ABSTRACT

This chapter argues that the state weakness has to be understood in a global context, as one aspect of the profound changes in the nature of political authority that is the consequence of growing inters connectedness as well as growing consciousness of our mutual dependence. Accordingly, the reconstruction of political authority has to be viewed as a global strategy and applied on a global scale and not just to areas of instability. Reconstruction represents an alternative to transition but current approaches need to be broadened to take into account the global context. Globalization is both the cause and consequence of democratization and liberalization of markets. The chapter distinguishes between the three types of legitimacy: formal, performance and political. All three forms of legitimacy are mutually dependent and all have both local and global dimensions. The content of any cosmopolitan narrative is, of course, specific, to every situation, but the principles have to underpin all layers of political authority.