“The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line.” (Du Bois, n.d.)
Race has been at the epicenter of everything and it propagated throughout centuries in several forms; forms such as economics, geography, education, health and also, socio-politics. This essay discusses and explains the structure and issues of race within the international system/relations; its evolution and development, how it impacts nations and its populations, and nonetheless the elements of race and colonialism in structures of power; followed by the formation of the successful and long-lasting Eurocentric modern capitalism, which is still present in society and acts as a pattern of global hegemon (LeMelle, 1972).
As a definition of a grouping of humans by analyzing their characteristics, either physical or ethnic (En.wikipedia.org, 2018), or a contribution to and a product of stratification (LeMelle, 1972), race has conditioned and influenced many people on the globe, including its governance and leadership. From a socio-constructed conception (En.wikipedia.org, 2018) to a major and predominant constraint in the global order and politics, the ‘race’ denotation itself evolved, building a hierarchy between civilians and nations across the world: White vs Black, Asian and other ethnic groups (BAME). This division led to a different approach of how human beings perceived themselves, strengthening aspects such as levels of development, civilization values, history, religion, culture and traditions, physical features, garments and mainly, color (Jacques, 2003).
Race portrayed and still portrays a significant role in the world order; With its hierarchy status more than solidified – claiming whites as the dominant class and non-whites as the subordinates-, it easily breads racism, discrimination, inequality, and conflict too, perpetuating the ideology of a ‘White Man’s World’ (LeMelle, 1972).
This expression was implemented and widely spread by Europeans with the intent to classify and divide populations according to their ethnicity and backgrounds. With voyages of discovery, colonialism, slavery, and imperialism perceived as great sources of income and prosperity, it became easier for Europeans to strive with their sense of white supremacy and go beyond borders to achieve these hateful and money-driven causes (LeMelle, 1972). Even though, colonialism and slavery are over per se the disparity amongst people, in modern society, is overwhelmingly large (Nkrumah, 1965); race is a structure that conditions and influences the power and actions of actors in the international realm and, in fact, remains beneficial for the Transatlantic couple, the EU and the US. It is then obvious that South American, Asian and African civilizations were reduced solely to their post-colonial and inferior identities and that the conception of a modern and civilized Europe still lingers powerful and wealthy, alienating others from their participation in historical, cultural and financial donations onto the international system (SHILLIAM, 2011).
So how can this term have a credible structure of correlation and such an effect on the international system as we know it? The three antecedents, mentioned priorly, generated a meaningful advantage to the Transatlantic couple in regards to the rest of the globe – Big decision makers with IGOs such as UN, WTO, IMF, NATO or World Bank; leaders of renown institutions such as banks, universities and hospitals; predominant winners of warfare in events like WWI, WII and Cold War; huge influencers in aspects of culture, law, democracy, science, technology, engineering, religion and immigration and responsible for the rise of capitalism and the role on globalization too. The Transatlantic couple is then easily seen as the global hegemon and the face of the international system without any accountability that their strength and mighty development was built on the back and discreditation of the BAME population ().
What also perpetuates widely the state of devaluation that the non-white nations currently find themselves in is the lack of international opportunity and mobility, poverty and debt crisis, uneven development rates with a rapid population growth to a bad wealth distribution, disproportionate citizenship status, high migration flow (LeMelle,1972), neo-colonialism and dependency on Western states, unbalanced of life chances and success by race and by state/region, and a white privileged global society.
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