The state of globalisation and the globalisation of the state

Abstract

This article examines how to evaluate claims about the extent and impact of globalisation. A focus on the significance of earlier phases of globalisation is essential, but underestimating the importance and scope of recent developments is the wrong lesson to learn from a more historically informed analysis. While it is necessary to maintain a healthy scepticism towards endings, inevitability and irreversibility, it is important to remain open to the possibility that the world political economy has indeed undergone substantial transformation. This article argues that quantitative measures of globalisation need to be supplemented with an analysis of the pivotal role of the state in spurring and sponsoring the process of global economic interaction. State constructions of the imperatives of globalisation have aimed to bolster the acceptance of policy changes that support globalisation and transform domestic political economies. There is continuing potential for state activity to have effects--both positive and negative--on the progress of economic globalisation.