The system of states that now covers the planet did not arise out of thin air; rather it was the product of historical forces that gradually coalesced around the state form. But the dynamics of that process no longer obtain. In their place, a new, highly complex amalgam of material and ideational forces is now in the ascendant -- and its arrival has serious implications for traditionally configured, "Westphalian" states.
Understood as ("thick") globalization, this interlocking array of political, economic, social and cultural forces challenges the old order at two key points. First, traditional states had "hard shells," by means of which they were capable of consolidating differences between �inside� and �outside� to the point where the latter could more easily be quarantined. Second, for closely related reasons they were largely able to "absorb" domestic society, such that the individual was less a citizen than (s)he was a subject. But these (dubious) capabilities have been severely exposed and eroded, which leads us to ask, "Whither the state under globalization?" My thesis constitutes a sustained attempt to answer this question.
The theme is a large one - and I believe that to be adequately treated, large themes require a varied approach. First, in terms of theory this means that I borrow from a significant diversity of recognized �Schools� within the discipline of International Relations. Second, in terms of method I follow a similarly pluralist line. Broadly speaking, the work is interpretive as opposed to explanatory, which is to concede that one cannot be �purely� scientific while standing inside the phenomena one wishes to examine. On the other hand, this forecloses neither the scientific method nor its guiding spirit. With respect to states and the international system, we can still be "scientific realists:" states are real structures whose nature can legitimately be approximated through sciences. In sum, I cleave to a sort of methodological middle ground between science and interpretation, taking from each in the measure that they advance the discussion. Third, in terms of normative intent my chief concern is with the way things are; but as it turns out, the way things are increasingly includes the way they ought to be. In other words, the ontology of our globalizing world is increasingly deontological in texture.
This may sound contradictory. Nevertheless, the spread of universal norms - and of equally universal ordering principles, or patterns of global organization - has undeniable repercussions for the relationship between is and ought. In turn, the implications for states are profound. The answer to my central question, "Wither the state under globalization?" is this: we are now on the threshold of a neo-medieval era of segmented political authority. Centrally nested within this new order is the embedded cosmopolitan state, wherein universal and particular aspects of being can now be fully reconciled.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/217872 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Haigh, Stephen Paul, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Otago. Department of Political Studies |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://policy01.otago.ac.nz/policies/FMPro?-db=policies.fm&-format=viewpolicy.html&-lay=viewpolicy&-sortfield=Title&Type=Academic&-recid=33025&-find), Copyright Stephen Paul Haigh |
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