Global Politics Is Characterized More by Cooperation Than by Conflict

When we are talking about global politics, it is fair to say that it refers to contemporary world rather than the past because it is very hard to say that politics in the past is global. The world we are living now is very different from the world our ancestors lived. In the past, we see countries being detached from each other. Empires were built in the name of king like Austro-Hungarian Empire or Chinese Qing Dynasty which focused more on domestic affairs rather than diplomatic relation establishment with the outside. However, with the trend of globalization in the 21st century in which different nation-states begin to bond with each other tightly through economy, the past model is obsolete. In international political arena, we see multi polarization of states which, even though are seeking power, bonding and cooperating with each other in multidimensional ways. That’s why it is fairer to say global politics nowadays is characterized more by cooperation than by conflict. And in this specific context, it would be legit to argue that liberalism theory would apply the most in today’s political arena. Because liberalism puts emphasis on the interdependence between states and focuses more on cooperation, which is exactly the narrative that is believed to be the most accurate characterization of today’s global politics.

Firstly, necessity to cooperate is one of the factors contributing to characterization of cooperation. It is clearly seen that there is change in the dynamics of international relations. After the cold war along with the disintegration of Soviet Union, supranational entities like EU came to rise. Because sovereign states understanded that they could not achieve maximum productivity based on their sole power and resources. The best way for them to opt better into political arena and gaining more say in it is to cooperate, bonding more tightly with other states of the same interests. Same case goes with The Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) which the purpose of it is to promote economics, political and security cooperation between southeast asian countries. These are excellent examples for the fact that countries acknowledge that collective power provides more benefits to them. That’s why they readily accept and embrace the relations they have with other countries. And they are willing to be characterized as countrie who cooperate rather conflict.

Secondly, nation states see long-term benefits through cooperation rather than power competition. And in most cases, they demonstrate their power through cooperation. Take the relation between the United States and the United Nation as an example. It is the United States who firstly pioneered the formation of International League, the former body of the UN. So it is fair to say that the US promoted cooperation in the very first place. And the fact that United States still exerts great influence on the UN, occasionally not abiding by the rules of the UN, shows how much international recognition it has gained. The US has made every nation to respect and fear the power it possesses. In this case, the US not only executes the idea of cooperation but also demonstrates its power perfectly. Today more than 190 countries joined the UN and are willing to put some of their domestic affairs onto the table internationally. And they did get benefits from it tremendously. Nation states now have various resources and can get so much help from the international community. Take the legal system as an example, International Criminal Court(ICC) has been very effective in dealing with crimes like genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The standards and protocols ICC have been using are globally recognized. They cannot achieve to this stage without cooperation between states and willingness to adopt the system. International Military Tribunal for the Far East executed so many officials who have conducted war crimes and crimes against humanity during Nanjing Massacre. It is undoubtedly a collective effort by international community that makes China benefit.

Thirdly, global politics contemporarily is operating with multiple actors, both state actors and non-state actors, which makes them grow more interdependent with each other, operating again with liberalism