GLOBALIZATION

Definitions:
 Globalization is the accelerating interdependence of nations in a world system linked
economically through the mass media and modern information systems
 According to Albrow (1990) globalization refers to all those processes by which the
peoples of the world are incorporated into a single society.
 This process is a combination of economic, technological, socio-cultural and political
forces.
 The forces of globalization include international commerce, travel and tourism,
transnational migration, the media and various high-tech information flows.
 Globalization is often used to refer to economic globalization that is, integration of
national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign investment,
capital flows, migration and the spread of technology. However, globalization is also
about connectivity.

Six component strands of globalization

1. Changing concepts of space and time
2. An increasing volume of cultural interactions
3. The communality of problems facing all the worlds’ inhabitants.
4. Growing interconnections and interdependencies.
5. A network of increasingly powerful transnational actors and organization.
6. The synchronization of all dimensions involved in globalization.

1. Changing concepts of space and time

There is a radical shift in our understanding of space and time. This has been brought about by:
1. The beginning of European, Arab, Chinese and Pacific Islander exploration and
navigation of the world.
2. The advent of the mechanical clock.
3. The unfolding revolution in transport technology associated with industrialization.
2. Increasing cultural interaction
 Increased contact between peoples has increased cultural interactions and exposed all
humans to the growing flows of cultural meanings and knowledge coming from other
societies.
 The electronic mass media enables even those who lack education to encounter new ideas
and experiences.
3. Commonality of problems
 The impact of global industrialization on the planet’s biosphere provides the most
compelling example of the shared global nature of many problems.
 Another reason for sharing concerns is that certain global problems require global
solutions i.e international drug trafficking.
4. Interconnectedness and interdependencies
 Fast expanding interconnections and interdependencies bind localities, countries,
companies, social movements, professional groups and individual citizens into an ever
more dense network of transnational exchanges and affiliations.
5. Transnational actors and organizations
a) Trans national corporations (TNCs) (Shell, BP, Microsoft, Agip, Toshiba, Nokia etc)

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 b) International governmental organizations (IGOs)
c) (league of Nations and United Nations )
d) Diasporas and stateless people
e) International non governmental organizations (INGOS)(Red Cross, Oxfam, Amnesty
International which operate transnationally.)
Other transnational actors (Migrants in search of income opportunities, international tourists,
professionals such as lawyers, journalists, scientists ,media, rock, pop and sports personalities.)

6. Synchronization of all dimensions

 All the dimensions of globalization, appear to be coming together at the same time, each
reinforcing and magnifying the impact of others.

Globalization as a historical process

 Globalization is always a painful process for any society to experience. When Europe, the
United States and Japan went through industrialization, it brought about:
a) Dislocation and disruption of families through rapid urbanization
b) Extensive migration, urban congestion, increases in deviance and crime, political
corruption, population growth, pollution and other social problems accompanied
industrialization in the so called First world countries.

IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION
Demographic changes, economic changes, religious changes, political changes, social changes,
technological changes
Impact of globalization: students’ perceptions
 Increased foreign investment. Creates employment and repatriates profits back to the
developed world.
 Innovativeness in solving global problems.
 Emergency of democratic forms of political governance.
a) Demographic change
Population decline of native populations due to:
 The introduction of diseases (smallpox, typhoid fever, measles, influenza, mumps).
 Serious health problems numerous deaths due to the rigorous forms of enforced labour.
 Food shortages due to the collapse of the indigenous patterns of intensive agriculture
brought about famines and food shortages.
 In the long run however, there was unprecedented growth to the populations of these
agricultural states.
b) Economic changes
 The disruption of the indigenous production and exchange systems. Africans were drawn
into a wage economy. Introduction of monetary systems based on European coinage.
 The price of African labour and goods came to be determined by the world market.
Global economic conditions began to shape the sociocultural systems of native peoples
throughout Africa.
 The integration of many agricultural village communities into wider regional and global
economic patterns. The village peasantry was no longer isolated from cities and the
global market determined the prices for agricultural goods.

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c) Political changes
 Political movements that emphasized independence and nationalist ideas.
 In East Africa, white settlers resisted nationalist movements i.e. the Mau Mau uprisings
which resulted in thousands of deaths and the imprisonment of thousands of Kikuyus in
detention camps.
 Modernity is associated with a certain range of political institutions including the nation
state and mass democracy.
 European union, unified economic and political structure (Unified European currency,
unified European parliament).
 However, in Africa, there is fragmentation of nation state along linguistic, ethnic or
religious lines leading to an increase in religious tensions at the local levels. A major
problem in Africa.
d) Changes in social structure
 Many large extended families were forced to break up. Thus in many areas, the typical
family today is the nuclear family.
 Workload increased after colonization and independence.
 The European colonial powers often allocated land to males but African women were
given rights to land only through their relationship to males.
 Lack of formal education prevented females from entering the wage labour economy so
they were unable to buy property and send their children to school.
 African women in the urban sector often receive formal education and tend to have more
independence than do rural women.
 On the other hand, urban women are vulnerable to exploitation and alienation if
they have no formal education and lack the support of extended family ties and
village communities.
e) Patterns of urbanization
 Migrants are pushed from the countryside by population growth, poverty, lack of
opportunity and absence of land reform.
 They are pulled to the city by the prospects of regular employment, education and
medical care for their children and the excitement of urban life.
 Rapid urbanization has led to the development of illegal squatter settlements in and
outside urban areas.
f) Religious changes
• Throughout Africa, a number of syncretistic movements began to emerge among the
indigenous groups.
 Social thinkers like Karl Marx predicted that secularization would eradicate religious
institutions and beliefs. Although secularization has occurred, religion has not
disappeared in these societies.
g) Technological change
 Industrial technology has spread from the core nations to developing countries. The green
revolution has altered food production and impacted negatively on the environment.
 ICT technology is contributing to space compression, and has revolutionized
communication (internet, email, teleconferencing)
Is globalization good or bad?