Introduction to

Globalization
Concepts of Globalization
Globalization???
???
Lorenz is a college student. He drinks Milo with his usual corned
RENZ
beef, egg, and rice for breakfast every school day. While eating, he
O LO
watches Cartoon Network on cable TV to make his morning light. T
E R VEhe is
BS
Afterwards, he rushes to brush his teeth using Colgate. Then,
U
good to go. Once inside the university campus, Ohe sends an I-am-at-
school message to his mom usingDhis Y
O
new iPhone X. Likewise, he
I
hisDspecial friend via his Samsung Galaxy
sends his "Hi" message to
A T
WHand his friends love to wear Vans shoes and use
S9. More so, Lorenz
Vans school bags. They love to hang out in their favorite fast food
store, McDonalds, and happily eat their favorite burger, chicken
nuggets, and Coke float. He talks to his dad who works in Dubai via
Skype on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday nights.
Globalization???
One can observe this trend among many middle class or elite students nowadays, especially in urban
areas. This trend is a clear indication that many Filipino lives are, in one way or another, affected by
global economic imperialism. Simply put, economic imperialism is a situation in which one nation
assumes economic power or influence over the others. Clearly, this is the age of "Westernization"
and/or "Americanization" of contemporary Filipinos, that is, Filipinos adopt ideas and behavior that
are characteristic of the West and of North America while relegating the ideas and behavior
traditional in their culture. Filipinos have become alien to Filipino products. The internet has also
made the world smaller and communication faster. As a result, the consumption of Western ideas
and adoption of behavior have become rapid and widespread. With all these happening, a person
with an inquisitive mind would pose the question. What really is globalization? Many scholars have
dealt on the topic, and thus there is no single definition of globalization.
Concepts of Globalization
● One thing is sure: Globalization is a
phenomenon. It is something that is difficult
to understand.
● Reich (1998) says that it is a term whose
meaning is obscure.
● Schottle (1995) states that "globalization
stands for quite a large public spread across
the world as one of the defining terms of the
20th century social consciousness." The term
is often distinguished more by what it is not,
rather than by what it is.
Concepts of Globalization
● Rosenau (1996) recognizes such a
tendency when he states that

