Monday, March 16, 2015

Session 14- The International System

A mythical perception persists in the global order that it is best for a nation to attain self-sufficiency. Such claims are bolstered by the persistence of protectionism, non-interventionist stances and the embodiment of isolationism in a country’s policy framework. These claims are contradicted by the instances of history that have bore witness to the fact that true success in the economic and political sphere is encapsulated by accession of diplomacy and integration, breaking barriers into new markets, new regions that are unfazed by the grasp of capitalistic endeavors. We see now that no country can grasp isolationism, in its absolute sense, with the growing influence of globalization, technology and interdependence in the global arena.

World war two is symbolic of the inability of isolationism not being able to sustain itself, we see that the United States of America, although did to a certain degree maintain their isolationist policy, they were left perturbed by the spread of communism, which served as an anti thesis to their persistent ideology; capitalism. The recent establishment of globally prevailing organization such as the United Nations, International Monetary Fund and their increasing influence in the international arena serves as a detriment to the influence of a nation in the international system as a private entity.

The growing integration and interdependence that has manifested in the recent years suggests that isolationism and protectionism and policies that must be alienated because it is through the benefits of this integration that new markets, employment and opportunities open for the members of the international system.  

1 comment:

  1. Well Khalid, you raise a lot of interesting points, though you confuse a few issues. WWII was about stopping the spread of fascism, not communism. The Cold War - which occurred after WWII - was, from the US perspective, an attempt to curb communism. Furthermore, communism is a political system that is run by a small group of elites that have adopted the economic system - i.e. socialism - for their particular country. Western nations adopted capitalism as their economic system and democracy for their political system.

    With all of that being said, I generally agree with your thesis that growing integration and interdependence will play an increasingly important role in the world.

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