Political Issues for the Twenty-First Century

Mark Cowling, Dave Morland

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• eBook ISBN:
  9781351910330
• Subtopic: Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Assembling accessible and informative essays on contemporary debates and future issues in politics, this rewarding volume focuses on political developments in UK, European and international issues, and modern theoretical debates and problems. Each essay establishes the historical context before providing a speculative analysis of possible future developments. The collection presents a range of challenging and provocative accounts that deal with some of the most delicate, complex and fundamental issues that affect people living in Western Europe in the twenty-first century.

1 Introduction

Dave Cowling and Mark Morland

Why this Book?

Political and social speculation is not an uncommon event at the turn of a century. Imagine then the intellectual frenzy engendered by the onset of a new millennium. Academe has long been buzzing to the sound of the ‘post’ discourses. Participants and progenitors are too numerous to mention here. Suffice to say that debates on post-industrialisation, post-materialism, post-structuralism and postmodernism are both vigorous and extensive. Accompanying this flurry of theoretical imaginings and suppositions were a set of more hard-hitting accounts that represent the end of the battle of ideologies and the commencement of a new political world order. The closing of the twentieth century, then, induced a chorus of speculative political analysis about the future. Whilst not wanting to demean these various developments, the editors of this book remain convinced that there are a series of enduring political issues that are so deeply rooted in historical political structures that they will not dissolve and cannot be dissipated either by the advent of new millennium or by the growth of a so-called postmodern world.

It is not that the editors completely reject the value of some of the ‘post’ literatures. We are both deeply sceptical, however, about announcements of a new world order. Experience informs us that the collapse of the bipolar ideological struggle between Soviet communism and US neoliberalism has created a number of political vortices and vacuums that are presently being contested at both a local and global level. Pre-eminent among the contenders for power is nationalism. The consequences of this have already been felt in the Balkans and elsewhere. And it is not simply the demise of one world superpower that results in new political struggles emerging after decades of suppression. Rather, the triumph of US neoliberalism and the prospect of renewed American imperialism, whether at a political, cultural or economic level, has ignited the fuse of Islamic resistance in many parts of the world. Symbolically, the consequences of this have far outweighed anything the Cold War had to offer. For the first time in a long time the US took a direct hit on its homeland territory on 11 September 2001. It is difficult to underestimate the importance of the attack on the former World Trade Centre in New York. One thing that is clear is that the attack has reverberated across the globe, with direct military intervention by the US and its allies in Afghanistan and Iraq to date, with the prospect of further consequences in countries such as North Korea and Iran, to name but the most obvious.

The implications of such actions are equally unambiguous within individual nation states. Relations between some European states and the US, for example, have become strained over the US-led military intervention in Iraq. It has been estimated that somewhere between one million to one and a half million people marched through central London in early 2003 to protest against the impending war. That US foreign policy does not occur in practice in a political void is hardly a revolutionary thought. However, the attack on the twin towers and the subsequent US reaction does illustrate that there remain a number of interconnected political issues that will remain live for many decades to come: viz, ideological politics and resistance to forms of ideological politics.

But this is not a book about global politics as such. In recognising the global, national and local interconnectivity of such events as described above, the purpose of the book is to provide a collection of accessible and informative essays on contemporary developments and future issues in politics, broadly conceived, but with a UK focus where appropriate. Having established the intention of this volume it is worth pointing out at the start that some of the contributions in this collection of essays pursue a more general agenda than others. Whilst some chapters focus in a very tight way on an issue that directly affects UK politics, others, particularly some of the theoretical essays, raise issues that, whilst they may provide an informative backdrop to events in the UK, are much broader in scope.

The Structure of this Book

It would be foolish to believe that a single text could effectively represent the entire array of political issues that will remain or perhaps become significant over the next few decades and beyond. Rather this collection confines itself to offering a sample of investigative essays that address some of the major political issues that will remain prominent for the foreseeable future.

The text is divided into three sections that reflect what the editors believe to be some of the most important historical issues and contemporary developments in politics. Generally speaking, all of the contributions to this work may be read from a UK perspective. To be sure, some of the theoretical chapters transcend the limitations of UK politics and portend trends that know no state boundaries. But many of the other essays here have an obvious concern with UK politics, either on the domestic or international front. Part I concerns itself with political theory and political philosophy. There are three contentious accounts here.

