ABSTRACT
Since 1945 the globalization of the world economy has made considerable progress. In the critical areas of trade, production and finance, the world has become more interconnected and integrated than ever before. The globalization of financial markets with their volatile effects on national economic management has destabilized and weakened the autonomy of all nation-states. The global market represents a concentration of power capable of influencing national government economic policy and, by extension, other policies as well (Sassen 1996:39). Market forces and multinational corporations are creating tensions and shaping new patterns of interdependence. Growing corporate interests in foreign investments and exports urge the reduction of traditional trade barriers, while additional pressure arises from regional arrangements. This induces a process of deeper integration and liberalization of foreign trade. Integration refers to the fundamentally political process of policy coordination and adjustment designed to facilitate closer economic interdependence and to manage the externalities that arise from it (Haggard 1995:2; Keohane 1984: passim).
