THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD - Processing of raw materials to finished
products and sell at a higher price.
QUIZ 1
Globalization – (Manfred Steger) the expansion and
intensification of social relations and consciousness
across world-time and across world space.
- Expansion refers to the creation of new
social networks and multiplication of existing
connections
- Intensification refers to the expansion,
stretching, and acceleration of the
aforementioned networks.
> Arjun Appadurai (anthropologist)
- “there are multiple globalization”
- 5 Scapes (the dimension of globalization)
1. Ethnoscape – global movement of people
2. Mediascape – flow of culture
3. Technoscape – circulation of mechanical goods
and software
4. Financescape – global circulation of money
5. Ideoscape – movement of political ideas
Economic Globalization
Silk Road
– the first international trade route. Not global
because the Americas were not included.
Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade
- traced back to 1571.
- Eastern goods (spices, tea, silk, etc.) were
shipped by galleons via the Pacific Ocean to
Acapulco.
- The first true global trade route because of
ocean routes, and it included the Americas.
Mercantilism
- from 16th to 18th centuries.
- Countries aimed to sell more goods than
other countries in order to boost their
income.
Gold Standard
- the financial system establishing a common
basis for currency prices and a fixed
exchange rate system
- all based on the value of gold.
- Because of World War I, countries were
forced to abandon the Gold Standard to
increase their money supply.
Great Depression
- a global financial crisis that happened during
the 1920s to 1930s.
- Solved through Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s
“New Plan.”
Keynesian Economics
- money is not spent – meaning, it is not
moving.
- Governments should reinvigorate economies
by infusing of capital (stimulus) to kickstart
the economy – increasing the purchasing
power of people, and eventually demand.
Bretton Woods System
- July 1944 at the United Nations Monetary
and Financial Conference (Bretton Woods,
New Hampshire, USA).
- Led by Harry Dexter White and John
Maynard Keynes.
- Value of currencies shall be linked to US
Dollar, and the US Dollar shall be pegged to
the value of gold ($35.00 per ounce fixed).
- Established two financial institutions, namely
IMF (International Monetary Fund) and IBRD
(International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development), later renamed to WB (World
Bank). Ended on August 15, 1971.
IMF – intended to be the lender of last resort
to prevent countries from spiraling into
credit/economic crises.
IBRD (WB) – responsible for funding postwar
reconstruction projects.
Neoliberalism
- (Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman)
- answer to the problems caused by the
dependence on Keynesian Economics.
- According to them, Keynesian Economics
will cause inflation but not necessarily
increases the supply/production.
1970s oil embargo – economic sanction by members
of OAPEC (Arab members of OPEC) against US and
its allies due to American support on Israel during the
Yom Kippur War
Stagflation – a portmanteau of stagnation (decline in
growth and employment) and inflation (rise of prices
of goods)
Washington Consensus
- set of policies adopted centering on
neoliberalism.
- Has two parts – first, reduction of public
spending to pay off debt and second,
privatization of government-owned and
operated corporations.
- US President Ronald Reagan adopted this
(especially reduction of public spending),
along with UK PM Margaret Thatcher.
Referred to as “shock therapy.” Also adopted
in Russia after the fall of the USSR – led to
oligarchy.
2008 Global Financial Crisis
- September 2008, caused by the fall of
Lehman Brothers (investment bank).
- Seen as the result of the flaws of
neoliberalism.
- Caused debt problems in Europe (Greece,
Portugal, and Iceland). The US recovered
quickly by reverting to Keynesian-style
stimulus programs under Obama.
-
Economic Globalization Today – developed countries
tend to be protectionist (US sugar, Japan rice). Rise
of nationalism (President Donald J. Trump of USA).
Also, economies are too integrated.
Race to the Bottom – countries deliberately lowering
the labor standards and wages to lure investors
seeking cheap labor for a higher profit. Also includes
issues with the environment.
Political Globalization
Internationalization – the phenomenon
characterized by the deepening of interactions
between states.
International Organization - international
intergovernmental groups primarily made up of
nation-states or member-states.
Nation – focuses on the “imagined community” that is
focused on culture, language, beliefs, etc.
State – a political entity.
Attributes/ Elements of a State:
- Population – the citizens
- Territory
- Government
- Sovereignty (both internal and external)
Treaty of Westphalia (1648)
- a set of agreements to end the Thirty Years’
War between major continental powers of
Europe.
- Parties to the Treaty recognized that
countries should have complete control over
their domestic affairs and swore not to
meddle in each other’s’ affairs (concept of
sovereignty).
