GLOBALIZATION

Many definitions:

Economist: the emergence of a global market

Historian: Epoch dominated by global capitalism

Sociologist: underscores celebration of diversity, convergence of social preferences in matters of lifestyle and social values

Political scientist: gradual erosion of political sovereignty

3 Ps

Globalization as a PHENOMENON

manifests the extremely intricate interconnectedness of human life across the planet

ex: greater awareness of the environment

Globalization as a P HILOSOPHY

Reality of being interconnected - globalism

Affects all aspects of life - political, corporate, cultural, environmental

The world is rapidly integrating in all spheres. Peoples' economic, political and cultural expectations are converging.

INEVITABLE AND IRREVERSIBLE

Globalization as a PROCESS

Internet - eliminated physical, temporal, and cultural

States need ways to GOVERN globalization without IMPEDING it

Therefore, reliance on bodies like the UN and WTO

ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION: Usually seen as an economic phenomenon, involving the increasing integration of national economic systems through the growth in international trade, investment, and capital flows

Which has LED to a rapid increase in cross-border social, cultural, and technological exchange as part of the phenomenon

Anthony Giddens: (sociologist) decoupling of space and time, emphasizing that with instantaneous communications, knowledge and culture could be shared around the world simultaneously

FIVE TYPES OF GLOBAL INTERCONNECTIVITY

Arjun Appadurai: social theorist

Ethnoscapes: movements of people (tourists, immigrants, refugees, business travelers)

Financescapes: global flows of money, often driven by interconnected currency markets, stock exchanges, commodity markets

Ideoscapes: global spread of ideas and political ideologies (Greenpeace)

Mediascapes: global distribution of media images that appear on computer screens, newspapers, television, radio

Technoscapes: movement of technologies around the globe (Green Revolution in rice cultivation introduced western farming practices into many developing countries)

WHEN DID GLOBALIZATION BEGIN?

No real agreed starting point

First expansion of European capitalism took place in 16th century, following colonisation

Late 19th Century - big expansion in world trade and investment. Ended with WWI and the bout of anti-free trade protectionism that led to the Great Depression of 1930. (Interruption of the process)

Internationalisation - increased with the establishment of International Date Line - 1921 - and the nearly universal adoption of the Gregorian calendar between 1875 and 1925

End of WWII brought another era of increased global trade - saw development of MNCs. Emancipation of colonies also contributed to greater global trade. Air travel/international communications led to more globalization

Fall of Berlin Wall/Collapse of USSR - signaled victory for capitalism.

Development of the Internet

MAJOR PLAYERS IN GLOBALIZATION

IMF

WB

OECD - Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development - develops economic and social policy for its 29 members (North Am, West Europe, Japan, Korea, NZ, Oz)

UNCTAD - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development - permanent intergov'tal body of UN, aims to maximise trade investment and development opportunities of developing economies and assist in their efforts to integrate into the world economy

WEF - World Economic Forum - private non-profit that operates conferences on business, political, intellectual, and other society leaders -- Davos Meeting - major policy hub

FIVE KEY FACTORS OF ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION

1.A new international division of labor

changes: US has declined as an industrial producer (compared to Japan and the resurgence of Europe)

new int'l division of labor has involved the decentralization of manufacturing production from all of these core regions to some semiperipheral and peripheral countries.

1995: US companies employed 5.5 m overseas workers (80 percent in manufactur)

new specializations have emerged within core regions of World System: high tech manufacturing and producer services (global trade grown much more rapidly over 25 years than has global production -- points to increased economic integration

2. Internationalization of Finance

emergence of global banking and globally integrated financial markets

due to massive increases in levels of int'l direct investment

capacity of computers and information systems to deal with changing conditions has added a speculative component to the internationalization of finance - 100 bn worth of currencies are traded EVERY DAY. this volume creates a NEED for int'l banks and financial institutions to handle investments on LARGE SCALE - London, Frankfurt, NY, Tokyo

3. New Technology System

based on advances in solar energy, robotics, microelectronics, biotechnology, digital telecommunications, computerized information systems.

