Politics Without Borders: Internationalist Political Thought

This article examines the place of internationalism in the theory and practice of social revolutionaries from the middle of the 19th century to the end of the 20th in order to shed light on the nature and meaning of national boundaries and their transcendence. Theories of ideology are brought to bear on the legacy of internationalist political thought, revealing the preconditions of its existence and viability. Finally, questions are posed as to the relevance of internationalist thought for contemporary politics in the context of so-called globalization. The author concludes that economic and technological trends will not result in the automatic revitalization of transnational forms of political identity outside of the context of transnational political organizations.