- Guéhenno, Jean-Marie. La fin de la démocratie. Paris:
Flammarion, 1993. ISBN 2-08-081322-6.
- This book, written over a decade ago, provides a unique
take on what is now called “globalisation” and the evolution of
transnational institutions. It has been remarkably prophetic in the
years since its publication and a useful model for thinking about such
issues today. Guéhenno argues that the concept of the nation-state
emerged in Europe and North America due to their common history.
The inviolability of borders, parliamentary democracy as a guarantor of
liberty, and the concept of shared goals for the people of a nation are
all linked to this peculiar history and consequently non-portable to
regions with different histories and cultural heritages. He interprets
most of disastrous post-colonial history of the third world as a
mistaken attempt to implant the European nation-state model where
the precursors and prerequisites for it do not exist. The process
of globalisation and the consequent transformation of hierarchical
power structures, both political and economic, into self-organising
and dynamic networks is seen as rendering the nation-state obsolete
even in the West, bringing to a close a form of organisation dating
from the Enlightenment, replacing democratic rule with a system
of administrative rules and regulations similar to the laws of
the Roman Empire. While offering hope of eliminating the causes
of the large-scale conflicts which characterised the 20th century,
this scenario has distinct downsides: an increased homogenisation of
global cultures and people into conformist “interchangeable parts”,
a growing sense that while the system works, it lacks a purpose,
erosion of social solidarity in favour of insecurity at all levels,
pervasive corruption of public officials, and the emergence of
diffuse violence which, while less extreme than 20th century wars,
is also far more common and difficult to deter. That's a pretty good
description of the last decade as I saw it, and an excellent list of
things to ponder in the years to come. An English translation, The End of the Nation-State,
is now available; I've not read it.
January 2004 