THE REVIVAL OF THE NATION-STATE - STOCK-EXCHANGE REGULATION IN AN ERAOF GLOBALIZED FINANCIAL-MARKETS

The debate on economic globalization suggests that the blurring of ter ritorial boundaries shifts the power relations between nation-states a nd domestic market constituencies in favour of the latter. States have lost autonomy since policies are increasingly formulated in supranati onal or global arenas. Market actors seem to profit from economic and political deterritorialization. They may use their wider choice of geo graphic location in order to lobby for low regulated market environmen ts. The article seeks to differentiate this common view considerably. It argues that economic internationalization tends to erode the legiti macy of self-binding agreements that had formerly solved regulatory pr oblems. Networks of interstate collaboration in turn lack the ability to monitor and enforce negotiated agreements. Both developments impose new duties of market supervision on the nation-state. Empirical refer ence is drawn from the German stock exchange sector that underwent a p rocess of fundamental transformation leading to an enhanced role of th e nation-state in the model of sectoral governance.