Apology Accepted: A Possibility of Global Governance

Abstract

City of Gold: An Apology for Global Capitalism in a Time of Discontent. By David A. Westbrook. New York: Routledge, 2004. 400 pp., $97.95 cloth (ISBN: 0-415-94,539-9), $27.95 paper (ISBN: 0-415-94,540-2). The rapid pace and unpredictable direction of social and political change in our world seems to be forcefully undermining the established terms of political life. It appears to be more and more difficult, if not impossible, to think of politics solely within the national context. Such terms as the “nation-state,”“national identity,” and “national economy” have been loosing their explanatory power. The increasing interconnectedness of societies has made the national context more vulnerable and exposed to global, regional, and local pressures. Political globalization, for example, is giving rise to the increasing importance of global, regional, and local actors in the formation of political community, thereby undermining and limiting the ability of the nation-state to maintain its status as the main and sovereign locus of governance. Economic globalization—that is, the globalization of capital—is challenging the authority of nation-states by creating a borderless, supranational, global market place. Cultural globalization is rendering the idea of national identity problematic by giving rise to local reactions in the form of ethnic, religious, and cultural identities, which have recently paved the way for the emergence of alternative conceptions of modernity and a new politics of recognition. Yet, a quick glance at the last two decades reveals a mixed picture in terms of the impact …