Topic Outline
Along with the authority of nations and states, non-state actors, from the United Nations to smaller organisations, are playing a larger role on the world stage. We can refer to these types of actors as civil society, or the portion of society that acts as an alternative to coercive state power. In simple terms, non-state actors are those that operate outside the sphere of governmental control. Their impact on Global Politics rests on notions of their 'legitimacy' and to what extent they effectively represent the will of people.
In Global Politics, it is important to study non-state actors alongside states as these organisations and actors can often be more effective at initiating global change. They can take positions on the debates around the local, regional, international and global actions and policies of the day, and are often more useful in the struggle to change long-held positions. To this end, the statement of inquiry for this topic is therefore:
In Global Politics, it is important to study non-state actors alongside states as these organisations and actors can often be more effective at initiating global change. They can take positions on the debates around the local, regional, international and global actions and policies of the day, and are often more useful in the struggle to change long-held positions. To this end, the statement of inquiry for this topic is therefore:
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STATEMENT OF INQUIRY
Non-state actors provide ways for civil society and other communities to influence the legitimate development of global politics
GLOBAL CONTEXT
Fairness and Development (Democracy, politics, government and civil society) - Students will explore rights and responsibilities; the relationship between communities; sharing finite resources with other people and with other living things; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.
KEY CONCEPT
Communities - Communities are groups that exist in proximity defined by space, time or relationship. Communities include, for example, groups of people sharing particular characteristics, beliefs or values as well as groups of interdependent organisms living together in a specific habitat.
RELATED GLOBAL POLITICS CONCEPT(S)
Legitimacy - Legitimacy refers to an actor or an action being commonly considered acceptable and provides the fundamental basis or rationale for all forms of governance and other ways of exercising power over others. The most accepted contemporary source of legitimacy in a state is some form of democracy or constitutionalism whereby the governed have a defined and
periodical opportunity to choose who they wish to exercise power over them. Other sources of legitimacy are suggested in states in which such an opportunity does not exist. Within any proposed overall framework of legitimacy, individual actions by a state can be considered more or less legitimate. Other actors of global politics and their actions can also be evaluated from the perspective of legitimacy. |
1. How much power do IGOs have over states?
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For some, International organisations are the key institutions of world order. They ensure global stability. However for others, IGOs are either pawns of state power, or worse, illegitimate political actors with aspirations for world government. Is that true?
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2. Are NGOs insignificant global actors?
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In the modern world, non-governmental organisations have always existed. Yet since the 1960s they have grown in power leading many to question their legitimacy and the impact they might have on global politics.
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3. How effective are social movements?
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Social movements are a form of collective action designed to achieve a social goal. In recent years, transnational social movements have sprung to life across the world in the face of global problems. But are they effective and legitimate actors?
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4. How do resistance movements operate?
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Resistance movements are non-state actors that have operated in global politics for centuries. Yet theorists are divided on whether nonviolent or violent resistance movements are the most effective at achieving systemic change.
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5. Are political parties legitimate actors?
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Operating at the national level, the political party is perhaps the primary organising principle of politics. Parties vary in their function, operation and ideology, and together form party systems. But are they a force for good or ill in global politics?
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6. Do informal forums undermine democracy?
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Informal forums are self-appointed groups of states that meet regularly to coordinate common policy issues and approaches to global issues. But as this a legitimate and democratic way to conduct global politics? Are all stakeholders represented?
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7. Assessment: How effective are other groups?
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This final lesson of the topic reflects back on the statement of inquiry to evaluate how effective, representative and legitimate non-state actors are in global politics, before considering how this can be applied in an essay.
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