Comic strips like the one above are becoming increasingly politically inspired. This one depicts the European Union's (EU) reluctance to allow Turkey to join the Union (naturally, the word bird flu is a pun on the word turkey! There is little, if not no occurrence of bird flu in Turkey, so that is not a reason for their exclusion from the EU).

I feel that this issue is closely linked to the issue of globalization. Why? Ah, let us count the ways...

Firstly, the European Union is a significant international governmental organization, comprising 27 European member states today. It is a influential economic and political entity, possessing an effective single market, free trade of goods and services, and even a common agricultural market. The member states have all signed declarations promising not to declare war on each other, and have also signed landmarks pacts with one another regarding security and democratic relations. International organisations such as this are common in our globalized world. National boundaries are broken down as countries come together in one big organisation with no dominant leader/president. In addition, these countries come together to tackle global issues often related to globalisation-be it bird flu, soaring fuel prices or a certain Iraq War(:

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. Back to Turkey and the EU. Now, one of the major reasons why Turkey is not allowed to join the EU is because of the Turkish Government's official policy regarding Cyprus, a member of the EU. Turkey refuses to acknowledge Cyprus as an official state, and an enraged Cyprus has threatened to continue to veto accession talks for Turkey unless it amends its policy. Thus, the EU is now putting pressure on Turkey to recognise Cyprus. And you know what? I think with time, Turkey will eventually be forced to recognise Cyprus as an official country. It has wanted to join the EU since April 1987, and with good reason. The EU grants European states numerous economic benefits, as well as security that is becoming increasingly important in the world today.

This shows how globalization triumphs over state sovereignty, doesn't it? Institutions that are the embodiment of globalization, such as the EU, are able to impose their laws and regulations on countries, overriding official state policies. International laws such as these compromise state sovereignty. It is a definite trademark of globalization-the crumbling of national boundaries lead to a loss of the power of the state, such as in this case.

And here's another feature of today's globalised world-a change in diplomatic relations. Many countries have complex diplomatic relations with other countries, sometimes due to historical animosity and grudges (think China-Japan here) and most of the time, it's due to the inherent need to protect one's own interests, and this need arises from globalization. With global problems arising left, right and centre (such as diseases), the countries have realised they cannot stand alone.

The complicated allies issue takes precedence in the EU-Turkey problem. For example, there have been numerous military provocations between Greece (a present EU member) and Turkey, over territorial issues in the Aegean sea. Thus Greece is adamantly against Turkey joining the EU. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, supports Turkey's bid for membership as Turkey has close ties to the United States, and it is the hope of the UK that countries such as France and Germany, who have a strong independence stance towards the US, would soften their view as more allies of the US join the EU. Isn't it evident how globalisation radically affects allies and diplomatic relations?

It is more clear than ever that in today's political world, globalisation is a major player. And it is here to stay.

Your friendly international relations girl,

Xiu Qing!