Download - LSE Theses Online - London School of Economics and ...

colonial state. 136 The commitment to the sovereignty of the state was evenembraced in the call for a New International Economic Order in the 1970s, ademand that limited the issues of contention to states. 137Just as it did among industrialised countries, the dialectic relationship betweennationalism and internationalism played out in newly-independent states, with itseffects both in the international arena and domestically. Importantly, while it wouldbe anachronistic to speak of ‘internationalism’ existing between Africans and Asiansbefore the end of colonialism in the middle of the last century, the roots of laterinternationalism, embodied in what would become state foreign policies, can betraced to the ideologies and convictions of sub- and pre-nation state formations,such as political parties (like the African National Congress in South Africa, and theIndian National Congress in India): here, the roots of internationalism were nationalist.Hence, this form of internationalism prized the hard-won sovereignty of developingcountries, even at the expense of individual human rights. This strand ofinternationalism was exemplified by the principles of the Panchsheel, which included,as aforementioned: mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity andsovereignty; non-aggression; non-interference in each others’ internal affairs;equality and mutual benefit; and, peaceful coexistence.The question has been raised whether international solidarity still requires thenation-state. 138 This question is highlighted by the entry into government of the leftin a number of pivotal states worldwide, a trend that has arguably changed thenature of the state, and potentially, the nature of solidarity. However, “(The Stateoffers) a manageable (albeit top-heavy) site within which the working poor canmake limited claims on power, and have at least some opportunity to affect the waythey are ruled”. 139 The North-South divide still animates a variety of majorinternational issue areas, such as the global climate talks, the stalled Doha Round ofthe World Trade Organisation (WTO), and a number of conflicts on whichdeveloped countries differ with the developing world. The state is still beingvociferously contested in many so-called Third World locales: it is still a treasured136 Ibid.137 Cox, “Ideologies and NIEO”, 259.138 Brennan, “Cosmopolitanism and Internationalism”.139 Ibid., 75.73