Political+outcomes


 * Loss of sovereignty**
 * Discuss the links between the diminishing effectiveness of political borders and the flow of goods, capital, labour and ideas, and the role of one multi‑governmental organization
 * Organizations such as the European Union (EU), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and MERCOSUR (the common market of South America).
 * Discuss the shift of power from nation state to TNCs as a result of their economic size and dominance.
 * Compare the wealth of TNCs with that of nation states.


 * Responses**
 * Examine the resurgence of nationalism in one country as it attempts to retain control of its resources and culture.
 * Discuss anti‑globalization movements.
 * Discuss the attempts to control migration into one country.


 * The loss of sovereignty.**

In recent times, the world has witnessed the diminishing effectiveness of political boarders in the flow of goods, labor and ideas, capital e.t.c. There has also been a rise in the effectiveness of multi-national organization, resulting in shift in power from national states to TNCs or MNCs due to their economic dominance and power. Some TNCs are even wealthier than some countries. This has led to the question of whether the nation-state is still relevant in today's world economy.

A nation-state is defined as an area of territory that is under control of a single government which controls the economy, Political organizations and external security. On the other hand, a nation is a community of people bound together by a common culture and history, who collectively at being different from others. A criterion to determine whether a place is a nation or nation-state is its membership to international organizations such as the UN and Olympic games.


 * The changing role of the nation-state**

In the past nation states had the sole responsibility and administrative influence over a given area of land, including its inhabitants, the control of trade between different areas. In some cases the engagement in conflicts in the interest of the nation states. This has led to some nation states becoming stronger or more powerful than others.

As a result of increasing globalization in the world, the role of the nation state is changing rapidly due to a number of factors.

Transnational corporations and international boarders such as the world bank and the UN have become more significant than nation states. The role of TNCs is very significant in world economic development. TNCs are so powerful that it gives them an enormous bargaining power that puts them in a better negotiating position with national governments. It is estimated that TNCs control about a quarter of the world’s economic activities and in some cases, they use their power and influence to control the government of some countries. A good example is the threat of Google to pull out of China if Chinese government did not stop the censorship of their website (issues on the Tiananmen Square Massacre).
 * 1. Trans-national corporations**
 * # Walmart 379 billion || USA 13,811 trillion || 44th Singapore 161 billion ||
 * # Exxon Mobile 358 billion || Japan 4,376 trillion || 59th Bangladesh 67 billion ||
 * # Shell 355 billion || Germany 3,297 trillion || 79th Kenya 29 billion ||
 * # Toyota 204 billion || China 3,280 trillion || 146th Zimbabwe 3 billion ||

__Top 5 TNCs by revenue (in trillions of dollars__) 1. Exxon Mobile - 502.3 US - 15.7

2. Royal Dutch Shell - 492 China 8.2

3. Walmart stores - 8.2 Japan - 6.0

4. BP - 410.1 Germany - 3.4

5. Vitol - 320.2 France 2.6

Also, international organizations have the benefit of promoting corporation between governments of different countries. This is meant to strengthen the relationship between both countries with the view to protect their investment and to promote bilateral trade agreements for example, MTN and Shoprite are South African MNCs whose presence in Ghana has contributed in strengthening the bilateral trade between Ghana and the Republic of South Africa.

As more and more nations begin to recognize the important role played by TNCs in their economies, they appear ineffective in controlling these TNCs. This has resulted in the formation of various regional blocs to protect the interest of member countries. This blocs could take the form of free Trade area (members remove trade barriers between themselves), Custom Unions (free trade area + establishment of common policies and tariffs against non-members), common markets (custom union + free movement of goods and workers) and the economic Unions (unifies economies of members into a common market) examples: NAFTA, ASEAN, ECOWAS, EU etc.
 * Economic Unions**


 * The role of the EU.**

The EU is one of the most powerful regional bloc in the world. The EU started in the 1950s with 6 member countries – France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to form the European Economic Community. Later, some other countries like Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain Sweden and the UK joined.

The European Economic Community had been founded in 1957-58 to oversee the economic integration of the nations of Western Europe. The success of the liberalized trade and internal market policies sponsored by the EEC (or EC) in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s made its members more receptive to the greater integration of the EC. One of the main goals of the EC was the integration of its members’ economies into a single bless market that would have a common currency and a common central bank. The measures the EC took in this regard were obtained by the unanimous consensus of its members. The EC oversaw the establishment of the European monitory system in 1978 to regulate currency exchange rates and aid monetary stabilization among its members. The EMS which took effect in 1979 linked the currency of the EC member countries (except those of UK, Spain, and Portugal, who declined to participate.) so as to avoid large day-to-day fluctuation in currency rates while permitting periodic realignments. In the interest of encouraging the mobility of labour, restrictions on the movement labour among the EC countries were also effectively removed.

In 1987, the EC member stated adopted the Single European Act by which they declared their

//Examine the resurgence of nationalism in one country, as it attempts to regain control of its resources and culture.//
 * The Resurgence of Nationalism**

Case studies:
 * 1) Resource nationalism in Bolivia
 * 2) Anti-immigration in France

Nationalism is defined as the desire to achieve independence, especially by a given country, under foreign control, or by people of a separate identity or culture, but no state of their own. There are different forms of nationalism. These include Nationalism could also mean an excessive or fanatical devotion to a nation and its interests, which is often associated with a belief that one nation is better than the other. Nationalism relates more to a nation rather than a nation-state. Examples include
 * Nationalism**
 * 1) Resource nationalism
 * 2) Political nationalism
 * 3) Cultural nationalism
 * 4) Economic nationalism
 * The Basques in Spain (Basques are in Catalonia, fighting to break away from Spain)
 * Palestinians
 * Kurds in Turkey


 * Reasons for nationalism**
 * 1) **Globalisation**. As a result of globalisation and the dominance of Western culture, some countries may block any attempt by the West to dilute their culture or way of life. This is because many countries want to maintain their unique cultural identity, and one way in which this can be expressed is through nationalism. E.g. the resistance of Muslim extremists in Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan to Western education and culture etc.
 * 2) **Immigration** – the migration of foreigners into a given country. In this case, nationalism is expressed when people/citizens of a given country express fears that immigrants are becoming a threat to their local culture. E.g. the British Nationalist Party, which is fighting hard for the UK to break away from the EU, and to limit the use of foreign language in many basic schools across the country.

//Examine the range of responses to the losses of national sovereignty that globalization can bring.//

//“Every country will eventually lose its distinctive national identity as a result of global interactions.” Discuss this statement.// //Analyse the relationship between globalization and the resurgence of nationalism in a country you have studied.//