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The nation state is alive and well, even in the European Union

It has become fashionable to claim that the nation state has lost its place. Globalization, it is said, means that nations can no longer control their own affairs. They must join with others, as in the EU or ASEAN or Mercosur, and they must increasingly rely on global institutions like the UN, the World Bank and the WTO.

But such a view is risky. Indeed, on closer inspection, it proves to be dubious, when not simply wrong. The nation state, with both its strengths and weaknesses, is alive and well.

To begin with its strengths, the nation state remains the only political space in which the constitution of liberty thrives. The democratic credentials of organizations like the EU are doubtful, and entirely absent in the case of the UN and other world institutions. Moreover, despite the frequent search for new identities, European or Latin American or otherwise, and despite many references to a new cosmopolitanism, or even a "world civil society," most people feel at home in their own country -- the nation state of which they are citizens.

Migration is generally migration to other countries. Many countries are currently debating the integration of migrants. What does it take to be British or German or American? Such debates about immigration make sense only if we recognize that citizenship is defined by and for nations.

This is, for most people, the positive side of the nation state. The nation state has been, and continues to be, the relevant unit of belonging and civic involvement for most human beings for more than two centuries. It is the context in which we find our liberties safeguarded or destroyed. Certainly, the countries freed from communism in 1989 felt that restoring national sovereignty and recovering liberty were bound together.

Yet there is, and always has been, another, uglier face of the nation state: nationalism. The nationalist impulse can be aggressive or defensive, directed against others or inward-looking. Either way, it vitiates all attempts to create an international community of open societies.

This was the problem in Iraq: a nation state had become a disturber of peace in the region and beyond. More recently, a less violent but equally worrying phenomenon has gained ground, the revival of national protectionism. The Doha Round of trade negotiations is stalled because developed countries do not want to open their markets to cheaper products from developing countries, which in turn try to protect what nascent industries they have. Many would prefer privileged relationships to open trade.

national markets

In this regard, the EU has often obliged. But now the nationalist bug has infected the EU itself. France, Spain and Poland have attempted to keep major industries firmly in "national hands." Suddenly, the single European market is forgotten, and a return to fragmented markets is taking root.

Consider, for example, the European Commission's so-called "services directive." Although freedom of movement for labor is one of the single market's "four freedoms," many EU countries are trying to protect their domestic labor markets by suspending this freedom for as long as possible. Germany, in particular, argues that the high unemployment resulting from reunification in 1990 requires it to close its labor market to the new member states to its east.

Such trends are dangerous. Historically, protectionism has often led to economic conflict, which can rapidly turn into more serious clashes.

The signs are not good, even in Europe. A recent summit of EU leaders addressed energy policy -- one area where cooperation is not only highly desirable, but necessary. Yet even German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- clearly a pro-European -- went to the meeting with the explicit intention of barring the creation of other European powers in this field. The German-Russian agreement to build a gas pipeline bypassing Poland and Lithuania, with former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder leading the effort, has already harmed Polish-German relations, to say nothing of European cooperation.

For a time, the pendulum of political opinion may have swung too far against the nation state and its role. This is one reason why so many people have felt estranged from their political leaders. But it would be unfortunate -- indeed, dangerous -- if the pendulum now swung back to old-fashioned nationalism.

Nation states are welcome; they are important elements of a liberal world order. But they have to be open to cooperation and coordination with others. We must be vigilant in resisting the start of a trend reminiscent of developments in the early years of the 20th century -- a trend that quickly led to global disaster.

Ralf Dahrendorf, a former European commissioner from Germany, is a member of the British House of Lords, a former rector of the London School of Economics and a former warden of St. Antony's College, Oxford.

Copyright: Project Syndicate/Institute for Human Sciences
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