They inaccurately assume that challenges to the boundaries and coherence of some states signify the demise of all states and sovereignty as a principle. It has indeed become apparent that the world s social system is becoming more tightly integrated and connected. But while economic, social and cultural flows are increasing, the dominant paradigm of international relations remains territorial. The relatively quick and increasingly unconstrained exchange of ideas, information and commodities has yet to challenge the foundation of territorial statehood. While it has been argued that international markets and communications media have reduced the state s exclusive control of territory, the state continues to regulate populations.
People are still less mobile than currency, goods, and ideas.
They continue to depend on passports, visas and laws regarding residency and labour. The government is perceived to have a right to speak for the people because it represents us . Cosmopolitanism and national cultures do interact and coexist. The Japanese, for example, have engaged in deliberate, aggressive and selective cultural borrowing, followed by a Japanization or adaptation of foreign ideas and practices. Interaction and borrowing between civilizations and cultures have always taken place without eroding territorial integrity.