The Contemporary World 1

The Contemporary World 2

GE 103: THE
CONTEMPORARY WORLD

OVERVIEW

This course introduces you to the contemporary world by

examining the multifaceted phenomenon of globalization. Using the
various disciplines of the social sciences, it examines the economic,
social, political, technological, and other transformations that have created
an increasing awareness of the interconnectedness of people and places
around the globe. To this end, the course provides an overview of the
various debates in global governance, development, and sustainability.
Beyond exposing you to the world outside of the Philippines, it also seeks
to inculcate in you a sense of global citizenship and global ethical
responsibility.

At the end of this course, you should be able to:

1. distinguish the different interpretations of and approaches
of globalization;
2. describe the emergence of global economic, political, social
and cultural systems.
3. analyze the various contemporary drivers of globalization;
4. understand the issues confronting the nation-states; and
5. assess the effects of globalization on different social units
and their responses.
 ABOUT THE MODULE

Each module will constitute one chapter or lesson of the course. This can be found below for your reference.
The Nature of Globalization
The Global Economy
Market Globalism and Integration
The Global Interstate System
The Global Governance
The Global Divide
Regionalism
Globalization and Media
Globalization and Religion
The Global City
Global Migration and Demography
Sustainable Development
Global Citizenship

The module is composed of the following parts:

Learning Objectives
Learning Activity 1
Content Discussion
Learning Activity 2
Quiz
References

However, you are not to write your answers for the two learning activities and quiz on the module itself. You m
Chapter 1 | The Nature of Globalization

“Globalization will make our societies more

creative and prosperous, but also

SUGGESTED TIME ALLOTMENT: 3 Hours

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. define the concept of globalization;
2. view the nature of globalization from a broad variety of
lenses; and
3. examine the various globalizing process.
 The Contemporary World 5

LEARNING ACTIVITY 1

HOW GLOBALIZED IS YOUR HOME?

(adopted from Claudio & Abinales, 2018)
● Find out the most essential among the “things” in your house. Go to your
room and do an inventory of everything you have in your possession such
as your footwear, clothes, computer, cell phone, television, or maybe
radio. Do the same thing for the kitchen and the living room. These should
include appliances.
● Organize your inventory into two types: first, “things” that are made in the
Philippines and second, those that are of foreign brands. List the countries
of origin of your foreign-brand items.
● Discuss why certain products are made in the Philippines while others are
produced abroad.

HOW GLOBALIZED IS YOUR HOME?

Made in the Philippines Foreign-brand items
Items Items Place of Origin
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
6. 6.
7. 7.
8. 8.
9. 9.
10. 10.
 The Contemporary World 6

INTRODUCTION

The contemporary world is often described broadly in terms of globalization. This catchword is frequently bei

A. DEFINING GLOBALIZATION

The best scholarly description of globalization is provided by Manfred Steger

who described the process as:

“the expansion and intensification of social relations and consciousness across world-time and across world-space” (Ste

Manfred Steger

Expansion refers to “both the creation of new social networks and the
multiplication of existing connections that cut across traditional political,
economic, cultural, and geographic boundaries” (Steger, 2013).
 These various connections occur at different levels. Social media, for
example, establish new global connections between people, while
international groups of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are
networks that connect a more specific group –social workers and
activists– from different corners of the globe (Claudio & Abinales,
2018).
  Globalization has stretched and expanded relationships among
nations and even among people in the course of the years. One of the
agents for expanding such relationships is the emergence of non-
government organizations (NGOs). These organizations are mostly
aid groups whose main objective is to alleviate the lives of people
especially those in distress (Fernandez et al., 2018).
One good example of this
was when Leyte was hit
by the most powerful
storm to ever make
landfall in recent history –
Typhoon Haiyan– in 2013.
The province became like
a ground zero after
the
landfall where the Philippine government was not able to respond
quickly. Yet, despite said shortcoming from the government, NGOs
converged in Tacloban City for the main purpose of helping people in
distress as well as helping them also to rebuild their lives. These forms
of relationships have not started from personal connections but said
organizations have come from faraway places miles away from their
homeland to give help where it is needed most (Fernandez et al.,
2018).

Intensification refers to “the expansion, stretching, and acceleration of these

networks” (Steger, 2013).
 In most part of the contemporary world, social exchanges and
activities have already been intensified and accelerated through the
advancement of communications and transportation technologies
Years back, it would take
time for the recipient of a
letter to receive it even if
the sender lived not very
far. At present, everything
has changed.
Communication can be
sent in a split of a second
and is readily available at
the tip of the
finger of the sender. One recent innovation that influences a large
 number of the present generation is the social media. It makes people
connected since it serves to facilitate split second transfer of
information or communication from one person to another (Fernandez
et al., 2018).

