The Political Economy of Scale

Abstract

This chapter discusses the general rescaling of economic, political, and social processes in order to clarify what is at stake in studying contemporary cross-border regions.1 Its starting point is the relativization of scale associated with the growing decline in the relative structured coherence among national economy, national state, and national society that characterized the heyday of the postwar boom. The end of the cold war, the decomposition of the Soviet Bloc and the ‘opening’ of China to foreign capital has reinforced this relativization of scale. These changes are reflected in a proliferation of scales on which attempts are now being made to restructure economic, political and social relations — ranging from economic globalization, global governance and global culture to the promotion of local economies, neighbourhood democracy and ‘tribal’ identities. The chapter notes the wide range of contemporary rescaling strategies and locates cross-border regions within this framework, it also distinguishes nine different processes and/or strategies that lead to the emergence and consolidation of cross-border regions. It concludes with comments o.n the significance of CBRs within the broader context of state restructuring.

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