The State in the Post-National Constellation - Societal Denationalization and Multi-Level Governance

Debates about nationality and globalization suffer from some clear deficiencies. Most prominently, exclusive focus on the nation-state precludes the analysis of it as part of a more encompassing, and interconnected set of allocations of authority. I want to put forward a relational understanding in a changing constellation of statehood, in an analysis geared towards conceptualization. The argument in a nutshell is that statehood consists of three dimensions: (i) recognition, (ii) resources, and (iii) the realization of governance goals. Statehood in the national constellation was characterized by a convergence of all these three Rs in one political organization, that is the nation state. This national constellation was bound together by the congruence of social and political spaces. In a denationalizing world with an increase in cross-border activities and the emergence of new social spaces, the convergence of the dimensions of statehood in one political organization dissolves and a new architecture of statehood arises. To the extent that we move towards such a post-national constellation with multi-level statehood, the provision of public goods will change significantly, casting doubts on the capability to manage the problems that we are expected to face in the new century.