സ്റ്റേറ്റ് ആന്‍ഡ്‌ ടെവേലോപ്മെന്റ്റ്‌

2010-12-03T22:44:00.001-08:00

Introduction

The concept of “State” is prevalent all over the world today. This system has developed over thousands of years into what we call the modern nation-state. The development of this system started as long back as fifth century B.C. in ancient Greece. This was the Greek city state system. There were many such earlier versions of the nation state. However, it was following the peace of Westphalia that the modern concept of a nation-state evolved. John Herz and some others however, believed that it was with the invention of gun powder that the people recognized authorities to defend them and their territories. The nation-state has faced a lot of opposition over the years. But, it has managed to survive as a stable system.

Content

The challenges to the state system

Over the years, with development of various factors such as ecological issues and globalization other factors too have started to play a huge role, thus challenging the power and position of the nation state. The main factors challenging the nation-states include

a. The inter-governmental actors such as North Atlantic treaty organization, the European Union (EU), SPEC, SAARC and others.

b. The inter-state non-governmental actors such as Vatican (the Holy Sea), Multi-National Companies (MNCs) and Trans-National Companies (TNCs) and so on.

c. The intra-national actors like the Zionist lobby, PLO etc known by some as East and West blocs (multilateral or bloc actors) also play a role.its good if the religious groups and the state be separated. In the modern world this is to be seen as a challenge as people get separated in the name of religion.

d. The UN is a universal actor. Other actors like SAARC, Common Wealth of nation’s etc work as regional actors.

e. Individuals like Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King and other non-state performers have also played essential roles in international relations.

f. The state system has also been threatened by in times like post-war periods. It is at times like these that the system has failed to provide social, economic and national security.

g. Minority groups feel that the nation-state cannot answer their problems; they too, have turned to the non-sate actors.

h. Marxists oppose the system of a nation-state. They continue to advocate world revolution and disintegration of states. They usually revolts against the judiciary and believe that courts should function in par with them.

All these forces put together continue to challenge the nation-state and threaten its existence

Reasons for the states survival and stability

Even though there is opposition, the nation state has managed to survive and develop as a stable system. It has been the main force ruling the world and creating relations between various countries. According to John Herz, the state system would not end. Radical changes in modern society could not bring about a removal of the state system. The reasons given by Frankel for survival of nation-states are

Both internationally and domestically, states maintain their legitimacy in their governance and gain support of the nations they feel having the similar ideology and policies.
Most citizens feel loyalty towards this system as the state is the supreme power and it controls its people by its rules and regulations, urge them to abide the law of the state.
They remain political representatives of their nations and protect national culture.
The structure of this system is such that it is multi-functional. It helps meet a lot of social and economic needs.
The rivals of the state system have never really been strong enough to overthrow the system.
The most important thing is that a collapse of nation states could result in instability of the international system and result in war and other problems.

Conclusion

The nation-state has faced a lot of opposition. However, it is widely believed that while non-state actors can help in the functioning of this system, it cannot replace the nation-state. The nation-state is and will always be the main political system prevalent in the world. There is no real alternative institution to state and it is unlikely that there will be any in the near future. This has resulted in the nation state becoming stronger. As we see now the economic support to the government of India is from the top tax payers of the country.

Though the nation-state continues to dominate the non-state actors, both these forces are important. It is due to these two factors that international relations continue to be healthy and stable.

My Emerging Thoughts...

സ്റ്റേറ്റ് ആന്‍ഡ്‌ ടെവേലോപ്മെന്റ്റ്‌