2015-08-21
1550Kushkenova Romina Maratovna
2nd year student of Law Faculty of L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University,
Specialty International Law
This article is devoted to the role of globalization in different spheres of the government and society. The term globalization at first was used in the beginning of the XX century by Theodore Levitt in «Harvard Business Review» magazine[1]; but despite this fact, the problem of globalization is mainly actual these days.
A lot of scientific researches were made concerning the globalization. Most of the scientists consider this process as a positive one, but there are those, who think that globalization undermines state sovereignty.
As we all know, the only sphere where the process of globalization was prevailed on its first stage was economics of the government, which implies a single global market; but for now it covers almost all the spheres of the government and human life.
Anyway globalization means changes from different sights, including the political one. Accordingly, there comes a question. Globalization and Sovereignty: are they compatible? Does globalization mean the end to state sovereignty?
Under the present conditions the globalization and regionalization processes that impact on state-legal and socio-political life are very important. To this day there is no the most appropriate, precise and generally accepted definition to globalization concept. The essence of globalization lies in the title of the concept; so «global» means something that is spread all over the world.
As I have already mentioned, the process of globalization is considered from different sights: political, economic, social, etc. For instance, the process of globalization is considered by American sociologist Roland Robertson[2] as a process of ever-increasing impact of various factors of international importance on the social reality in some countries (for example, international legal issues of close economic and political ties, cultural and information exchange etc.). In other words, globalization is a process of unification of any definite areas that spreads the whole international society, the whole world at all. According to one of the most prominent law scholars and professors of Russian Federation M. N. Marchenko, globalization is a two-sided process. From one side, it can provide the abundance, improve the productivity and give its efficiency. And on the other it redoubles the inequality, makes it difficult to adapt to the new conditions, reduces the diversity and undermines civil society.[3]
Now it’s time to sovereignty. What’s its meaning? What’s the importance of this concept? Does it have any significance in modern conditions?
For instance, Georg Jellinek, a German public lawyer, considered a state sovereignty as an ability of the state to «an exceptional legal determination». He wrote that a sovereign state power, therefore, is a power that doesn’t know any other highest power over itself; thus this power is characterized as an independent and sovereign one.[4]
L. F. L. Oppenheim, a German jurist, regarded as the father of the modern discipline of international law, also confirms the fact that sovereignty is «the highest power that doesn’t depend on any other earth power».[5]
However, despite the similarity of views of the most authors concerning the sovereignty concept as the rule of state power inside the government and its independence outside, in the context of globalization sovereignty acts as a kind of barrier to the states integration into a single global system and as a certain brake on the way to «progressive development of the world civilization». From my point of view, paying attention to the nowadays conditions, sovereignty should be considered not as the independence of the government on international area, but as its non-obedience. Though these concepts are closely interrelated with each other, however, their meanings are not absolutely identical. Independence means a complete freedom that is out of the question talking about international area; and non-obedience means the same freedom, but including the liberty of the other governments too with the government of what this or that state is cooperated.
As the evidence that globalization can not be done without some limitation of state sovereignty, there can be given the following example:
1. The 3rd part of the 4th article of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan (adopted on 30 August 1995) specifies the following:
The international treaties ratified by the Republic have priority over its laws and are implemented directly, except the cases when the international treaty requires the promulgation of a law.
In other words, in this case the law indicates that the international instruments take precedence over national legislation.
According to the dualistic theory of interaction between national and international law, there is a statement that the national and international laws are two separate legal systems, two different law enforcements. Without denying the possibility of a collision or interaction of these legal systems, ones of the supporters of dualism believe that the national law does not apply to international legal relations. In this case, the prevalence of the dualistic theory of the primate of international law over the national is obvious, in my opinion. It can also be considered as a consequence of globalization in the modern world.[6]
The collision question concerning the national sovereignty is one of the key issues in the field of private international law (PIL). In PIL theory and practice there is the concept of "immunity" states which is based primarily on the fact that each state has its sovereignty, on the fact that all the states are equal (the principle of sovereign equality of states). According to judicial immunity, a state can not be brought to the court of another state. However, not all the cases provide this type of state immunity - contracts and transactions in the commercial field, for instance, don't. Foreign trade transactions do not recognize the immunity of states, therefore, does not recognize their sovereignty. Such a characteristic has the title of the functional or limited state immmunity, which takes place when speaking about the countries in the economic turnover.
