Future States: From International to Global Political Order

Globalization consists of an interlocking array of political, economic, social, and cultural forces that challenge the traditional international order in two key ways. First, states historically had ‘hard shells’, by means of which they were capable of consolidating differences between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ to the point where the latter could more easily be quarantined. Second, for closely-related reasons they were largely able to ‘absorb’ domestic society, such that the individual was less a citizen than a subject. But through globalizing processes these (dubious) attributes have been starkly exposed, which leads Haigh to ask, Whither the state under globalization? Insightful and well-written, this book is sure to spark lively debate while attempting to answer its central question.