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Transnational Corporations and The Question of Sovereignty: an Alternative Theoretical Framework for the Information Age
Author(s) -
Turner Scott
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
southeastern political review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1747-1346
pISSN - 0730-2177
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-1346.1997.tb00841.x
Subject(s) - sovereignty , political science , autonomy , globalization , state (computer science) , meaning (existential) , adversarial system , political economy , power (physics) , law and economics , economic system , law , sociology , economics , politics , epistemology , philosophy , physics , algorithm , quantum mechanics , computer science
A central theme related to globalization is the decline of sovereignty. Non‐state institutions, particularly transnational corporations, are often portrayed as rivals of the state which threaten traditional sovereignty with their largesse and enhanced mobility. Yet this framework often suffers from a lack of clarity regarding the meaning of sovereignty and the nature of the evolving relationship between states and corporations. The distribution of power between states and corporations is often portrayed as a zero‐sum relation. Thus the persistence of powerful states tends to undermine the thesis. This article, however, reframes the issue by reconsidering the meaning of sovereignty and the nature of the relationship between states and corporations. Sovereignty, it is argued, refers as much to policy autonomy as to the capacity for adversarial intervention. The relationship between states and corporations is as cooperative as it is adversarial. Transnational corporations undermine sovereignty not only by escaping state jurisdictions, but by constricting the range of policy alternatives available to states.