Public authority and Regional Blocs (Week 9 Post class)

Realists and  pragmatists alike deny the public authority of supranational organizations based on their incongruities and seeming incompatibility with nation states. Specifically the EU/EC comes under condemnation for its invasive nature. The typical American would recoil at the idea of a similar organization taking place in  North America. I, however see supranational public authority as being in the process of legitimating. The problem critics have with this legitimization is that it does not fit the Westphalian system established for the past several centuries.

We currently see nation-state public authority as legitimate because it follows the general guidelines set after the peace at Westphalia. Strict respect for territorial lines, general agreement to stay out of internal affairs, and rejection of inter-christian wars became the standard of public authority. Later,  wide-spread democratization and state consolidation strengthened these guidelines by reinforcing the westphalian precedence. This system then dominated the 19th and 20th centuries until globalization arrived.

Globalization increased the inter-connectivity states. Among the most ambitious to welcome this opportunity were the nations left behind by the West. China, India, Brazil, and Mexico surged onto the international scene. They utilized  globalization to succeed in a game stacked against them and unsteadied nearly 300 years of Western dominance.

The importance of regional blocs is becoming more evident. Europe is currently attempting to secure its public authority and is defining it in terms of migration policy. Similarly, Mercosur is attempting to survive and thrive during corruption scandals in several of its main states. These supranational organizations will not gain authority in the Westphalian tradition alone. They can gain legitimacy through other democratic principles such as transparency and accountability. They can also establish security entities similar to NATO, though differences would certainly exist. In short, just because it will not resemble the old way, does not mean that supranational authority is negated or impossible. Rather, it is a new legitimization process taking shape.



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