The final attribute of this definition relates to the way people perceive time
and space (Claudio & Abinales, 2018).
 Globalization is described as the pattern of growing
interconnectedness of individuals and groups, whether in economic,
political, or social realms. It has been suggested that because of
globalization, the world is reduced into a “global village” where time
and space seem to become increasingly irrelevant (McLuhan &
Powers, 1989). The development in the contemporary world create an
imagery that the world is shrinking. Distance was a hindrance to
communication, but with innovations in technology, communication
becomes a lot easier, faster and cheaper (Quiñanola & Fernandez,
n.d.)
 People begin to feel that
world has become a
smaller place and distance
has collapsed from
thousand miles from
thousand miles to just a
mouse-click away. One can
now e-mail a friend in
another country and get a
reply instantaneously, and
as a result, begins to perceive their distance as less consequential.
Cable TV and the Internet has also exposed one to news from across
the globe, so now, he/she has this greater sense of what is happening
in other place (Claudio & Abinales, 2018).

B. LOCALIZING GLOBALIZATION

In the Philippines, globalization found its way into the heart of Philippine
society during the presidency of Fidel Ramos in 1992-1998. He envisioned
Filipinos to be self-reliant and globally competitive by fostering ties with
neighboring foreign economies, and by exploring other avenues for
expanding international trade and investments.
 In achieving this, the Ramos administration
dismantled monopolies in the communications
and transportation networks, privatized basic
utilities provider like water, and liberalized trade
(Bernardo & Tang, 2008 as cited in Fernandez
et al., 2018). This paved the way for a cheaper
travel and affordable local and overseas
communications that enabled people relations
across and beyond boundaries to thrive
(Fernandez et al., 2018).
FIDEL V. RAMOS
With the states’ intention to boost productivity within theof thebounds
12th President of their
Philippines (1992-1998)

territories, states often have the tendency to liberalized trade, which paves
the way for multinational corporations (MNCs) and transnational corporations
(TNCs) to become major players in most states’ local economy. As a result,
Filipinos, together with people of the nations, eat, use or even cannot live
without products or things that have been brought about by globalization
through MNCs and TNCs (Fernandez et al., 2018).

Nevertheless, the way people relate and interact with each other across
boundaries and borders has led the way to the rise of an international society
centering on cooperation among states with shared values as playing a key
role in states’ policy outcomes (Michael, 2001 as cited in Fernandez et al.,
2018). Yet, globalization’s essence would be more understood if one looks at
it in a variety of lenses since globalization is inherently interdisciplinary in
relation to the aspect that it could be learned and appreciated by the people
directly and indirectly affected by its impact (Fernandez et al., 2018).

C. GLOBALIZATION AND ITS EFFECTS TO WORLD POLITICS

As mentioned earlier, the emergence of TNCs and MNCs, have in a way,

influenced many state’s policies in relation to the particular state’s political
policies. Hence, the power and influence of these foreign corporations have
greatly influenced the aspect of how states have been governed. In fact, there
are TNCs and MNCs whose revenues are bigger than the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) of independent states (Fernandez et al., 2018).

With a number of foreign corporation revenues bigger than some of the world’s
independent states’ Gross Domestic Products (GDP), it could certainly be
 The Contemporary World 10

construed that these corporations hold great influence on the policies of some
countries where such corporations are present, most especially, when the
said corporations could directly or indirectly affect not only the political but
also the economic situation of the country. This is certainly a great challenge
to independent states (Fernandez et al., 2018).

Hence, states formed themselves into an association of states for the past
decades so that they could address together with their political, economic,
and even social issues. This is seen as rise of strength of regional blocks
(Fernandez et al., 2018).

For countries located along the West Philippine Sea, the Association of South
East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok
by the five original member-countries:

While other ASEAN countries joined on:

January 8, 1984 July 28, 1995 July 23, 1997 July 23, 1997 April 30, 1999

The ASEAN Declaration states that the

aims of the and purposes of the
association are:
1. to accelerate the economic
growth, social progress and
cultural development in the
region through joint endeavors in
the spirit of equality and
partnership in order to strengthen
the foundation for a prosperous
and peaceful community of
Southeast Asian Nations; and
 2. promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for
justice and the rule of law in relationship among countries in the region
and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter
(Fernandez et al., 2018).

In 1995, the ASEAN Head of State and Government re-affirmed that,

“Cooperative peace and shared prosperity shall be the fundamental goals of
ASEAN.” Moreover, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in Southeast
Asia, signed at the First ASEAN Summit on February 24, 1976, declared that
in their relations with one another, the High Contracting Parties should be
guided by the following fundamental principles:

1. Mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial

integrity, and national identity of all nations.
2. The right of every State to lead its national existence free from
external interference, subversion, or coercion.
3. Non-interference in the affairs of one another.
4. Settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful manner.
5. Renunciation of the threat or use of force; and
6. Effective cooperation among themselves

With these, neighboring states freely interact with each other in line with their
own national interest yet guided by principles set by the member-states of the
association themselves (Fernandez et al., 2018).

