Globalization, State & Governance

Globalisation is understood, theorised and defined in diverse ways. For the mainstream theorists of the west, globalisation marked the triumph of capitalism and a market economy. For the critiques of this argument, globalisation facilitated a world-wide expansion of capital by breaking the legal-political barriers put up by the nation states. For some it ensued the universalisation of consumerism through transnational ruling elites. For network society theorists, the engine of globalisation is the ever-expanding information and communication revolution. Governance being essentially ambiguous connotes different things to different people. The governance paradigm, that appeared in the early 1990s is not exclusively a market-based one but a mélange of experimentations like new public management, regulatory governance, network governance, participatory governance, good governance, multi-level governance and global governance. The relationship between state and governance is very complex in modern times. As a political institution -- with monopoly over the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory -- the power of state was unique and unchallenged for long. The state in the neo-liberal times has been hollowed out on account of its shrinking leverage. The present volume contains 16 well-researched scholarly essays which provide deep insights into the emerging political order in the world.