expanded the global reach of finance and industry

has allowed investment and trade to become much more flexible

new technology in transport and communications: shipping, railroad, and high way systems, wide-bodied cargo jets, development of fax machines, fiberoptic networks, communications satellites, and email and information-retrieval systems (databases)

also allowed wider political, social, and cultural change

4. Homogenization of Internat'l Consumer Markets

New and materialistic internat'l culture

people save less, borrow more, defer parenthood, indulge in affordable luxuries

style is transmitted through global media

growth in popularity of German luxury cars, Swiss watches, French wines, etc

reinforced by internationalization of television - CNN, MTV

5. Transnational corporation

has investments and industries that span internat'l boundaries, with subsidiary companies and factors in several countries

in 1997, the top 100 TNCs held 1.8 trillion in foreign assets, sold products worth 2.1 trillion abroad, and employed more than 6 mill abroad

pivotal player in geographical restructuring that has occurred over past 25 years

Geographical restructuring: when an unprecedented amount of economic, political, social, and cultural activity has spilled beyond the geographic and institutional boundaries of states

EFFECTS OF ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION:

Trade Creation Effects - Removal of trade barriers leads to a more pronounced regional division of labor.

Production reallocated from HIGH COST to LOW COST settings (core to periphery)

Usually means costs are lower for consumers

Very beneficial for those countries included in this system

OUTSOURCING - also referred to as "offshoring"

the delegation of non-core operations or jobs from internal production within a business to an external entity (like a subcontractor)

Trade diversion effects - for those not a part of a trade association, consumption is based on high-cost goods, because they will not have access to low-cost goods

Benefits to Economic Globalization:

offers access to foreign capital, global export markets, and advanced technology

breaks monopoly of inefficient and protected domestic producers

leads to faster growth

which leads to poverty reduction, democratization, higher labor and environmental standards

Disadvantages:

Free trade in raw materials slows development

Sheltering young industries are necessary for them to compete with established industries

etc

GLOBALIZATION'S EFFECT ON POVERTY

Some say globalization is to blame for poverty. Is this true?

First - globalization is the combination of MANY FORCES. The economy is integrated in many ways (labor, foreign direct investment, trade, govt borrowing).

Poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon - poverty too has many causes

Also - many different ways of measuring poverty

Globalization and Poverty - some claim poverty is decreasing

World Bank: In 2001, 1.1 billion people (21% of world pop) were impoverished

In 1981, 1.5 billion people (40% of world pop) were impoverished

Poverty in specific countries: those countries with open markets and active trading links often have lower levels of poverty than nations that are relatively isolated from the global market

POLITICAL GLOBALIZATION:

Suddenly, the status of the NATION-STATE is not as solid as it used to be.

Many people believe that Globalization is decreasing the power of the state: erosion of borders, lack of power over economic forces, more regional and international cooperation

INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF IGOS AND GLOBAL GOVERNANCE

1900: 37 IGOs

2000: 300

shows political co-ordination amongst governments, intergovernmental, and transnational agencies

BUT - it is scarred by enormous inequalities of power, and it is still a product of the inter-state system (still at the mercy of the states)

IT HAS CREATED THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF A GLOBAL POLITY and new arenas through which globalization itself is promoted, contested, or regulated.

TRANSNATIONALIZATION OF POLITICAL ACTIVITY

Internat'l NGOs - INGOS

1909 - 371

2000 - 25,000

explosion of "citizen democracy" - creates communities that cross national borders, with the purpose of advancing mutual goals or bringing governments and formal institutions of global governance to account for activities.

