Is Internationalism really as good as the world makes it out to be?
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, internationalism is a mindset or belief favouring a policy of cooperation among nations. It’s a political principle that promotes greater political and economic collaboration and growth between states and nations. Internationalism advocates for a global capitalist society where nations are interdependent on each other. Society as we know it today focuses primarily on economic growth and stability on a global scale, favouring that over a country’s domestic market. Therefore, internationalism should be embraced to a limited extent because it overshadows a nation’s internal affairs as it leads to regional cleavages, environmental harm, and loss of sovereignty and popularity in a nation.
Regional Cleavages in Mexico
Internationalism has led to the creation of global trade agreements which have been seen to increase a nation’s total gross domestic product (GDP), but have also resulted in major regional cleavages. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is an international organization with the purpose of eliminating all tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade and investment between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Originally, NAFTA impacted macroeconomics in Mexico and helped the nation grow out of its financial crisis. As some of the Northern states in Mexico share a border with the United States, who they can freely trade with, the North plays a direct role in trade and is more economically benefited compared to the South. NAFTA has brought forward unemployment, the bankruptcy of domestic businesses, environmental threats, and loss of national identity in Mexico. Over 44,000 domestic jobs were lost. However, the country gained 500,000 jobs as a result of significant foreign investment activity, majorly resulting from Mexico’s involvement in NAFTA. A large amount of these jobs were prioritized in the North as it’s far more convenient for American trade and investment. The population in the Northern states of Mexico observe higher levels of education and employment due to their trading connections with the United States. NAFTA has also resulted in over 2 million domestic farmers, majorly situated in the South as their lands are more suited to farming, going out of business due to increased portions of harvest coming from across the border. The North has seen an annual 5–7% increase in GDP whereas the South’s GDP has remained stagnant for the past four decades. Internationalism has pushed the Mexican nation into a state of constant regional conflict where the North supports a global market-based economy and the South has very little trust in the Mexican government. As a result of the Mexican government embracing internationalism, already existing regional cleavages have only been accelerated due to income inequality and major societal differences in differing areas, displaying the negative impact internationalism can have on a nation.
Environmental Degradation and Health Risks in China
The race to be present on the global markets has led to rapid industrialization, resulting in increased environmental harm. The Chinese government has embraced internationalism by pursuing industrialization. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has changed its economic ideology since 1979, following the death of revolutionist Mao Zedong. The CCP has embraced neoliberal policies, expanded their socialist market economy, welcomed privatization of industries, expanded their foreign direct investment (especially in their special economic zones (SEZs), and embraced global international influence. These changes are in favour of internationalism as the CCP carried them out with incredible speed and determination, successfully placing China on the global markets. The surge in the creation of manufacturing factories, due to the increased presence of multinational corporations (MNCs), has led to a rise in air pollution, smog in cities, river system pollution, and soil contamination throughout the country. Air pollution has significantly increased in China as the majority of manufacturing factories are created to run on coal, constantly emitting greenhouse gases and becoming the main source of air pollution in the country. Systemic air pollution, as seen in China, can lead to many health issues, including heart disease, nerve damage, respiratory illness, and reproductive challenges. This can cause extra expenses to the health care system as they attempt to care for increased health-related issues arising from a destroyed environment. As China continues to allow MNCs to profit off of Chinese labor, land degradation continues to occur with ecosystems and pieces of the environment being demolished in order to make room for more and more factories. These factories continue to pollute not only the air, but surrounding bodies of water as well. The CCP focuses on the economic success that internationalism has brought to the country and chooses to completely disregard the environmental harm and health hazards that are becoming more common throughout the country.
Loss of Sovereignty in Nigeria and Russia
In order for multiple nations to accept the principle of internationalism, they must surrender a part of their sovereignty and risk losing popularity amongst their citizens. Nigeria formerly had a completely nationalized oil industry with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) dominating the industry. As Nigeria entered into an era of higher global participation in its economy, the NNPC started to collaborate with foreign industries in order to extract and produce oil. As this did increase national GDP, it only benefited those already fortunate in the country and only increased poverty in other areas. It can be seen that losing a portion of sovereignty by amending policies and allowing the beginning of privatization has grown the economy, but it also puts strain on other aspects of political culture in Nigeria, such as regional differences due to income inequality and higher rates of poverty despite economic growth. In Russia, the oil industry was privatized in the 1990s. After rising to power, Vladimir Putin worked to re-nationalize Russian oil and the nation’s natural gas industry. This opposes internationalism and limits the extent to which Russia embraces internationalism as nationalizing industries focus on democratic markets over the global economy. By limiting the presence of internationalism in the Russian state, the Russian government solidifies its hold on power as the majority of citizens in Russia are in favour of an economy revolving around local industries. Internationalism plays a role in the loss of sovereignty in a nation whereas its absence can have an opposite effect and solidify power.
Decrease in Economy and Forced Ideologies in the United Kingdom
Limitations should be placed on the extent to which a nation embraces internationalism as seen through the negative effects it can have on a nation. Embracing internationalism can lead to regional cleavages, damage to the environment, and the loss of popularity, trust, and sovereignty in a nation. With all this being said, many believe that internationalism is a major tool for peace amongst nation-states. Individuals claim that this principle aids in all aspects of a nation’s political culture. This may be correct, to an extent, but there comes a time when nationalism must be favoured over internationalism. For example, the European Union’s (EU) purpose is to promote peace, establish a unified economic and monetary system, and break down barriers to trade and borders. However, this supranational organization caused the United Kingdom’s economy to decrease from 2.4% in 2015 to 1.6% in 2019. With a slower economy, the U.K. faced risks of other nations imposing on their freedom. Stability in an economy allows for governments to be able to use the revenue to attain goods and services for the citizens, allowing them to make decisions to better their nation and increase power, which was reduced due to the decrease in the economy. The United Kingdom Independence Party also believed that the EU was forcing their ideologies on British citizens, as well as believing that the elitists were prioritized and the middle and lower classes were being left out. This would create a societal gap with the wealthy benefiting more than middle and lower-class individuals, leading to income inequality and cleavages in society. The party challenged the ideologies of the EU and its bureaucratic structure. Individuals believed that the policies that affect the U.K. should be made in the U.K. and that leaving the EU would allow the U.K. to regain control over immigration and its borders. Independence from the EU would mean consolidating sovereignty. Euroscepticism encouraged the establishment of the 2016 Brexit Referendum Vote, which led up to the withdrawal of the U.K. from the EU in January of 2020; this was best for the nation as the EU’s ideologies did not align with the U.K.’s. The United Kingdom’s participation and then withdrawal from the European Union only solidifies why internationalism should be embraced to a very limited extent because internationalism encourages nations to overlook domestic affairs and focus on the global market. As can be observed in various nation-states, internationalism has negative impacts such as the loss of the environment, forced surrendering of sovereignty, and regional conflicts, which is why the political principle of internationalism should not be so openly accepted.