In the first substantive chapter of this book Gibbins examines the question of philosophical foundations. Do concepts like truth, right and knowledge possess solid foundations? If not, what are the consequences for politics and philosophy? In a wide-ranging review Gibbins analyses a number of key issues. To begin with a sketch is offered of what an anti-foundationalist politics and philosophy might look like. Here communitarianism is explored by focusing on its conception of morality grounded in communities of agents, with accompanying community-based anthropological and ontological foundations. Similarly, the role of traditions in our intellectual heritage is considered through the writings of MacIntyre, Rorty and Walzer. The second part of this chapter examines the issue of truth and foundations in more detail, evaluating the arguments against foundationalism with reference to Wittgensteinian philosophers. Following this, the chapter looks at the role of metaphor and supervenience, and how the latter supports the anti-foundational argument. Gibbins concludes this opening part of the book by contending that the state and modernity reached their zenith in the late nineteenth century. What we now need, he suggests, is a language of time as an antidote to the language of permanence and space. Such a language would help us make sense of the decline of the nation-state, the restructuring of classes and cultures and the deterioration of the Newtonian-Cartesian world picture.

Following this opening chapter, Carter offers a contentious analysis of the decline of the old left and the apparent victory of the free market. He explores the historical backdrop that led to the rise of New Labour, but also witnessed the emergence of a more dynamic progressive force - the anti-capitalist movement (ACM). In short, Carter’s claim is that in dispatching the old left to oblivion the forces of the free market have provided an opportunity for a movement that is potentially more powerful and effective than that which preceded it. In the first part of this chapter the major events and theories of the past are surveyed to reveal how New Labour was born. Here notions of flexible specialisation, the flexible firm and postmodernism are considered, together with some of the leading theoretical resources drawn upon by the party. The chapter then illustrates some of the similarities between New Labour and the former Conservative governments under Thatcher and Major. In particular, New Labour’s adoption of flexible labour markets, managerialism and public-private partnerships are key for Carter. Finally, the chapter analyses the nature of the emerging ACM, tracing its roots back to thinkers like Debord, and its more recent resonances in Klein. In doing so it demonstrates how the ACM has an international character and identifies the forces of globalisation as important targets for resistance. Additionally, it informs the reader how the ACM is mainly a fluid network of co-operative movements that roughly adhere to a core of common principles.

This first section of the book closes with another contentious contribution. Morland’s chapter proposes that it is time to resurrect the term totalitarianism. The reason for this is that contemporary society is on the verge of degenerating into a mode of socio-cultural totalitarianism. This mode of totalitarianism is the product of a long process of technological and scientific developments. Today, the potential for the development of a socio-cultural totalitarianism is disseminated by contemporary information and communication technologies (ICTs), which form the nucleus of a new surveillance assemblage. By drawing principally on the work of Lewis Mumford, but also others, it is argued that ICTs facilitate a convergence of the social, the cultural and the economic that establishes a new totality, a rhizomatic network of digital nodes and interconnections that constantly monitor and deterritorrialise the individual into a series of digital dopplegangers. In the process, the individual’s dominion of privacy is obliterated by an omniscient, omnipotent system that leaves her/him not only depoliticised and voiceless, but helpless in face of a dominant techno-scientific myth. Fuelled by this myth and nurtured by capital, this rationale or technique is in danger of begetting a new form of totalitarian society.

Morland suggests that the term totalitarianism can be meaningfully employed in a new direction. It is contended that one of the most important benchmarks of a totalitarian state, for example, has always been the disintegration of the barrier between the public and the private, the invasion of that supposedly inviolable sphere of privacy and self-concerning action which the state has no right to interfere with or encroach upon, is viciously trampled upon by totalitarian regimes. The chapter continues by demonstrating how society in the twenty-first century is perilously close to penetrating that sphere again, and is steadily eroding our defences against this invasion of our private lives. One of the key factors in this assault is the rise of a dominant techno-scientific myth. This is not a recent event, for as history reveals this myth has inhabited human culture, with periodic reversals such as the medieval era, since the dawn of civilisation. The chapter concludes by employing some of the post-structuralist thought of Deleuze and Guattari to illustrate the impending danger of a new socio-cultural totalitarianism.

