In contrast, other observers saw the growing internationalisation of the world economy as part of a broader and longer-dated trend where sharp intensifications in trade and financial exchanges underpinned by growing economic liberalism were not without historical precedent (for example during the period ranging from 1870 to 1913)5.
These observers were thus more bullish as regards the ability of nation states to retain their economic power going forward, consolidating this inter alia through strategic alliances in economic blocks6. In spite of these nuances, the common thread between the two views was that the underlying economic forces were seen as inevitable in the international (or global) domain.