Considering Globalization: A Background on the Nation-State and Globalization

Signs of it are everywhere: McDonalds, Wal-Mart and Starbucks lining the corners of foreign streets, government leaders delivering speeches before the United Nations in hopes of garnering world-wide support for their causes, the franc and mark giving way to the Euro. The world is changing and many speculate that it's just the beginning of a new process called globalization, which some would consider to be revolutionary in nature, as it has the potential end of nation-state sovereignty. But are these predictions correct? The first step in evaluating the changes in the world is to have a firm grasp on what the frequently used terms mean. What follows here is a brief definition and discussion on the nation state and globalization.

The State System

A 'nation-state' is a sovereign nation composed of people who are united by a sense of common nationality. The origin of this concept extends back centuries, to a time when powerful leaders sought to control large groups of people by giving them common histories and common symbols. The British monarchs, for example, claimed themselves descendants of the great and mythic King Arthur; the French rallied around their girl-general Joan of Arc, etc. The cementing of this national sense is generally acknowledged to have occurred with the Peace of Westphalia, which ended much of the warfare occurring in 17^th Century Europe. It established what is commonly called the 'Westphalian System', a way of looking at the world which divides it into many sovereign states, each marked by its own sense of self-determination and non-intervention. It is the world view which has come under scrutiny with the advent of globalization.

Globalization

Globalization is the concept that the world is heading towards a more homogenized tomorrow. It involves the capitalization of the world, with consequences in all realms of society. Economically, it means that the world is leaning ever more towards a single market. Already, international organizations like the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank keep their fingers on the world's purse. In Europe, individual state currency has given way to the single Euro and has seemed to prove itself on the market. Politically, democracy is frequently viewed as the political institution of choice for those in a capitalist system. It allows for the kind of self-expressionism which feeds the capitalist market. Culturally, the theory gives rise to the suggestion that the world itself might become a giant melting pot, in which everyone shares similar cultures, has access to the same stores, the same foods, the same music, the same technology, and all forms of consumer goods. Power is divided between multinational corporations and the NGOs (non-government organizations) which serve to regulate them, thus stripping the nation-state of its relevancy.