D. GLOBALIZATION AND ITS EFFECTS ON ECONOMICS

Globalization also has great effects in the realm of economics. For one, it
greatly increased free trade. The rise of regional blocks all over the world lead
to facilitate easy trade relations among member-states of regional blocks
since one of the objectives of such organizations is to promote economic
prosperity.
In the 1990s, regional blocks
became a craze in the
sedate world of economics
and Free Trade
Agreements (FTAs) have
played a role towards the
trend of regional integration.
FTAs essentially remove
trade barriers such as tariffs
and import quotas among
member-states of
regional blocks (Urata, 2002 as cited in Fernandez et al., 2018). This makes
trading among regional blocks’ member-states easy (Fernandez et al., 2018).

Moreover, globalization has also increased the speed of trade. The

development of computer communication technologies and the emergence of
the information technology era have led to the development of high
frequency trading (HFT) that often reflects the current situation of the
economy of a particular state. In essence, HFT is the use of computer
algorithms to rapidly trade stocks. Hence, the speed of trade as embodied by
HFT is brought about by globalization since trading in this manner cross
national boundaries. This makes people interact with each other across the
globe without personally knowing each other, which manifest how
relationships among people is intensified across world space and world time -
a manifestation of the workings of globalization (Fernandez et al., 2018).

Aside from HFT, Global Economic Organizations (GEO) have also played
an important role on the spread and influence of globalization in the economic
arena. The three major international economic organizations are the
World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade
Organization (WTO). The WTO emerged out of the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1995, which delves more on the arrangement
 across countries that serve as a forum for negotiations on trading rules as
well as a mechanism for dispute settlements in trade issues (Krueger, 1998
as cited in Fernandez et al., 2018).

If globalization represents the many processes that allow for the expansion
and intensification of global connections, globalism is the widespread belief
among powerful people that the global integration of economic markets is
beneficial for everyone, since it spreads freedom and democracy across the
world (Steger, 2005).

ut the world. It has greatly changed how people live. It changed the way people communicate to each other since they have been emp

affected by globalization as manifested by the way people live. People have

behave differently now as compared to the past (Fernandez et al., 2018).

Moreover, improvements in the realm of communication accelerate flows of

ideas, and information. Culture flows through the world wide web, changing
people’s ideas influencing their imaginings about each other and the other
parts of the world, and even leading to intervention of new social forms
(Fernandez et al., 2018).

Real time audio and visual communication from almost everywhere in the
world to almost anywhere in the world facilitates interaction among people
thousands of miles apart. People who have never met may participate in one
another’s lives through social media (Fernandez et al., 2018).
 With this, it is already apparent that
technology is “shrinking the world”
of the present generation of the
world’s citizens. People, in one way or
another, are going into a direction in
which they act in concert and cohort
creating the conditions through which
many of them imagine themselves as
part of one world – global imaginary,
which Marshal McLuhan (1962) called
the global village (Fernandez et al.,
2018).

Yet, globalization is also construed as

potent medium for cultural
imperialism. In many parts of the
world, western culture is very
noticeable. From music, to food, to
fashion, to sports, to show businesses,
and to almost every aspect of human
life. This is a manifestation of cultural
imperialism. It refers to the imposition
by one usually politically or
economically dominant community of various aspects of its own culture onto
another, non-dominant community. It is a form of imperialism in that the
imposing community forcefully extends the authority of its way of life over the
other population by either transforming or replacing aspects of the non-
dominant community’s culture (Tobin, 2018 as cited in Fernandez et al.,
2018).

F. VARIOUS FORMS OF CONNECTIVITY BROUGHT BY GLOBALIZATION

There are various forms of connectivity that have been brought about by
globalization. They are diverse and affect society in a variety of ways. This
connectivity can be economic in the sense that when the West experiences
financial crisis in their homeland, a large number of other countries would also
be affected by such crisis (Fernandez et al., 2018).
One should take note that every
country’s economy is intertwined
with every other country’s economy.
Hence, when the United States
almost experienced an economic
meltdown in 2008, the rest of the
world stated to be in chaos as well.
The reason for this is that most
countries in the world have financial
connectivity with the United States
(Fernandez et al., 2018).

For instance, many foreign producers depend on exports to the United Sates
for their own economic health. If the United States is in a recession, and
American consumers cut back spending on things like computers or clothes,
the countries that manufacture those products are in trouble (Rampell, 2009
as cited in Fernandez et al., 2018).

