Reading 1: Ian Bremmer, Us vs Them: The Failure of Globalism (Penguin 2018)
Reading 2: Christian Reus-Smith and Duncan Snidel, “Overview of International Relations: Between Utopia and Reality.†Oxford Handbook of Political Science
Reading 1 Link: http://library.lol/main/852AD25C93916D985307F569F4D7A14F
Reading 2 Link: https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199604456.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199604456-e-032
For this short paper, consider the role of international relations, and especially globalization and
international political economy in shaping the divides with societies not only in the US but elsewhere. Globalization is a transnational and global phenomenon that has had different impacts on people all over the world and has challenged states in new and profound ways. How might globalization have impacted identity and the future of democracy? Your papers should go beyond merely summarizing the books you\\\’ve read. Instead, they should analyze the books/articles.
Author’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course Number
Date of Submission
POLI 490 Paper 3
International relations have played an essential role in shaping divisions within societies in the United States and several nations worldwide. Thanks to international relations, political stability has been restored in the United States and several other societies worldwide. International relations refer to the study of the relationships between different states and the relations between these states with subnational entities and international organizations such as political parties and bureaucracies. Globalization and international political economy are the two subfields of international relations that have been instrumental in shaping the divides between societies in the United States and several other nations in the world. This essay expounds more on the role of international relations and how globalization might have impacted the identity and future of democracy through analysis of two reading materials that focus on the failure of Globalism and an overview of international relations between Utopia and Reality.
Globalization is not only global but also a transnational phenomenon that has impacted many people across the world and also challenged nations in numerous ways. In his book, Us vs. Them: The Failure of Globalism, Ian Bremmer (para 3) argues that Globalism has brought more harm than the good it was intended to bring in the United States and several other societies in the world. In his book, Ian Bremmer (para 7)points out that several divisions are continuing to spur between several nations in the world and within them. He tries to figure out why this is happening by coming up with five key factors that have geared the world into an “Us vs them” economy. Globalization refers to the integration of national markets of different nations into one global market. Globalization has for a long time played an essential role in boosting the economies of different nations in the world and the United States as a whole by deepening their cultural, economic, and political linkages. However, Ian Bremmer argues that Globalism has had more failures than goods with the current world occurrences.
The world is currently in turmoil, and globalization is at the center of all of it. Various nations in the world continue to turn inwards as various people also continue to become tribal. Even though Bremmer (para 8) acknowledges globalization’s economic impacts that have dramatically helped stimulate economic growth among different nations and lifted several humans out of poverty, he argues that globalization has intensely undermined social solidarity, generated economic insecurity, and also ushered in several instances of political backlash. Political conflicts have now taken a different turn, from a nation versus nation political conflicts and are now between the aggrieved and the elites. This has made fearful societies seek protection from foreigners and a spur of economic and technological competition among nations.
Globalization has unsettled the United States and several other nations in the developing world, such as Turkey, Mexico, and Brazil. For instance, in the United States, citizens are now championing a government that can ensure their security and prosperity. Many governments have hence resorted to building walls, both physical and digital, to protect themselves. The United States government, under the administration of President Donald Trump, has tried to come up with this form of protection for their citizens. Brazil is also one of the developing countries that have had a series of political problems due to globalization. In this country, civilians often riot when the government does not meet their higher expectations. Frustrations with the government are also common in Indonesia, Turkey, Mexico, and South Africa, making political battle lines to be drawn. The awareness of inequality is also currently on the rise in China. The state has resorted to building a system in which they will use data generated by their citizens to contain their future demands for change—all these point out the substantial adverse effects of globalization.
Bremmer (para 13)provides five key factors that he believes are the fundamental reason as to why the world is not currently divided into an “us” vs. “them” society. Economics is highlighted as the first primary reason. The increasing division of wealth between the rich and the poor within the society has received so much attention in the current years. Job opportunities in developing countries are also sent abroad, making many workers lose their jobs. Society and culture are the second reason why an “us” vs. “them” economy has risen over the past few years. People tend to fly across borders in a globalized world, which has triggered the demand for the construction of walls to prevent this from happening. Security of different nations is also another crucial issue. Technology and automation have also been very instrumental in shaping the world into an unbalanced global sphere.
The second reading, “Overview of International Relations: Between Utopia and Reality,” by Christian Reus-Smith and Duncan Snidel, provides a series of arguments concerning what makes up international relations. It also incorporates a wide range of questions and substantive topics. The authors of this book have three interrelated questions in particular. The first question concerns the nature of theoretical endeavor when it comes to international relations. The second question concerns the normative and empirical aspects of the theories that interact to shape individual theories. The third question concerns whether there has been any progress in the course of study of international and to what sense. International relations are a diverse field composed of several different theoretical approaches, including rationalism, critical theory, feminism, and liberal institutionalism.
International relations can take both a normative and an empirical approach (Reus-Smith & Dancun para 18). In some instances, it focuses on are understanding war, so it can reduce or control it, and also on analysis of human rights so that atrocities such as genocide and slavery can be stopped. the international political economy is, on the other hand, concerned with promoting economic interactions that are mutually beneficial among different states, individual and firms. The oxford handbook of international relations spells out the normative and empirical dimensions of some of the standard international relations theories by surveying some of these substantive theories. Some theories are agential in that they emphasize an individual’s choice to determine their political outcomes. Some are structural structuration. They emphasize mutually constitutive relations between structures and agents, and lastly, some are post-structuralists in that they stress how systems of meaning and signification constitute subjectivities.
International relations are made up of nine theories: realism, Marxism, neoliberal institutionalism, new liberalism, English school, ES-Pluralists, ES-Solidarists, constructivism, critical theory, postmodernism, and feminism. Most of these theories have a strong correlation (Reus-Smith & Dancun, para 20). For instance, there is a strong relation between postmodernism and realism. Realists perceive the politics of morality to be always eclipsed around politics of power. On the other hand, postmodernists perceive moral discourses as a mandatory requirement for power to be produced. They are both skeptical about the possibility of moral change when it comes to international relations.
This article “Overview of International Relations: Between Utopia and Reality.” Oxford Handbook of Political Science highlights some of the theories of international relations that have now become our social identities by cutting across some of the lines that identity politics have brought about. It also provides some of the shared similarities between all the theories of international relations. The other reading material, “Us vs Them: The Failure of Globalism” by Ian Bremmer, highlights why Globalism is currently not what it was perceived to be previously by highlighting some of the various grave effects that globalization has caused not only the United States but also in several other developing nations such as Brazil, Mexico, and China. I strongly agree and support the arguments that are provided in these two reading materials. Even though globalization was an essential aspect of enforcing international relations in the previous years, it is no longer a tool that can enhance international relations between nations but is instead driving different nations apart and causing internal and national disparities within nations.
In summary, this paper has expounded more on the role of international relations and how globalization might have impacted the identity and future of democracy through analysis of two reading materials that focus on the failure of Globalism and an overview of international relations between Utopia and Reality. Globalization has negatively impacted the identity and future of democracy and is causing severe havoc among various nations. It is no longer a tool that can be used to enhance international relations between nations.
Works cited
Bremmer, Ian. Us vs. Them: The Failure of Globalism. London: Penguin, 2018. http://library.lol/main/852AD25C93916D985307F569F4D7A14F
Reus-Smith, Christian, and Duncan Snidal. Overview of international relations: Between utopia and reality. Oxford Handbook of Political Science. https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199604456.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199604456-e-032