The

Contemporary
World
▰ G.E. 8
“ GLOBALIZATION:
THEORIES AND
DEFINITIONS
▰ The Task of Defining Globalization
▰ Metaphors of Globalization
▰ Globalization Theories
- One can say that globalization is a very
important change, if not, the “most important"
(Bauman, 2003).
- The reality and omnipresence of globalization
makes us see ourselves as part of what we refer to
as the global age" (Albrow, 1996).
What is globalization?

Globalization encompasses a
multitude of processes that involves
the economy, political systems, and
culture.
Positive phenomenon
Swedish journalist Thomas Larsson (2001) saw globalization as
"the process of world shrinkage, of distances getting shorter, things
moving closer. It pertains to the increasing ease with which
somebody on one side of the world can interact, mutual benefit
with somebody on the other side of the world" (p.9)
Occurring through and with regression, colonialism, and
destabilization

In the mid-1990s, Martin Khor, the former president of Third

World Network (TWN) in Malaysia, once regarded globalization
as colonization.
 The Task of Defining Globalization

▰ There are different definitions of globalization.

▻ Broad and inclusive
▻ Narrow and exclusive
▰ The task of defining globalization points to the following:
▻ The perspective of the person that defines globalization shape the concept.
▻ Globalization is the debate and the debate is globalization.
▻ Globalization is a reality.
The definition of globalization can be classified into
(1)broad and inclusive or
(2)narrow and exclusive.

The one offered by Ohmae in 1992 stated "...globalization

means the onset of the border-less world..."(p. 14).
▰ Robert Cox's definition suits best in this type: “the
characteristics of the globalization trend include the
internationalizing of production, the new international
division of labor, new migratory movements from South to
North, the new competitive environment that accelerates
these processes, and the internationalizing of the state...
making states into agencies of the globalizing world" (as
cited in RAWOO Netherlands Development Assistance
Research Council, 2000, p. 14).
More recent definition
▰ Ritzer (2015), "globalization is a transplanetary
process or a set of processes involving increasing
liquidity and the growing multidirectional flows of
people, objects, places, and information as well as the
structures they encounter and create that are barriers
to, or expedite, those flows
 Understanding globalization

First, the perspective of the person who defines globalization shapes its definition.
The overview of definitions implies that globalization is many things to many
different people.
In 1996, Arjun Appadurai said, "globalization is a 'world of things' that have
'different speeds, axes, points of origin and termination, and varied relationships to
institutional structures in different regions, nations, or societies' " (as cited in
Chowdhury, 2006, p. 137).
In a more recent study, A-Rhodan (2006) wrote that definitions suggest the
perspective of the author on the origins and the geopolitical implications of
globalization. It is a starting point that will guide the rest of any discussions. In
effect, one's definition and perspective could determine concrete steps in addressing
the issues of globalization.
Second, to paraphrase the sociologist Cesare Poppi: Globalization is the debate and the
debate is globalization. One became part and parcel of the other.
As Poppi (1997) wrote: "The literature stemming from the debate on globalization has
grown in the last decade beyond any individual's capability of extracting a workable
definition of the concept. In a sense, the meaning of the concept is self- evident, in
another, it is vague and obscure as its reaches are wide and constantly shifting. Perhaps,
more than any other concept, globalization is the debate about it" (as cited in Kumar,
2003, p. 95).

Third, globalization is a reality.

Metaphors of Globalization

Solidity - refers to barriers that prevent or make difficult the

movement of things. Furthermore, solids can either be natural or
man-made.
- they have the tendency to melt.
Liquidity, therefore, refers to the increasing ease of movement
of people, things, information, and places in the contemporary
world.
- liquid phenomena is that their movement is difficult to
stop
 Flows

Flows are the movement of people, things, places, and

information brought by the growing "porosity" of global
limitations (Ritzer, 2015).
- Foreign cuisines
- Global financial system
- Poor illegal migrants
- The virtual flow of legal and illegal information
- Immigrants recreating ethnic enclaves in host countries
Globalization Theories

▰ Globalization, as a process, increases either

homogeneity (sameness) or heterogeneity
(difference) in culture, economy, and
politics.
▰ Homogeneity refers to the increasing sameness in the
world as cultural inputs, economic factors, and political
orientations of societies expand to create common
practices, same economies, and similar forms of
government.
▻ Homogeneity in culture is often linked to cultural
imperialism.
▻ Global flow of media is often characterized as
media imperialism
Heterogeneity pertains to the creation of various cultural practices,
new economies, and political groups because of the interaction of
elements from different societies in the world.

Heterogeneity refers to the differences because of either lasting

differences or of the hybrids or combinations of cultures that can be
produced through the different transplanetary processes
▰ “Glocalization" coined by Roland
Robertson in 1992, To him, as global
forces interact with local factors or a
specific geographic area, the "glocal" is
being produced.
DYNAMICS OF GLOBAL AND LOCAL CULTURE

▰ CULTURAL DIFFERENTIALISM
▰ CULTURAL HYBRIDIZATION
▰ CULTURAL CONVERGENCE
▰ CULTURAL DIFFERENTIALISM
It emphasizes the fact that cultures are essentially
different and are only superficially affected by global
flows. The interaction of cultures is deemed to contain
the potential for “catastrophic collision” Samuel
Huntington’s theory on the clash of the civilizations
proposed in 1996.
▰ CULTURAL HYBRIDIZATION
It emphasizes the integration of local and global cultures. A key concept
is “glocalization” or the interpenetration of the global and local
resulting in unique outcomes in different geographic areas.
Another key concepts is Arjun Appadurai’s “scapes” in 1996, where
global flows involve people, technology, finance, political image, and
media and the disjuncture between them, which lead to the creation of
cultural hybrids.
▰ CULTURAL CONVERGENCE
This approach stresses homogeneity introduced by globalization.
Cultures are deemed to be radically altered by strong flows, while
cultural imperialism happens when one culture imposes itself on and
tends to destroy at least part of another culture.
John Tomlinson’s idea of “deterritorialization” of culture.
Deterritorialization means that it is much more difficult to tie
culture to a specific geographic point of origin.