The Metropolis or the Return of the City-State

Abstract

In recent decades, the death of the nation-state has been announced, opening the door to the idea of a world that manages to overcome government, justice, economic redistribution, social integration and territorial control issues. After 2010, the idea of the disappearance of the nation-state has grown again, where there is a consensus on the need to recognize the leading role that cities currently play, and how they concentrate the conditions of power over which states can act. In this context, the aim of this paper is to inquire what metropolises represent with respect to contemporary nation-states. This question was resolved based on the review of texts written by experts, data derived from specialized journals and a review of specific news published in international newspapers. In conclusion, the nation-states see in the big cities, on the one hand, an opportunity to strengthen their political power in an unprecedented way; or on the contrary, a challenge to their power, understood as a permanent tension between urban areas and state government, seen as the subjection of the metropolis to the States.