The Nation-state in the Globalization Age

Abstract:Nowadays globalization is certainly one of the hottest issues in the relation to world economy, politics, culture, and society.This paper discusses the relationship of nation-state and globalization, analyzes the opportunities and challenges brought by globalization and finally reaches the conclusion that a new form of goverance are needed for the survive of country.

Key Words:nation-statechallengeopportunitygovernment

Ⅰ.Introduction

Nowadays globalization is certainly one of the hottest issues in the relation to world economy, politics, culture, and society. We need to admit that globalization do change the ways we live, the ways we will have to govern. By analyzing the notion of nation-state and globalization, this paper believes that in the new era of globalization, the nation-state should take some new responsibilities when defend state sovereignty and maintain its peace and security. In the second part, this paper points out the challenges and opportunities of globalization.And as a result, new form of governance is needed for the survive of the nation.

Ⅱ. Nation-state and Globalization

There is a great debate in the social and human sciences about the definition of the nation-state. According to Jǔrgen Habermas(1997), it was around the middle of the nineteenth century, sociohistorical factors in Europe brought into existence a sociopolitical organization: nation-state.

This paper believes globalization is unstoppable. National boundaries are becoming penetrable.Globalization is centered on economy, and gradually to influence the politic, cultural, and education, this is a multi-process that happened on the multi-area and multi-aspect. And globalization forces a country to reexamine its position in the world.

Ⅲ.Opportunities

Globalization is an ongoing process, not a completed condition. It is developing, while it is bringing opportunities.

petition Helps Break up Monopoly

Competition brought by globalization is generally useful to developing countries. Not only does it improve the efficiency of national economy, it also helps to break up monopolies in many developing countries and benefits their average people. Multinational corporations directly invest in developing countries, transferring technology to help bridge the technology gap between developed and developing countries. What's more, consumers in those countries would be able to buy the best products at the lowest prices everywhere. Globalization of communications provides a new opportunity for developing countries to catch up with developed countries.

ii.New Culture Makes People's Life Better

Better communication in globalization age makes basic as well as advanced medical knowledge and technology more available for developing countries, improving national health, quality of life and productivity of labor.

Ⅳ.Challenges

What the present globalization has introduced, along with its wealth of opportunity, are challenges for the nation-state. And here, we focus on three challenges: loss of national identity, inequality and threat to the harmonious society.

i. Loss of National Identity

The connections and their effects between states and between people are not only more numerous but also transforming. Globalization of this time further fosters cultural homogenization. And to some extent we may call this is cultural imperialism'. As Jonathan Friedman says,

It is no doubt to say that its central proposition is quite simple: the idea that certain dominant culture threaten to overwhelm other more vulnerable ones. To some extent,cultural imperialism' is:America over Europe, the West over the rest' of the world, the core over the periphery, and capitalism over more or less everything and everyone'.

ii. Inequality

The interdependence is dramatically unequal: each country has its different situation, some are developed, some are developing, and even some are still underdeveloped. From this, we can indicate that some countries are more vulnerable than others in the process of globalization. And while some countries prosper by globalization, many others may suffer from it. The prosperous embrace globalization and speed it along. But among the losers, and those who fear to lose, globalization generates opposition and despair.

Such growing disparities, with the social upheavals and discontents they represent, impose real demands on governance - demands that more and more governments are unable to answer in the traditional methods that governments use.

Ⅴ.Appeal for The New form of Governance

In a world of globalization, the new government should aim to manage the forces of globalization in order to maximize and share the opportunities while minimizing the impact of structural adjustments.

The government should take actions to suit for such a globalizing world. For example, policy issues are global, but policy-making is still primarily national in focus and reach. So when the government set up rules, it should consider both domestic and overseas affairs. And for all the governments in the world, the targets for them to realize in the new century are just as the Millennium Declaration has declared, namely the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; achievement of universal primary education; promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women; reduction of child mortality; improvement of maternal health; to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and development of global partnerships for development for the attainment of a more peaceful, just and prosperous world. (UN 2005)

So when the government govern the nation-state, it should think about those, and take itself as part of the world.

Ⅵ. Conclusion

Globalization brings us with so many opportunities and challenges. It forces a country to re-recognize the role it has played in the world. What’s more, it entrusts some new tasks to the nation-state. The nation-state should do their best to prevent the loss of national identity, to make sure of the equality of distribution and to create a harmonious society. At the same time, the nation-state should also make full use of those precious opportunities brought by the globalization. The new form of governance is the need of nation-state in the new era.

References:

［1］Barber Benjamin, Jihad vs. McWorld.pages.stern.nyu.edu/~msiegel/jihad.doc.2006,11(20).

［2］Chryssochoou Xienia. Cultural Diversity. 2004.

［3］Friedman Jonathan, Cutural Identity and Global Process. 1994.

［4］Habermas Jǔrgen.‘The european nation-state―its achievements and its limits. on the past and future of sovereignty and citizenship’, in Gopal.Balarkrishnan (ed.), Mapping the Nation. 1998.281-294.

［5］Nye and Donahue, Governance in a globalizing World. 2000.

［6］Waters Malcolm. Globalization. 1995.

（作者单位：浙江万里学院）