The second section of the book is devoted to an examination of three important areas of present UK politics. All of them have been slowly unfolding over recent years, but none have concluded their journey across the twenty-first century political landscape. Indeed, it is unlikely that any will do so shortly, and it is possible that the issues at stake here have consequences that last well into the future.

This section begins by examining the rise of New Labour in Britain and the development of the Third Way. Here, Shepherd offers an account of the development of the Third Way that is set within the context of a supposed decline of ideological politics - at least within the UK. In the opening part of the chapter, Shepherd provides a history of the development of the Third Way by way of a tour of the party’s recent history from the 1980s forward. The commitment to modernisation made under Neil Kinnock and John Smith is examined in some detail, before proceeding to the leadership of Tony Blair.

Having provided the historical backdrop to changes within the party and its principles, Shepherd then goes on to analyse the central ideas of the Third Way. Key here are the Christian and ethical socialism that Blair draws from earlier figures, such as Tawney, together with the inherent pragmatism that New Labour has adopted in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles like globalisation. However, Shepherd contends that it would be wrong to argue that New Labour has abandoned ideology entirely. There still are differences between left and right in UK politics. New Labour may have moved onto new political terrain, but it is not without principle. More importantly, it is, according to Shepherd, a return to some traditional roots and ideas that will see New Labour dominate the UK political landscape for some time to come.

One of the most difficult and impassioned issues in the UK constitutes the materials for the second chapter in this middle section of the book: the issue of Northern Ireland. In his historical introduction to this issue, Cowling concentrates on the major background considerations that will influence developments in Northern Ireland over the next few years. After offering an informative historical backdrop to recent events the chapter proceeds by discussing the major parties and organisations involved, arguing that they make better sense if it is assumed they represent two nations. The crux of Cowling’s argument is that there are four main issues that are likely to dominate the next few years: the limited value of the Good Friday Agreement to Northern Ireland’s Protestants, decommissioning, demographics and the role of cross-border institutions. By investigating each issue in turn the dynamics of this issue are clearly mapped out for the future. In the longer term it is suggested that the evolution of the Republic into a more affluent and secular society and the deepening of the European Union may somewhat defuse the issue of the border.

The final chapter in this section focuses on regionalism. Here Elcock furnishes the reader with a brief historical introduction to regionalism in the UK. This early stage of the chapter focuses on the Thatcher regime before examining the fate of regionalism under New Labour. The progression to devolution in Scotland and Wales is analysed, as is the case for regional government in England. At this juncture Elcock addresses some of the major issues at stake. These include democratic accountability; local co-ordination of planning and policies; the allocation of resources; and the existence of a democratic deficit.

After examining the history and future prospects for further regionalism within the UK, Elcock then moves on to the international arena. Here the focus begins with Europe. Issues of language and culture are explored, before moving further afield to North America and consideration of economic factors in the drive for regionalisation in New York state. Elcock concludes by suggesting that there is a growing demand for regional government throughout the western world. More importantly perhaps, the rise of the international trading blocs, like the EU and NAFTA, has unleashed accelerating demands for autonomy and representation from minority identities and cultures across the globe.

The final section of the text is devoted to an examination of issues of growing significance in both a European and a global context. The implementation of the Euro has potentially massive implications for Europe’s standing as a world financial superpower, especially in light of the EU’s imminent expansion. Moreover, the issue of a single European currency is still considered too hot to handle by the present government. Having pledged to hold a referendum on whether the UK should join the single currency, New Labour remains reluctant to commit its credentials on this matter. The role of NATO has also come under increasingly close scrutiny over the past few years. In particular the Alliance has been forced to reassess itself in light of the re-emergence of ethnic conflicts in the Balkans and the wars in Iraq. Perhaps the most talked-about issue recently has been globalisation. The consequences of a pursuit of neo-liberal economic policies across the globe are discussed here, and help to illustrate the importance of this issue within the anti-capitalist movement discussed by Carter in the first section of the book.

