INTRODUCTION OF THE MODULE

Course Code: CWORLD1

Course Title: The Contemporary World
Credit: Three (3) Units
Course Description:
This course introduces students 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 peoples 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 the student to the world outside
the Philippines, it seeks to inculcate a sense of global citizenship and global ethical
responsibility.

Requirements of the Course:

1. Three (3) Major Examinations

2. Regular Attendance
3. Scheduled Quizzes, Seat-works, Home-works/ Assignments, Classroom-Based
Recitations
4. Critique Papers, Synthesis Papers, Essay Writing
5. Group Power-Point Presentations, Video Presentations
6. Research Paper Writing

Learning Competencies:
As the course progresses, the students are expected to:
1. write a personal definition of globalization based on a concept map
2. differentiate the competing conceptions of globalization
3. identify the underlying philosophies of the varying definitions of globalization
4. agree on a working definition of globalization for the course
5. define economic globalization
6. identify the actors that facilitate economic globalization
7. define the modern world system
8. articulate a stance on global economic integration
9. explain the role of international financial institutions in the creation of a global economy
10. narrate a short history of global market integration in the twentieth century
11. identify the attributes of global corporations
12. explain the effects of globalization on governments
13. identify the institutions that govern international relations
14. differentiate internationalism from globalism
15. identify the roles and functions of the United Nations
16. identify the challenges of global governance in the 21st century
17. explain the relevance of the state and globalization
18. define the term “global south”
19. differentiate the “global south” from the “third world”
 20. analyze how a new conception of global relations emerged from the experiences of Latin
American countries
21. differentiate between regionalization and globalization
22. identify the factors leading to a greater integration of the Asian region
23. analyze how different Asian states confront the challenges of globalization and
regionalization
24. synthesize knowledge concerning globalization
25. analyze how various media drive various forms of global integration
26. explain the dynamics between local and global cultural production
27. explain how globalization affects religious practices and beliefs
28. analyze the relationship between religion and global conflict and, conversely, global
peace
29. identify the attributes of a global city
30. analyze how cities serve as engines of globalization
31. explain the theory of demographic transition as it affects global population
32. analyze the political, economic, cultural, and social factors underlying the global
movements of people
33. display first-hand knowledge of the experiences of OFWs
34. write a research paper proposal with proper citation
35. critique research proposals of classmates
36. differentiate stability from sustainability
37. articulate models of global sustainable development
38. define global food security
39. critique existing models of global food security
40. articulate a personal definition of global citizenship
41. appreciate the ethical obligations of global citizenship
42. write a research paper on a topic related to globalization with proper citations

LESSON 1
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF
GLOBALIZATION

Learning Objectives:
 1. To differentiate the competing approaches to the study of
globalization
2. To understand the varying processes of globalization
3. To explain the different ideological dimensions of globalization
4. To appreciate the core claims of market globalism
5. To agree on a working definition of globalization for the course

SOURCE: https://www.pinterest.ph/christine06295/advantages-of-globalisation/
 LESSON 1
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF
GLOBALIZATION

The first part of this lesson discusses the summary of the “Approaches to the Study of
Globalization” as presented by Manfred B. Steger (2014) which was adopted from the “SAGE
Handbook of Globalization” edited by Manfred B. Steger, Paul Battersby, and Joseph M.
Siracusa (2014). The succeeding discussion presents the work of Manfred B. Steger (2014)
entitled “Market Globalism” which was also adopted from the “SAGE Handbook of
Globalization”.

A. Approaches to the Study of Globalization

There are many different approaches to the study of globalization. The purpose of this
chapter is to provide a general overview of the various approaches to the concept as espoused
by several scholars since the 1990s.

Various scholars have advanced the concept of globalization by analyzing the changing
economic, political, and cultural processes that happened since the 1970s. Some of the
accepted definitions of globalization include the following: “increasing global inter-
connectedness”; “the expansion and intensification of social relations across world-time and
world-space”; “the compression of time and space”; “distant proximities”; “a complex range of
processes, driven by a mixture of political and economic influences”; and “the swift and
relatively unimpeded flow of capital, people, and ideas across national borders” (Giddens, 1990;
Harvey, 1989; Held & McGrew, 2007; Lechner & Boli, 2011; Robertson, 1992; Steger, 2013;
Waters, 2001).

