Does nationalism or globalisation have a stronger influence on international politics?

Nationalism remains the commander of influence in the international politics sector but without a country taking into consideration globalisation and its inherent power in policy and action then the influence is constricted. Before analysing this topic, it is imperative to define what nationalism and globalisation are in the context of this analysis. Nationalism is viewed as a shared political identity that is encapsulated by those who are identified as members of a particular state. Further, it underpins the state’s culture, norms, security, financial and military power and history (Class slides, 2022:10). Whereas, for the purpose of this essay globalisation will be viewed in the words of National Geographic as “Globalisation is a term used to describe how trade and technology have made the world into a more connected and interdependent place. Globalisation also captures in its scope the economic and social changes that have come about as a result.” (National Geographic, 2022). This essay endeavours to discuss both nationalism and globalisation in the context of international political influence. Further, it examines the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches and finally how a combination of both could be the secret recipe for successful influence in global politics.

Throughout history, nationalism has been the primary mode of influencing international politics. The more power a country yielded in terms of economic prosperity, military power and great land acquisition directly correlated with its ability to influence politics on the world stage. This has been seen in historical time capsules such as the ruling of the Roman empire from 625 BC to 476 AD (Whaley, 2018: 4) or in more recent history the rise of the USA to the position of the world leader post WWII and the following Industrial Revolution (Frum, 2014). The influence that these countries have demonstrated is present in many people’s everyday lives. The English language is the foundation of modern communication, with services such as aviation having English language proficiency expectations for anyone wanting to join the industry globally (CASA, 2022). When nationalism is discussed within international relations academia for some, visions of Nazi Germany being led by Adolf Hitler is the picture that is painted in their minds, but for most, nationalism is the preservation of a way of life, language, culture, sports, food and architecture. It is the want to preserve this way of living, this sense of belonging. This innate need for security shown by the people gives agency to leaders to implement and influence the political world stage to uphold these nationalistic views and ways of life (Ted Talk, 2019).

Due to nationalism’s historical success being based mainly on its financial and military power, this does not necessarily correlate with its ability to adequately influence international politics in the modern interconnected world. Previously the way the world functioned did not facilitate effortless travel for leisure, international commerce and trade, the opportunity for people to instantly communicate humanitarian issues across borders or become global citizens with multiple –

(The World Bank, 2022)

geographic locations that they call home. Today, we are witnessing the first time in history rise of a non-western superpower, China, predicted to become the most powerful giant in terms of financial hard power such as GDP and PPP (Jennings, 2022). This has been achieved through a combination of successful utilisation of globalisation, a lack of focus on environmental impact and beneficial trade agreements (JRI, 1999). Reflecting on the past, a country that has made these great financial leaps and bounds, as China has made in recent history, it can be concluded that its influence on the world stage should be the loudest voice. Yet, leaders within the US or the EU currently still hold the power in this sense. So, what do these superpowers have that China does not? Soft power. Soft power is “the ability to get desired outcomes because others want what you have.” (Mingjiang et al., 2009: 3) On the world stage, China is not seen in a favourable light, with an enhancement on this view post the Covid- 19 pandemic (Pew Research, 2022). Looking at the graph shows that out of the people surveyed in countries such as Australia, the U.S., Japan and Sweden nearly half have a ‘very unfavourable’ view of China. Without a higher sense of positive views toward China, (Pew Research, 2022)

they will continue to struggle to influence the world stage. If pure nationalism was the key

to unlocking domination over international political influence, China would be close to the most influential country today, but this has not occurred.

