Higher education in Asian countries and the role of international ...

46
changing needs and meet the new challenges by exploiting modern knowledge and developed
human capital. Functionalism also provides a foundation for globalization theory.
3.4.5.6 Globalization
Globalism is the inverse of localism. The process of globalization had started with the opening of
Silk Route thousands years back but during the twentieth century it got momentum because of
multiple factors: fast mean of communications and transport; existence of international
agreements and organizations; massive movement of people and mass migration; transnational
and multinational economic activities; competition for new markets and resources.
Globalism is a doctrine in which the entire world is regarded as the appropriate sphere for a
state's influence (The American Heritag Dictionary, 2009). According to this theory the interest
of the entire world is placed above those of the individual states and international actors.
Globalists believe that IOs and IGOs are key players in facilitating international cooperation and
in the provision of common platform to achieve international objectives, to solve mutual
problems and to overcome the barriers in the way of globalization. Globalist consider IGOs the
future of the world: as it is evident from the expansion and extension of IGOs during past fifty
years, and it is also apparent from present role of IGOs in war, peace, socio-economic
development and environment protection. For example, UNO, NATO, The World Bank, IMF,
UNESCO, UNEP, WTO
3.4.5.7 Intergovernmentalism
Interaction and cooperation among governments gave birth to the theory of inter-
governmentalism whereas the conception of IGOs further reinforced this idea. According to
Oxford dictionary, “inter-governmentalism is both a theory of integration and a method of
decision-making in international organizations that allows states to cooperate in specific fields
while retaining their sovereignty” (Oxford Dictionary of Politics, 1996). The doctrine of inter-
governmentalism holds that national government is the face and force of a state, and the behavior
of any state depends upon the actions and policies of national government. Likewise national
government has an influence and it affects the behavior of individuals and international actors
representing that government. The core objective of inter-governmentalism is to achieve
integration of states, facilitated by the existence of IGOs, to attain common goals without sharing
power with other actors. Inter-governmentalists stress upon interstate cooperation and integration