Saskia Sassen's "Losing Control: Sovereignty in an Age of Globalization" (Book Note)

 

Sassen’s book Losing Control? Sovereiugnity in an Age of Globalisation discusses the evolving dynamics of states and sovereignty in the late twentieth-century capitalist world-economy.  It  addresses the question of whether states are "losing control" in the era of "globalization." Rather than focusing on the economic forces of globalization, as she did in her earlier work "The Global City", Sassen delves into the contradictions and dilemmas surrounding state power and territoriality.

 

Contrary to the hard-line globalist perspective that predicts the decline of states in the face of rising global capital, Sassen embraces a nuanced view. She agrees with proponents of strong globalization who argue that the seventeenth-century interstate system is undergoing a profound transformation. However, she refuses to dismiss the state as a significant player in the world-economy, emphasizing the complex relationship between states and global capital.

 

Sassen introduces a "new geography of power" in the world-economy with three key dimensions. Firstly, national territoriality undergoes a transformation through the dispersal of "factories, offices, service outlets, and markets." Secondly, an international legal regime emerges, partially beyond the control of nation-states, as they relinquish some regulatory functions. This results in the formation of an international "private regulatory system," exemplified by the rise of international commercial arbitration and the global influence of bond-rating agencies like Moody’s and Standard and Poor. The third dimension revolves around the growing significance of economic space, where instantaneous transmission and large-scale global currency trading undermine states’ regulatory capabilities.

 

The evolving geography of power signals not the demise of the state but rather the end of a specific historical manifestation of the state. Diverse forms of sovereignty are emerging, some rooted in states and others in global markets and international agreements. Saskia Sassen argues that the state has not passively succumbed to globalization; instead, it has actively propelled the globalizing process.

 

Furthermore, Sassen asserts that "global" and "national" spaces are not mutually exclusive. Many strategic spaces for global processes are often within national boundaries. The mechanisms for implementing the new legal forms required for globalization are frequently embedded in state institutions. The infrastructure facilitating the global mobility of capital is situated in various national territories. In essence, globalization has partially shifted state sovereignty to transnational organizations, like the World Trade Organization, and partly denationalized national territory through a fragmented and ascendant new legal regime.

 

The transformative impact of globalization on citizenship is evident. Citizenship, once shaped by the French Revolution, is now evolving into corporation-based "economic citizenship" and an international human rights regime. The world-economy is increasingly governed by global capital markets and transnational organizations accountable not to traditional citizens but to "economic citizens" defined as global economic actors.

 

However, the trend toward replacing national with global economic citizenship faces opposition. Sassen identifies three countervailing tendencies. First, there is the potential activation of various international agreements to democratize transnational organizations like the World Trade Organization. Second, national states may advocate for equity and accountability mechanisms among global economic actors through multilateral agreements. Third, social movements may actively resist the erosion of citizenship.

In the concluding discussion of "Losing Control," the focus shifts to the intricate issue of immigration. As "economic globalization denationalizes national economies," there is a simultaneous trend of immigration "renationalizing politics." This paradoxical relationship constitutes a fundamental contradiction in state-capital relations within the "new order." Capital pursues the deregulation of capital flows while simultaneously seeking to regulate the movement of labor. Immigration policy, therefore, serves as a crucial "strategic research site" that highlights the tension between the concept of sovereignty as control over entry and the challenges states face in policymaking.

 

Two external forces, somewhat beyond the control of states, play a significant role in shaping immigration policy. Firstly, globalization tends to increase immigration flows rather than diminish them. For instance, disruptions in peripheral economies due to factors like war in El Salvador or neoliberal economic policies in Mexico have led to a substantial rise in migrants heading to the U.S. Paradoxically, the imperial states that championed globalization now grapple with the challenge of restricting the entry of "foreign" workers whose lives have been adversely affected by globalization. Secondly, the "emergent international human rights regime" poses a constraint on state immigration policy. Since human rights are not contingent on nationality, they have the potential to contest state sovereignty and diminish the significance of citizenship.

 

Sassen's arguments in "Losing Control" are noteworthy. First, states have not simply declined; rather, they have actively played a role in driving globalization, thereby creating social forces that transform both the modern state and the interstate system. Second, globalization is not confined to a realm separate from national space; instead, it materializes within national borders, deeply intertwining the global and national economies. Third, various international regimes, spanning from human rights agreements to the World Trade Organization, have encroached on parts of state sovereignty, marking a shift in the traditional power dynamics.