World society and the nation stateARBER YMERI

ARLIND REXHEPI

Introduction

- Proposition

- Nation states through four topics

- The example of the new discovered island

- Four theoretical approaches in analyzing the properties of world society and the nation state

- Conclusion

Proposition

- Many features of the contemporary nation-state derive from worldwide models constructedand propagated through global cultural and associational process.

- Nation-states are not products of their own histories and internal forces, but are set forth bythe world model, which shapes nation-states through cultural and associational processes, inthe arenas of their identities, structures, and behaviors

The example of new discovered island

- Imagine that an unknown society on an unknown island is discovered what changes, (if any)would occur?

- A government would soon form, with many ministries and agencies

- Official recognition by other states and admission to the UN would ensue

- The society would be analyzed as an economy, with standards types of data, organizations

- Its people would be formally reorganized as citizens with many familiar rights

- While children, the elderly, the poor would be granted special protection

- Modern educational, medical, scientific and family law institutions would be developed

The example of new discovered island

- what would be unlikely to happen?

- The possibilities for an imperial rush to colonize the island would be rare

- Only few people would argue that the natives needed only modest citizenship or human rights

1. Four theoretical approaches in analyzing the properties of world society and N.S.

- Microrealist analysis – assume that the nation-state is a natural, purposive, and rational actorin an essentially anarchic world. Power and interest come first, leaving little room for culture.Culture is almost irrelevant it can be only local or national but not global.

- Macrorealist analysis – see the nation state as the creature of worldwide systems of economicor political power, exchange and competition. Money and force, power and interests, are theengines of global change.

2. Four theoretical approaches in analyzing the properties of world society and N.S.

- Microphenomenological analysis - conceptualize the nation-state as the product of nationalcultural and interpretive systems. The state is embedded in institutions whose cultural charactermatters, but these institutions reflect world processes only indirectly or not at all.

- Macrophenomenological analysis – se the nation-state as culturally constructed andembedded rather than as the unanalyzed rational actor depicted by realists. Culture issubstantially organized on a worldwide basis.

1. Theoretical background - Culture

- For realist perspective, the world is either:

◦ anarchic where actors pursue interests without interferences from an overarching authority structure

◦ or Networked where actors intentionally construct interdependent systems of economic and political competition from the ground up

Realist Perspective view culture functionally, as expressive material that integrates collectivities or supports the domination of powerful actors.

- Microphenomenological analysts take culture and interpretation more seriously but restrict them to action processes operating at local or national levels.

Microphenomenological analysts give greater attention to culture’s perspective but limit their scope to local situational knowledge and reality construction

2. Theoretical background - Culture

Example:

- The social scientific theories explain the way how things work even though this theory may notmesh well with practical experience

- For example, conventional schooling insist that formal education is necessary for economicgrowth, technical innovation, citizen loyalty, and democratic institutions. This justification wasnever questioned even though some studies in education’s effect on economic growth suggestthat this functional relationship is weak.

- In our island society, the implementation of world theories of development without visitingand studying the place would be not effective.

1. Properties of the culturally constituted Nation-state

1 - Isomorphism (equal) and Isomorphic change: it can be explained with the example of islandwhich despite all the possible configurations of local economic forces, power relationships, andforms of traditional culture it might contain, would rather decide to have standardized form andbe similar to other a hundred other nation states.

◦ For example, education, human rights, environmental policies, health care etc.

2 - Rational Actorhood: nation-states present themselves as responsible actors. They claim allthe features of the rational state actor:

◦ Territorial boundaries and a demarcated population

◦ Sovereign authority

◦ Standardized purposes like collective development, social justice and the protection of individual rights,authoritative, law-based control systems etc.

2. Properties of the culturally constituted Nation-state

3 - Decoupling: nation states are modeled on an external culture that cannot simply be importedwholesale as a fully functioning system, but they have to be adjusted/modified in order to fit todomestic principles.

In other words nation states must decouple external elements that are inconsistent with localpractices, requirements and cost structures.

◦ In the imagined island society would find much easier to adopt external elements and then to adjust toits internal requirements.

