Altered States: The Globalization of Accountability

Is globalization good for democracy? Or has it made our governing institutions less accountable to citizens? Located at the intersection of international relations and comparative politics, this book explores the effects of globalization on national governance. Under what circumstances do the transnational forces that embody globalization encourage or discourage political accountability? Among the transnational forces discussed in the book are the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, multinational corporations, the United Nations, private military contractors, peacekeepers, the European Court of Human Rights, and several transnational social movements. Using in-depth case studies of situations in which these transnational institutions interact with national governments and citizens, Valerie Sperling traces the impact of economic, political, military, judicial, and civic globalization on state accountability and investigates the degree to which transnational institutions are themselves responsible to the people whose lives they alter.

Valerie Sperling is Associate Professor of Government and International Relations at Clark University. She is the author of Organizing Women in Contemporary Russia: Engendering Transition (Cambridge University Press, 1999) and the editor of Building the Russian State (2000). Her research on the Russian women's movement, as well as on militarism and patriotism in Russia, has been published in Nations -Nationalism, Women Politics, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, and numerous edited volumes.