Political Dimension of Globalization
In chapter four, “The political dimension of globalization,” Steger did a tremendous job in analyzing the intensification and expansion of political interrelations across the globe. Steger brought up two major issues, which I found intriguing, dealing with how globalization affects modern nation-state system, which traced back to 17th-century, and the demise of the nation-state that gave rise to a “borderless world. On the other hand, Xiaohua Ma discoursed of reconciliation and forgiveness in her essay, “Constructing a National Memory of War,” showed how War Museums served as an important role in constructing national memory. Altogether, National memory mends the gap between political interrelations across the globe. The nation-state, a form of political organization originated out of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, served to decide on specific rules of relations within and between states to avoid perpetual disagreements.
With the nation-state system, the states manage domestic affairs, everything from education, military to welfare and population. This system strived to put a clear distinction between domestic territory, where the authority of the state was absolute, and the international realm where nations were expected to follow minimal rules to avoid conflicts. This had been a foundation that Steger believed convey “ a sense of existential security and historical continuity” (Steger, 56). However, when this diplomat failed to follow through, states brutishly engage themselves by going to war with each other.
Steger made an excellent point on the fuel behind the mental and physical energies required for large-scale warfare, for example, World War I and II, came from “people’s very own belief in the superiority of their own nation” (Steger, 57). Even political scientist David Held pointed out, “ Differences among states are often settled by force…international legal standards afford only minimal protection” (Steger, 58). The needs to make “foreign” countries felt subordinated to a larger imperial authority are the causes for the gap between political interrelations.
In a way, this related to Ma’s essay by showing how War Museums are intended for peaceful purposes. In her essay, she defines National memory as commemoration “for purposes of strengthening national identity or international prestige. ” War museums served to focus on grievance, and, by commemorated in certain ways, reinforced national pride and identity. Furthermore, National memory strengthens political interrelations across the globe. The demise of nation-state, calling it “borderless world,” sought to convince people that the decline of territory power is because of political and social change as a result of globalization.
Because a state can only be self-governing if it can exercise authority over a given territory, globalization, which rely on data and communication technologies, made “borders” seem irrelevant. These so called “techno-economic juggernaut” aimed to crush any governmental attempts of strengthening policies and regulations. This issue linked with the economic aspect of globalization, showing how transnational corporations can have a huge impact on the political dimension of globalization. Steger pointed out that “global markets frequently undermine the capacity of government,” which leaded to people believing in the decline of nation-state.
However, government still has the power in deciding the fate of their economies. Factors like education, infrastructure, and population movement account for most of the country’s economic system. Likewise, Ma said in her essay that National memory could shape and reshape postwar relations, or it could cause domestic discontent as a result of economic downfall. Thus, possibly shifting the focus from reshaping postwar relations to lingering wartime grievances. As a result, globalization ceased the end of nation-state by creating a “borderless world,” which eventually created global chaos.
National memory serves as a foundation to help strengthen the political conflicts between states that caused by globalization. Ma discussed two perspectives of “Memory Wars”: humanistic and political view. The humanistic view put strong emphasis on forgiveness, the feelings of guilt and remorse; political view, by rectifying the wrongs, helped rebuild “international rehabilitation and thereby national prestige. ” Altogether, this helps rebuild the postwar relations between states at a nation and international level.
