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Globalization and the Boundaries of the State: A Framework for Analyzing the Changing Practice of Sovereignty
Author(s) -
Cohen Edward S.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
governance
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.46
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1468-0491
pISSN - 0952-1895
DOI - 10.1111/0952-1895.00152
Subject(s) - sovereignty , globalization , state (computer science) , politics , immigration , political science , political economy , nation state , institution , sovereign state , boundary (topology) , economic system , sociology , law , economics , mathematical analysis , mathematics , algorithm , computer science
The impact of globalization on the sovereignty of the modern state has been a source of great controversy among political scientists. In this article, I offer a framework for understanding the state as a boundary‐setting institution, which changes shape and role over time and place. I argue that, rather than undermining the state, globalization is a product of a rearrangement of the purposes, boundaries, and sovereign authority of the state. Focusing on the United States, the article traces the changing shape of state sovereignty through a study of the patterns of immigration policy and politics over the past three decades. Immigration policy, I argue, provides a unique insight into the continuities and changes in the role of the state in an era of globalization.