The Sovereignty Debate over Globalization

Abstract

This study examines the growing role of globalization in increasing small states vulnerability to hegemonic powers. Lebanon, a country which has been racked by civil war, foreign interventions, and recurring political paralyses is a case study. The country’s strategic geopolitical position between regional powers has been a major driver of its protracted instability. Required but a hardly attainable political compromise between competing sectarian political groups tied to regional interests has undermined the nation state through a power sharing formula. This thesis suggests that globalization, particularly the process of removing trade and financial barriers between nations, has further contributed to state fragility and weaknesses, diminishing sovereignty and any prospect of an independent national political economy. The form and shape of contemporary Lebanese state appears as an internationally mandated yet unstable power sharing arrangement. Evidences are drawn from contemporary political and economic developments shaping state dependency on globalization forces, and consequently on contentious international sponsorship process.