The erosion of sovereignty

Many of the assumptions underpinning the modern system of nation-states are now being placed in question. Increased global flows of capital, intensified networks of social interaction, and the emergence of transnational regulatory regimes on a significant scale are affecting the ability of national governments to regulate their economic conditions and improve their citizens’ well-being. The effects of economic, technological and cultural change are having significant impacts on the activity of governing, the cumulative effect of which is experienced as a diminution in the efficacy of those levers of command and control that have been a common feature of the modern nation-state settlement. These developments have generated a great deal of policy analysis and scholarly examination.