Political globalization is the growth of the worldwide

political system In political science, a political system means the type of political organization that can be recognized, observed or otherwise declared by a state (polity), state. It defines the process for making official government decisions. It usually comp ...

, both in size and complexity. That system includes national governments, their

governmental A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

and

intergovernmental organizations An international organization or international organisation (see spelling differences), also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states a ...

as well as government-independent elements of

global civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.international non-governmental organizations An international non-governmental organization (INGO) is an organization which is independent of government involvement and extends the concept of a non-governmental organization (NGO) to an international scope. NGOs are independent of government ...

and

social movement organization A social movement organization (SMO) is an organized component of a social movement. SMOs are generally seen as the components of a social movement. The movement's goal that can be much more narrow, or much broader, than the SMOs' goals. Descrip ...

s. One of the key aspects of the political globalization is the declining importance of the

nation-state A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group. A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may in ...

and the rise of other actors on the political scene. The creation and existence of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

is called one of the classic examples of political globalization. Political globalization is one of the three main dimensions of globalization commonly found in academic literature, with the two other being

economic globalization Economic globalization is one of the three main dimensions of globalization commonly found in academic literature, with the two others being political globalization and cultural globalization, as well as the general term of globalization. Econo ...

and

cultural globalization Cultural globalisation refers to the transmission of ideas, meanings and values around the world in such a way as to extend and intensify social relations. This process is marked by the common consumption of cultures that have been diffused by the ...

Definitions

William R. Thompson William Robin Thompson (June 29, 1887January 30, 1972) was a Canadian Entomology, entomologist and also wrote on the philosophy of science in his book ''Science and Common Sense: An Aristotelian Excursion'' (1937). He specialized in the biological ...

has defined it as "the expansion of a global political system, and its institutions, in which inter-regional transactions (including, but certainly not limited to trade) are managed". Valentine M. Moghadam defined it as "an increasing trend toward

multilateralism In international relations, multilateralism refers to an alliance of multiple countries pursuing a common goal. Definitions Multilateralism, in the form of membership in international institutions, serves to bind powerful nations, discourage ...

(in which the

plays a key role), to an emerging 'transnational state apparatus,' and toward the emergence of national and

international nongovernmental organizations An international non-governmental organization (INGO) is an organization which is independent of government involvement and extends the concept of a non-governmental organization (NGO) to an international scope. NGOs are independent of governmen ...

that act as watchdogs over governments and have increased their activities and influence". Manfred B. Steger in turn wrote that it "refers to the intensification and expansion of political interrelations across the globe". The longer definition by

Colin Crouch Colin John Crouch, (born 1 March 1944) is an English sociologist and political scientist. He coined the post-democracy concept in 2000 in his book '' Coping with Post-Democracy''. Colin Crouch is currently Emeritus Professor at the University ...

goes as follows: "Political globalization refers to the growing power of institutions of

global governance Global governance refers to institutions that coordinate the behavior of transnational actors, facilitate cooperation, resolve disputes, and alleviate collective action problems. Global governance broadly entails making, monitoring, and enfor ...

such as the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

, the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...

(IMF) and the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...

(WTO). But it also refers to the spread and influence of

international non-governmental organization An international non-governmental organization (INGO) is an organization which is independent of government involvement and extends the concept of a non-governmental organization (NGO) to an international scope. NGOs are independent of government ...

s and transnational advocacy networks operating across borders and constituting a kind of

global civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere. Finally,

Gerard Delanty Gerard Delanty (born 1960) is a British sociologist and Professor of Sociology and Social & Political Thought at the University of Sussex. He is also the editor of European Journal of Social Theory The ''European Journal of Social Theory'' is ...

and

Chris Rumford Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name *Chris Abani (born 1966), Nig ...

define it as "a tension between three processes which interact to produce the complex field of

global politics Global politics, also known as world politics, names both the discipline that studies the political and economic patterns of the world and the field that is being studied. At the centre of that field are the different processes of political globa ...

: global

geopolitics Geopolitics (from Greek γῆ ''gê'' "earth, land" and πολιτική ''politikḗ'' "politics") is the study of the effects of Earth's geography (human and physical) on politics and international relations. While geopolitics usually refers to ...

, global

normative culture Normative generally means relating to an evaluative standard. Normativity is the phenomenon in human societies of designating some actions or outcomes as good, desirable, or permissible, and others as bad, undesirable, or impermissible. A norm in ...

and polycentric networks." The book ''World Federalist Manifesto, Guide to Political Globalization'' defines political globalization as "the creation of a system of global governance that regulates relationships among nations and guarantees the rights arising from social and economic globalization."

Methodology

Salvatore Babones discussing sources used by scholars for studying political globalizations noted the usefulness of

Europa World Year Book The ''Europa World Year Book'' provides detailed country surveys containing analytical, statistical and directory data available for over 250 countries and territories. Volume I contains a listing of more than 2,000 international organizations s ...

for data on diplomatic relationships between countries, publications of

International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England. The 2017 Global Go To Think ...

such as ''The Military Balance'' for matters of military, and US government publication ''Patterns of Global Terrorism'' for matters of terrorism. Political globalization is measured by aggregating and weighting data on the number of embassies and high commissioners in a country, the number of the country's membership in international organization, its participation in the UN peacekeeping missions, and the number of international treaties signed by said country. This measure has been used by

Axel Dreher Axel Dreher (born September 17, 1972) is a German economist. He earned a master's degree from the University of Mannheim in 1999, and a Ph.D. in 2003. He is among the 500 top economists of the world according to the IDEAS/RePEc. As professor ...

, Noel Gaston, Pim Martens Jeffrey Haynes and is available from the KOF institute at

ETH Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , a ...

Aspects

Like globalization itself, political globalization has several dimensions and lends itself to a number of interpretations. It has been discussed in the context of new emancipatory possibilities, as well as in the context of loss of autonomy and fragmentation of the social world. Political globalization can be seen in changes such as

democratization Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...

of the world, creation of the global

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere. and moving beyond the centrality of the

, particularly as the sole actor in the field of politics. Some of the questions central to the discussion of the political globalization are related to the future of the nation-state, whether its importance is diminishing and what are the causes for those changes; and understanding the emergence of the concept of

. The creation and existence of the

has been called one of the classic examples of political globalization. Political actions by non-governmental organizations and social movements, concerned about various topics such as

environmental protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...

, is another example.

David Held David Jonathan Andrew Held (27 August 1951 – 2 March 2019) was a British political scientist who specialised in political theory and international relations. He held a joint appointment as Professor of Politics and International Relations, and ...

has proposed that continuing political globalization may lead to the creation of a

world government World government is the concept of a single political authority with jurisdiction over all humanity. It is conceived in a variety of forms, from tyrannical to democratic, which reflects its wide array of proponents and detractors. A world gove ...

-like

cosmopolitan democracy Cosmopolitan democracy is a political theory which explores the application of norms and values of democracy at the transnational and global sphere. It argues that global governance of the people, by the people, for the people is possible and needed ...

, though this vision has also been criticized as too idealistic.

Political Globalization and Nation State

There is a heated debate over Political Globalization and Nation State. The question arises whether or not political globalization signifies the decline of the nation-state. Hyper globalists argue that globalization has engulfed today's world in such a way that state boundaries are beginning to lose significance. However, skeptics disregard this as naiveté, believing that the nation-state remains the supreme actor in international relations.

References

External links

KOF Index of Globalization
{{Globalization Globalization Politics Global politics