From Our Editors
What determines the flow of labor and capital in this new global information economy? Who has the capacity to coordinate this new system, to create a measure of order? And what happens to territoriality and sovereignty, two fundamental principles of the modern state? Losing Control? is a major addition to our understanding of these questions. Examining the rise of private transnational legal codes and supranational institutions such as the World Trade Organization and universal human rights covenants, Saskia Sassen argues that sovereignty remains an important feature of the international system, but that it is no longer confined to the nation-state. Sassen argues that a profound transformation is taking place, a partial denationalizing of national territory seen in such agreements as NAFTA and the European Union. Two arenas stand out in the new spatial and economic order: the global capital market and the series of codes and institutions that have mushroomed into an international human rights regime. As Sassen shows, these two quasi-legal realms now have the power
From the Publisher
The past decade has seen great changes in the way business is
transacted across national borders. Because of unprecedented
advances in telecommunication and computer networks, money is
transferred in electronic space. U.S. firms such as Ford, IBM, and
Exxon now employ well over fifty percent of their workers overseas,
rankling both domestic workers who argue that jobs are being
exported while unemployment soars at home and activists who contend
that wealthy corporations are exploiting low-wage workers in Third
World nations. And as immigration levels soar, the very concept of
citizenship has moved to the top of political agendas around the
world.
What determines the flow of labor and capital in this new global
information economy? Who has the capacity to coordinate this new
system, to create a measure of order? And what happens to
territoriality and sovereignty, two fundamental principles of the
modern state?
Losing Control? is a major addition to our
understanding of these questions. Examining the rise of private
transnational legal codes and supranational institutions such as
the World Trade Organization and universal human rights covenants,
Saskia Sassen argues that sovereignty remains an important feature
of the international system, but that it is no longer confined to
the nation-state. Sassen argues that a profound transformation is
taking place, a partial denationalizing of national territory seen
in such agreements as NAFTA and the European Union.
Two arenas stand out in the new spatial and economic order: the
global capital market and the series of codes and institutions that
have mushroomed into an international human rights regime. As
Sassen shows, these two quasi-legal realms now have the power and
legitimacy to demand accountability from national governments, with
the ironic twist that both depend upon the state to enforce their
goals.
From the economic policy shifts forced by the Mexico debt crisis
to the recurring battles over immigration and refugees around the
world, Losing Control? presents an incisive review of the
affairs that are radically altering the landscape of governance in
the era of globalization.
From the Jacket
The past decade has seen great changes in the way business is
transacted across national borders. Because of unprecedented
advances in telecommunication and computer networks, money is
transferred in electronic space. U.S. firms such as Ford, IBM, and
Exxon now employ well over fifty percent of their workers overseas,
rankling both domestic workers who argue that jobs are being
exported while unemployment soars at home and activists who contend
that wealthy corporations are exploiting low-wage workers in Third
World nations. And as immigration levels soar, the very concept of
citizenship has moved to the top of political agendas around the
world.
What determines the flow of labor and capital in this new global
information economy? Who has the capacity to coordinate this new
system, to create a measure of order? And what happens to
territoriality and sovereignty, two fundamental principles of the
modern state?
Losing Control? is a major addition to our understanding of
these questions. Examining the rise of private transnational legal
codes and supranational institutions such as the World Trade
Organization and universal human rights covenants, Saskia Sassen
argues that sovereignty remains an important feature of the
international system, but that it is no longer confined to the
nation-state. Sassen argues that a profound transformation is
taking place, a partial denationalizing of national territory seen
in such agreements as NAFTA and the European Union.
Two arenas stand out in the new spatial and economic order: the
global capital market and the series of codes and institutions that
have mushroomed into an international human rights regime. As
Sassen shows, these two quasi-legalrealms now have the power and
legitimacy to demand account -ability from national governments,
with the ironic twist that both depend upon the state to enforce
their goals.
From the economic policy shifts forced by the Mexico debt crisis
to the recurring battles over immigration and refugees around the
world, Losing Control? presents an incisive review of the affairs
that are radically altering the landscape of governance in the era
of globalization.
About the Author
Saskia Sassen is professor of urban planning at Columbia
University and also serves on the faculty of the School of
International and Public Affairs. Among her books are The
Mobility of Labor and Capital and The Global City: New
York, London, Tokyo. She has received many awards and
fellowships and is on the editorial board of the new journal
Competition and Change.
About the Book
< P> Examining the rise of private transnational legal codes
and supranational institutions such as the World Trade Organization
and universal human rights covenants, Saskia Sassen argues that
sovereignty remains an important feature of the international
system, but that it is no longer confined to the nation-state. Yet
a profound transformation is taking place, a partial
de-nationalizing of national territory seen in such agreements as
NAFTA and the European Union.< /P>