4 - Expansive structuration for example impoverished countries establish universities producingoverqualified personnel, or freeways leading nowhere. They provide forms of development thatare completely irrational

1. Processes of world society’s impact on Nation-states

1 - The construction of Nation-state identity and purpose: has to move toward universality ofthe nation state form (imagined island too). Universality means that a rational nation state mustconstruct goals, data systems, ministry structures and policies to fit to worldwide models. Theycan also achieve this by constructing national culture through traditions, museums, tourism andnational intellectual culture.

2 - Systematic maintenance of nation-state actor identity: If specific nation state is unable toadopt proper policies the world society structures will provide help. For example the worldorganization actively encourage countries to adopt population control policies that are justifiednot as good for the world as a whole but as necessary for national development (UNESCO)

2. Processes of world society’s impact on Nation-states

3 - Legitimation of subnational actors and Practices: means implementation of world culturalprinciples to follow the world trend. A good example is legitimating the human rights of gays andlesbians. If a nation-state neglects to adopt these world-approved policies, domestic elementswill try to enforce conformity.

The world culture influences nation states not only their centers (for example government) butalso through direct connections between local actors and world culture.

1. Elements of collective world society… that link nation state with the world society

1 - Organizational Frame helps the imagined island to strengthen its position by becomingmember of the UN and this automatically creates connections with lot of non-governmentalorganizations clustered around it (such as IMF, World Bank, General Agreement on tariffs andtrade GAAT etc.)

2 - Diffusion among Nation states – this means that the nation state can copy best practices ofother nations. The imagined island is expected to turn first to America, Japanese or Europeanmodels for much of their social restructuring. (For example for planning welfare program,Sweden is the leader, for technology is Japan, automobile industry is Germany etc.)

2. Elements of collective world society

3 - Associations, organizations and Social movements – for example governmental andnongovernmental voluntary organizations. These organizations promote models of humanrights, consumer rights, environmental regulations, social and economic development andhuman equality and justice. Our island will get a lot of experiences and aid from theseinternational organizations.

4 - Sciences and professions – in the world society scientist and professionals have becomecentral and prestigious participants to push forward the nation state development.

◦ Usually they are engaged in social life by offering their knowledge to different spheres such as naturalscientist, lawyers, medical professionals etc.

1. Sources of dynamism and change in world culture… generates expansion, conflict, and change.

1 - The structure of multiple actors in a common frame - it explains a role of a group to which anation belongs. Let’s take the example of the island society which wishes to maintain distinctivelocal patterns of gender differentiation for example. By doing this, it would be advised to applyuniversalistic cultural principles of that sort (gender differentiation) and join with others ingeneralizing this issue to the world level.

2 - Multiple levels of legitimated actor hood - Individuals and states legitimate each other. Inisland societal for instance economists or biological analysts would discover any inequality, whileeducational and sociological analysts would specify methods of correcting or managing theseproblems. International organizations would send experts to mobilize movements to demandsolutions to the problems. The solutions would require structuration and in the long run culturalor theoretical elaboration.

2. Sources of dynamism and change in world culture

3 - Cultural contradictions- beyond conflicts of interest among individuals or among states,there are also contradictions inherent in widely valued cultural goods: equally vs. liberty,progress vs. justice, standardizations vs. diversity etc. these contradiction elements areintegrated in different ways in different variants of world cultural models, within each nationalsociety, even locally.

This can be explained by an example when an ecologist interpret economic and technicaldevelopment as a threat to the natural base of the entire system. As a summary analysis of theexpanded and changing culture of world society must take into account dynamic properties ofworld culture as such, not just interaction and power relations among actors.

Conclusion

- The disaster of World War II may have been a key factor in the rise of global model ofnationally organized progress and justice, and the Cold War may well have intensified the forcespushing human development to the global level.

Conclusion

- Our island would obviously become a candidate for full membership in the world community of nations and individuals

- Human rights, state-protected citizen rights, and democratic forms would become natural entitlements

- An economy would emerge, defined and measured in rationalized terms and oriented to growth under state regulation

- A formal national polity would be essential, including a constitution, citizenship laws, educational structures, and open forms for participation and communication

Thank you for your attention