Session 20: Transnational Politics

In the article, Transnational Relations and World Politics: An Introduction, Joseph Nye Jr. and Robert Keohane discusses the inevitability of the increasing role of non state actors in the running of internal state matters. The increased globalization has led to blurring of borders and have made many developing and under-developed stated to become heavily reliant on stronger developed states. The concept of comparative advantage in economics have revolutionized the trade and interaction between states and have called for increased dependency among them. At the heart of this concept lies the idea of self interest. As discussed early in realism and idealism, we study the role of self interest that drives the policy of particular state and how the self interest have surpassed values, morals, principles and even ideology in constructing international relations.

Another factor which have made states more dependent is the emergence of transnational organizations and their influence upon states which is made through the generation of billion of dollars of revenues making these transnational organisations more powerful than the states. These state manage mercenary armies and are even responsible for many regional and inter regional conflicts among states. Transnational organisations, along with multinational firms, have started a new era in global politics where the power is wrested at the hands of few powerful individuals who tend to control from behind and usually maintain a hidden profile.

John Perkins, in his book" Confessions of an economic hit men" talks about the role of these ultra powerful transnational organisations that maintain a hidden recruitment process and employ these shadow recruits in different states, who then conduct dummy statistical analysis where which apparently show longs term economic development and influx of investment but in really strip these nations of their rightful natural resources and real wealth.