Session 20- Old Stuff

‘Transnational Relations and World Politics’ by Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye provides an insight about how the idea of transnationalism has influenced the international system. To begin with, the phenomenon behind transnationalism is that interconnectivity between people is escalating and significant economic along with social barriers among nation states are receding thereby giving rise to the concept of the world being a global village.  

Moreover, Keohane and Nye talk about the importance of non-state actors in molding the way the international system works . They argue that there is always pressure from non-state actors which they are able to exert in the international sphere and hence they create have a significant influence on how things are done. In order to understand this influence the nature, actions and interests of these actors need to be understood. I believe this is true to a large extent because globalization has changed the way things were previously done. Due to the rapid advancements in technology communication has become easier and hence the voice of people can reach across nations within a few seconds. This has made the role of non state actors much more important than it had ever been in the past. Therefore, it can be safely said that the state in today’s world is not the only element which impacts the international system.

However, I feel that the ideas put forward by Nye and Keohone are not exactly new. The concept of transnationalism is an old one. It has been a long time since the world is being referred to as a global village and the fact that communication has made the role of ordinary people much more important is also not a unique idea anymore.