Capitalism, globalism, and alterglobalism are manifestations of a shared cosmopolitan project

Abstract

The end of the Cold War marked a historic turning point from which Western hegemony was established around capitalism, liberal democracy, and human rights. The contemporary global landscape, marked by the reorganization of economic power, the emergence of transnational actors, and the fragmentation of identity, shows a structural transformation in the way power is exercised.
The concept of governance is evolving as a political solution that displaces the nation-state as the center of authority, promoting a post-sovereign and polycentric management model in which multilateral organizations, corporations, and non-governmental organizations (NGOS)
exercise regulatory functions through forms of participation that differ from traditional democracy.
NGOS, in particular, act as technologies of power that mediate between social demands and institutional structures, embodying a novel regulatory apparatus based on efficiency.
The article examines this logic, focusing on the incorporation of market criteria in public decision-making, the standardization of policies through indicators, and the subordination of the state to external regulatory frameworks. Rather than adopting an ideological stance against the model, it presents a fundamental question: does governance represent a threat to democratic sovereignty or a functional evolution in the face of growing global economic complexity?