Rana Dasgupta's 'After Nations' Probes the Evolution and Future of Nation-States
British Indian writer and essayist Rana Dasgupta, acclaimed for his debut novel 'Tokyo Cancelled' and the insightful 'Capital' based on his experiences in Delhi's diverse landscapes, has now embarked on a monumental exploration in his latest work, 'After Nations'. This new book delves into the history and prospective future of the nation-state, offering a sweeping analysis of global political transformations. In an exclusive interview with Neelam Raaj, Dasgupta articulates the urgent need for reimagining citizenship and addresses the seismic shifts in international relations.
The Catalyst: Global Turbulence and the Quest for Common Factors
Dasgupta reveals that the impetus for 'After Nations' emerged in the wake of Donald Trump's first election, coinciding with Narendra Modi's premiership in India, the Brexit referendum, and the ascent of far-right movements in France. "I was spending time in all these countries at that time, and all of them felt that the fundamental language of politics they had lived with for several decades was being transformed," he explains. His inquiry centered on identifying common denominators: "What is it about the system of nation-states that explains these profound changes in individual states?" He posits that these concurrent upheavals are not mere coincidences but indicative of a critical juncture in the lifecycle of states themselves. Since then, Trump's policies have intensified these changes, rendering the question of the nation-state's trajectory more pressing than ever.
America's Shifting Supremacy and the MAGA Movement
Addressing the MAGA movement and Trump's expansionist rhetoric, Dasgupta attributes them to genuine anxieties about America's diminishing global dominance. "America no longer has a supreme hold on the capitalist system or on the accompanying political system," he asserts. He outlines that historical superpower dominance, whether British or American, relied on uncontested currency supremacy, oceanic power projection for resource flow, and control over legal frameworks for capitalist transactions. On all these fronts, America is ceding ground, gradually aligning with the status of nations like China and Russia as one imperial power among many.
This decline compels America to adopt strategies reminiscent of Russia and China, such as leveraging territorial advantages. Dasgupta notes, "Trump sees a window of time when Europe is not a very significant military power, and when China and Russia do not have very significant external political capacities to seize various territorial and strategic advantages." Instances like the rhetoric surrounding Greenland and developments in Iran exemplify America's efforts to maintain primacy in an emerging peer-to-peer competition among imperial states.
Universal Digital Citizenship: A Paradigm Shift
With barriers to immigration escalating worldwide, Dasgupta advocates for a universal digital citizenship as a transformative concept. He criticizes the current nation-state system as a class-based structure that immobilizes half the global population, depriving them of equal rights and freedoms. "The citizenship system is the most flagrant sign that the nation-state system itself is a class system, dividing the world into groups of people with vastly different rights and freedoms," he emphasizes. His proposal for digital citizenship aims to establish a parallel framework for economy and law, empowering ordinary individuals to reclaim control from nation-states and self-organize rights and freedoms. While not presenting a definitive blueprint, he stresses the necessity of initiating such systems to foster autonomy and equity.
Redesigning Liberalism Beyond Nation-States
Dasgupta challenges the conventional narrative of liberalism's decline, arguing instead for its redesign. He highlights that nation-states can thrive as autocracies without guaranteeing rights or freedoms, and even historically liberal states may retract democratic principles. "In 2026, there is a realisation that the eternal expansion of liberalism is simply not guaranteed," he states. His vision involves reimagining liberalism—rooted in values like equality, freedom, and justice—to operate independently of nation-state enforcement. This ambitious project seeks to ensure that core post-French Revolution ideals endure in an era where state guarantees are increasingly unreliable.
Personal and Global Perspectives on Citizenship Value
Reflecting on personal and global experiences, Dasgupta shares how his British citizenship's value plummeted post-Brexit, reducing his mobility and prospects from 27 countries to one. "That hugely reduced my mobility, my employment prospects, and my ability to change jurisdiction," he recounts. He observes similar sentiments among Americans, whose once-prized citizenship is losing its luster, and Russians, where citizenship holds limited economic value despite symbolic inflation by Putin's imperial promises.
Regarding India, Dasgupta acknowledges its complexity, with disparate experiences across regions, classes, and groups. "India is more difficult to generalise about. It has vastly varied regions, classes, and groups with very different experiences," he notes. While rural populations suffer from government policies, the top 10% and urban dwellers benefit from India's dynamic growth, likely enhancing the value of Indian citizenship over the past three decades. India's rising global influence presents a counterexample to his thesis, with the state potentially becoming more functional. However, he cautions that inequality remains a paramount issue, questioning whether India can extend its growing power's benefits to minorities and the impoverished.
In 'After Nations', Rana Dasgupta not only chronicles the historical ascent of nation-states but also provocatively envisions a future where digital innovations and redesigned liberal principles could redefine global citizenship and governance, urging readers to contemplate transformative ideas in an increasingly interconnected world.
