Complex Sovereignty: Reconstituting Political Authority in the Twenty-First Century

Graeme S. Mount is a professor of history at Laurentian University. He
is the author of Canada’s Enemies: Spies and Spying in the Peaceable
Kingdom, Chile and the Nazis, and The Diplomacy of War: The Case of
Korea.

Books of this nature are problematic. Not long ago, there was an
outpouring of titles on the elimination of national borders, or at the
very least, of national borders that meant very much. Such phenomena as
the European Union, NAFTA, globalization, and the World Trade
Organization would render them next to obsolete. Now Canadians face
January 1, 2008, when controls along the U.S. border will be tighter
than at any time since the winter of 1864–65, after the Confederates
went to Montreal and attacked St. Albans, Vermont, during the Civil War.
Few foresaw tightening borders before 9/11. Who can envision what other
scenarios, good or bad, may soon arise?

Within these limitations, this book is excellent. In 2002, German and
Canadian scholars discussed the role of governments (as distinct from
multinational corporations or supranational entities) and published
their thoughts. The editing happened in 2003, and the 13 papers—each
written by one to four scholars—are remarkably up-to-date.

The 8th submission, prepared by Stephen Clarkson and three assistants,
underlines NAFTA’s shortcomings. “Had NAFTA created a true free
trade area,” they write, “its members would have abandoned their
right to impose anti-dumping ... or countervailing duties ... on imports
coming from their partners’ economies.” Continuing their attack on
the emperor who has no clothes, they are particularly critical of
Article 1110 of the NAFTA: “Article 1110 gives transnational
corporations important rights without balancing them with obligations.
There are no continental institutions with the clout to regulate, tax,
or monitor the newly created continental market that has proceeded to
emerge.”

In the 12th submission, Michael Th. Greven from the University of
Hamburg worries that “Transnational Governance [is] a threat to
democratic government.” Yet the reverse—downloading to provinces and
states—may be even more dangerous. First-rate journalists monitor the
European Union, but ambitious types may not see a future for themselves
in Charlottetown, P.E.I., or Bismarck, North Dakota. The EU is so big
that no multinational corporation can bully it, but the power of the oil
industry in Alberta or the coal lobby in West Virginia is formidable.