Internationalisation and the European Nation State Essay

Question 1It is undeniable that the state of world personal business has dramatically evolved since the end of the Second World War. More specifically, the surge of development in IT has been the chief curtilage that our world has become less a mosaic of nation-states and more a melting pot of societies, cultures, and associations whereby nation-states be inevitably bound to trans- field phenomena. As Cox notes, globalisation generates a more complex multi- direct world policy-making organisation, which implicitly challenges the old Westphalian assumption that a state is a state is a state (Cox, in Pierson, p.181).This usage shall support this notion of globalization by highlighting two problems from Pierson, namely decreased anarchy in the global policy-making arena, and the influence of the global economy on nation-states. These issues will be defined and and so discussed in relation to Lindensjs conceptions of Realist res publica and Communitarian democracy respectively .Decreased anarchy refers to the marginalization of the autonomy of nation-states in the internationalistic order. The gro realizeg interdependence between nations across the globe has resulted in a redirection of respective national interests towards the sphere of global rather than domestic (Pierson 174). What this means for realist democracy is a skewed orientation of political candidates they become no longer dedicated to domestic issues but those of an international nature instead. The problem with this lies in the fact that the success of the Realist democratic concept (in Lindensjs view) is dependent upon the competition of political leaders to win approval (via votes) from the citizens.There is a problem if politicians win a seat in office with a platform claiming to be for the people, and then redirect their interests after election to the international sphere. The welfare of the citizens is left on the sidelines in place of external issues, and the fruits of Realist demo cracy are not enjoyed by the people who voted for it, thus the authenticity of the democratic process diminishes.This is especially a danger in realist democracy since representation by political actors replaces active participation by the citizens Realist democracy thus does not entail, cannot entail, governance by the people in a real sense. It can only entail the people having the possibility to accept or reject pretenders, i.e. elect those that govern (Lindensj 3). These elected representatives, are in turn subjected to a political framework where, international institutions, conventions and regimes result the extent to which inter-state relations can be conceived as genuinely and actively anarchic (Pierson 175). Thus, the validity of Realist democracy is compromised seeing as though anarchy is its cornerstone.Similarly, Communitarian democracy is also restricted by the over-arching nature of the international order. Lindensjs conception of Communitarian democracy requires nati ons to be able to pursue interests in a incarnate manner, with its citizens as an intrinsic part of the democracy (Lindensj 11). There is a great emphasis placed on compromise a sort of give and take to realize the maximum of individual ideals in a collective manner. This sort of idyllic outlook on forming a democratic partnership would be difficult to intrust even in the small, cohesive communities of Ancient Greece.The decreased anarchy of the international order today magnifies the worry of assimilating different people, groups, and ideas under a collective banner. To imagine what Lindensj refers to as a homelike conjunction seems like a far stretch seeing that an increasingly interdependent world melds such a sheer mass of different people, outlooks, and traditions. The scale of interdependency in todays world nearly certainly underpins the homelike values necessary for impelling Communitarian democracy especially where individuals interests are drawn impertinent the do mestic sphere.Perhaps the most influential factor working against the Westphalian concept of global politics is the nature of modern global marketplaces. Today, domestic economies cannot escape the forces of the international economy (Pierson 171). As Cox notes, economic globalization has placed constraints upon the autonomy of states and, increasingly, states must become the instruments for adjusting national economic activities to the exigencies of the global economy (Cox, in Pierson 179).This draw out makes a direct reference to a lessening of state autonomy due to global economies. For this reason, it is undefendable that Realist democracy is challenged by the worlds economy and market forces that compromise autonomy. The economic implications of globalization reverberate those associated with decreased anarchy for example, if economic reforms are made to comply with the international system, this results in states focusing on international economic policies over domestic on es. The working class will most certainly fall behind out to those who hold political positions the elites, who will mold economic reforms around the international order and, more often than not, their own interests.For Communitarian democracies, global economics impedes the possibility of creating cohesive and collective communities. With economic concerns subjected to the influences of global markets, Communitarian democracies cannot specify there own economic agenda. Moreover, the Communitarian ideal of setting a collective goal as to what the heavy life should be is nearly impossible since the international economic order infiltrates domestic affairs. As Pierson notes, In practice, state organizations have multiple points of interaction with both domestic and trans-national actors and these interactions are very far from disclosing a single and unified will (Pierson 185). By imposing an influence on states, global market forces flake the Communitarian ideal of forming a col lective vision of the good life.Chapter 8 of Holden, entitled The United Nations as an manner of global democracy (Falk) and Chapter 10, Global civil ships company and the democratic prospect (Archibugi, Balduini, Donati) both focus on the idea of strengthening and broadening the influence of civil society to combat (what Falk refers to as) globalization-from-above. The Archibugi, Balduini, and Donati text focuses on the docket proposed by Boutros Boutros-Ghali, which in turn places a large focus on the democratization of the international community as the key to better international relations.The Realist conception of democracy would embrace this sort of change. With a system that provides a relevant representation of society and de-monopolizes intergovernmental relations as the sole means of international relations, the masses of the world will realize a new possibility to voice concerns on an international level (Archibugi et al, in Holden 137). For people in Realist democrac ies this means that political involvement that was once only a incorrupt handing-over of power to a representative is now a legitimate voice to be heard beyond the confines of the state. An important feature of Ghalis vision was the creation of UN Regional Organizations that would cater to civil society and make civil interests a higher priority.Falks concept of stronger social activism (globalization-from-below) to combat global market forces (globalization-from-above) would assist the Communitarian goal of correcting the growing imbalance between private and public goods (Falk, in Holden 163,173). Communitarians would support the equalizing aspects of this brass since it would contribute better to the philosophy of allowing a community to form its objectives without external influences. For Falk, the reformation of states to find a better balance, between the logic of capital and priorities of its peoples is paramount in the effort to promote more effective democracy. In both th e Communitarian and Realist views, a reform of the international political order in this manner would be a step in the right direction.BIBLIOGRAPHYGoldmann, Kjell, 2001. Transforming the European Nation-State. London SagePublications.Holden, Barry (ed.), 2000. Global Democracy. London Routledge.Pierson, Christopher, 1996. The modern font State. London Routledge.Stevenson, Nick, 1999. The Transformation of the Media Globalization, Morality, andEthics. Harlow, Essex Pearson Education Limited.Swedish Government, 2002. The Swedish Governments EU Policy Goals for 2002.