Globalization as “Globaloney”.

Three groups of scholars argue that the existing accounts of globalization are incorrect
and imprecise. Their arguments fall into three differing categories. The first group disagrees with
the usefulness of globalization as a precise analytical concept. The second group contends that
the world is not really integrated as many proponents believe. The last cluster disputes the
novelty of the process while acknowledging the presence of moderate globalizing tendencies.

Rejectionists. These scholars believe that the term “globalization” is an example of a

vague word employed in academic discourses. Just like the term “nationalism”, “globalization” is
a complex and ambiguous phenomenon, thus both are hard concepts to define (Calhoun,
1993).

Sceptics. This group stresses the limited nature of current globalizing processes.
According to Hirst and Thompson (2009), our international economy is not really a global
phenomenon, since it only centered on Europe, Eastern Asia, and North America. They also
emphasized that most of the economic activities are still national in terms of origin and scope.

Modifiers. They entail that “globalization” has often been applied in a historically
inaccurate manner. Gilpin (2000) argues that our international economy in the late 1990s was
even less incorporated before the outbreak of World War I. According to the neo-Marxist
proponents of World-System Theory (Wallerstein, 1979; Frank, 1998), the modern capitalist
economy today has been global five centuries ago. Thus globalization can be drawn back to the
political and cultural relations that developed the ancient empires of Persia (Iran), China, and
Rome.

Globalization as an Economic Process

The evolution of global markets and international corporations led to global economic
interdependence among nation-states. The development of international economic institutions
such as the European Union, the North American Free Trade Association, and other regional
trading blocs are some of the examples (Keohane & Nye, 2000). This only shows that economic
globalization increases the linkage of national economies through trade, financial flows, and
foreign direct investment (FDI) by multinational or trans-national corporations (MNCs/TNCs)
(Gilpin, 2000).

Globalization as a Political Process

Political globalization includes the discussion and analysis of political processes and
institutions. Thus two questions are asked: (1) what are the political grounds for the immense
flows of capital, money, and technology across territorial boundaries?; (2) do these flows create
a serious test to the power of the nation-state? These dilemmas imply that economic
globalization might lead to the reduced control of national governments over restrictive policies
and economic regulations.

Globalization as a Cultural Process

According to Tomlinson (1999), cultural globalization signifies a growing linkage of

intricate cultural interconnections and interdependencies that define our modern social life.
These can be made possible through the emergence of powerful global media corporations that
develop new communication technologies which promote the Anglo-American value system.
This global dissemination of American values (Americanization), consumer goods, and lifestyles
promote the objectives of American “cultural imperialism” which is also termed by Ritzer (1993)
as “McDonaldization” which describes the ideals of the fast-food business that dominate the
American society and the rest of the globe.

According to Barber (1996), a type of cultural imperialism that was assembled in the
1950s and 1960s promoted an American culture of popular consumerism which he termed as
“McWorld”. This was driven by expansionist commercial interests which was evident in its
choice of music, video, theater, books, and theme parks which create exports that center
around common logos, advertising slogans, stars, songs, brand names, jingles, trademarks, and
the like.

As argued by Robertson (1995) global cultural flows also take place in local contexts
which result to “glocalization”. This refers to an intricate collaboration of the global and local
cultures characterized by cultural borrowing. These interactions lead to a complex mixture of
both cultures often referred to as “hybridization” or “creolization” which signifies processes of
cultural mixing that are replicated in music, film, fashion, language, and other types of social
expression.
B. Market Globalism

The Ideological Dimension of Globalization

During the early 1990s, the emphasis of globalization was dominated by the economic
and technological features of globalization. Later, the role of incorporating markets and new
information know-hows became part of understanding the process of globalization. This section
incorporates the ideological aspect of globalization and the
roles and purposes of political ideologies. It also integrates ideas on the six central claims of
market globalism.

Political Ideologies and the Global Imaginary

According to Steger (2014), “ideology” is a structure of broadly shared ideas or

philosophies, patterned beliefs, guiding norms, values, and ideals recognized as fact by some
collections of people. Every ideology is organized around core claims which differentiates it from
other contrasting ideologies.

