CHAPTER 4: ACTORS OF INTERNATIONAL R

ELATIONS
Note: Credit to Nur Aida Kipli (UiTM Sarawak)
In diplomacy, international law,
journalism and academic analysis, it is
widely assumed that IR consist of the
relations between coherent unit called
STATES.

A broader context by analyzing relations

between governments and many other
actors.
FIVE CATEGORIES OF POLITICAL A
CTORS
(Jackson & Sorenson, 2008)
(1)GOVERNMENT
< 200 countries including
192 UN members.

(2) INTERNATIONAL
GOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS (IGOS):
246 IGOs e.g UN, NATO,
EU.
 (3) TRANSNATIONAL
COMPANIES/MULTI-NATIONAL
COMPANIES (TNCS):
> 77,200 e.g. Vodaphone, Ford,
Shell, Microsoft, with 773,000
foreign affiliates.

(4) NGOs & INGO:

>10,000 single-country NGOs e.g
Population Concern (UK), Mercy
(Malaysia) have significant transnational
activities.
>7,300 INGOs. E.g. Amnesty International

(5) TERRORIST:
> 55 ethnic groups, 50 religious
groups, 20 left-wing groups, and 5
right-wing groups.
 WHAT IS NATIONS-STATES?

Ideally, a nation-state represents the joining of a nation & state.

All nation is united within its own state, and the people of that
state overwhelmingly identify with the nation.
 STATE
A state (country) is a tangible institution.
Principal actors on the world stage.
States continue to dominate the action & to act with independence in a
largely anarchical, horizontally structured international system.
Despite the pivotal role of sovereign states, they are not the only
system-level actors.
There are significant centralizing forces that are slowly transforming the
system into a somewhat more vertical authority structure.
Government and state’s leaders.
 NATION
People who:
1. Share demographic & cultural similarities.
2. Possess a feeling of community (mutually identify as a group
distinct from other groups.
3. Want to control themselves politically.
A nation is intangible.
It exists because its members think it does.
• Nationalism is an ideology
that holds that the nation
should be the primary political
identity of individuals.

• Nationalist ideology maintains

that the paramount political
loyalty of individuals should be
patriotically extended to the
nation
•-state, the political vehicle of
the nation’s self-governance.
• An ideology, a complex of related ideas that establish values
about what is good & bad.

• Directs adherents on how to act (patriotism)

• Link together those who adhere to the ideology

• Distinguish them from those who do not.

• Connects individuals, their sense of community & their

political identity in contradistinction to other nations.
The LINKS ARE CONSTRUCTED when
individuals;

1. Become sentimentally attached to the

homeland.

2. Gain a sense of identity & self-esteem

through their national identification.

3. Motivated to help their country.

(2) INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGAN
IZATIONS (IGOs)
IGOs consist of countries. Now, IGOs share the stage (space)
with states in IR.
An organization comprised primarily of sovereign states
(member states), or of other intergovernmental organization.
IGO is an important aspect of international law.
IGOs are established by treaty that acts as a charter creating
the group.
Treaties are formed when lawful representatives
(governments) of several states go through a ratification
process, providing the IGO with an international legal
personality.
Intergovernmental organizations in a legal sense should
be distinguished from simple groupings or coalition of
states.
IGO must also be distinguished from treaties.
• Many treaties (such as the NAFTA before the
establishment of the WTO) do not establish an
organization & instead rely purely on the parties for
their administration becoming legally recognized as an
ad hoc commission.

• IGO differ in function, membership & membership

criteria. They have various goals and scopes, often
outlined in the treaty or charter.

• Some IGOs developed to fulfill a need for a neutral

forum for debate or negotiation to resolve disputes.

• Others developed to carry out mutual interests in a

unified form.
 IGOs OBJECTIVES
01 To preserve peace through conflict resolution & better IR

02 To promote international cooperation on matters such as

environmental protection

03 To promote human rights

04 To promote social development

05 To render humanitarian aid

06 To economic development
 1.WORLDWIDE OR GLOBAL
ORGANIZATIONS:
Generally open to nations worldwide as
long as certain criteria are met. UN and its
specialized agencies, the Universal
Postal Union, Interpol, WTO and the
IMF.

2. REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Open to members from a particular
region or continent. European Union
(EU), African Union (AU),
Organization of American States
(OAS),Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN).
 3.CULTURAL, LINGUISTIC, ETHNIC,
RELIGIOUS, OR HISTORICAL
ORGANIZATIONS
Open to members based on some
cultural, linguistic, ethnic, religious, or
historical link. Commonwealth of
Nations & Organization of the
Islamic Conference (OIC)

4. ECONOMIC ORGANIZATIONS
Based on economic organization. Some
are dedicated to free trade, the reduction of
trade barriers WTO and IMF. Others are
focused on international developments.
International cartels, such as the
Organization of Petroleum-Exporting
Countries (OPEC).
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZA
TIONS (NGOs)
term that has become widely acceptedThis
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term in general use but is not a legal definition. In many jurisdictions these types of
organization are defined as "CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS“.
Apart from "NGO", often alternative terms are used as for
example:

 independent sector
 volunteer sector
 civil society
 grassroots organizations
 transnational social movement organizations
 private voluntary organizations
 self-help organizations
 non-state actors (NSA's).
• The influence of NGOs on both national governments &
international diplomacy is growing.

• Their numbers increase & as technological advances allow

them to operate more effectively across political boundaries.

• NGOs also provide increased opportunities for individuals to

become involved in global affairs.
MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS
(MNCs)
• Also known as TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS (TNCS)

• Production facilities, sales outlets & other operations in more than

one countries

• Long existed, now rapidly grow- vast expansion pf international

trade, investment & other financial interactions.
• MONEY IS A SOURCE OF POWER IN IR.

• Therefore, these economic giants exercise considerable

influence over the course of events.

• Some idea of the economic power of the MNCs can be gained

from comparing :
Gross Corporate Product (GCP: total revenue)
VS
Gross National Product (GNP: a measure of all goods &
services produced by a country’s citizens & businesses) of
various countries.
TERRORIST GROUPS
• Increasingly, terrorist groups are able to travel, move
funds and communicate globally with ease.

• Increasingly able to inflict massive damage. E.g. 9/11

attack on the World Trade Center.

• Possibility of terrorists using biological, chemical, nuclear

or radiological.

• Acc. to International Atomic Energy Agency (2008), there

are 130 terrorists organizations with the potential to mount
an attack using such weapon.
 THANK YOU
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SESSION