Liberal theory of state, State and globalization

Intro: The study of state has been one of the most important concepts in normative political theory.

Sovereignty: defined by Jean Bodin “ supreme power over citizens and subjects, unrestrained by law.”

Hobbes- established supremacy of positive law i.e. law given by state over natural/customary laws. Say sovereignty , a permanent characteristic of state , is inalienable and indivisible
John Austin- book - Lectures on jurisprudence

Call monistic theory as legal fiction. This is because externally state’s choice is limited by other actors and its relations with them and internally sovereignty is limited by various organisations and associations
say state is not the only institution fulfilling needs of man and hence only it must not have the authority to make laws.
Monistic theory emerged to address the chaos in the medieval age. Pluralistic theory emerged to avoid recurrence of war(as it puts limits on state sovereignty)
exponents:

Monistic theory a recipe for totalitarian state and a threat to intl peace and human rights.
Says it is an impossible misadventure to find Austinian sovereignty in federal state.
He argues that allegiance to various associations are partial and proportional to their contribution.
He even goes on to say “it would be of lasting benefit to political science is the whole concept of sovereignty were surrendered.”

gives Concept of service state i.e. state has been formed to serve the people.
Says “state does not create law of its own will. Law exists prior to state. State grasps it and gives it a definite shape.
says institutions like family,kinship are not only prior to state in origin but also not dependent on state
For moderate pluralists state is an institution of social architecture i.e. though many institutions exist but state is the most important. It is the state that keeps society together and hence enjoys primacy over other institutions
As a social organisation, the state is also subjected to social norms. The authority to formulate laws must be shared among the state and other organisations in the society

they want to keep the state to avoid anarchy but also limit its power. But state automatically assumes primacy due to unique role that it performs. Hence they want to keep the cake and have it too.
more realistic and relevant in present times as there is a cry for more and more decentralization and diffusion of power.
Book- Narrow corridor- even socio cultural norms help to keep people disciplined. Hence not advisable to give too much power to state . Coin the term”shackled leviathan” for such state of affairs wherein power is balanced between society and state.

Thomas Friedman: Book : The Lexus and the olive tree: globalization is the inexorable integration of markets, nations states, technology to an extent never seen before . Interactions have become Farther, Faster Cheaper, deeper .
Context:

Origin of state under social contract as given by Hobbes and Locke
State is a historical institution whose forms have been changing ( Maclver’s evolutionary theory of state)
Further evolution into Westphalian model also called as billiards ball model

Globalists: according to them there is a considerable decline in the powers of the state because of globalization.
From Billiards ball model, the world has moved towards cobweb model.
The Growing prominence of transnational actors has led to the emergence of “post sovereign governance” and “super-territoriality” reflecting decline in the importance of state actors.
MNCs challenging the sovereignty of state. ( recent controversy of IT rules , Indian govt vs Whats-app)
SAP of IMF on countries asking for loans. This restricts govt’s abilities to enhance state expenditure on welfare schemes.
In agricultural policies, states need to adhere to WTO’s policies of Agreement on agriculture

Marshall McLuhan- concept of global village, i.e. technology has compressed the globe into a village.

Kenichi Ohmae- calls the world as “border-less village.”
Thomas Friedman - The world is flat. Says globalization has led to Deterritorialisation of state.

Robert Gilpin, a realist hence state is the prime actor for him. States in command of globalization. Shells of sovereignty have remained intact
the state has been coming to fore and assuming greater powers after events like 9/11, 2008 financial crisis and COVID-19 crisis, with sealing of borders, limiting international trade, etc
md ayoob: in the backdrop kf covid, the percept that “the nation state is dead” has been turned on its head and replaced with “long live the nation state.”
Stanley Hoffmann- Nationstates are unlikely to embrace abstract obligations that clash with concrete calculations of national interest
In China-

the state has been cracking down on large corporates and capitalists. Global times- capital cannot dominate the country and it must not influence politics.
“The great firewall” to prevent people of Chine to access foreign websites like Twitter, Facebook, Google.

David held- gives a balanced view. Globalization and sovereignty not a zero sum game. China is economically globalized but does not allow twitter,google,WA to operate from its territory.

Bob Jesop- we are witnessing both. In some aspect, globalization is winning and in other respects states are holding the power
Georg Sorenson: Globalization has not diluted the sovereignty of state in equal amounts . Lesser impact on powerful states and more impact on weaker states

Globalization has brought threats like trans national terrorism , organised crime because of which state has considerably expanded its powers. We are witnessing what Jayant Sinha and Samir Saran call “gated globalisation” wherein state is allowing limited connection with the world. After 9/11 and 2008 financial crisis, Brexit and election of Donald trump, there has been a marked shift towards de-globalization further accentuated by COVID-19. Now states are talking about resilient supply chains to reduce dependencies on foreign countries that has occurred because of globalization and the WTO’s policies based on “comparative advantage” theory.

In conclusion-Vinod Rai in his book rethinking good governance says -regardless of the extent of globalization and effect on sovereignty, the distinguishing factor is always how well the state is administered.

nightwatchman(classical):Lockean idea of state, Adam smith, Robert Nozick, FA Hayek,
welfare(modern): Laski, TH-Green, Rawls, Amartya sen.

Feminist theory of state-
Catherine Mackinnon(a radical feminist)Book feminism unmodified-

Call state as patriarchal.
She reveals a political system of male dominance and female subordination that sexualizes power for men and powerlessness for women. She analyzes the failure of organized feminism, particularly legal feminism, to alter this condition, as she argues the laws of the state have been made to perpetuate patriarchy
Feminists have an ambivalent position on state. On one hand this is state is an institution of patriarchy and all other they say states intervention is also required in personal sphere for the empowerment of women. (Personal is political)

Conclusion-J w Garner had rightly said that- political science begins and ends with state

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