I hope that we're going to see cities become more determinative in international relations, that their relative social and economic importance is going to allow them more say with government on national and international economic policy.  The social and economic struggle that's being set up between capital cities and regional areas in many parts of the world is one that inevitably will be won out by the  interests of an overwhelmingly urban global population.  The rise of smaller political entities such as city states on the international scene will happen as more national power devolves to smaller subnational political entities.  The key is going to be to find a way to mitigate the conflict between the regions and the cities, which inevitably and historically have very radically interests and viewpoints. I remember during the sovereignty crisis, there was a lot of talk of Montreal becoming an city state within Canada.