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PS: Political Science & Politics (2005), 38 : 9-16 Cambridge University Press
Copyright © 2005 by the American Political Science Association
doi:10.1017.S1049096505055678
Published online by Cambridge University Press 06 Apr 2005
 
Political Science and Politics (2005), 38:1:9-16 American Political Science Association
Copyright © 2005 by the American Political Science Association
doi:10.1017/S1049096505055678

Special to PS

Global Governance and Global Politics

Manuel Castells a1c1
a1 University of Southern California, Los Angeles

The world is undergoing a process of structural transformation in multiple dimensions: technological, economic, cultural, and institutional. This creates as many opportunities as it induces perils. Perhaps the most fundamental problem we now face is the crisis of political institutions in charge of managing the transition. We know the problems, we understand the issues, and in many countries there is enough political will to tackle the questions to be addressed. However, the organizational and institutional tools of governance are either insufficient or inadequate. Furthermore, the crisis of governance is related to a crisis of political legitimacy, characterized by increasing distance between citizens and their representatives. Both crises feed into each other, threatening with political paralysis and opening the way both for authoritarian policies and for demagogic revolts.


Correspondence:
c1 Manuel Castells is the Wallis Annenberg Chair Professor of Communication and Society at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. He is also professor emeritus of sociology and planning, University of California at Berkeley, and distinguished visiting professor of technology and society at MIT. He is the author of 21 books, including the trilogy The Information Age: Economy, Society, and Culture (Blackwell, 1996–2004), translated in 20 languages.

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