“Globalization is not the same as globalism, which

points our aspirations for an end state of affairs
wherein values are shared by or pertinent to all the
world's five billion people, their environment, their
roles as citizens, consumers and producers with an
interest in collective action designed to solve
common problems. Nor it is universalism-values
that embrace all humanity.”
Concepts of Globalization
● For McGrew (1990), globalization is
described as something that is comprised
of multiple sameness and
interconnectedness that go beyond the
nation-states. It is a process in which
individuals and organizations in one part
of the world are affected by the activities,
affairs, and convictions on another part of
the globe.
Concepts of Globalization
● Cerny (1997) defines it as a cluster of
economic and political frameworks and
procedures deriving from the changing
marks of the interests and assets that
comprise the foundation of the
international political economy-
specifically, the expanding structural
differences of those interests and assets.
● On the first decade of the 21st century,
some scholars argued that globalization is
a process. For some, it is a condition while
others describe it as an ideology.
Concepts of Globalization
● Freeden (2003) posits that globalization denotes a
range of processes nesting under one rather unwieldy
epithet. In part, its conceptual difficulty to handle or
control arises from the fact that global flows occur in
different physical and mental dimensions.
Concepts of Globalization
● Appadurai (1996) proposed five dimensions of global
cultural flow, namely
○ 'Ethnoscapes'
○ 'Technoscapes
○ 'Mediascapes'
○ 'Financescapes'
○ 'Ideoscapes.'
● These landscapes are created due to movements of
people, technologies, information through media,
money and commodities, and political ideas.
Concepts of Globalization
● For Steger (2005 & 2014a), the term globalization
should be limited to a set of intricate social processes
that modify prevailing social statuses based on the
modern regime of self-dependent nation-states. A
number of scholars define globalization as a
multidimensional group of social procedures that
build, accelerate, elaborate, and intensify worldwide
interactions while, at the same time, nurturing in
people an increasing consciousness of deepening
linkages between the local and far-off.
Concepts of Globalization
● Steger (2005) uses the term globality to mean
globalization as a condition. For him, globality
denotes "future social condition characterized by thick
economic, political, and cultural interconnections and
global flows that make currently existing political
borders and economic barriers irrelevant."
● The condition that many are now experiencing is a
result of the existence of multinational and
transnational companies, international trading,
economic blocks, the United Nations (UN), the
European Union (EU), and the like. Moreover,
globalization is defined as an ideology.
Concepts of Globalization
● For some, ideology is dogmatic while for others, it
connotes political sophistication. Ideology may also
refer to the dominant modes of thought (Gerring,
1997).
● Steger (2014b) defines ideology as a system of widely
shared ideas, patterned beliefs, guiding norms and
values, and ideals accepted as truth by some groups.
● An ideology is defined by core claims. Since
globalization has core claims; hence, it is an ideology.
Concepts of Globalization
● Steger (2014b) uses the term globalism to mean
globalization as an ideology. He then identifies five
core claims of globalism.
○ first, globalization is about the liberalization and
global integration of markets;
○ second, globalization is inevitable and
irreversible;
○ third, nobody is in charge of globalization;
○ fourth, globalization benefits everyone; and
○ fifth, globalization furthers the spread of
democracy in the world.
Concepts of Globalization
● Globalization is also defined differently depending on
someone else's expertise, experience, and perspective.
● For a political scientist, globalization serves as a
challenge to nation-states. The strengthening of
regional blocks like EU, Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the UN is gaining a
stable ground.
● Similarly, the emergence of global political norms is
evident-for instance, the norm that each country is
entitled to the exploitation of human natural resources
for its own growth (Giensen & Pijl, 2006).
Concepts of Globalization
● For an economist, globalization means increase of free
trade, speed of trade, global economic organization, and
regional trade blocks.
● The expansion of free trade allows governments not to
restrict the importation of products nor impede the export
of local products. Importing and exporting are done in
just a millisecond through technology and the internet.
● There is also the intense establishment of economic
organizations such as the International Monetary Fund
(IMF), World Bank (WB), World Trade Organization
(WTO), International Labor Organization (ILO),
European Free Trade Area (EFTA),
Concepts of Globalization
● For culture and communications experts,
globalization refers to the concept of a global village.
● Through globalization, the world has become a
borderless world.
● Communication technology makes the world shrink.
● McLuhan (1964) believes that media has connected
the world in ways that created a global village.
● Global village was McLuhan's ideal in the 1960s that
has become a reality during the later part of the
century.
Concepts of Globalization
● Globalization is referred to as cultural imperialism.
● It is the conviction that there is a "better" culture.
● Some cultures see other cultures as superior to theirs,
forming inferior or nondominant cultures.
● In cultural globalization, therefore, the spread of
popular culture (e.g ., music, art, literature, fashion,
lifestyle, etc.) flows from dominant to nondominant
cultures (i.e ., from developed to developing nations).
What really is Globalization?
★ From the various competing conceptions of
globalization, there is now a need to come up with a
working definition.
★ It must be a definition that is academic and non-
biased as opposed to popular definitions.
★ Likewise, it must not be a definition from the
neoliberal organizations.
★ It must be grounded on an interdisciplinary
approach that transcends disciplinary boundaries
Globalization
● One objective working definition is that of Steger's
(2013): "Globalization refers to the expansion and
intensification of social relations and consciousness
across world-time and world-space."
● From this definition, four attributes of globalization
can be drawn.
Globalization
● First, globalization has various forms of connectivity such that it can be economic,
political, or cultural.
● These forms, enabled by various factors, pressures, or media, affect different degrees of
interconnection.
● To illustrate, a Filipino minimum wage earner may suffer from a slight price hike of basic
commodities while his neighbor who earns above the minimum might not be affected by
the said increase.
● This adjustment in prices of commodities can be caused by national and international
economic and political events.
Globalization
● Second, globalization allows for the expansion and stretching of social relations.
● These can be observed in the existence of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that
operate in the local, regional, and international setting.
● For instance, the Philippine National Red Cross is an affiliate of the International
Committee of the Red Cross, a humanitarian institution based in Switzerland.
● Social relations can also be seen in the establishment of sister-city relationships such as the
cooperation between Cebu City and Haarlemmermeer City of the Netherlands.
● In addition, social relations manifest in the establishment of government associations and
presence of multinational companies in the Philippines.
Globalization
● Third, globalization intensifies and accelerates social exchanges and activities.
● Live telecast and the shift from snail mail to email and social media are proofs of this
attribute.
● In the early 1990s, some Filipinos could watch international television shows only a week
after the episode aired.
● But now, cable TV and internet live streaming allow Filipinos to watch shows as soon as
they are released.
● More so, mail can be sent instantly unlike the mail courier-delivered letters of the 1980s.
Globalization
● Fourth, globalization occurs worldwide.
● Every person is a global citizen because he or she thinks about the issues of the world.
Europeans and Americans used #prayformarawi in social media to show their concern for
the victims of the Marawi City siege in May 2017.
● Another instance is when teenagers associate themselves with global trends like K-Pop.
They imitate the way their K-Pop idols dress up, dance, and even talk.
● Global citizens also assume a sense of responsibility in global matters. One good example
is the participation of global citizens in Earth Hour every 3rd Sunday of March and the
expression of concern from the international community for the alleged human rights
violations of the current administration in the Philippines.
Globalization
★ Globalization may be defined and conceptualized from different lenses, but an
interdisciplinary definition is necessary.
★ Some scholars consider it as a process, a condition, or an ideology.
★ Experts from different fields of social sciences also define globalization based on their
specialization or expertise.
★ But a working definition has to encompass all definitions of and notions about
globalization.
★ Steger's definition, for the purpose of this module, is the most unbiased working
definition.