Globalisation and nation-sates: « The logic of the world economy has in many ways transcended the scale of nation-states » (Knox and Agnew, 1998: 372)

Résumé du document

Globalization is a complex phenomenon based on the economics of internationalization of trade and the emergence of a single world market which entails the significance of geographical, political and cultural repercussions. Indeed, the volume of international exchanges of goods has been multiplied by 16 between 1950 and 2001and the development of international trade of service since the 1970s has been superior to the growth of manufacturing goods. The logic of economic globalization has unquestionably undermined the hegemony of the European nation-state model by giving more power to new supranational bodies such as transnational corporations and international organizations.

Extraits

[...] Globalisation and nation-sates The logic of the world economy has in many ways transcended the scale of nation-states (Knox and Agnew, 1998: 372) Globalisation is a complex phenomenon based on an economic dynamic of internationalisation of trade and the emergence of a single world market but that entails significant geographical, political and cultural repercussions. Indeed, the volume of international exchanges of goods has been multiplied by 16 between 1950 and 2001and the development of international trade of service since the 1970s has been even superior to the growth regarding manufacturing goods.[1] Then, globalisation has also meant an irreversible opening of national economic territories, sine qua non condition for the integration of the states into the world economy and to take advantage of the great single market. [...]

[...] So they have transformed the initial geographical configuration of globalisation[7] into a new pattern of “international division of the production process” in which national production tend to become more heterogeneous and diversified and production even more fragmented to take advantage of increasing disparities between the countries (in terms of tax regime, social laws, cost of capital and labour, geopolitical stability, access to markets Then, those changes have created a need for supranational regulation and conciliation in order to limit asymmetrical clashes, to solve economic conflicts and to maintain a liberal framework. After WWI, the Bretton Wood negotiations dominated by Keynesian theses put forward the need for a set of supranational institutions aiming at regulating the development of world economy, avoiding protectionist reactions and promoting multilateralism. [...]

[...] Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris Web sites - www.robert-schuman.org : Au-delà de l'Etat-nation : quelle démocratie pour l'Europe Claire Demesnay Noreck, Waquet : 165. Smith's absolute advantages theory in the Richness of the Nations (1776) et Ricardo's comparative advantages theory in Principles of Political Economy (1817) have tried to demonstrate that a country has always interest in international free trade. French economist Jean Fourastié analysed the exceptional period of prosperity experienced by Europe during the 30 Glorious years 1945-1974 in his book Les Trente Glorieuses (1979). Noreck, Waquet : 195. Noreck, Waquet : 200. Dicken, Global shift (second edition), chapter 3. [...]

[...] Finally the logic of the world economy has participated in opening a new space of reflection about supranational peaceful and rational solutions to economic issues. Sovereign countries have learned to regard economy at a world level and to accept a certain number of interferences. But in response, politics has remained fiercely centred on national issues. In other words, politics that implies a choice and a promotion of values has displayed its loyalty to territoriality and national identity. On the one hand, the attitude of both the states and public opinions vis-à-vis TCN are ambiguous. [...]

[...] This school of thought developed a theory based on the dynamic of sector-related integration controlled by supranational technocratic institutions. The protection of exception culturelle in France has become a central political theme as well as a symbol of the defence of French culture against the standardization of values often based on the American model. This move has found strong support from both the intellectuals and the alter-globalisation organisations. Uneven globalisation since 87% of the exchanges are made within the triade. [...]