State and Globalization, a Latin American Perspective

The issue of the role of the State is a constant theme, and it is so because states are embedded in societies and societies are not static entities, they are bodies under constant change. But changes contain lines of continuity and brake, which take different forms in different historical periods and cultural environments. The focus of this study is in the role of the State in a particular historical period of time that has been generally identified with the concept of “Globalization”. This is a very loose concept that does not define an established system, but rather, a period of rapid changes in the transformation of the global capitalist system. Thereof the need to catch the new period of time in a word or even a metaphor such as “Globalization”. When speaking of change, we want to point out the emergence of the United Nations System and the end of bipolarity after the Cold War, with the strengthening of new global “spheres of authority” made up by markets, multilateral entities, international organizations and new forms of global networks. However, as said above, there are of lines of continuity where one of the most relevant is the maintenance of the nation-state as central pillar of the system. Yet, it is also here where we believe that one of the main changes is happening, with increasing sings of erosion of that pillar. This situation contains a dilemma which is our main point of inquiry: at the same time that the position of nation-states seems to be loosing strength, there is also a growing request on states to take action and solve problems. The hypothesis discussed in this article is that such “dilemma” requires a re-thinking about the role of the State in relation to the new geography of international relations. But we also argue that this issue is highly linked to a renewed analysis around the relation between Nation and State; a discussion that should take in to account the economic, social and normative pressures of Globalization. All nations appear to be facing the challenge of redefine themselves and their States. Yet, the challenge is different for each institutional environment. Albeit the current systemic changes might carry a strong homogenising force, there is also a strong heterogeneity in the way in which different cultures cope with changes. We chose here to analyse the transformation from the perspective of Latin American states, intending to explore the issue from an – always changing and conceptually difficult - “Latin American” perspective.