Management Papers
Title
Sovereignty@Bay: Globalization, Multinational Enterprise, and the International Political System
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
2009
Publication Source
The Oxford Handbook of International Business (2 ed.)
DOI
10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199234257.003.0007
Abstract
This article is concerned with only one aspect of the vast literature on MNE–state relations: the impact of the MNE on sovereignty, autonomy, and control. It argues that the mainstream literature of the sovereignty at bay era did not predict the end of the nation-state or conclude that sovereignty is critically compromised either in theory or practice. In fact, while the terms ‘sovereignty’, autonomy', and ‘control’ appear frequently in these discussions, they are rarely defined or even used precisely. At the end of the day MNEs are international or cross-border entities which are of the existing inter-state system firmly rooted in national territorial jurisdiction. The problems posed by the traditional MNE for both states and the inter-state system tend to involve issues of jurisdictional asymmetry, jurisdictional overlap and control, rather than sovereignty in its formal sense. The hierarchical or Fordist structure of the traditional MNE reinforces the core values of the modern international political system: state sovereignty and mutually exclusive territoriality.
Copyright/Permission Statement
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in The Oxford Handbook of International Business following peer review. The version of record is available online at: http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199234257.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199234257-e-007.
Keywords
MNE-state relations, globalization, international political system, multinational enterprise, inter-state system, state sovreignty
Recommended Citation
Kobrin, S. J. (2009). Sovereignty@Bay: Globalization, Multinational Enterprise, and the International Political System. The Oxford Handbook of International Business (2 ed.), http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199234257.003.0007
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, International Business Commons
Date Posted: 27 November 2017