Does globalisation undermine the nation-state and national identities?

The first 200 words of this essay...

Does globalisation undermine the nation-state and national identities?

'The nation-state is just about through as an economic unit'1.

Charles P. Kindleberger, 1969

It has been over half a century since Charles P. Kindleberger's statement triggered a debate as to what the future held for the nation-state and national identities in a globalising world, yet there is little to suggest that either's entire existence will be entirely eradicated in the near future. Few would question that globalisation is to some extent eroding the nation-state and national identities, and few would be as cavalier as to suggest they have both been entirely wiped out. Instead, we must determine degrees of relative causality and significance. In the case of the nation-state, many of the state's traditional roles have been removed. Yet we should not expect them to wither away altogether; indeed, in some ways it has and will continue to expand and develop its tasks, roles and activities in place of those that have been removed2. One of these new roles is the preservation of the state's national identity. This has proved to be an increasingly difficult task in light of the rapidly increasing rates of population movement across the