End of the Nation-State - Hardcover

Guehenno, Jean-Marie

3.22

23 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 081662660X ISBN 13: 9780816626601

Publisher: University of Minnesota Press, 1995

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This text argues that the current information age renders the geographical underpinnings of our legal and political systems irrelevant. With the global community in instantaneous contact, power no longer operates hierarchically from the top down. This has serious consequences for democracy as we know it. The text explores institutions such as the European Union that attempts a response to this new age, arguing that the failure of such organizations shows that no political system can offer a complete answer. It points to such forces as ethnicity, relgion, race, ideology, corruption and tribalism, all of which threaten the viability of the current system, all of which offer a possible basis for community in a world no longer dominated by two rival superpowers. The book goes beyond the traditional separation between domestic and international affairs, addressing the social and politcal consequences of globalization. It describes the way the world's assorted groups of human beings will have to order their relations in this new era of huge trade, mass travel, instant communication: what the author calls the new "empire", a decentralized Rome of the electronic age.

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From the Back Cover:

In this highly readable book, Jean-Marie Guehenno argues that the information age undermines our current legal and political systems. With the global community in instantaneous contact, he contends, power no longer operates hierarchically from the top down. Instead, individuals are part of complex networks in which wealth and power stem from the sheer multiplication of connections. This development has serious consequences for democracy as we know it. Guehenno explores institutions like the European Union that attempt to respond to this new age, arguing that the failure of such organizations shows that no political system offers a complete answer. Ethnicity, religion, race, ideology, corruption, and tribalism threaten the viability of the current system, and all offer a possible basis for community in a world no longer dominated by two rival superpowers.

About the Author:

Guehenno is professor at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris and directs the Center for Analysis and Forecasting of the French Ministry of Foresign Affairs.

Elliott is a freelance journalist who contributes to many local and national newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times. She graduated from the Columbia University School of Journalism.

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