The tensions between a coordinated, global response and a fractionalized, local one to what is in essence a global crisis will be very interesting in the days, months, years to come. If the management of economic crises and the institutions erected to do this are to be global, what does that mean for political systems that are local and national in nature? How do populations maintain a semblance of democratic control over decision making processes that take place above the national level? On the other hand, national responses, as the 20th century has shown, can be quite destructive and do not necessarily lead to more democratic outcomes.