Nation-states, Market-states, and Virtual-states

Abstract

The advent of a global economic and physical superinfrastructure is in the process of transforming terrorism, guerrilla warfare, and the nation-state. A useful model for understanding this process of transformation is Philip Bobbitt's work, “The Shield of Achilles.” Bobbitt's work demonstrates that the nation-state is in a difficult and dangerous process of transition to a new form of governance, called the market-state, that is built to withstand and prosper despite the pressures of globalization. This process is complicated by the emergence of a vicious asymmetric competitor, in the form of a virtual state that leverages the huge flows of the global criminal economy, combined with the weakness of the nation-state during its phase transition to the market-state. This essay details the structure of this conflict and provides a scenario for its potential outcome.