Connectivity can be felt not only in

economics but also in the music
industry (cultural). An example of this
is the popularity of Psy, triggered by his
pop song, Gangnam Style, when it
garnered 1 billion views on YouTube in
2012. For the South Koreans, Psy is
not new to them. In fact, Psy, has been
around for more than a decade, but in
2006, he took time off from music to
get
married and complete two years of mandatory military service. In 2010, he
started his comeback in South Korea. He picked up where he left off with K-
pop fans, but it wasn’t until two years later that Psy rose to fame in the U.S.
(Benjamin, 2012 as cited in Fernandez et al., 2018).

Political connectivity is also a product of globalization. A recent manifestation

of this connectivity was the Arab Spring, a series of anti-government protests,
uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across the Middle East in early
2011 (Manfreda, 2017 as cited in Fernandez et al., 2018).
The movement was triggered by an
appeal to the Arabs to take back their
country from the traditional corrupt
elites that rule their country. It was, in
part, fueled by a sense of patriotism
and social message that united the
Arabs whether they were secularists
or Islamist, left wing groups or
advocates of liberal economic
reforms, middle class or poor
(Manfreda, 2017 as cited in
Fernandez et al., 2018).

Social media had proven itself to be a good mobilization tool to even a

thousand people since it connected people in a variety of ways. The first
mass protest in Egypt was announced on Facebook, which convinced
thousands of people to protest. It spread across other Arab nations,
manifesting globalization’s role of connecting people even in the realm of
politics (Manfreda, 2017 as cited in Fernandez et al., 2018).

Yet, one has to take note that the effects of the degrees of interconnection
are uneven and unequal. The effects of Arab Spring may be more impactful
on one country but not in another. One nation may be greatly affected by a
financial crisis while one may not be affected at all. This manifests the uneven
nature of the effects of globalization. Globalization is a process, and in a
process, effects are more often than not, not uniform and mostly unequal
(Fernandez et al., 2018).
 LEARNING ACTIVITY 2

Using the following diagram, write your own experiences or observations which manifest the various dimensi

GLOBALIZAT

ECONOMIC CONNECTIVITY POLITICAL CONN

 QUIZ

This quiz intends to assess what you have learned from the
lesson. Read and analyze each question carefully. Write your answer on
the space provided before the number. Exercise honesty and integrity in
answering

1. It refers to the expansion and intensification of social relations and

consciousness across world-time and across world-space.
A. Globalization C. Global Economy
B. Globalism D. Global Village

2. McLuhan and Powers (1989) defined the world where time and
space seem to become increasingly irrelevant.
A. Globalization C. Global Economy
B. Globalism D. Global Village

3. It is the widespread belief among powerful people that the global

integration of economic markets is beneficial for everyone.
A. Globalization C. Global Economy
B. Globalism D. Global Village

4. It refers to both the creation of new social networks and the

multiplication of existing connections that cut across traditional
political, economic, cultural, and geographic boundaries.
A. Expansion C. Intensification
B. Time D. Space

5. He was the Former President of the Philippines who dismantled

monopolies in the communications and transportation networks,
privatized basic utilities provider, and liberalized trade.
A. Ferdinand Marcos C. Joseph Estrada
B. Diosdado Macapagal D. Fidel Ramos

6. The following are among the five original member countries of

ASEAN, EXCEPT:
A. Singapore C. Cambodia
B. Thailand D. Malaysia
 7. Its role is to remove trade barriers such as tariffs and import quotas
among member-states of regional blocks to make trading easy.
A. High Frequency Trading C. Global Economic Organizations
B. Free Trade Agreements D. World Trade Organization

8. The World Trade Organization emerged out from .

A. World Bank C. GATT
B. IMF D. NATO

9. It refers to the imposition by one usually politically or economically

dominant community of various aspects of its own culture onto
another, non-dominant community.
A. Cultural Imperialism C. Xenocentrism
B. Ethnocentrism D. Cultural Relativism

10. The Arab Spring is an example of .

A. Cultural Connectivity C. Social Connectivity
B. Economic Connectivity D. Political Connectivity

REFERENCES

Claudio, L. E. & Abinales, P. N. (2018). The Contemporary World. Quezon

City: C & E Publishing, Inc.
Fernandez, G. C., Purog, R. A., Betarmos, V. S., Dihayco-Garciano, M.
P., & Garciano, J. R. (2018). The Contemporary World. Malabon City:
Mutya Publishing House, Inc.
McLuhan, M. & Powers, B. R. (1989). The Global Village: Transformations
in World Life and Media in the 21st Century. Chicago: Oxford University
Press.
Quiñanola, A. G. & Fernandez, R. B. (n.d.). Globalization in the
Contemporary World: Post-Cold War Global Economy, Politics, and
Society. Cavite City: San Sebastian College – Recoletos de Cavite.
Steger, M. B. (2005). Ideologies of Globalization. Journal of Political
Ideologies 10, no. 1 (2005): 11-30.
Steger, M. B. (2013). Globalization: A Very Short Introduction (3rd ed.).
Oxford: Oxford University Press.