1 / 8

Globalisation and the Decline of the Nation State

Globalisation and the Decline of the Nation State. www.educationforum.co.uk. What is Globalisation. Globalisation describes the trend of national borders and nation states becoming less important economically, politically and culturally

teenie
Download Presentation

Globalisation and the Decline of the Nation State

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Globalisation and the Decline of the Nation State www.educationforum.co.uk

  2. What is Globalisation • Globalisation describes the trend of national borders and nation states becoming less important economically, politically and culturally • Economic globalisation is characterised by the growth of massive transnational corporations (TNCs) beyond the control of national governments • TNCs with brands logos and ‘lifestyles’ shape a ‘global culture’ which is breaking down national culture • Te global age is characterised by global problems – pollution, HIV which do not respect national boundaries • Globalisation has resulted in politic protest and political action becoming globalised e.g. the anti global capitalist movement.

  3. Economic globalisation has resulted in the growth of very powerful transnational corporations (TNCs • TNCs are huge global companies which operate in a large number of countries and are therefore beyond the direct control of individual nation states. • TNCs like Nike, Nestle, Ford and GM are able to move production and investment around the world to wherever economic conditions are most favourable. For instance in the last thirty years much car production has been moved from Western Europe where labour costs are high and trade unions strong to South East Asia where labour costs are relatively low and trade unions not so established. • Nation Sates individually do not have the power to control the activities of TNCs and have thus lost a significant amount of power over their own economies. KenicheObmae in “The Borderless World” (1996) goes as far to say that some TNCs are now more powerful than many governments.

  4. Political Globalisation has also reduced the political power of the individual nation state. • In response to economic globalisation Nation States are increasingly coming together to become members of transnational organisations which have a political element to them. • For example the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN), and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). • Membership of such organisations though beneficial to nation states in many ways can also result in a partial transference of sovereignty from the nation state to the organisation. For example in Britain EU law now has precedence over UK law.

  5. Cultural Globalisation has reduced the nation state’s ability to sustain its own unique culture and has reduced its power to control its own media. • The explosion in internet and communications technology and cable and satellite broadcasting has resulted in the world’s consumers being immersed in TNC sanctioned western values, culture and lifestyle through advertising and broadcasting. • The large amount of TV channels now available globally means that it is far more difficult for nation states to control access to information or manipulate the media within their own boundaries.

  6. Hirst and Thompson suggest that the decline of the nation state has been exaggerated • In “Globalisation in Question” (1996) Hirst and Thompson acknowledge that there has been some decline in the power of the nation state due to globalisation but that the extent of it has been overstated. They cite as evidence the considerable power nation states continue to have over foreign policy, the military, the national territory and significantly the power their citizen’s sense of ‘national identity’ gives them. Hirst and Thompson also claim that the extent of economic globalisation has been exaggerated pointing out that many companies labelled as TNCs still operate largely within their ‘home regions’ rather than genuinely globally.

  7. David Held says that globalisation has serious implications for democracy • In “Democracy and the New Global Order” Held supports the idea that the powers of nation states have declined significantly and points out that this has issues for democracy with voters voting for governments who do not hold the real power over economic policy that they used to. • Held calls for a new global approach to democracy and the setting up of a world parliament which could hold powerful TNCs to account and restore democratic control over important decisions. • Such a world parliament he argues would be able to tackle the sort of global problems facing the world – the environment, disease, food supply and distribution and health

  8. Questions • Q1 List 4 features of globalisation. • Q2 What are TNCs and explain how have they grown in power? • Q3 Give an example of how political globalisation may reduce the power of nation states. • Q4 What is cultural globalisation? • Q5 Give evidence to suggest that the nation state is still powerful.

More Related