Research on Humanities and Social Sciences www.iiste.org ISSN (Paper)2224-5766 ISSN (Online)2225-0484 (Online) Vol.5, No.13, 2015 86 The Contemporary Globalization and Its Impact on the Role of States Mossa Hussen Negash Assistant Professor at Bahir Dar University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Political Science Program, P.O.Box 79, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia Abstract The main aim of this paper is primarily to prefigure to what extent contemporary globalization impacted on nation-states role, importance, sovereignty and autonomy. The study is based on document analysis. It shows that the contemporary phase of globalization is profoundly shaped and impacted states, forced to adjust them with the changes coming with globalization. But this doesn’t make states less significant and their role restricted. Rather they redefine their role and pursue wider policies to overcome the challenges of it. Yet unlike the Westphalia State System (1648-1945) the contemporary states sovereignty and autonomy is somewhat subject to compromise. Keywords: Globalization, globalist, skeptics, transformationalist, role states 1. Introduction In today’s world individuals from all walks of life including from the remote village dwellers of geographic periphery to the cosmopolitan and of regional and global institutions, from politicians to academicians, the word globalization becoming their regular vocabulary. Although globalization is not a new phenomenon, its complexity, intensity, quantity and quality, multiple interpenetration, and the pervasiveness of its influence since the end of the second world war has been undoubtedly unique and profoundly impacted on peoples, nations, global institutions and governance. And states are the sites of this phenomenal expansion and interpenetration. Along with this expansion it brought costs and benefits to countries whether they take part in the process actively or marginalized. Many scholars argue that the contemporary globalization (since the end of the Second World War) significantly eroded the sovereignty of nation states and make it subservient to the forces and agents of globalization such as multinational corporations (MNCs). They go further on arguing that the state has marginal importance or they believe in the ‘end of the nation-state’. Others argue that nation states are still the driving wheels of the International System and the rhetoric of the ‘end of state’ is a myth, rather the state significantly shape the nature & operation of globalization. 2. Conceptual Background and Approaches to Globalization In spite of the wide use of the term, no one has come up with a precise and universally accepted definition for globalization. Yet some scholars attempt to give comprehensive definition touching economic, political, socio- cultural, technological, etc aspects white some others narrowly focus on economic or political aspects. McGrew define globalization as a “marked intensification of global interconnectedness, i.e., a growing multiplicity of networks, flows, transactions and relations which transcend the state and societies which constitute the contemporary global system. Such interconnectedness belies stretching of social, political and economic activities and cultural practices across political frontiers with the consequence that events, decisions and actions in one continent impact up on communities and nations in a distant region of the globe’’.Such view indicate the narrowing downs of the global and the local distinction as boundaries of states are compromising. Therefore globalization expresses a qualitative shift in time and space relations which Harvey refers to as “time space-compression”. 8 It can also be seen as “a process (or set of processes) which embodies a transformation in the spatial organization of social relations-assessed in terms of their extensity, intensity, velocity and impact generating trans continental or interregional flows and networks of activities, interactions and the exercises of power” (Held, et al 2000:16).Thus, it implies a widening, deepening and speeding up of processes of world wide connectivity. In sum, globalization embraces complex phenomenon encompassing the stretching of social and economic relations, the intensification of communication and other linkages, the interpenetration of economic and social practices and the emergence of global infrastructures such as international organization to facilitate the growing complex and dynamic relationships across the globe. 9 Seeing the bulk and intensity of contemporary globalization, it will obviously pose a formidable 8 Global Society 12(3), 1998 9 Cochrane, and Kathy Pine “A globalizing Society?” in Held” (ed), 2004. CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by International Institute for Science, Technology and Education (IISTE): E-Journals