Globalising National States

Article also published as a chapter in an edited volume on History and National Destiny. Globalisation has ambiguous effects on states. On the one hand, it favours national states since citizens' identification with their state provides for political and social stability. On the other hand, globalisation makes it difficult for states to be national because the scope of sovereign decision-making is reduced, and many citizens prioritise trans-national networks over national ones. Hence well-established national states, which are sufficiently resilient to maintain a national culture while also engaging with the wider world, enjoy a comparative advantage over such states who either fail to maintain national cohesion or seek to protect it by rejecting foreign influence. The present article revisits the most common typologies of nations and national states, and discusses how four main types of nations (ethnic, civic, plural and class) cope with globalisation. The article builds on the assumption that the 'foreign policy' field, notably the capacity of states to shape popular global policies, must be included in discussions of the future of the national state.