A nation state is a political unit where the head(s) of that unit control the state’s resources, administer it, develop and maintain law & order, among other things. Transactions within a nation state are governed by the social constructs of that state as well as on the basis of enforceable laws. This is possible because the state machinery is entirely controlled by its political unit. There is no external overriding power or influence (at least in theory).
When it comes to international affairs the enforceability of transactions is questionable. The social construct governing international law & order is tenuous at best and maintained by the hegemony of one group of nations. A hegemony often favours itself and so transactions are not enforced in a fair or equitable manner.
So what holds it all together? In two words: pressure points. Every nation state maintains pressure points against every other nation state that it has relations with in order to have leverage in negotiations. To put it crudely, the attitude is: “You help me, I help you. You hurt me, I hurt you.” Any claims of the “greater good” are grandiose at best and ostensible at worst; every nation or grouping of nations takes care of itself and will not give up power willingly. Statements to the contrary are for media consumption and for those gullible enough to believe it. Any “common goods” that have arisen over the centuries are a result of greater benefits accruing to the provider of said common goods. The invention of the Internet is often invoked to suggest that it was done altruistically; one need only consider how much wealth has been generated for the nation that invented the Internet and how much power and reach that nation state has because of it. One may also consider that any good which doesn’t yield benefits to the holder upon sharing will not be shared. Eg. Many of the military advancements are not shared freely or widely.
The group of nations that has greater leverages maintains a greater negotiating position and also works to maintain those leverages for future negotiations. Such methods will lead to inevitable conflict. History has shown that injustice and inequities are the causes of sustained conflict, bloodshed and revolution. What is true within a nation is also true among nations.
It behooves those nations in powerful positions to be wise and share some of their power and authority or, at least, not use any means to hold on to it. This may sound like wishful thinking, but if convincing arguments with facts, data and logic are put forth, it will at least provide fodder for thought and possibly serious future consideration.
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