If pure nationalism is not the answer, is globalisation the foundation of global political influence? The phenomenon of globalisation that is occurring in the world today, began making major traction after the industrial revolution (Marsh, 2012: 16) and is something that has radically changed the landscape of everything we do in life. From the flows of capital, identities and ideological beliefs (Class slides, 2022: 14). We as a planet are undoubtedly more interconnected than we have ever been in the past. The introduction of this phenomenon into our shared society has resulted in some countries making leaps and bounds in terms of economics and development and others being left behind, only now beginning to reap some of the benefits. Today, many countries economies rely heavily on trade deals to strengthen their economy and provide employment for their people (Wallersein, 2016: 21). Ways in which globalisation can be utilised in order to influence global politics is through countries either initiating or declining trade with other countries as a form of manipulation to achieve their own political agenda. Further, powerful companies can also utilise this tactic by selecting countries to do commerce with that match the personal agendas they are trying to achieve such as low minimum wages or minimal environmental protection laws (Wallersein, 2016: 21).

The true power of globalisation and the effect that it can have on global politics was truly underpinned by Russia’s attack on Ukraine early in 2022. As a way of political warfare, they utilised the power of restricting trade and implementing sanctions such as phasing our EU imports of Russian oil crude oil in six months and refined products by the end of 2022 to deter them from the invasion they were currently undertaking on Ukraine (Haufbauer, 2022). Further, the action was taken by major companies such as Coca-Cola and Starbucks by suspending trading or McDonald’s permanently closing over 850 restaurants across the country to show their stance on Russia’s current behaviour on the world stage (BBC, 2022). Although there was significant action taken against Russia in an array of ways, how effective was this? Inspiring deterrence was a major goal of placing these sanctions on Russia, yet this did not have the desired effect as Russia continued to invade Ukraine, yet, due to the economic sanctions that were placed on Russia they have seen their stock markets close, and the rate of inflation is expected to increase to 20% and their GDP to drop by 15% (Haufbauer, 2022). Time will tell how successful this example of utilising parts of globalisation as a political weapon of influence, but as the war is still occurring it can be concluded that this tool may have long term influence but for short term compliance it is inadequate in nature.

Due to globalisation, there have been global institutions such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank created as a tool to help manage the now interconnected international marketplace. One of the main criticisms of globalisation, borrowing the words of Taylor is the inherent “Eurocentric” or “Northern” perspectives that these international bodies encapsulate (Osterhammel et al. 2021: 12). Further, it perpetuates the idea that other countries will only ever gain political, economic, and social success through globalisation if they abandon their indigenous social and cultural norms and adapt to that of the US and Western Europe (Osterhammel et al. 2021: 12). Further, providing a lack of incentive for these bodies to want to maintain their national heritage and therefore show a disregard for movements that these international bodies are trying to implement. This disregard for these international bodies then creates a poor public perception of these countries and therefore this sacrifices their soft power abilities.

Applying the theory of ‘Glocalization’ is a strategy that could be utilised to reform these international bodies to ensure higher adoption of their movements by countries. Glocalisation is a strategy used in commerce predominately for businesses to successfully enter foreign markets. In order to implement glocalization in a political sense, it is imperative that international bodies such as the United Nations take a global approach to their political, social and economic actions whilst maintaining a local mindset depending on the geographic location in which they are tackling an issue. An example of this has been seen in international education institutions where they encourage ‘third culture building’ where they allow international students to learn and connect with broadly accepted academia but add a cultural edge to the content they are learning (Jean-François, 2016 :23). Hypothetically, in a political sense, this could be applied by creating a foreign policy that recognises a global norm but allows for representation and therefore an increased likely hood of adaptation. Further, it provides international bodies such as the United Nations with equal seats of representation not based on countries’ economic power, and more legal jurisdiction to have authority on the world stage to uphold these foreign policies.

As discussed above, Nationalism and Globalisation have a strong voice on the world stage to promote global political influence. Both provide strengths and both provide significant weaknesses in their approach. A state’s ability to harness a balance of a strong sense of nationalism and utilise globalisation through active participation in global institutions and trade will ultimately be the most effective way to gain international political influence. If a state can maintain their culture, economy and military whilst creating a strong public profile through positive engagement in international relations it will ultimately grant them political monopoly on the world stage.

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