Poly Sci Question: Re-scaling

[RedHot25]

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick poly sci question, as I am not in that field. I'm looking for a general idea/definition/explanation of what "rescaling" means in political science - especially in relation to the nation-state and globalization. Does it just imply that the power of what level (muni, prov, fed) does what is being "readjusted" for lack of better words? Or is there something else? I have been reading a couple of articles on the topic and words such as polyscalar etc have been driving me nuts!

Anyways, what does rescaling mean in this context? Even more basic if you will, how is the word "scale" meant to be/interpreted? I would know more about re-scaling and globalization if I knew what the basis of the word scale meant.

Thanks everyone!

[Red Mile Style]

Jeez... you're making my degree sound useless here, as I can not really provide you with anything more than what I think it means.

I think you're on the right track, that it just means to readjust. I believe it refers to the specific structure or procedure that has to be done to achieve something and changing it. Such as taxation, let's say the government decides to lower income taxes but raise sales tax, that would be the government rescaling the tax policies. So, if a government is rescaling, it is adjusting the different ways to get a means done...

In terms of globalization and the state, if a state is rescaling it could mean a number of things such as maybe eliminating tariffs on imports etc. - but I think you're right, they're just readjusting the existing process.

I'm trying not to sound like too big of a geek here, but I think that's what it means.

[troutman]

http://politicalscience.dal.ca/grad/thesislist06.htm

Rachael Gibson

The "New Deal for cities" movement: Assessing the democratic implications of "rescaling" the Canadian federation


Supervisor: Kristin Good
This thesis explores the current "New Deal for Cities" movement in Canada and, more generally, the emerging significance of urban municipalities in the twenty-first century, within the context of the theoretical debates about the relationship between democracy and intergovernmental relations. At present, theories of democracy and Canadian federalism focus largely on the Federal-Provincial relationship, to the relative exclusion of municipalities. This is not surprising given the standard interpretation in Canada of municipalities as "creatures of the provinces." However, given the recent resurgence of academic and political interest in cities, this study assesses the democratic implications of "rescaling" the Canadian federation to include urban municipalities. It finds that, in addition to the various economic and social arguments, there is a compelling democratic case for rethinking the role of urban municipalities within Canadian federalism.

http://blog.uwinnipeg.ca/Christopher...ing_multi.html

RESCALING, MULTI-LEVEL GOVERNANCE AND GLOBALIZATION: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIC NOTE