Globalisation and the State

Abstract

At the beginning of the 21st century, we are living in an era of globalisation. Is globalisation a threat to the Westphalia system? The Westphalia system was a framework of governance. At the core of this mode of governance stood the principles of statehood and sovereignty. Statehood meant that the world divided into territorial parcels, each of which was ruled by a separate government. The Westphalia state was moreover sovereign, that is, it exercised comprehensive, supreme, unqualified and exclusive control over its designated territorial domain. Sovereignty has two dimensions: internal and external. Internal sovereignty is where the sovereign or government exercises absolute authority over a particular society. Externally, there is no absolute authority above and beyond the state. Thus, states should determine their own direction and policies