Accordingly, the prevalence of high level of globalization in the economic sphere is proven.
Supporters of the fact that globalization is necessary for a whole society process and supporters of the idea that globalization exacerbates the situation of states pose a single controversial question: and what about security? The difference is that the supporters who do not approve the process of globalization mean the security of certain countries in particular, and the dissenters mean the international security, which is more important. If there is no security at the international level, how can we talk about the private one? To ensure the safety inside the government the security should be in the whole world at first.
The president of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev in his message to the people "Nurly Jol" (2014 year) stressed that based on his considerable experience he has a feeling that the coming years are going to be the time of great trials for a whole world and for us as well. Not all the governments will be able to pass with dignity through this rather complicated stage. He mentioned that this milestone will be crossed only by the strong and united people and states.
In fact, during the period of globalization no country can exist in isolation from the other states. The head of the government Nursultan Nazarbayev since the independence in 1991 has set the task of integration of Kazakhstan in Central Asia, the countries of the former Soviet Union, United States, European countries and some other developed states.
There are several blocks of the integration character in the world, with which Kazakhstan is closely cooperated. Kazakhstan is a member of the UN (United Nations), the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), the IMF (International Monetary Fund), World Bank (WB), EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development), ADB (Asian Bank Development), SIC (Organization of the Islamic Conference) and ECO (Economic Cooperation Organization), TC (Customs Union), EAEC (Eurasian Economic Union). In addition, Kazakhstan has the diplomatic relations with 139 countries - the members of the UN.
In conclusion I want to say that some politicians oppose globalization and state. In their view, globalization is the process of establishing the dictates of world powers over the economy and politics, social and ideological aspects of the rest countries in the world. In this connection the borders of sovereign states, their patriotism and people themselves fall off no longer. Of course, such an opinion has a right to exist. The authors of this thought are right, in my opinion. It coincides with the theory of limited sovereignty during the expansion of globalization. However, we can not assume that globalization is a conspiracy of world powers or "world government" against the rest of the world. We must admit that globalization is a natural process that changes the world qualitatively, including the international relations in its all manifestations. Thats why this process requires more effective regulation and development of the unified rules of living in the world by the UN and the other international organizations.
REFERENCES:
M. M. Boguslavskiy. Private International Law. Lawyer textbook, 2005.-416 p.
Marchenko M. N.: State and Law in the context of globalization. - M.: Prospect, 2008.-400 p.
Grinin, L. E. Modern productive forces and the problems of national sovereignty. 1999.-44 p.
The Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan (amended on 02.02.2011). Almaty, 1995.
Message of President Nursultan Nazarbayev to the people of Kazakhstan "Nurly Jol". November, 2014
[1] The globalization of markets. Theordore Levitt, Professor, Harvard University. Abstract from Harvard Business Review, May-June 1983, p. 92
[2] Robertson, R. Interpreting Globality // Ed. by Robertson, R. World Realities and International Studies. – Glenside (Pa.): Pennsylvannia Univ. Press, 1983; Robertson, R. The Relativization of Societies: Modern Religion and Globalization // Robbins, T., Shepherd, W. and McBride, J. Cults, Culture, and the Law: Perspectives on New Religious Movements. – Chicago: Scholars Press, 1985; Robertson, R. Globalization: Social Theory and Global Culture. – London; Thousand Oaks (Ca.): Sage Publications, 1992.
[3] Marchenko. M.N. State and law in conditions of globalization. М.: Prospekt, 2009, p. 400
[4] Georg Jellinek. Allgemeine Staatslehre. Berlin, 1900. In Russian translation, Obshchee uchenie o gosudarstve. St. Petersburg, 1903, p. 458
[5] Oppenheim’s International Law, vol. I, Peace, introduction and part 1. 9th ed. Harlow, Longman, 1992, p. 36
[6] M. M. Boguslavsky. Mezhdunarodnoe Chastnoe Pravo. Private International Law. Moscow: Mezhdunarodnye Otnoshenia. International Relations. 1982. p. 325
