Rethinking the impact of globalisation on the nation-state: the case of science and technology policies in Germany

Abstract

Studies on economic globalisation and the nation-state regularly conclude that globalisation increasingly dominates national policies at least in the OECD world, thus eroding the state's acting capacities. This article argues, taking Germany's S&T policies since the 1970s as a case study, that during the last three decades national policies have not been increasingly affected by globalisation but that changes in a policy field have primarily occurred because of Europeanisation processes and national internal factors. In fact, the empirical evidence reveals a very complex and sophisticated pattern of factors acting on strategic policy decisions. Consequently, it can be concluded that political room for manoeuvre still exists in times of globalisation though it strongly depends on a more differentiated set of parameters than often suggested.