Napoleon Bonaparte
- first major challenge of the Westphalia
system.
- Believes in the principles of French
Revolution (liberty, equality, fraternity).
Launched the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815).
Defeated by Anglo (UK) and Prussian armies
 in the Battle of Waterloo, 1815.
Napoleonic Code
- implemented on the occupied countries of
Napoleon.
- Forbade the birth privileges, encouraged
freedom of religion, and promoted
meritocracy in government service.
Concert of Europe/ Metternich System (after
Klemens von Metternich) –
- after the defeat of Napoleon, royal powers
created a system that, in effect, reinstated
the Westphalian System.
- Restored the monarchical, hereditary, and
religious privileges. Lasted from 1815-1914
(dawn of World War I).
Liberal Internationalism
Immanuel Kant – he likened the states in a global
system to people living in a given territory. Advocated
for a World Government.
Jeremy Bentham – coined the word “international.”
Promoted the creation of international law.
Giuseppe Mazzini – an Italian patriot, advocated for
the unification of Italian-speaking mini-states.
Believed in the Republican system and proposed a
system of free nations that cooperated with each
other to create an international system. Highly
influenced the thinking of President Woodrow Wilson.
President Woodrow Wilson – lead advocate for the
creation of the League of Nations
Principle of Self-determination – the belief that
states had a right to a free, sovereign government.
League of Nations – the predecessor of the UN. - The
US did not participate due to the fierce opposition of
the US Senate. Helpless during the onset of World
War II.
- Gave birth to task-specific international
organizations like the World Health
Organization (WHO) and the International
Labor Organization (ILO).
Socialist Internationalism:
Karl Marx – German philosopher, a critic of Mazzini.
Believed that the true form of internationalism should
reject nationalism, and give focus instead on
economic equality.
- He divided the world into classes, not by
states. Bourgeois (capitalist owner of means
of production) and Proletariat (laborers,
those who do not own the means of
production).
Socialist International (SI) – a union of
European socialist and labor parties
established in Paris in 1889. Achieved the
declaration of May 1st as Labor Day, 8-hour
workday, and the International Women’s
Day. Collapsed during World War I.
Czar/ Tsar Nicholas II – Russian leader
ousted during the Russian Revolution of
1917.
Bolshevik Party – led by Vladimir Lenin.
Replaced the government of Tsar Nicholas II
with a revolutionary government, and called
the new government as the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics (USSR).
Communist International – (Comintern)
- Communist Information Bureau –
(Cominform)
UNITED NATIONS
International Organizations (IO) – refers to the
international intergovernmental organizations or
groups primarily made up of member-states or nation-
states.
Powers of International Organizations
1. IOs have the power of classification
2. IOs have the power to fix meanings
3. IOs have the power to diffuse norms
The United Nations is an example of an International
Organization and has the different powers of
International Organizations.
1. General Assembly
- is the main deliberative, policymaking and
representative organ of the UN.
- All 193 Member States Links to an external
site. of the UN are represented in the
General Assembly, making it the only UN
body with universal representation.
2. Security Council
- has primary responsibility, under the UN
Charter, for the maintenance of international
peace and security. It has 15 Members (5
permanent and 10 non-permanent members
Links to an external site.).
- Each Member has one vote. Under the
Charter, all Member States are obligated to
comply with Council decisions. The Security
Council takes the lead in determining the
existence of a threat to the peace or act of
aggression.
-
3. Economic and Social Council
- is the principal body for coordination, policy
review, policy dialogue and
recommendations on economic, social and
environmental issues, as well as
implementation of internationally agreed
development goals.
- It serves as the central mechanism for
activities of the UN system and its
specialized agencies in the economic, social
and environmental fields, supervising
subsidiary and expert bodies.
- It has 54 Members Links to an external site.,
elected by the General Assembly for
overlapping three-year terms. It is the United
Nations’ central platform for reflection,
debate, and innovative thinking on
sustainable development
4. International Court of Justice
- is the principal judicial organ of the United
Nations.
- Its seat is at the Peace Palace in the Hague
(Netherlands).
- It is the only one of the six principal organs
of the United Nations not located in New
York (United States of America).
- The Court’s role is to settle, in accordance
with international law, legal disputes
submitted to it by States and to give advisory
opinions on legal questions referred to it by
authorized United Nations organs and
specialized agencies.
5. Secretariat
- comprises the Secretary-General
and tens of thousands of international UN
staff members who carry out the day-to-day
work of the UN as mandated by the General
Assembly and the Organization's other
principal organs.