State and Governance in the Contemporary International Economic System

The end of the Cold War caused many changes in the world’s political and economic order. Under the newly reshaped world order, debate on the role of states with regard to governance of the international economic system has reached unprecedented levels, with some scholars proclaiming the end of the state and the beginning of a new era in a borderless world, and others insisting that nothing has changed with regard to the state’s role. It is obvious that, since 1991, changes in technology have greatly enhanced the volume, intensity and speed of international economic activities. In today’s highly interdependent world economy, the state’s power has indeed been transformed to meet the needs of changing international markets, but this transformation does not necessarily mean a diminishment in the power of the state. When an international crisis arises, neither private actors nor civil society organizations are called upon to solve the problem. The state as an actor appears to be turning to the economic scene these days through ongoing bail-out operations.