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Africa and Latin America in the Political Spectrum of a New World Order In the world of 2002, there are still huge differences between rich and poor, developed and less developed countries. The industrialized countries are still holding the less developed countries down. The developed countries decide coffee-, tea- and sugar-prices, and consequently exercise an indirect control of the African and Latin American countries economy. We also protect ourselves with high import-taxes and low import-quotas.
Increasing protectionism in Northern markets shut off some Third World exports, while at the same time, the increased export of some natural resources, lumber from forests, for example, created the conditions for rapid environmental destruction. At the same time, a major debt crisis developed, particularly among those countries in the South that were producing primarily for Northern markets. World order shall be defined as the institutional, legal and political framework in which global initiatives operate in an attempt to achieve fairer national and international solutions to world problems. In relation to the specific topic of military conflict, this order recognizes the inherent weaknesses in human nature and power politics and concerns it self with trying to minimize the occurrences and detrimental effects of conflict and with regulating conflict when it does occur, for the benefit of all concerned. In order to determine the effectiveness of world order in dealing with these conflicts, one must first examine the different initiatives that have been established with this purpose and the role of international law.
The players in international law are the states, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), regional and Inter-Governmental Organizations such as the EC and ASEAN, and the United Nations. Individuals have virtually no rights and duties at international law, however, they have limited scope for complaints / petitions to agencies of the UN. In a New World Order, as proposed by Mehdi Alavi author of A New World Order: Democracy, Civility and World Peace, government would be based on the Law of Nature, or the Natural Law. This would consist of global peaceful participation, majority rule and respect for human rights. Although this may sound good for many, however, the drawbacks and consequences are never mentioned in the book. Some of the major problems with the notion of a New World Order are that the States would experience a loss of identity, power and sovereignty as well as combined or lost cultures for the citizens of the world (Alavi 1998, 23).
It is not a secret that today America is the most influential country in the world. Americas rise to world power is a consequence of the nations geographical position, natural resources, and dynamic energy. (Carpenter 1992, 74) For relatively short period, America became so strong that today it is a single superpower in the world. A suggested idea for the 21 st century government has been the ideology of the New World Order, one world government lead by the United Nations. It would create new forms of global economics, global politics and overlapping and diminishing cultures. The economic system would be based financial and momentary supported by the New World Order. State borders would be either severely reduced, or erased to create a one-world government for the New World Order.
Some or all this may sound quite appealing but it would come with many strings attached, many consequences and many drawbacks. In order for the United States to play a more active role in the economic and political development of many of these developing nations, it must first accept a different philosophy than its current one. First, it is imperative for the United States to play a similar role in Latin America and Europe in Africa to the one Japan has played with many of the developing nations in East Asia. America neighbors Latin America, and if it wants to play the role of big brother, it must accept the responsibility. Europe has invested, traded, and has been a guide for many of its neighboring countries in Africa, making them grow politically and economically, while mainly profiting itself. The United States must realize that the economies of Latin American nations will play an important part in the future of our own economy, and that it must begin to lead, invest, and aid not just Mexico, but countries such as Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Columbia into the twenty first century.
The mainstay in American foreign policy has always been to promote and instill democracy. However, in order to do this in a foreign nation, America must be able to establish a viable economic relationship and system within the desired nations. We should not expect or want a nation to switch from a total authoritarian government to a market economy; doing so would be a disaster. The former Soviet Union is a notable example of this philosophy. Instead, the United States has to be willing to allow developing nations to invest its market before we invest in theirs.
In return, a viable export and import system will be gradually but successfully established. However, it is essential for the economy of a developing nation of Africa or Latin America to be monitored and run by government of that nation. The United States should only be there for advising purposes. When a reasonable system has finally been achieved, then more American, laissez-faire type of economic network will be allowed to grow. The new world order will be shaped by a combination of factors. Military force will continue to play a major role because an ability to provide defense will be key to maintaining power.
The country with the most firepower and the resources to mobilize that power will usually have a very good chance of winning any battle. Economics will also contribute something to the equation. A strong economy in terms of capital, natural resources, and labor can help a country choose its destiny. Money has and will continue to be a key element in achieving and maintaining power.
Technology will become increasingly influential as a factor in the next century. Whoever is on the cutting edge of technology can strengthen their economic and military position. Those that fail to keep abreast of the latest technological advances will be left behind. I do not think we can focus on just one factor because the world does not function on one factor alone.
