Introduction
State can be defined as the political and legal entity composed of a permanent populace, an internationally defined territory and duly constituted government and has the ability or the power to enter agreement with other states. On other hand, a nation refers to the cultural identity of a people and in most cases sharing the same language living within a boundary (Social Science Research Council, 2011). This distinction is very essential to so as to clearly differentiate the political and social impact of an occurrence to a country.
The Nation State
Therefore, the combination of the terms to get nation state refers to the political, social, cultural and economic actors at an international level. This reference to countries in terms of their culture and economy and the influence the world has on the two has brought to the fold an identity of the state in many aspects. Many external influences have been blamed on derailing the identity of the country and its ability to properly govern itself. Terrorism, technology and the eventual globalization top the list of these external influences on the Nation State . This paper looks to analysis and put forward illustrations as to the fact that an increasingly globalized world has created access to other individuals, cultures, and perspectives and as a result the nation-state is dwindling in its influence and power.
The term globalization refers to the increased movement of people, information and skills, and goods and services across borders leading to great interconnectedness of the world countries socially, politically, economically and culturally (Ripsman & Paul 2010). This movement and interconnection between states has proved to be one of the influences on the manner in which governments and nations operate. Local indigenous communities praised for their culture have evolved to become a modernized society in a process commonly referred to westernization. This is probably one of the most basic forms of the impacts of globalization. However, other serous impacts of globalization that have weakened the influence of the nation state have been debated vis-a-vis the many positive impacts it has brought along. But with regard to the nation-state, globalization has surely derailed influence of the nation.
One of the main fronts that globalization has affected the nation state is the economic front. In the past few decade, countries and regions have been joining together to form economic blocks so as to have a powerful bargaining power in terms of commerce. Economists have deviated from describing national economies to identifying economies with trading region or blocks. Major economics institutions formed from states include World Trade Organization (WTO), European Union (EU), South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank . Many economists advice governments to join such trading blocs as they have been seen to improve the economy of individual states. While the economic results of joining such economic blocks ii debatable, it is a fact that these blocks have totally affected the nation state of many countries. Point in case in Greece and it economic upheavals recently witnessed .
Greece joined the European Union in 1981 to be part of what would later be an economic entity, singing treaties on behalf of member states. The EU was crafted with the thought that member states would share a common currency and making movement within the union much easier so as to allow free trade and commerce . This was a true case of globalization in context. But following the recent economic problems, Greece was in a position of seeking an immediate bailout from the European Union. The country was in dire need to economic assistance, which was all vested on other states make this decision putting the government of this sovereign state at a point where it is not in a position to freely govern itself. In fact, it was the German Government that had to hold a vote in the parliament to approve the bailout of Greece. It is therefore possible to argue that had Greece remained as in independent state, it could have avoided the situation in which the country’s wellbeing is determined by another state.
Globalization is also known for affecting the nation state politically. Bowles (2008), argues that even though there is no agreement on the negative impact of globalization in the world political arena, it is possible to argue that the sad political state of failed or nearly failed states and wars can be blamed directly on globalization. Countries and states are getting more and more connected in the way information is shared through the internet other forms of communication. This has put the big nations in a position of getting intelligence and information regarding other states with a fierce competition on who should be the world super power. This has led to several ill in our society ranging from the Cold War, Gulf War, the Invasion of Iraq and the worst of all, Global Terrorism. It is also important to note that the political ideology behind international terrorism has been based on the “influence of the west on other nations” (Ripsman & Paul, 2008). Extreme Islamists have blamed the west for the trouble they face and thus indirectly blamed globalization.
It is without doubt that globalization has economic gains, but regarding the influence to the nation state, globalization is clearly detrimental.
References
Bowles, P. (2008). National currencies and globalization: endangered specie? Routledge.
SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL (SSRC.ORG). Retrieved November 1, 2011, from http://essays.ssrc.org/sept11/essays/teaching_resource/tr_globalization.htm
Ranis, G., Vreeland, J. R., & Kosack, S. (2006). Globalization and the nation state: the impact of the IMF and the World Bank. Routledge.
Ravenhill, J. (2008). Global political economy. Oxford University Press.
Ripsman, N. M., & Paul, T. V. (n.d.). Globalization and the National Security State. Retrieved November 1, 2011, from http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Politics/InternationalStudies/?view=usa&ci=9780195393903
