COURSE: LAW & JUSTICE IN A

GLOBALIZING WORLD
NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY TOPIC: GLOBALIZATION OF LAW AND
ODISHA LEGAL THEORY (WEEK 2)
INSTRUCTORS: PROF. RAO AND MS.
ELUCKIAA A.

THE THREE PHASES OF GLOBALIZATION

In Bangalore, while sitting in the conference room at Infosys Technologies Limited Campus,
which amidst the “pockmarked roads, sacred cows, horse-drawn cars and motorized
Rickshaws‟ jutted out as an entirely different landmass which could belong to any
multinational at any corner of the world, the renowned journalist Thomas L. Freidman had a
sudden epiphany when NandanNikelani told him that the playing field was being levelled for
countries at all levels of development, “levelling of the playing field” essentially suggested to
Friedman that “The World is Flat” or being flattened.

Some scholars try to limit globalization as a phenomenon of the 20th Century, containing the
phenomenon to a postindustrial world, some others stretch it merely to include the
groundbreaking inventions of the 19th century, some date it back to the inception of
modernity and the capitalist world as we know it to some 500 odd years ago, while some
others date it back to the medieval and possibly the ancient times of trade. The only thing we
generally agree upon is the fact that the general growth of awareness of deepening global
connections stands on historical roots.

While many scholars differ as to the specific timelines of the three phases of globalization,
often arguing that Globalization 1.0 covers the whole Imperial Era until the end of the First
World War, some say it only started with the determined imperialist expeditions of Europe in
the 17th and 18th Centuries, rather than in 1492. Some scholars choose to study globalization
eras dating it back to the ancient times of trade between the first civilizations and empires.

For example, David J. Bederman goes into a much more detailed description of Imperial
Globalization dividing it into three phases, Classical Antiquity (500 BCE to 500 CE), The
Age of Exploration and Colonization (1500-1770 CE) and the Age of Imperialism (1850-
1914 CE). While looking at the evolution of „World Law‟ in the context of commerce he
further classifies what we described as Globalization 2.0 into several phases to mark the rise
of the Transnational Corporations, the Bretton Woods System, and the rise of the New
International Economic Order.
 COURSE: LAW & JUSTICE IN A
GLOBALIZING WORLD
NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY TOPIC: GLOBALIZATION OF LAW AND
ODISHA LEGAL THEORY (WEEK 2)
INSTRUCTORS: PROF. RAO AND MS.
ELUCKIAA A.

Friedman classifies the historic processes of globalization into three phases where the first
phase dates from Columbus's journey in 1492 to the 1800s. The Second Phase or Era, which
Friedman calls Globalization 2.0 stretched from the 1800s to 2000 interrupted by the world
wars. The dynamic force driving global integration in this phase, as Friedman points out, is
no longer the nation-state but individual economic tycoons in the form of Multinational
Corporations. The third phase marks the current era of globalization we have been living in
since the 2000s which escalate the whole idea of globalization to the most micro-cosmic of
human individualism. It enables individuals to collaborate and compete globally.

The reason that there is such diversity relating to the time-frame of the phenomenon of
globalization is simple. Globalization is an uneven and discursive phenomenon. People living
in different parts of the world are affected by the large-scale social, cultural and economic
changes it brings forth differently. Hence it is very difficult for scholars to agree on the
definition, trajectory, scale, causation and chronology of globalization.

Prof.Baxi, in his address to the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Sri Lanka, has
described the stages of globalisation. He said that the first phase of globalisation is the
„colonial imperialism‟ over long stretches of time and space throughout the world. He
described the second phase in great detail. He calls this phase as „globalism‟. According to
Prof.Baxi, this phase is marked by an International efflorescence of concern for human rights
and standards of international justice. The Emergence of United Nations system, enunciations
of human rights, UDHR and the expansion of human rights to collective groups- women,
indigenous peoples, specially-abled, prisoners, migrants, dispossessed people and also
children which was further extended to right of self-determination, economic and cultural
rights marks this phase. There were various declarations adopted like UN Declaration of 1975
concerning Scientific and Technological Progress in the Interest of Peace and for the Benefit
of Mankind, Tokyo declaration of 1971 addressed to the medical profession in dealing with
situations of torture, cruelty, degrading and inhuman treatment: 1982 General Assembly
Proclamation of the Code of Medical Ethics, the UN Committee on Crime Prevention, Code
of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, Lawyers and Judges: the 1986 Ottawa
Declaration on Health for All, New International Information Order, 1969 UN Declaration
 COURSE: LAW & JUSTICE IN A
GLOBALIZING WORLD
NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY TOPIC: GLOBALIZATION OF LAW AND
ODISHA LEGAL THEORY (WEEK 2)
INSTRUCTORS: PROF. RAO AND MS.
ELUCKIAA A.

which proclaimed the duty on developed countries to give 1% of their GNP as aid volume
target and to ease the loan conditions to developing countries etc.

The third phase is the contemporary phase which is an Era of trade retaliation and debt
problem- market-friendly liberal ideologies-collective interdependence becomes the
collective dependence of the South on North. In this phase, the World is full of an endless
chain of shopping arcades or department stores. We are in pursuit of instant, technologically
mediated pleasures.

Most of the views on globalisation studies are from the developed countries perspective,
however, Baxi‟s views are from the developing country‟s perspective.

SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTION

Question:Prof. Baxi refers to the second phase of globalisation as?

(i) Age of Transnational Corporations
(ii) Age of Human Rights
(iii) Colonial Imperialism
(iv) Age of International Trade
Answer: Age of Human Rights. Prof. Baxi says that this phase is marked by International
efflorescence of concern for human rights and standards of international justice.

REFERENCES

1. Thomas L. Friedman, THE WORLD IS FLAT- A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE 21ST

CENTURY(2005)
2. Thomas L. Friedman, THE LEXUS AND THE OLIVE TREE- UNDERSTANDING
GLOBALIZATION(2012)
3. Manfred B. Steger, GLOBALIZATION: A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION, Oxford
University Press(3rd ed. 2013)

FURTHER READINGS

1. David J. Bederman, GLOBALIZATION AND INTERNATIONAL LAW(2008)

2. Fredric Jameson and Masao Miyoshi (eds.), THE CULTURES OF GLOBALIZATION(6th ed
2004)
3. Will Hutton and Anthony Giddens (eds.), GLOBAL CAPITALISM(Anthony Giddens, 2001)
 COURSE: LAW & JUSTICE IN A
GLOBALIZING WORLD
NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY TOPIC: GLOBALIZATION OF LAW AND
ODISHA LEGAL THEORY (WEEK 2)
INSTRUCTORS: PROF. RAO AND MS.
ELUCKIAA A.

4. Frank J. Lechner and John Boli (eds.), THE GLOBALIZATION READER(5th ed., 2015)
5. Martin Walker, GLOBALIZATION 3.0, 31(4) Wilson Quarterly (2007), 16-24.