Globalization, internationalization and economic sovereignty in the small European states

Abstract

This study examines how the external pressures of globalization and internationalization have impacted the economic policy-making autonomy (or “economic sovereignty”) of eight small European states. Earlier research by Peter Katzenstein established these countries’ ability to achieve economic objectives despite exposure to internationalization. Since Katzenstein’s study, extensive literature on economic globalization has called into question the continued validity of his findings. My purpose is to test the relative impacts of globalization and internationalization to determine their effects on economic sovereignty, conceptualized here as the functionality of corporatism, social welfare outputs and popular political participation. This study finds evidence that globalization is a phenomenon distinct from internationalization, and that it has a negative impact on economic sovereignty. While these findings require further examination, they form the basis of a potentially new direction in the study of economic globalization.