Browse
Recent Submissions
- ItemOpen AccessInnovations: A Journal of Politics Order Form(2000) Ang, Adrian; Jobin, Kari; Hülsemeyer, Axel
- ItemOpen AccessRegionalism and Integration in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review of Experiences, Issues and Realities at the Close of the Twentieth Century(2000) Manboah-Rockson, Joseph K.; Ang, Adrian; Jobin, Kari; Hülsemeyer, AxelGlobalization, the ‘border-less world’ or the ‘end of geography’ is an important theme of the post-Cold War discussion of the nature of international order. Although rarely tied to any clearly articulated theory, it has become a powerful metaphor in the sense that a number of universal processes are at work generating increased interconnection and interdependence between both states and societies. Increasingly common are images of a global flood of money, people, values, and ideas overflowing the old system of national barriers seeking to preserve state autonomy. Two areas are discernible in this regard: First, territorial boundaries are becoming less important. Second, traditional understandings of sovereignty are being undermined and individual regions are being viewed within a broader global context. This paper investigates the impact of the changing global conditions on regional integration efforts in SubSaharan Africa. The underlying argument in this paper is that there are a number of ways in which globalization works against the emergence of regionalism in sub-Saharan Africa. Changes in the global economy such as technology and productive systems, and especially the impact of information technologies have meant that regional industrial policies and the promotion of regional champions are no longer considered adequate. Therefore, the assertion of this paper is that globalization is undermining the sustainability of integration efforts within Sub-Sahara Africa. Globalization works against regionalism where states are increasingly facing powerful pressures toward the homogenization of economic policies solely to attract foreign investment and technology and to compete in a closely-knit market arena. Consequently, regionalism in Sub-Saharan Africa is being deemphasized due to the emerging centripetal forces of globalization.
- ItemOpen AccessGlobalization and the Political Loyalties of Individuals: Europe in Transition(2000) Vähä-Sipilä, Mikko; Ang, Adrian; Jobin, Kari; Hülsemeyer, AxelThis paper deals with certain aspects of how political loyalties in a globalizing Europe are being exposed to pressures for change. The viewpoint is that of a ‘displaced’ individual political actor, and the aim is to locate those sociopolitical signals that are relevant to the formation process of political loyalties. The central argument is that as the legalistic conception of national citizenship is losing some of its significance, the individual experience of instant political influence becomes important.
- ItemOpen AccessTo Globalize or Not to Globalize? The Effects of Economic Integration on the Domestic Political Stability of Developing Countries, 1985-1992(2000) Walker, Scott; Ang, Adrian; Jobin, Kari; Hülsemeyer, AxelAre countries risking dire political consequences by succumbing to the pressures of the globalization phenomenon? This study attempts to explain the effects of trade and financial liberalization in developing countries on the level of domestic political stability. Using a sample of 65 countries from the developing world from the time period of 1985-1992, this paper uses a pooled-cross-sectional time series design to explain variations in the instability across space and time. The analysis finds that trade and financial openness exhibit downward pressure on the level of political instability. The model also finds evidence that higher levels of economic development are linked to higher levels of stability. The link between economic openness and domestic stability may show the path by which developing countries may achieve the stability of their developed counterparts.
- ItemOpen AccessGlobalization and Structures of Power: A Weberian Inquiry(2000) Churchill, Christian J.; Ang, Adrian; Jobin, Kari; Hülsemeyer, AxelThis paper examines globalization through the framework of Max Weber’s essay 'Structures of Power.' The paper argues that globalization is characterized by political and economic entities using debt, the nation-state, and organizational networks as the means to maximize profit and power. It suggests that an examination of globalization through this framework provides a clear idea of what globalization is and how to solve its structural problems. Among a plurality of co-existing polities, some, the Great Powers, usually ascribe to themselves and usurp an interest in political and economic processes over a wide orbit. Today such orbits encompass the whole surface of the planet. - Max Weber, 'Structures of Power'