GLOBALIZATION AND THE CHANGING LOGIC OF COLLECTIVE ACTION

Globalization transforms collective action in domestic and internation al politics. As the scale of markets widens and as economic organizati on becomes more complex, the institutional scale of political structur es can become insufficient for the provision of an appropriate range o f public goods. A process of this sort occurred prior to the emergence of the modern nation-state, which itself constituted a paradigmatic r esponse to this predicament. Today, however, a complex process of glob alization of goods and assets is undermining the effectiveness of stat e-based collective action. Overlapping ''playing fields'' are developi ng, made up of increasingly heterogeneous-transnational, local, and in termediate-arenas. The residual state retains great cultural force, an d innovative projects for reinventing government are being tried. Neve rtheless, the state's effectiveness as a civil association has eroded significantly, and this may lead to a crisis of legitimacy.