For much of the 20th century, the Nation-State has been the focal point of identity, community, and power in the world. Is the age of the Nation-State over? Why or why not? If so, what is coming next?
The age of the Nation-State is over and it is easy to prove this statement is to consider the situation which exists in the modern world about the society, to check the political preferences and economical issues that are important in understanding the problem and offering the arguments. People use the word ‘international’ more and more often and it becomes natural for them that having a personal nation they live under the international impact.
Multiculturalism also becomes a common affair, especially in the age when discrimination is almost eliminated and all people are considered to be free and equal. Therefore, the rapid development of the international relationships impacted the economics, politics, and culture of each country, therefore, t is possible to say that Nation-State cannot already be considered as the focal point of identity, community, and power in the world and Kenichi Ohmae and Saskia Sassen prove this position in their works.
Nation-State is over
First of all, the changes in the domination and understanding of power should not be connected with failures. Ohmae states that neither cultural failures nor the number of independent units shifted the priorities. The main reason for the shift from the Nation-State power is the effect of the fundamental changes which occur in the economic life of the whole world. Nation-states have just become the actors in the arena of the global economy.
None of the countries has opportunities to change something globally and only the unity of the global relations may impact the situation correctly. The Nation States have become just the territories that may be called the participants of the international relationships not their creators of dominators (Ohmae 224).
Proving the international nature of the current position of the countries, trying to state that the age of the Nation-States has gone, Sassen implements the following example, “the real estate prices at the center of New York City are more connected to prices in London or Frankfurt that to the overall real estate market in the city” (Sassen 199). And this is the most correct definition and characteristic of the modern world.
That is why the Nation States do not function anymore. Each nation has become dependent because of the globalization of economics. The international market is considered even more important than the national one.
Innovation technologies play important role in the development of international relationships and the reduction of the Nation-State influence. When something happens in one particular country, this information is immediately spread over the whole world. Therefore, other nations may act in the same way as fast and develop the strategy as successful as the first country did. There is no domination, there are no privileges for one particular nation, just the globalization, and internationalization of the relationships in different spheres among all the countries (Ohmae 226).
Conclusion
Therefore, the age of the Nation-State is over and there is another epoch, the age of globalization and internationalism. People live not only in the country they are born and live,. they are allowed to become part of another culture as multiculturalism and the influence of one particular nation over another one is not rare today. It is impossible to dwell upon the elimination of the national borders, however, the countries have become closer to each other, especially if to consider the period of the Cold War. In the future people from different nations are going to be united.
Works Cited
Ohmae, Kenichi. “The end of the Nation-State.”
Sassen, Saskia. “Cities in a world economy.”