The launch of the Euro has been a central feature of the development of the EU in recent years. In their chapter Stephen James and Julian Gough explain the economic effects of the single currency and examine some of its political implications. Euro membership, they demonstrate, affects all major aspects of policy from public spending and taxation decisions, to labour market policy and social protection. They start by describing the transition to the Euro. They note that the EU developed from free trade area to customs union to common market. The Euro takes the EU well on the way to a fourth stage of economic union in which the nations complete the integration by becoming a single economy with common monetary arrangements and enhanced fiscal arrangements, i.e. becoming in some sense a federal entity. The currency was introduced without a referendum in any member state except France, but despite lukewarm public support and an initial slide against the dollar, it thus far commands a high and increasing level of public acceptance. They move on to discuss the framework within which the European Central Bank operates, concluding that despite working tolerably well up to now it has major shortcomings in the three areas that are generally regarded as crucial for the legitimacy and efficient operation of institutions in democratic societies - democratic control, accountability and transparency. Turning to economic policy they are concerned that there is insufficient convergence between the national economies for a single rate of interest to make sense. Thus, for example, the small Irish economy is left to overheat because the German economy is in recession. They look at various possible remedies, concluding with a discussion of the possible role of labour market flexibility.

What about the Euro and enlargement? The new members from Eastern Europe are liable to strain EU budgets and exacerbate the division between an inner core of Euro-zone members and a less central group. Historically both the EU and monetary unions generally have been seen as a way of promoting harmony and preventing wars between nations, making this last issue very important. In a final exchange the two authors disagree about the role of the Euro as a stable currency, one fearing that the exacerbation of a two track Europe already mentioned may lead to instability and disintegration, the other arguing that the stabilizing effect of the Euro is so crucial that it trumps all other possible problems.

For EU watchers and international relations observers generally one of the most fascinating developments in recent times has been the emergence of the EU as a major player in world politics. With the decline of the Soviet Empire and the shift from a world dominated by bipolar military superpowers to one increasingly characterised by competing economic and trading blocs, the question of whether the EU is an international actor sui generis is addressed by Charlotte Bretherton in Chapter 9, Economic and Monetary Union: Implications for the European Union’s Global Role. One of the central questions posed is to what extent the EU enjoys autonomy from its Member States. In sketching out the historical backdrop to the EU’s emergence onto the global stage, Bretherton suggests that in trade and environmental policy, for example, competence is divided between the Commission and Member States. And whilst the Nice Treaty has extended the role of QMV, it remains uncertain, she argues, what the future holds. Whatever the future brings, Bretherton contends that the EU’s prominence as an international actor will depend on its presence and its capability.

Employing these concepts to appraise the future prospects of the EU, Bretherton argues that the EU’s presence is essentially a function of its being. Accordingly, presence is related to the EU’s internal policy developments and will manifest itself through enlargement, the CAP, the single market and the Euro. Underlying this analysis, however, is the explicit recognition that the EU’s presence will be as much to do with the reaction of third parties, particularly the US, as it is to do with the EU’s own policy developments. The capability of the EU is considered in relation to a number of key issues: a commitment to overarching values and principles; an ability to identify priorities and construct appropriate policies; a capacity to negotiate with other parties; and the power to produce and implement policy instruments. Bretherton observes that to date there have been difficulties associated with the consistency in which Member States adhere to EU policies, and problems of coherence that derive from the internal policy processes of the EU itself. Despite these troubles, Bretherton concludes that at present the EU’s greatest area of capability lies in its economic policy instruments. This does not mean, however, that the EU is yet a major actor on the world’s financial stage, even if it has occupied the role of major opponent to the US in global environmental and economic negotiations.

The changing international security context has presented a number of dilemmas for NATO. In Chapter 10 Andrew Cottey considers how NATO has responded to events after 11...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Contributors
• List of Tables
• List of Abbreviations
• 1 Introduction
• PART I: THEORETICAL ISSUES
• 2 Political Philosophy without Foundations and Anti-Foundational Politics
• 3 Capitalism in the Raw (or, how the death of socialism made anti-capitalists of us all)
• 4 Technologies, Surveillance and Totalitarianism
• PART II: UK ISSUES
• 5 New Labour, the Third Way and Ideological Politics
• 6 Northern Ireland: Plenty of Problems for the Future
• 7 Regionalism: A Response to Globalisation?
• PART III: EUROPEAN AND GLOBAL ISSUES
• 8 The Economics and Politics of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)
• 9 Economic and Monetary Union: Implications for the European Union’s Global Role
• 10 NATO and the Challenge of Security in a New Era
• 11 Globalisation and Third World Poverty
• Index