The concept “ideology” was first introduced by Antoine Destutt de Tracy in the 18th
century. For this Enlightenment thinker, the term means a positivistic “science of ideas” using
the empirical tools borrowed from the natural sciences. According to Paul Ricoeur (1986), the
first functional level of ideology (Ideology as Distortion) refers to the construction of contorted
descriptions of social truth. This process obscures the difference between things as they are
perceived in theory and things as they are viewed in reality.

Political Ideologies and the “Social Imaginary”

According to Charles Taylor (2004), “social imaginaries” are neither theories nor
ideologies, but are implied “background understandings” of a group’s shared customs. The
social imaginary explains how a group of people fit as one and their expectations of every
member within the community.

Each ideology organized its core concepts based on liberty, progress, race, class,
rationality, tradition, community, welfare, security, and others. The ideologies of liberalism,
conservatism, socialism, communism, and Nazism/fascism are all “nationalist” in character and
are promoted by the elites within the group which are evident in their political goals through the
concept of “national imaginary”.

The Core Claims of Market Globalism

With the downfall of Soviet-style command economy in Eastern Europe, power elites
from the global north (i.e., corporate managers, CEOs of multinational corporations, corporate
lobbyists, high-ranking military officials, remarkable journalists, public-relations experts, scholars
writing to a large public audience, state administrators and leading politicians) introduced their
idea of market globalism. For them, market globalism means an advocacy that advances the
deregulation of markets, trade liberalization, the privatization of government-owned and
controlled corporations, and the upkeep of the global “War on Terror” spearheaded by US
(Steger, 2014).

Claim 1: Globalization is about the Liberalization and Global Integration of Markets

 This claim is buttressed in the neo-liberal philosophy of the laissez faire self-regulating
market economy as the foundation for a global market economy. According to Steger (2014),
the focal roles of the free market in order to foster more societal integration and material
advancement are only possible in a democratic society that values and protects individual rights
and freedoms.

Claim 2: Globalization is Inevitable and Irreversible

This claim contends that globalization promotes the expansion of unalterable market
forces motivated by technological improvements that facilitate the unavoidable worldwide
integration of state economies. Nation-states, political parties, and civil society organizations
have no option but to adapt to the inevitable forces of globalization.

Claim 3: Nobody is in Charge of Globalization

This argues that globalization is manifested through a “self-regulating market”. According

to Hormats (1998), what is attractive with globalization is that nobody is in control of the
process. Thus it is not regulated by any individual, any nation-state, or any organization. In
addition, Friedman (1999) contends that the international market is an Electronic Herd of
anonymous stock, bond and money traders and transnational foreign investors, integrated by
global screens and networks.

Claim 4: Globalization Benefits Everyone (... in the Long Run)

The benefits for all relate to material aspects such as “economic growth” and “prosperity”.
These benefits were according to the participating heads of state of the 1996 G-7 Summit in
Lyons, France, consisting of the world's seven most influential highly-developed countries that
issued a joint Economic Communique (1996) that exemplified the implications of this claim.

Claim 5: Globalization Furthers the Spread of Democracy in the World

This claim links the concepts on globalization and market with that of democracy which
provides individuals with economic choices. According to Freeden (1996), globalists treat
freedom, free markets, free trade and democracy as identical concepts.

Claim 6: Globalization Requires a War on Terror

The neo-conservatives who are committed to the American values of freedom, security,
and free markets added this sixth claim of market globalism. According to Kaplan (2003), you
need to possess both military and economic supremacy in order to spread your ideas
worldwide. This claim integrates idea of market globalism with militaristic and nationalistic ideas
linked with the American-headed global “War on Terror”.

As asserted by Barnett (2004), the globe is divided into three diverse regions:

The Functioning Core or Core. This is categorized by global network connectivity,

financial transactions, liberal media, cooperative security, nations having stable democratic
governments, practice of transparency, increasing standards of living, and more deaths by
suicide than by killings.
 The Non-Integrating Gap or Gap. This refers to regions where globalization is thinning
or if not, absent. These regions are plagued by authoritarian political regimes, government
regulated markets, mass killings, prevalent poverty and diseases, and the breeding ground of
global terrorists.
Seam States. These states lie along the Gap's bloody borders.