Globalization: An Introduction

Globalization is a concept which is:

• Elusive
• Vague
• Contested
• Abstract
Some examples of globalization

• Non-governmental organizations and global

institutions:
– The United Nations
– The European Union
– The Organization of African Unity
– The Association of South East Asian Nations
– The World Economic Forum
– Microsoft

• Terrorist cells
Globalization is often described as:
• A set of social processes
• A movement towards greater
interdependence and integration
• A condition
• A system
• A force
• An age
 Globalization involves:
• New social networks that transcend political, economic,
cultural and geographical boundaries.

• the expansion and stretching of social relations, activities

and interdependencies. Ex: Financial markets; shopping
malls

• The intensification and acceleration of social exchanges

and activities. Ex: The internet and satellite

• People’s growing awareness of global interactions

• A change in people’s behaviors and identities

 The different historical stages of
globalization
 The early modern period (1500-1750)
- The European Reformation
- The European enlightenment project
- The development of the capitalist system
- The foundation of national joint stock companies like Dutch and
British India companies in the early 1600
- The Atlantic slave trave
- The forced displacement of populations in the Americas
- Warfare in Europe caused the dislocation of European populations
- By 1648, the Westphalian peace treaty ensured that European
power abide by the principle of territorial integrity.
- The emergence of the concept of the nation-state is established by
the treaty of Westphalia
The modern period (1750-1970)
• The emergence of a strong European network of political, economic
and cultural exchange
• The rise of the European bourgeoisie
• Western capitalism became all the more stronger. Capital goods
flowed freely across borders
• The free circulation of leading national currencies like the pound and
the dollar
• The invention of Railways, mechanized shipping and air transport
• The invention of communication technologies: the telegraph, the
telephone and wireless radio communication
• The mass circulation of newspapers, magazines, film and television
• Increasing Population growth and increasing waves of migration
• The liberalization of world trade
 Political setbacks in the Modern
period
• The rise of nationalism led to two world
wars
• Global economic depression in 1930’s
• The cold war divided the world into two
camps: the liberal capitalist camp headed
by the US, and the socialist camp headed
by the Soviet Union
 The contemporary period (1970-)
The contemporary period is the age of
globalization in its multi-dimensional
aspects:
- Economic
- Political
- Cultural
- Ideological
 Economic globalization
• The economic conference held in July 1944 in the New
England town of Bretton Woods led to:
• Expanding international trade
• Establishing rules to regulate economic activities
• The creation of a more stable money exchange system
• The establishment of three international economic
organizations:
- The international Monetary Fund
- The World Bank
- The general agreement on Tarifs and trade which
will become in 1995 the World Trade Organization
The Neoliberal economic era of the
80’s
• Privatisation of public enterprises
• Liberalization of trade and industry
• The expansion of international markets
• The removal of controls on global financial flows
• The internationalization of trade and finance
• The emergence of transnational corporations
• The enhanced role of international economic
institutions like the IMF, the World Bank and the
World Trade Organization
 The implementation of the
‘structural adjustment programmes’

• A set of policies implemented by John

Williamson and aimed to reform the
economies of developing countries so that
they would be in a better position to repay
their debts to the IMF and WORLD BANK
 Political globalization
• The world is becoming more and more politically
interdependent.

• The impact of intergovernmental organizations

• The emergence of global governance

• The continuing relevance of the nation-state

The modern nation state system
• The peace of Westphalia in 1648 constituted the
beginning of the modern nation state and of an
international relations system
• The establishment of International law
• The right of each nation-state to self-rule and
determination
• The founding of the United Nations in 1945.
• In 1990, President George Bush pronounced
dead the Westphalian model and announced the
birth of a “New World Order.”
 The Demise of the Nation-State?
• Proponents of globalization pronounce the rise of a
borderless world. Nation-states have been weakened by
economic globalization

• Globalization sceptics insist on the continued relevance

of nation-states

• Nation-states still exercise control on education,

infrastructure, and immigration

• The new national security measures being imposed by

states in the aftermath of September 11th prove the
continued relevance of the nation-state
 Political governance
• The cooperation of municipal and provincial
authorities
• The emergence of regional blocs like the
European community
• The emergence of International organizations
like the UN, NATO, WTO, and OECD
(organization for economic cooperation and
development)
• The emergence of a “global civil society” Ex:
International NGO’s like Amnesty and
Greenpeace
 Cultural globalization
• The expansion of cultural commodities and
values across the globe, facilitated by the
internet and new technologies.
• Hyperglobalizers argue that we are witnessing a
homogenized popular culture
• The Western way of life has an influence on
other cultures.
• Benjamin Barber’s thesis: McWorld vs McJihad.
According to him the cultural imperialism
embodied in McWorld provokes cultural
resistances in the form of Jihad by Muslim
fundamentalists
 Cultural globalization
• Sociologist Roland Robertson coins the term
‘globalization’ to denote the interaction between the
global and the local that results from cultural borrowing

• Globalization has resulted in processes of hybridization

(cultural mixing) in food, clothes, music, dance, and
language

• The globalization of language is evident in the increasing

dominance of Anglo-American culture and the
widespread use of the English language
The globalization of Environmental
degradation
• Uncontrolled population threat
• Lavish consumption patterns in the global North
• Global warming, and the resulting ‘greenhouse
effect’ is responsible for raising average
temperatures worldwide
• The wordwide destruction of biodiversity
• Some experts predict that 50% of all plant and
animal species will disappear by the end of this
century.
Global warming
 The ideological dimension of
globalization
• Corporate managers, executives of
transnational corporations, corporate
lobbyists, journalists, bureaucrats, and
politicians have all been engaged in
advocating the ideology of globalism and
selling it to the public
Five claims in favor of globalization
• Globalization is about the liberalization
and integration of markets
• Globalization is inevitable and irreversible
• Nobody is in charge of globalization
• Globalization benefits everyone
• Globalization furthers the spread of
democracy in the world