Premium
Capital, State and Space: Contesting the Borderless World
Author(s) -
Yeung Henry Waichung
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
transactions of the institute of british geographers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.196
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1475-5661
pISSN - 0020-2754
DOI - 10.1111/j.0020-2754.1998.00291.x
Subject(s) - globalization , capital (architecture) , dialectic , state (computer science) , contest , world economy , economic system , political economy , political science , sociology , economy , economics , law , geography , philosophy , archaeology , epistemology , algorithm , computer science
The globalization of economic activities and transnational corporations (TNCs) has led us to think that we are entering a ‘borderless’ world. Some prophets of globalization argue that it has led to the end of geography. To them, the state has ceased to be an institution capable of exerting influences on the activities of transnational capital, which has also become increasingly ‘placeless’. This paper aims to contest the issue of the alleged end‐state discourse of a ‘borderless’ world. It argues that, despite the accelerated processes of globalization, national boundaries still matter in the decision‐making and global reach of capital. The notion of a ‘borderless’ world is more folklore than reality. Based on theoretical and empirical literature in international political economy and business studies, the paper offers a dialectical perspective that examines the changing relationship between capital and the state, and the embedded relationship between capital and space in the organization of the global space‐economy. Together, both arguments point to the importance of understanding dynamic transformations of the global economy, before considering its globalization tendencies.