在資訊社會已隱然成形的廿一世紀裡，資訊技術革命與全球化經濟整合究竟會給主權國家帶來什麼樣的衝擊與挑戰？主權國家是否仍能在全球化知識經濟與國際勞動分工體系中扮演主要的合法權力行使的政治決策角色？本研究針對世界銀行之統計數據進行次級資料分析。研究發現在全球化經濟趨勢中，主權國家之政治能力未曾嚴重衰退，但會因其發展程度不同而在賦稅結構上有所差異，同時也會傾向不同的方式展現其社會福利能力。先進國家的稅基主要來自於社會個人財富，而以社會安全捐的型態展現其承擔社會風險的能力；至於發展中國家則是國際貿易稅收為其賦稅結構中之重要組成部分，同時它們也大多以擴張公共部門的方式來展現其保障社會安全的能力。

With the new technoeconomic paradigms in the information society, there is a debate on the role of nation states. This paper intends to examine the roles of nation states facing of the rapid development of information technology and the competition in global economy. This paper uses the data of World Bank Development Indicator, to analyze the developments of the nation states in 1990s. This paper argues that the traditional political authority of nation states never fades away; however, it reveal that there are different patterns among countries with different development status. In the developed countries, the structure of tax revenue is well organized, and nation states prefer to collect social security taxes to enhance the social security net and alleviate the pressure of global competition. In the developing countries, the taxes on international trade are the major sources of tax revenue. They tend to favor the big government and broaden the range of government expenditure to increase social security protection.