Governing under Stress: Middle Powers and the Challenge of Globalization (Globalization and the Semi-Periphery)

Focuses on four countries - Canada, Mexico, Norway and Australia - characterised as 'semi-peripheral': that is, conscious of subordination to the centre - the United States - but with the means to resist, which differentiates them from both those countries at the centre which lack any such consciousness, and powerless countries on the periphery.;Title Page; Copyright; Contents; Table of Figures; Preface; 1 Introduction: States under Siege; 2 Globalization and the Social Question; Part I: Semi-peripheral Countries: Norway, Mexico, Australia, Canada; 3 Globalization in Norwegian: Peculiarities at the European Fringe; 4 Norway, the EEA, and Neo-liberal Globalism; 5 The Rise and Fall of an 'Organized Fantasy': The Negotiation of Status as Periphery and Semi-periphery by Mexico and Latin America; 6 Mexico: Relocating the State within a New Global Regime; 7 Australia: Asian Outpost or Big-time Financial Dealer?

This volume is the first work to emerge from a major international comparative research project exploring the political economy of globalization. This inter-disciplinary team of scholars is focusing on the semi-periphery of world power. Whether defined in social, cultural, economic or simply spatial terms, 'semi-peripheral' countries share two qualities: they are conscious of their subordination to the hegemonic powers at the centre of the global system - the United States and the European Union; they are also strong enough to have some ability to resist their domination. The structural position of these middle powers in global capitalism is unlike those countries at the centre that do not experience domination, and different from those Third World countries on the periphery that have no means to achieve more cultural and political autonomy, more distinctive and diversified development, or greater social equity and better income redistribution.Four countries in North America, Central America, Europe and the Antipodes - namely Canada, Mexico, Norway and Australia - have been selected in order to explore the complexities of globalization from the perspective of the semi-periphery. Opening chapters examine the international institutions, including the North America Free Trade Agreement, the World Trade Organization and the European Union, which now amount to a quasi-constitutional conditioning framework for middle powers under globalization. In the second part, contributors detail the pressures with which these countries have to cope and consider their ability to pursue policies appropriate to the needs and democratically defined goals of each. And in the concluding part, after discussing the new economic, political and social issues of 'governing under stress', they appraise the possibilities for middle powers to chart distinctive national courses in the face of globalization's constraining challenge.

This volume is the first work to emerge from a major international comparative research project exploring the political economy of globalization. This inter-disciplinary team of scholars is focusing on the semi-periphery of world power. Whether defined in social, cultural, economic or simply spatial terms, 'semi-peripheral' countries share two qualities: they are conscious of their subordination to the hegemonic powers at the centre of the global system - the United States and the European Union; they are also strong enough to have some ability to resist their domination. The structural position of these middle powers in global capitalism is unlike those countries at the centre that do not experience domination, and different from those Third World countries on the periphery that have no means to achieve more cultural and political autonomy, more distinctive and diversified development, or greater social equity and better income redistribution. Four countries in North America, Central America, Europe and the Antipodes - namely Canada, Mexico, Norway and Australia - have been selected in order to explore the complexities of globalization from the perspective of the semi-periphery. Opening chapters examine the international institutions, including the North America Free Trade Agreement, the World Trade Organization and the European Union, which now amount to a quasi-constitutional conditioning framework for middle powers under globalization. In the second part, contributors detail the pressures with which these countries have to cope and consider their ability to pursue policies appropriate to the needs and democratically defined goals of each. And in the concluding part, after discussing the new economic, political and social issues of 'governing under stress', they appraise the possibilities for middle powers to chart distinctive national courses in the face of globalization's constraining challenge. Title Page Copyright Contents Table of Figures Preface 1 Introduction: States under Siege 2 Globalization and the Social Question Part I: Semi-peripheral Countries: Norway, Mexico, Australia, Canada 3 Globalization in Norwegian: Peculiarities at the European Fringe 4 Norway, the EEA, and Neo-liberal Globalism 5 The Rise and Fall of an 'Organized Fantasy': The Negotiation of Status as Periphery and Semi-periphery by Mexico and Latin America 6 Mexico: Relocating the State within a New Global Regime 7 Australia: Asian Outpost or Big-time Financial Dealer? 8 Australia: Neo-liberal Globalism and the Local State9 Global Governance and the Semi-peripheral State: The WTO and NAFTA as Canada's External Constitution 10 International Forces Driving Electricity Deregulation in the Semi-periphery: The Case of Canada Part II: Dealing with the Centre 11 Money on the (Continental) Margins: Dollarization Pressures in Canada and Mexico 12 Taking Investments Too Far: Expropriations in the Semi-periphery 13 The Rule of Rules: International Agreements and the Semi-periphery Part III: Comparing Economic Performance. 14 Zonal Structure and the Trajectories of Canada, Mexico, Australia, and Norway under Neo-liberal GlobalizationAbout the Contributors Index Notes. Certain countries are characterised by the distinctive structural condition of semi-peripherality. Whether defined in social, cultural, economic or simply spatial terms, semi-peripheral countries share a consciousness of subordination to the centre - specifically the United States - as well as the means to resist. This differentiates them from both those countries at the centre which lack any such consciousness, and poor and powerless countries on the periphery. The contributors focus on four countries in North America, Central America, Europe and the Antipodes - namely Canada, Mexico, Norway and Australia. They examine the international institutions, including NAFTA, the WTO and the EU, forming the framework for globalization. They detail the constraints facing these countries and the possibilities for pursuing their own independent policies. They discuss the new economic, political and social issues of governance that are emerging, and the possibilities for the future.

This volume is the first work to emerge from a major international comparative research project to explore the political economy of governance under conditions of globalization in Canada, Mexico, Norway and Australia. The essays throw a new light on globalization by examining it from the perspective of these nations on the semi-periphery. Opening chapters examine the international institutions, including NAFTA, the WTO and the EU. In the second Part, contributors detail the constraints these countries face and the possibilities for their continuing to pursue policies unique to the needs and democratically defined goals of each country. And in the concluding Part, they discuss the new economic, political and social issues that arise as the shape of governance changes.

"Governing Under Stress is the first work to emerge from a major international comparative research project exploring the political economy of globalization. This inter-disciplinary team of scholars focuses on the semi-periphery of world power."--BOOK JACKET.