| Summary: |
We live, as is often remarked, in a fast-changing world. Some of the changes
to which we are witness - and which are of practical concern to us all - lie
in the political sphere. For instance, advanced societies are marked, among
other things, by complex shifts in the power and competence of the nation
state. It is said that state and society are becoming increasingly interwoven,
leading to a 'politicization of society' and a 'socialization of the state'. This
implies that the tasks and responsibilities of the nation state are in continuous
expansion. Yet a process of 'individualization' and 'fragmentation' of
political and social life also seems to be taking place; to this must be added
a redistribution of some of the capacities of the nation state to regional or
local levels as well as to 'intermediate bodies'. In the opposite direction,
however, other developments, like internationalization, including the emergence
of new regulatory systems at international level, are generating what
are called 'transnational' networks. These appear to be gaining control of
ever more aspects of social and political existence.
As a result of these developments, political decision-making is becoming
opaque, and the mechanisms of democratic control - which have traditionally
operated in the framework of the nation state - seem to be in a
process of erosion. At the same time the scope and the character of political
participation are being modified: new networks are emerging as links
between the various decision-making levels, while support for 'national society' is falling, and the efficacy of national governance structures is
declining. Thus expansion, individualization, localization, internationalization
and fragmentation have all become keywords summarizing the phenomenon
of political change as it now affects advanced societies.
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