Economics and the end of the nation-state

Abstract

In the pre-millennial angst of the 1990s, an increasing number of journalists, political theorists and policy observers have begun to anticipate the decline of the Nation-State.  It may be that much of this thinking is alarmist and naive, but at its heart exists some very real, very perplexing questions.  Why did the Nation-State emerge as the dominant model of governance, and why did it succeed?  What were its competitors, and why did they fail?  And perhaps most importantly, how do the rapid economic and political changes sweeping our world today affect the viability of the Nation-State?  This paper examines the complex mix of  political, social and, above all, economic realities in place when the modern Nation-State was born, revealing patterns of societal change that mirror those at play in the emerging information economy.  An analysis of its origins uncovers clues about its future, and about the ability of individual communities to benefit from the changes underway.

Keywords: Nation-State, governance, Peace of Westphalia, information economy