The End of the Nation State (by Kenichi Ohmae) Class: Sociology of Globalization Speaker: Clemens Sett "New World Order" & Old World * end of Cold War: alliances and oppositions among industrialized nations diminished * along this development: modern nation state began to disappear * nation-to-nation linkages lost importance both in economics and in politics What is at stake? * Which party and policies dominate in the nation states' government? * The number of new independent units into which the old center decomposes? * The cultural lines along which it would fragment? * > the author says NO What is at stake? * there are fundamental changes in economic activities around the world * these activities have developed new channels that have nothing in common with the traditional political maps * > nation states are no longer meaningful units of participation in today's global economy Nation states > small actors? * 1. nation states have too little freedom to make contributions -- they may use traditional forms of economic sovereignty to boost the overall economic wellbeing -- BUT: the sovereignty over peoples and regions makes the desired economic success impossible -- Why? Because the global economy punishes countries which exert sovereignty by diverting investment and information elsewhere -- they are rather inefficient instruments of wealth distribution -- they are vulnerable through economic choices made elsewhere Nation states > small actors? * 2. nation states are increasingly a nostalgic fiction -- each state has regions with very different needs * 3. it is difficult to attach a national label to global companies -- Is an American car really a US product when a large percentage of components comes from abroad? * 4. if companies wear a national label it is not for economic well-being -- rather: `mini-nationalism' (in which emotion-symbols are important) Today's borderless economy * better access to low-cost, high-quality products when they are not produced "at home" * What can stop the forces coming into action since the end of the Cold War? -- cultural, religious, ethnic, tribal affiliations -- older fault lines which may reappear -- groupings based on civilisations not nations > these groupings are the only ones that seem to matter Civilisations & Cultures * Could they be meaningful units of economic activity? * > e.g. ASEAN countries -- a single, culturally defined economic area? -- they affect local patterns of work, trade & industry -- internal differences among religious traditions are large -- BUT: these differences do not provoke the same conflicts that arise elsewhere -- Why? > Conversation is possible; villages with different religions are economically linked Civilisations & Historical Context * all people are linked to the same sources of global information -- different lifestyles, consumer tastes, philosophies -- even if: immediacy & completeness may vary and governments try impose restrictions * > linkage to global flows of information is THE distinguishing fact from earlier periods in history Process of convergence * fast & deep process; reaches more fundamental dimensions -- worldview; mind-set; thought process -- instantaneous, `nanosecond' migration of ideas and innovations * information flows underlying economic activity are shared by all citizens and consumers > information as a `harmonizing entity' for different developments after the end of the Cold War Information-driven participation in the global economy * can contain the process of disintegration unleashed by the reappearance of older fault lines * Why? -- because well-informed citizens will not wait for improvements in lifestyle (e.g. by nation states) -- they want to build their own future -- they want their own access to the global economy Nation States and Global Economy * In history nation states managed economic affairs * Why? -- control of military strength -- control of natural resources and colonies -- control of political independence * > all of these aspects are of diminishing importance in a global economy Nation States and Global Economy * Instead: -- demands for a civil minimum, the support of special interests & the protection of disadvantaged groups rise -- the `speed of escalation' varies (under certain circumstances & under certain regimes) * What can stop this process? -- wars -- natural disasters (e.g. plagues, earthquakes, ...) -- > no adequate `instruments' Theory of the author * There is only one policy instrument governments have -- give operational autonomy to the wealth generating region states -- catalyze the efforts of these region states to seek for global solutions -- use their ability to put global logic first and enable the entry into the global economy * > away from the nations and back toward the regions The End of the Nation State (by Kenichi Ohmae) Class: Sociology of Globalization Speaker: Clemens Sett Questions * 1. Do you agree with the author to encourage economic activity going `back' toward the regions? * 2. How would you define `region'? Are there differences in the definition when looking at different continents?