concept of constitution and the related theme of constitutionalism date back to the days of the political philosophers mentioned earlier. Thomas Hobbes and John Locke in England and J.J. Rousseau and Montesquieu in France helped to develop the idea of a social contract or social compact between the rulers and the ruled. Whether a nation is a democracy or a dictatorship, there is recognition that laws including the basic laws embodied by a constitution, are central to a nation state (although the observation of the basic law may vary). As was indicated earlier, the increasing power of absolute monarch created a counter movement that led to the role of constitutionalism. The central aspect of constitutionalism is that government is limited by fundamental law (such as the constitution) and by the procedures that are prescribed by it.

Varieties

Today, the existence of a constitution and the support of this document and its basic premise of natural rights as well as the rule of law is the norm in most states whatever the actual state of human rights is. Currently, a constitution can take three forms. The most common is a written or codified constitution. Usually it is a single document. This document plainly states that its provisions take precedence over other legal statutes. Its basic features cannot be abrogated. Any change or alteration or amendment must go through a special proceeding. Adherence to this constitution and its processes, as has been indicated earlier, is called constitutionalism. It is the document that people cite when declaring an act as “unconstitutional.”

Power and Authority

Definitions and Distinctions

The most dominant concept of government lies in the allied notions of power and authority. In terms of the scope of governance and public affairs, power is the concept that allows a government or its officials the right to direct the activities of others in areas that may involve a wide range of activities, including the distribution of resources. e related concept of authority is the right derived from an appointed or designated position to direct the activities of others. Power can be exercised in many ways that range from persuasion to coercion. Authority, in contrast, is determined by the responsibilities that come from an appointed position. Power has a broader scope as the person or persons who exercise it can do what they want instead of checking whether they are able to do it. Authority, such as that given to a cabinet official, is defined by responsibilities assigned to the office held. Power and authority are differentiated in a number of ways. Authority derives fundamentally from an office or position usually appointed whereas power can be exercised officially or unofficially. A person in power may have the position not only for reasons outlined above but also for exceptional expertise, moral authority, rare knowledge, or a combination of these attributes. Charles De Gaulle, Kemal Ataturk, and Nelson Mandela might be cited as examples of these people.

Applications of Power

The projection of power overseas is often critical in terms of strategy. Dwight Eisenhower offered a famous dictum based on the premise that power is meaningful only when it is used. He maintained that the projection was a combination of arms multiplied by economic strength multiplied by political will. This dictum may be valid in a democracy where public opinion in support of a war is vital. However, in dictatorship even those in poor countries this equation can be upset by the great equalizer such as the position of thermonuclear weapons. Conversely, a policy of isolation can have the potential to negate power. The use of power for foreign ventures can be roughly divided into two schools. The school of realism argues that the projection should not be based on moral behavior but rather toward the self-preservation and survival. e opposite school, often called idealism or liberalism, argues that power politics no longer can guarantee to achieve the national interest.

Social and Political Movement

The past two centuries have seen two movements that in some ways run counter to each other: nationalism and globalization. These, in fact, are now considered as opposing concepts in a number of countries. In some cases, they have provoked counter movements. Nationalism dominated the destiny of many countries between the American Revolution and the end of World War II. Since the War, however, the concept of globalization has come to the fore.

Definition and Scope of Internal Change

Nationalism: Nationalism can be defined as an ideology that people use to develop unity within the group. It seizes on linguistic, cultural, historical, and sometimes kinship commonalities. Often, the concept of nationalism develops a sense of unity against some outside factors. If there is a common enemy, there may be a sense of developing nationalism especially if this enemy is perceived as a threat. Historically, nationalism has come about as a result of increasing literacy, mass transportation, mass mobilization, mass communication, and mass media. The related concept that all men were entitled to life, liberty, and property was later replaced by pursuit of happiness (in place of property to be more inclusive) after the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, and the American constitution. The concept of nationalism had some negative consequences for societies in Asia and Africa. The expansion of European as well as the U.S. and Japanese power and influence were based on a combination of trade and missionary goals. Nationalism now included the theory that a place in the sun was based on colonies. Accordingly, the British occupied the subcontinent of India; Africa was carved up at various conferences between 1880 and 1912; and various European Powers as well as the United States and Japan occupied islands in the Pacific. The treaties that ended World War I aroused nationalist feelings in Asia and Africa. It did appear that there was a double standard. European nationalities were to be given freedom; whereas Africans and Asians were not. The secular nature of some nationalist movements has caused a reaction among religious groups. The Baath party in Iraq and Syria created some degree of antagonism among religious Islamists. Nationalist feelings from economic dislocation have taken many forms. Many workers have felt that the international agreements may have promoted free trade but are not fair. There is the continuing feeling that globalization has unequal results both within and among countries—a zero sum game.

Definition and Scope of External Change: Social and Political Movements

Globalization and Globalism: Historical background , the other critical concept that has influenced the world is globalization. Globalization and its main effect, globalism, can be viewed as a process through which all parts of the world has become interconnected in terms of society, culture, politics, and economics. It has been the cumulative result of the reduction of the time-space continuum due to technology, mass transportation, mass communication, global and regional political, military, and economic organizations. Because of the world wide web, international trade, mass media, satellite technology, and supersonic transport as well as instantaneous wire contacts through financial institutions, more sinister developments such as weapons of mass destruction and missiles, very few areas in the globe are isolated. This has become truly a “small world” and promises to become even smaller. Those who espouse globalism and the end product of globalization believe fervently that people live in a global village. Nationalists, on the other hand, often come from all segments of the population including those who are not politically active. They often live in small towns and rural areas, may not be especially well-educated, tend to be more traditional and religious compared to their relatively multi-cultural and often secular cosmopolitan counterparts, and are more likely to live in the hinterlands than on the coasts. Other costs of globalization and globalism have been the unintentional widening of the economic gap between the regions of countries as well as between the very countries. In reality, the contrast between nationalism and globalization is not really one between the old and the new.

Modern phase of globalization and globalism , the modern phase of globalization and the deification of globalism began before the end of World War II. The United Nations was established and initially composed of 51 members who had fought against the Axis powers in World War II (now grown to 193 members). It established a Charter which guaranteed universal human rights. It encouraged the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rate in terms of gold (replaced by floating market basket of currencies tied to the Dollar) that reduced the risk in international exchange and led to increased global trade. A related development in terms of economic globalism and its political implication was in the formation of new economic and social political actors. In recent years the annual meeting of the G-7 or the seven leading Western economies has been enlarged to the G-20 to take account of new emerging economic powers such as South Korea and Turkey. The BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China later joined by South Africa came into existence as an alternative to the Western and USdominated IMF and the World Bank and also by the desire of China to counteract the US influence by floating a combination of currencies in opposition to the Dollar.

It was in the realms of culture and immigration that globalization and the new globalism has aroused the most controversy and ultimately resistance. Foods and food chains that featured hamburgers and sushi spread around the globe. Clothes like blue jeans became universal. Pop music from the West spread. Meditation from India and Buddhism also spread. Television from everywhere was available through Telstar. Films first from Hollywood, then from Bollywood, then from Hong Kong and China, and also from Europe and the Middle East could be seen everywhere. In addition to cultural globalization, there was a movement of peoples as global immigration reached unprecedented peaks. Labor shortages as well as low population growth in the West encouraged millions of immigrants to flock. Civil strife in Africa and Asia has caused migration to Europe across the Mediterranean and the Aegean.