CHANGES IN INTERNATIONAL LAW

New trends in 20th century law - law governing war, crimes against humanity, environmental issues and human rights

emerging framework of "cosmopolitan law" - circumscribes and delimits the political power of individual states

COSMOPOLITAN - the idea that all human beings belong to the same community

in theory - states no longer have the right to do whatever they want with their citizens

increasing INTERNALIZATION OF INTERNAT'L LAW - exercise of restraint

So the Westphalian state (sole source of authority) has been transformed - now authority rests above, alongside, and below the state\

political communities are being TRANSFORMED -

No longer a clear-cut distinction between DOMESTIC and INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

national political communities are becoming involved in regional and international policymaking

Ex: Europe has MULTI-LEVEL GOVERNANCE

Example of Scotland - Ruled by Devolved powers of Scotland and Scottish Law

Still have some authority in UK

Also resolve issues within the EU

Levels can be: city, local, region, state, suprastate

Leads to:

erosion of national identity

reinforcement of local identity

GLOBAL SCOPE OF PROBLEMS reinforces this, undercuts states' ability to protect citizens

AVIAN FLU

HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

NON STATE TERRORIST GROUPS

Some believe that states will strengthen their power - others believe the states will dissolve into weaker political organizations

CULTURAL GLOBALIZATION/SOCIAL GLOBALIZATION

Greater intercultural exchanges

Spreading of MULTICULTURALISM - managing cultural diversity in a MULTI-ETHNIC society, stressing mutual respect and tolerance for different cultures within a country's borders

Better access to CULTURAL DIVERSITY - easier to access foreign films, newspapers, books, music, etc

food globalization - pizza and curry (and Chinese)

increasing travel, tourism, and immigration

Greater accommodation of cultures -

GLOCALIZATION - "local" is integrated into "global" - resolves in the heterogenization of cultures, as local cultures of particular areas are spread around the world - cultures clash with newly introduced cultural concepts

Ex: Museums - take local culture and history, and prepare them for mass consumption for tourists

Also, it's the creation and distribution of products intended for global market, but customized to suit local laws or culture

Using electronic communications like the Internet, to provide local services on a global basis. Craigslist

efforts to make the local Wal-Mart reflect its environment

Opposite force:

Grobalization: can also be referred to as McDonaldization

defined as the "imperialistic ambitions of nations, corporations, organizations, and their desire to impose themselves on various geographic areas"

ex: McDonald's does not attempt to incorporate the local culture into its venues

CULTURAL IMPERIALISM - the practice of promoting a culture or language of one nation or another. Can either be an active formal policy, or a general attitude

In the 20th century, the US and USSR were both susceptible to this criticism.

Americanisation of music, culture, television - led to protectionism of culture in France

and Canada (Canadian Content Laws)

However - US is not alone

China also engages in cultural imperialism - especially in trying to crush the indigenous cultures of Tibet and Xinjiang, flooding the areas with Han settlers. Also, pushing for the standardized Chinese language could be counted as cultural imperialism, because it's seeking to eradicate local dialects

Culturally - globalization might be damaging as well

VANISHING CULTURES - National Geographic estimates that every 2 weeks, a culture vanishes from the earth

Of approximately 6,000 languages existing in the world today, 90 percent may face extinction

UNESCO - UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization is striving to protect cultures from disappearing

EMERGENCE OF A GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY

seen by many to emerge as a reaction to CORPORATE GLOBALIZATION

began to assert itself in the protests against the WTO and the IMF

also referred to as Cosmocracy

private, non profit sector organizations, seeking to exert influence on global policy decisions

a major economic force - 1.2 trillion in expenditures, 31 million full time workers

Global presence - there are more in developed countries than developing, but they are in nearly every country in the world

GLOBAL ISSUES

DIGITAL DIVIDE

Socioeconomic difference between communities in their access to computers and the INTERNET

can also refer to gaps between groups in their abilities to USE these technologies (due to literacy and training problems)

difference in the rates of using the internet for business and development is reflected in the development speed of vulnerable LDCs

Internet - could be the "great equalizer"

Obstacles to bridging the gap:

Buying and deploying computers inside developing nations, as well as networking technologies

Discuss Laptop Idea of the UN

Bandwidth needs to be paid for

sometimes, there isn't the infrastructure in all areas

GLOBAL BRAIN DRAIN

The migration of more qualified citizens of the developing world to the richer countries

Reasons: wage differentiation, job security, stability

India: loses $2 bn/year because of the immigration of computer professionals to the US

International Organization for Migration created program to encourage African nationals to return home