Globalization is described as reducing sovereignty through what general trend?

• A. Globalization and international economic integration
• B. Expansion of bilateral protectionism
• C. Increased autarky
• D. A return to mercantilist policies

Answer: (A)

Globalization reduces sovereignty through the growth of international economic integration. As economies become more connected—trade liberalization, cross-border investment, multinational production, and shared rules under global or regional institutions—countries often must align their policies with outside commitments to participate in the global market. This creates external constraints on domestic decision-making, since policy choices are shaped or limited by binding agreements, dispute mechanisms, and the need to maintain open markets and capital flows. In this view, state autonomy shifts as economic actors and rules operate across borders, rather than within a purely national framework.

The other trends described would actually point away from globalization’s integration pattern. Expanding bilateral protectionism increases barriers to trade, which stands in opposition to broader international openness. Autarky implies self-sufficiency and minimal international ties, not the interconnectedness globalization emphasizes. A return to mercantilist policies also suggests a more state-centered, competition-for-surplus approach, rather than the liberalizing, rule-based exchange that characterizes globalization.