Introduction
Modern power is no longer the exclusive domain of territorial states. According to Susan Strange’s concept, structural power—the ability to shape the rules of the game, rather than just possessing resources—has become key. This article analyzes the "Pinocchio problem," where states become puppets of markets and algorithms. Readers will discover how corporations have usurped public functions and whether the European AI Act or a global minimum tax can restore democratic control over a world where traditional politics is becoming an anachronism.
Susan Strange: The Primacy of Structural Power and the Pinocchio Problem
Susan Strange distinguishes relational power (the direct influence of one actor over another) from structural power. The latter operates like gravity: it shapes the framework within which others must make decisions. This gives rise to the Pinocchio problem—a structural aporia of modernity in which citizens lose the sense of who is actually pulling the strings of their fate, and the state loses its monopoly on agency.
Modern transnational corporations have taken over three fundamental state functions: the organization of production, the management of labor relations, and the allocation of profits and taxes. This leads to the paradox of the state: it is omnipresent in the sphere of bureaucratic regulation, yet simultaneously helpless in its primary tasks, such as guaranteeing currency stability or protecting against global financial shocks.
AI Algorithms and the Anachronism of Political Parties
Artificial intelligence is becoming the new foundation of structural power. Algorithms determine access to capital and risk pricing, creating a power vacuum in the financial system where risk escapes into unregulated "shadow banking." In this landscape, political parties are becoming anachronistic institutions—they promise voters control over an economy they no longer truly possess, as key decisions are made outside of parliaments.
The diffusion of power takes various regional forms. In the Arab world, the state is internally strong but fragile against markets. In the US, an unstable symbiosis between the state and capital dominates, while in the European Union, integration halted halfway creates a decision-making impasse. In this chaos, the individual conscience becomes the last bastion of freedom against unnamed sovereigns, and individual responsibility gains significance.
The AI Act and Negarchy: Europe’s Attempt to Harness Big Tech
An attempt to bridge the fiscal gap is the global minimum tax, intended to limit corporate arbitrage. The European AI Act plays a similar role, though it carries the risk of consolidating tech giants, who are the only ones able to afford high compliance costs. Business must evolve from being a beneficiary of the power vacuum into its co-organizer, actively co-creating ethical standards and a stable global order.
The ultimate solution may be negarchy—a systemic response to global anarchy. It involves creating procedures in which every claim to power—whether state or corporate—must be publicly justified and subjected to criticism. This is an attempt to move from reactive crisis management to the conscious design of an architecture of responsibility in a world of diffused authority.
Summary
In a world of porous borders, are we destined to drift in a sea of uncontrolled forces? Reclaiming control requires the creation of new, supranational forms of authority capable of harnessing global markets and technology. We must weave new strings of responsibility before we become mere puppets in the theater of global capitalism. Can we create a system where every claim to power can be subjected to public criticism and justification, restoring agency to citizens?
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