Has Globalization Reinforced or Undermined the Legitimacy of the Nation-State?
Has Globalization reinforced or undermined the legitimacy of the nation-state?
Globalisation is a phenomenon that has been increasingly used in the lexicon since the latter half of the 1980’s, achieving widespread and common currency amongst politicians, political analysts, academics, economists, the media, business, trade and finance. The term has become synonymous with the “global village” concept, where nations and states are drawn closer together; where economic, political and cultural spheres extend across the world’s major regions and continents. A world where development in one part of the globe will impact life in another part of the globe. The polemic surrounding the process of globalization has hitherto been a highly contentious and controversial matter, whilst at the same time achieving a level of fashion in its use. The many debates over globalization and governance have concentrated upon its implications for the nation-state and that globalization is depriving the state of its sovereignty. Furthermore analysts and commentators have linked the growth of global relations to the diminished nation-state, the decline of the nation-state and the retreat of the state. Others have gone further still to debate the ‘crisis of the nation-state’, ‘the obsolescence of the state’ and even the ‘extinction of the state’. What is certain is that the nation-state is evolving and is being reshaped before our eyes. This essay will examine the contention of whether globalization has reinforced or undermined the legitimacy of the nation-state? Globalization entails a concept of deterritorialization and a spread of supraterritoriality particularly with the growth of transnational political organizations such as the UN, the EU and others. Hence what is the future for the nation-state? Will state borders disappear and herald a new global polity and order as we enter into the twenty first century?
The term globalization has been used in a wide range of contexts and is
Globalisation is a phenomenon that has been increasingly used in the lexicon since the latter half of the 1980’s, achieving widespread and common currency amongst politicians, political analysts, academics, economists, the media, business, trade and finance. The term has become synonymous with the “global village” concept, where nations and states are drawn closer together; where economic, political and cultural spheres extend across the world’s major regions and continents. A world where development in one part of the globe will impact life in another part of the globe. The polemic surrounding the process of globalization has hitherto been a highly contentious and controversial matter, whilst at the same time achieving a level of fashion in its use. The many debates over globalization and governance have concentrated upon its implications for the nation-state and that globalization is depriving the state of its sovereignty. Furthermore analysts and commentators have linked the growth of global relations to the diminished nation-state, the decline of the nation-state and the retreat of the state. Others have gone further still to debate the ‘crisis of the nation-state’, ‘the obsolescence of the state’ and even the ‘extinction of the state’. What is certain is that the nation-state is evolving and is being reshaped before our eyes. This essay will examine the contention of whether globalization has reinforced or undermined the legitimacy of the nation-state? Globalization entails a concept of deterritorialization and a spread of supraterritoriality particularly with the growth of transnational political organizations such as the UN, the EU and others. Hence what is the future for the nation-state? Will state borders disappear and herald a new global polity and order as we enter into the twenty first century?
The term globalization has been used in a wide range of contexts and is
References: Baylis,J. & Smith,2001, The Globalization of World Politics, 2nd edn.Oxford: Oxford University Press. Scholte,J.A., 2005, Globalization a critical introduction, 2nd edn. Hampshire & New York:Palgrave Macmillan. Is there a future for the nation-state in an era of globalisation?,www.shaneland.co.uk/academic/ma/globalisationessay1.pdf