Contemporary World

By: Ma. Kristina C. Llaguno

 Dominican Blessing:
May God the Father bless us,
May God the Son heal us,
May God the Holy Spirit enlighten us all,
Give us grace to see with, ears to hear with
Hands to do the work of God with, feet to walk with,
And mouth to preach the word of salvation with, and
May the angel of peace watch over us and
Lead us at last to the Lord’s gift of the Kingdom, Amen.
St. Dominic de Guzman,
Pray For Us
Preliminary Topics:
Module 1 Introduction to Globalization
Section 1: Concepts of Globalization
Module 2 The Structure of Globalization
Section 1: The Global Economy
Section 2: Market Integration
Section 3: The Global Interstate System
Section 4: Contemporary Global Governance
Globalization:
The best scholarly description of globalization is provided by Manfred
Steger who described the process as the “expansion and intensification of
social relations and consciousness across world-time and across world-space”.

Expansion refers to bothe the creation of new social networks and the
multiplication of existing connection that cut across traditional political,
economic, cultural and geographic boundaries. (ex. Social media)

Intensification refers to the expansion, stretching and acceleration of these

networks. ( social media, NGO’s)
 The final attribute relates to the way people perceive time and space.
Steger notes that “ globalization processes do not occur merely at an
objective, material level but they also involve the subjective plane of human
consciousness.

Example: One can now send messages to a relative or family abroad and get
a reply instantaneously.
1. The perspective of the person who defines globalization shapes its
definition.
2. Globalization is the debate and the debate is globalization- in a sense,
the meaning of the concept is self-evident, in another it is vague and
obscure.
3. Globalization is reality- it is changing as human society develops. It has
happened before and it is still happening today.
4. Globalization is phenomenon. It is inevitable.
5. Globalization is a concept that is not easy to define. It is complex,
multifaceted and can be influenced by the people who define it.
Globalization of World Economics
Economic globalization is characterized by the increasing integration
of economies around the world through the movements of goods,
services and capital across borders.

International Monetary Fund(IMF) and ordinary people agree that a

drastic change is occurring throughout the world. Increased trade also
means that investment are moving all over the world at faster speeds.
International Trading System
The oldest international trade route was the Silk Road. Traders used the
Silk Road regularly when the Chinese han Dynasty opened trade to the West
until 1453 BCE when the Ottoman Empire closed it.

While the Silk Road was international, it was not “global” because it had
no ocean routes that could reach the American continent.

So, when did full economic globalization begin?

 The age of globalization began “ when all important populated continents
began to exchange products continuously- both with each other directly and
indirectly via other continents and in values sufficient to generate crucial
impacts on all trading partners.”- Dennis O. Flynn and Arturo Giraldez,
historians

In 1571, the establishment of galleon trade connected Manila in the

Philippines and Acapulco in Mexico.

The galleon trade was part of the age of mercantilism. Mercantilism is a

system of global trade with multiple restrictions.
 In 1867, a more open trade system emerged. US and other European
nations adopted the Gold Standard at an international monetary conference
in Paris. The goal was to create a common system that would allow for more
efficient trade and prevent the isolationism of the mercantilist era. The
countries established a common basis for currency prices and a fixed
exchange rate system- all based on the value of gold.
The Bretton Woods System
The Bretton Woods System was inaugurated in 1944 during the United
Nations Monetary and Financial Conference to prevent the catastrophes of
the early decades of the century from recurring and affecting international
ties.

The System was largely influenced by the ideas of British economist

John Maynard Keynes who believed that economic crises occur not when a
country does not have enough money, but when money is not being spent
and thereby not moving.
Two financial institutions:
1. International bank for reconstruction and Development( IBRD)
- Also known as the World Bank
- Responsible for funding postwar reconstruction projects.

2. International Monetary Fund(IMF)

- The global lender of last resort to prevent individual countries from
spiraling into credits crises
United Nations and Global Governance:
Powers of International Organizations(IOs):

1. IOs have the power of classification

Ex. UN High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR) defines what a refugee is

2. IOs have the power to fix meanings

Ex. UN has started to define security as not just safety from military violence
but also safety from environmental harm.
3. IOs have the power to diffuse norms. Norms are accepted codes of
conduct that may not be strict law. Their power to diffuse norms stems from
the fact that IOs are staffed with independent bureaucracies who are
considered experts in various fields.

Ex. World bank economists are regarded as experts in development. They

can create norms regarding the implementation and conceptualization of
development projects.
Six Organs of United Nations:
1. General Assembly(GA) -is the UN’s main deliberative policymaking and
representative organ. Decisions on important questions, such as those
on peace and security, admission of new members and budgetary
matters require a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly.
- Annually, the GA elects a GA President to serve a one-year term of
office. All member states (193) have seats in the GA.
- Filipino diplomat Carlos P. Romulo was elected GA President from 1949-
1950.
2. Security Council (SC)- the most powerful organ in the UN.
- This body consist of 15 member states. THe GA elects ten of these 15 to two
year terms.
- The remaining five, referred to as the Permanent 5 or P5, (China, France, Russia,
United Kingdom and the United States). These states have been permanent
members since the founding of the UN and cannot be replaced through election.
- The SC takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or an
act of aggression. It calls upon the parties to a dispute to settle the act by
peaceful means and recommends methods of adjustments or terms of
settlement.
3. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)- principal body for coordination,
policy review, dialogue and recommendations on social and environmental
issues. It is the UN’s platform for discussions on sustainable development.

4. International Court of Justice(ICJ)-task to settle, in accordance with

international law, legal disputes submitted to it by states and to give advisory
opinions referred to it by the authorized UN organs and specialized agencies.

- The major cases of the court consists of disputes between states that
voluntarily submit themselves to the court for arbitration.

Can an individual be tried in ICJ?

Philippines vs China over the Spratly case?

5. Trusteeship Council

6. Secretariat- consists of the Secretary General and thousands of

international UN staff members who carry out the day to day work of the UN.

-members of the secretariat serve in their capacity as UN employees and not

as state representatives.