Effects of Western Dominance

            Throughout the semester, there has been a recurring theme in the course readings: the way in which Western actions impact and influence issues in the Global South. There have been interesting perspectives involving Western influence on the topics of colonialism, the resource curse, and conservation. The efforts of the U.S. and Western powers that attempt to help states in the Global South with poverty and development issues are widely known. International organizations and non-governmental organizations act to enhance situations in developing states in various ways from giving loans to tangibly providing relief. With this in mind, we often do not stop to think about the ways in which actions of the wealthy Western world dominate the decisions made regarding environmental issues and development outcomes. The way that the international system is structured allows for Western states to control many aspects of states in the Global South.

            The roots of this Western dominance can be traced back to colonialism. Colonies were used for production of raw materials or places for cheap labor and were never given the chance to use the resources in an effective way that would allow them to develop markets that could compete with the markets of powerful Western states. Mitchell's take on the resource curse also emphasizes the exploitative structure that the West has created within the international environmental context. He asserts that without oil and industrialization, Western states would not be where they are today. He places blame for the problems that come with resource wealth not on state governments but on the Western producers and consumers that create the demand for them. He concludes that developing states are simply not given the opportunity to diversify their economies and create new industries because they are heavily dependent on revenue from resources. The reading by Tamara Giles-Vernick about the Mpiemu people of the Sangha River basin of the Central African Republic also brings Western influence on developing states to attention. It talks about the way that the views of the people were influenced by colonizers, missionaries, and others that they came into contact with. The Mpiemu people exploited rubber and game for the economic benefits such as exchange and consumer goods that Western states provided.

            These are only a few examples of situations in which developed Western powers exert influence and control over outcomes of states in the Global South. Formal institutions within the international system also contribute to this unequal structure. For example, the United States is the country that always appoints the president of the World Bank. In addition, vote shares of the World Bank are based on how much money a country contributes. This inevitably leads to policies that favor Western interests because the wealthy countries of the Western world are able to contribute more to the World Bank and therefore have much higher voting power. The organization of the UN Security Council is also structured in a way that favors the West. There are 15 members of the Security Council, all of whom have veto power. Five of the 15 members are permanent members. The permanent members consist of the states with the largest economies, states with nuclear weapons, and the states that won World War II. This gives more decision-making power to the world's wealthiest and most powerful states, which can be problematic considering that member states always have their own domestic political interests as well. The structure of the international system clearly favors Western interests and allows for Western domination of environmental, political, and economic aspects of developing states.

            The course readings thus far have sparked my interest in this issue and I think it is important to keep it in mind when discussing global environmental politics, especially in modern times. It seems unfair to me to expect that developing states adhere to a set of restrictions or requirements in the name of environmental protection or conservation when it is undeniable that the West is highly responsible for the problems to begin with. Additionally, the standards for industries regarding emissions and other environmental problems are much higher now than they were when the United States and other current powers were beginning to industrialize. If industrialization is necessary for the economies of underdeveloped states to grow, it does not seem right for the West to have such a large influence, not only because of colonialism and dependency but also through formal international institutions. These are very controversial issues which must be further discussed in order to come up with an effective solution.

Sources:

Giles-Vernick, Tamara. Cutting the Vines of the Past: Environmental Histories of the Central African Rain Forest. Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne des Études Africaines, Vol. 37, No. 1 (2003), pp. 160-162.

Mitchell, Timothy. "Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil."Verso, 2011.