Changing contours of state in the era of globalization: Some reflections

Globalization is a new concept that has come to dominate the world since 1990s. Globalization has brought in new opportunities to developing countries such as greater access to developed country markets, technology transfer, and higher living standard among others. But globalization has also thrown up new challenges like growing inequality across and within nations, volatility in financial market, environmental deteriorations, hollowing out of state to mention some. In fact, globalization entails the demise of nation-state, summarized such as an emerging ‘borderless world’ and a ‘hollow state’. The present paper has analyzed the implications of looking at the impact of globalization on state autonomy vis-à-vis global and local actors. The study findings confirm that the concentration of power in the hands of state/s began in 1648 is over, at least for a while. Power, indeed, is less concentrated in state/s and has diffused to other actors in global governance. Nevertheless national governments are sharing power including political, social and security roles at the core of sovereignty with TNCs, supra-national organizations and a multitude of citizens groups and so on; still state continues to be major repository of power in governance.