Rethinking World Politics : A Theory of Transnational Neopluralism

Rethinking World Politics is a major intervention into a central debate in international relations: how has globalization transformed world politics? Most work on world politics still presumes the following: in domestic affairs, individual states function as essentially unified entities, and in international affairs, stable nation-states interact with each other. In this scholarship, the state lies at the center; it is what politics is all about. However, Philip Cerny contends that recent experience suggests another process at work: "transnational neopluralism." In the old version of pluralist theory, the state is less a cohesive and unified entity than a varyingly stable amalgam of competing and cross-cutting interest groups that surround and populate it. Cerny explains that contemporary world politics is subject to similar pressures from a wide variety of sub- and supra-national actors, many of which are organized transnationally rather than nationally. In recent years, the ability of transnational governance bodies, NGOs, and transnational firms to shape world politics has steadily grown. Importantly, the rapidly growing transnational linkages among groups and the emergence of increasingly influential, even powerful, cross-border interest and value groups is new. These processes are not replacing nation-states, but they are forging new transnational webs of power. States, he argues, are themselves increasingly trapped in these webs. After mapping out the dynamics behind contemporary world politics, Cerny closes by prognosticating where this might all lead. Sweeping in its scope, Rethinking World Politics is a landmark work of international relations theory that upends much of our received wisdom about how world politics works and offers us new ways to think about the forces shaping the contemporary world. Rethinking World Politics is a major intervention into a central debate in international relations: how has globalization transformed world politics? Most work on world politics still presumes the following: in domestic affairs, individual states function as essentially unified entities, and in international affairs, stable nation-states interact with each other. In this scholarship, the state lies at the center; it is what politics is all about. However, Philip Cerny contends that recent experience suggests another process at work: "transnational neopluralism." In the old version of pluralist theory, the state is less a cohesive and unified entity than a varyingly stable amalgam of competing and cross-cutting interest groups that surround and populate it. Cerny explains that contemporary world politics is subject to similar pressures from a wide variety of sub- and supra-national actors, many of which are organized transnationally rather than nationally. In recent years, the ability of transnational governance bodies, NGOs, and transnational firms to shape world politics has steadily grown. Importantly, the rapidly growing transnational linkages among groups and the emergence of increasingly influential, even powerful, cross-border interest and value groups is new. These processes are not replacing nation-states, but they are forging new transnational webs of power. States, he argues, are themselves increasingly trapped in these webs. After mapping out the dynamics behind contemporary world politics, Cerny closes by prognosticating where this might all lead. Sweeping in its scope, Rethinking World Politics is a landmark work of international relations theory that upends much of our received wisdom about how world politics works and offers us new ways to think about the forces shaping the contemporary world.-- Provided by Publisher ## Abstract This book is a major intervention into a central debate in international relations: how has globalization transformed world politics? Most work on world politics still presumes the following: in domestic affairs, individual states function as essentially unified entities; and in international affairs, stable nation-states interact with each other. In this book, the state lies at the center; it is what politics is all about. However, the author contends that recent experience suggests another process at work: “transnational neopluralism.” In the old version of pluralist theory, the state is less a cohesive and unified entity than a varyingly stable amalgam of competing and cross-cutting interest groups that surround and populate it. Contemporary world politics is subject to similar pressures from a wide variety of sub- and supra-national actors, many of which are organized transnationally rather than nationally. In recent years, the ability of transnational governance bodies, NGOs, and transnational firms to shape world politics has steadily grown. Importantly, the rapidly growing transnational linkages among groups and the emergence of increasingly influential, even powerful, cross-border interest and value groups is new. These processes are not replacing nation-states, but are forging new transnational webs of power. States, this book argues, are themselves increasingly trapped in these webs. After mapping out the dynamics behind contemporary world politics, the book concludes by prognosticating where this all might lead. Contents......Page 10 PART I: IDENTIFYING CHANGE......Page 12 1 Introduction: Why Transnational Neopluralism?......Page 14 2 Globalization and Other Stories: The Search for a New Paradigm for International Relations......Page 35 3 Space, Territory, and Functional Differentiation: Deconstructing and Reconstructing Borders......Page 51 4 Reconfiguring Power in a Globalizing World......Page 75 PART II: DYNAMICS OF CHANGE......Page 94 5 Multinodal Politics: A Framework for Analysis......Page 96 6 Globalizing the Public Policy Process: From Iron Triangles to Flexible Pentangles......Page 122 7 Embedding Neoliberalism: The Evolution of a Hegemonic Paradigm......Page 139 8 The State in a Globalizing World: From Raison d’État to Raison du Monde......Page 168 9 Institutional Bricolage and Global Governmentality: From Infrastructure to Superstructure......Page 186 PART III: IMPLICATIONS OF CHANGE......Page 204 10 Some Pitfalls of Democratization in a Globalizing World......Page 206 11 The New Security Dilemma......Page 228 12 Financial Globalization, Crisis, and the Reorganization of Global Capital......Page 256 13 Rescaling the State and the Pluralization of Marxism......Page 281 14 Conclusion: Globalization Is What Actors Make of It......Page 300 Bibliography......Page 318 B......Page 338 D......Page 339 F......Page 340 G......Page 341 L......Page 342 P......Page 343 R......Page 344 S......Page 345 W......Page 346 Z......Page 347 This text is a major intervention into a central debate in international relations: how has globalization transformed world politics? In this scholarship, the state lies at the centre; it is what politics is all about.