As Samuel Huntington explains, (p. 22) the United States has unmatched power in three critical areas: multidimensional strength, influence based on structural position, and the fact that there is no other dominant power likely to emerge. Another important factor the U. S. has on its side is an appeal beyond its borders. This appeal has been almost impossible to duplicate elsewhere which only increases its popularity. The United States together with Europe form NATO, which is a single dominating power in the world.
NATO will still be kept intact even though the communist regime in the former Soviet Union has collapsed. Communism is still alive and well in other areas so it is foolish to believe the world will never have to deal with its unwanted spread again. Since we cannot predict the future, I do not think it is wise to place such a limiting definition on world organizations. I think the mission statement of NATO should also be altered so that the organization's purpose is to defend against ALL unwanted advances of any kind towards any nation. With broader mission statements, these organizations can adapt to rapidly changing world events without always having to reassess their current position. How can developing countries of Africa and Latin America compete with developed countries?
At the current moment and probably for the next 30 years they will not have any chance. It is mainly because of their total or partial dependence on industrial developed states. According to the modernization theory, Third World countries will have to follow the same path that Western states did earlier if they wish to modernize. (Jackson p. 440) Countries in Africa and Latin America will have to accept the modern ideas about political processes, education, and the economy. Nonetheless, leaders of these undeveloped countries normally followed the idea of authoritarian, which restricted the freedom of people.
On the other hand, world institutions are only willing to provide fund and assistance to those countries with norms about freedom and capitalism. As a result, these third world countries are unable to obtain fund to work their way out of poverty. In order to achieve modernization, Western states suggested, The way for Third World countries to develop is by competing with developed states in worldwide free trade. If domestic producers in these countries were exposed to international competition, they would be forced to become more efficient and effective: that is, they would have to modernize. (Jackson p. 440) How could these Third World countries in Africa and Latin America succeed if world organizations in developed states refuse to provide support to them?
How could they compete with those highly developed countries with such limited resources? The other factor that affects Third World countries is the dependency theory. It is basically Marxist inspired, attempts to describe the situation of LDCs as being caused by their incorporation into the global, capitalist economy during the period of colonization. (Jackson p. 440) Dependency theory actually suggests that LDCs should not follow the Western route to development. It also suggests that forcing the undeveloped countries to compete globally will only increase the gap between Third World countries and developed states. In other word, it increases poverty in those Third World countries. The existence of these Third World countries is only to provide cheap labors for the benefit of richer states.
The UN was established with its primary purpose as an international organization to ensure peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations, and to promote human rights and better standards of living. The United Nations is not a world government, nor is it an independent entity. It is a means for countries to co-operate, when and if they choose to do so. The rulebook is the UN Charter, and decisions about how it is interpreted are taken by the member states.
The basic concepts on which the UN was established have also recently come under criticism from different nations. Many nations believe that the United Nations is too western orientated and claim that it pressures other nations to conform to the western ideals of right and wrong. Different cultures see differently on different issues and there is an underlying feeling amongst some nations that the UN does not cater to all cultures and nations alike. This belief has led to the UN's decrease in support and the blatant disregard for its jurisdiction shown my many countries of late. Third World countries of Latin America and Africa do not have much influence in the UN, which even makes them more weak in the political spectrum of new world order. These constant contradictions in situations worldwide and the different perspective on the fairness of international solutions to world problems make it very difficult to evaluate accurately the effectiveness of world order.
If the current global situation was examined by for example an person following western concepts, one might come to the conclusion that whilst the world is far from perfect, the initiatives in place have seen the vast improvement in achieving fair solutions. However, if one were to approach the question form the angle of a person of differing perspective, one would come to the conclusion that the initiatives in world order are not only ineffective in achieving fair national and international solutions to world problems, but are in fact creating an environment in which the major powers are attempting to violate the sovereignty of other nations and enforce their own concepts and beliefs. We can see that Third World countries in Africa and Latin America are still facing the problem of poverty. In order to work their way out, the governments should apply some appropriate policies and economic applications to overcome the problem. On the other hand, the richer states or more developed countries should provide the necessary financial aid to those poorer countries. They should work hand-to-hand in order to strengthen the global benefit and interest, which indeed, in my opinion does not happen.
This shows how week are the countries of Latin America and Africa are and how much they depend on western powers that dominate in the world. Bibliography: Alavi, Mehdi. A New World Order: Democracy, Civility and World Peace. Houston: Alavi Publishing, 1998 Carpenter, Ted. A Search for Enemies: America's Alliances After The Cold War, Washington D. C. : CATO Institute, 1992 Overbeck, Charles.
The Bilderberg Group: Planning The Worlds Future behind closed doors. web Gosling, Tony. Bilderberg the High Priests of Globalization. web New World Order in Their Own Words.
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