Global Integration

The measurement of international integration, in all its aspects, is increasingly important to a complete understanding of societal well-being and its dynamics. A higher degree of international integration can be seen in itself as an indicator of societal progress, inasmuch as it reveals that human societies more and more acknowledge their common destiny. In addition, international integration fosters the provision of essential ingredients of societal progress, such as trans-national public goods and economic growth. These issues are often approached in the context of the debate about globalisation.

Political integration may be defined as a cumulative process of change in the nature of relations among more or less sovereign political units, such as states, during which these units voluntarily accept some kind of new central authority. This process requires at least four constituent elements: (a) the political units involved must permit the establishment of central institutions which promulgate policies; (b) the functions of this central authority may not be trivial or vague but must be important and specific; (c) the functions, or tasks, performed by the central institutions should be inherently “expansive”; (d) the political units must remain committed to the common enterprise because they perceive ensuing benefits.

Global integration, in contrast to regional integration or the integration of structures of authority within a state, refers to processes of integration during which functions are delegated to a new central authority whose decisions are accepted as legitimate by the component members of world society. What constitutes the members of a world society, or world society itself, is a question that can be investigated historically. Different historical periods are characterized by different types of world society, and the attributes of the members of these world societies may also differ quite radically in terms of size, number, absolute and relative power, internal cohesion, value systems, objectives, and so forth. The members of the world society may be nation-states (as is generally the case today), empires, principalities, city-states, or any other forms of political organization endowed with the authority to deal with external affairs.

Contemporary world society is a global society and, in fact, is about to transcend its global confines and extend into outer space. The attributes of this contemporary global world society and the nature of its component members can be usefully described and summarized by the term “international system.” That is, the contemporary international system may be regarded as one of many possible ways in which the members of a world society can interact. An international system in turn may be defined as a pattern of relations among the major units of world politics (states) that is characterized by the absolute and relative power of these units and by the conflicting and converging objectives pursued by these units. The resulting patterns of power and purpose are thus the consequence of the physical and psychological-motivational forces that operate within and among the major units.

Reading comprehension exercises:

1. Read the text, make up a plan and write down the key words.
2. Put ten questions to the text.
3. Define the term ‘integration’

4. Translate the following words and word-combinations into Ukrainian: societal well-being, to transcend its global confines, absolute and relative power, to acknowledge common destiny, a cumulative process, to be accepted as legitimate, promulgate policies, remain committed to the common enterprise.

5. Translate the Ukrainian words and word-combination in brackets into English:

Some taking an (міжнародні системи) perspective have focused on (міжнародна інтеграція). The development of integration as a major focus of (міжнародні відносини) research has been spurred by regional integration, particularly in Europe in the post-World War II period. International relations (науковці) have a variety of usages for the term “integration.” It is frequently used to mean (1) a specified state of an international system—e.g., a system where nations expect to have no war with each other or where (громадяни) feel a strong sense of community; and (2) a system with certain kinds of central (урядові інститути). Common in much of the integration literature is self-conscious concern with development of theory applicable to all international systems, universal and regional, through the study of systems more limited in scope. There also is a (велика зацікавленість) in discerning both the necessary and sufficient conditions for certain kinds of international governmental (влада) and the processes whereby such authorities can be established.

1. Retell the text.
2. Give the summary of the text

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14