Political System Stability and Influencing Elements

In order to identify the key factors in determining whether a legal/political system is going to be stable, there is a need to establish the indicators of stability. A political system can be considered steady if individual governments are efficient in ensuring economic prosperity, the absence of violence, and control of corruption. The recent rise of nationalism, for example, demonstrates that globalization has come to be overpowered by national interests. International cooperation is no longer a top priority. Some of the reasons include the increased number of refugees, the US interventions in the Middle East, as well as the growing power of international organizations such as NATO and the United Nations. In the post-Cold War era, isolationism, populism, and protectionism provided stability.

The obvious example of these factors’ imminent power is the comparison between China and the United States. It is apparent that the Chinese government has chosen a path of isolationism, at least in terms of international cooperation. As a result of this ‘peaceful rise of China,’ the country has grown tremendously over the last couple of decades. The Chinese economy is fairly stable compared to that of the US. The outcome of the 2016 presidential election serves as proof that the majority of Americans prefer protectionism in international relations. The country is destabilized since it is often the first one expected to intervene in international conflicts. Europe has begun to take note of America’s unfortunate example. Great Britain leaving the European Union indicates that global cooperation is undergoing a crisis. As of today, the key factors determining whether a certain political system is stable or not are protectionism, populism, and mutual deterrence in terms of foreign policy.