Page 43 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol IV

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in its effort to reconcile the reality of imperialism with the movement during the Cold War, which gained momen-
idea of national self-determination. tum during the Bandung conference in Indonesia (1955),
was not very successful, although some states were able
Decolonization and to play off superpower rivalries to gain some competitive
Globalization advantages.
World War II brought about the beginning of the end of Even though the threat of war between the superpow-
colonial empires. It also brought about the triumph of ers was ever present during the Cold War, the existence
the nation-state as the successor state throughout the col- of the socialist bloc and ideology nonetheless reduced
onized world.This was not inevitable, because in several the competitive pressures which had driven nations-
colonial empires, such as the French and the Japanese, states to war during the first half of the century. For bet-
there had been considerable experimentation with more- ter or for worse, the new socialist nation-states restricted
equal affiliations between colonies and the imperial metro- the role of multinational companies and full-fledged cap-
pole country through ideas of imperial citizenship. One italism within their borders, and their nation-building
of the most important factors ensuring that decoloniza- projects tended to look inwards.With the fall of the Soviet
tion would yield nation-states was the growing role of Union in 1991 and the transformation of China into a
the United Nations and international organizations, capitalist society, nation-states have been turning away
such as the World Bank, the International Monetary from the model of protected development and toward
Fund, the Global Agreements on Tariffs and Trade, and competitive capitalism, now called globalization. In the
the International Trade Organization (later World Trade process, nation-states’ relative autonomy from interna-
Organization), and World Health Organization, which tional capitalism and ability to exercise control over their
tended to recognize only nation-states. The enhanced boundaries and identity are once again being affected.
resources, power, and prestige of the new nation-state Whether or not the new order of international institu-
system ensured that the only legitimate and viable poli- tions will be able to contain the effects of extreme com-
ties in the world would be nation-states, recognized as petition and challenges from the interstices of the system
such by the system. For example, during the 2003 SARS remains to be seen.
crisis, the state in Taiwan, which has all the prerequisites
Prasenjit Duara
for being a nation-state except recognition, had consid-
erable problems gaining access to the services of inter- See also Ethnic Nationalism; Nationalism
national organizations—precisely because it lacked
nation-state status.
Since decolonization, some have argued that the Further Reading
nation-state form has not provided effective protection Anderson, B. (1991). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origins
against domination by superior powers, which are able and spread of nationalism. London: Verso Press.
Arrighi, G. (1994). The long twentieth century: Money, power, and the ori-
to use their continued military and financial might and gins of our times. New York: Verso Press.
their influence in international organizations to domi- Balibar, E., & Wallerstein, I. (Eds.). (1991). Race, nation, class: Ambigu-
ous identities. London: Verso Press.
nate weaker nation-states. The United States and West
Barraclough, G. (1964). An introduction to contemporary history. Ham-
European powers have been able to limit the capacity of mondsworth, UK: Penguin Books.
the new, often institutionally fragile nation-states for self- Breuilly, J. (1985). Nationalism and the state. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
determination. Similarly, the Soviet Union sought to Brubaker, R. (1996). Nationalism reframed: Nationhood and the national
limit the independence of socialist republics in eastern question in the new Europe. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
Press.
Europe and of new nation-states dependent upon its mil-
Bull, H., & Watson,A. (Ed.). (1976). The expansion of international soci-
itary and financial aid.The effort to create a nonaligned ety. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.