Globalization: An Overview

Course Overview

• The contemporary world is examined though globalization and its multifaceted phenomena.
• Using social sciences, transformations are examined to increase awareness to the interconnectedness of people and places.
• An overview of debates in global governance, development, and sustainability is provided.
• The course seeks to inculcate global citizenship and ethical responsibility, beyond exposing learners to the world outside of the Philippines.
• By the end of this course, students should be able to distinguish interpretations and approaches of globalization; describe the emergence of global systems; analyze drivers of globalization; understand issues confronting nation-states; and assess effects of globalization.

Module Breakdown

• Each module constitutes a chapter or lesson
• The modules are: The Nature of Globalization, The Global Economy, Market Globalism and Integration, The Global Interstate System, The Global Governance, The Global Divide, Regionalism, Globalization and Media, Globalization and Religion, The Global City, Global Migration and Demography, Sustainable Development, and Global Citizenship.
• Modules are composed of: Learning Objectives, Learning Activity 1, Content Discussion, Learning Activity 2, Quiz, and References.
• Answers for learning activities and quizzes should be recorded on paper, notebooks, or electronic devices, and uploaded to Google Classroom after the time frame.

Chapter 1 - The Nature of Globalization

• "Globalization will make our societies more creative and prosperous, but also more vulnerable" -George Robertson
• The suggested time allotment for this chapter is 3 hours
• At the end of this lesson, students should be able to define globalization, view it through a broad variety of lenses, and examine various globalizing processes.

Defining Globalization

• Globalization is defined by Manfred Steger as "the expansion and intensification of social relations and consciousness across world-time and across world-space"
• Expansion refers to the creation of new social networks and the multiplication of existing connections that cut across traditional boundaries.
• Connections occur at many levels, from social media connections to networks of international NGOs.
• Globalization stretches and expands relationships among nations and people.
• NGOs are aid groups whose objective is to alleviate lives in distress.
• Intensification refers to the expansion, stretching, and acceleration of networks.
• Social exchanges and activities have been accelerated through advancements in communication and transportation technologies.
• Social media is an recent innovation that allows facilitates split second transfer of information or communication.
• People perceive time and space differently.
• Globalization is described as the pattern of growing interconnectedness of individuals and groups in economic, political, and social realms.
• Because of globalization, the world is reduced to a "global village", therefore time and space seem increasingly irrelevant.
• Innovations in technology has made communication easier, faster, and cheaper.
• Cable TV and the Internet expose people to greater sense of events from across the globe.

Localizing Globalization in the Philippines

• In the Philippines, globalization found its way in the heart of society during Fidel Ramos' presidency (1992-1998).
• Ramos envisioned Filipinos to be self-reliant and globally competitive and to foster ties with neighboring economies, expand trade, and increase investments.
• The Ramos administration dismantled monopolies, privatized basic utilities, and liberalized trade.
• This paved the way for cheaper travel and affordable communications that enabled people relations across boundaries.
• States often have a tendency to liberalize trade to boost productivity, which allows MNCs and TNCs become major players in local economies.
• People relate and interact across boundaries which lead to the rise of international society that is centered on cooperation among states with shared values.
• Globalization can be understood by looking through a variety of lenses, since it is an interdisciplinary topic.

Effects of Globalization on World Politics

• The emergence of TNCs and MNCs, have in a way influenced many state policies, in relation to political policies.
• These foreign corporations greatly influence how states have been governed.
• Some TNCs and MNCs have revenues bigger than the GDP of independent states.
• Corporations hold great influence on countries, especially when corporations could directly or indirectly affect the political and economic environment of the country.
• States formed associations to address political, economic, and social issues together which leads to the rise of strength among regional blocks.
• The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on August 8, 1967, in Bangkok by 5 original member-countries.
• The original member countries are Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand
• Other ASEAN countries joined later in 1984-1999
• The ASEAN Declaration is to accelerate growth, social progress, and cultural development through joint endeavors in the spirit of equality to promote a prosperous and peaceful community.
• The ASEAN Declaration promotes regional peace and stability through respect for justice, law, and adherence to the UN charter.
• In 1995, the ASEAN Head of State and Government reaffirmed that "Cooperative peace and shared prosperity shall be the fundamental goals of ASEAN."
• The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in Southeast Asia was signed at the First ASEAN Summit on February 24, 1976.
• The High Contracting Parties should be guided by principles of mutual respect, right to national existence free from external influence, non-interference, peaceful settlement, renunciation of force, and effective cooperation.
• Neighboring states freely interact with each other with their own national interest, guided by principles of member states.

Effects of Globalization on Economics

• Globalization has great effects on economics.
• It greatly improved free trade
• The rise of regional blocks lead to easy trade relations among member-states and to promote economic prosperity.
• In the 1990s, regional blocks became a craze in economics and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) have played a role towards regional integration.
• FTAs remove trade barriers to make trading among member-states easier.
• Globalization has increased the speed of trade through the emergence of computer communication technologies and information technology.
• High frequency trading (HFT) reflects a state's economic situation. HFT involves computer algorithms that rapidly trade stocks.
• The speed of trade is brought about by globalization since it crosses national boundaries
• People may interact with each other globally without knowing each other, which intensifies the relationships among people across space and time.
• Global Economic Organizations (GEO) have played an important role on the spread and influence of globalization in economics
• The three major international economic organizations are the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
• The WTO emerged out of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1995.
• Serves as a forum for negotiations on trading rules and as a mechanism for dispute settlements in trade issues.
• If globalization represents the many processes to allow the expansion and intensification of global connections, globalism is the belief among powerful people that global integration is beneficial, therefore spreading freedom and democracy.

Effects of Globalization on Culture and Communication

• Globalization has affected culture and communication in societies throughout the world by changing how people live and communicate.
• People are empowered to communicate fast, even from thousands of miles away.
• Culture has been affected by globalization and the way people live and behave differently now as compared to the past.
• Improvements in communication accelerate flows of ideas and information.
• Culture flows on the web to change people's ideas and influence their understandings and to lead to intervention of new social forms.
• Real time audio and visual communication can occur from almost everywhere and to almost anywhere to facilitate interaction.
• People who haven't met can participate in each other's lives through social media.
• Technology is "shrinking the world" of the world's citizens.
• People are acting in concert and cohort, therefore creating conditions in which they imagine themselves as part of global imaginary.

Cultural Imperialism and Forms of Connectivity

• Globalization is a medium for cultural imperialism because western culture is very noticeable globally.
• Cultural imperialism is the imposition by a politically or economically dominant community of its culture onto another, non-dominant community.
• This extends authority or transforms/replaces aspects of other communities' cultures.
• Forms of connectivity have been brought about by globalization and affect society.
• When the West experiences a financial crisis, many other countries are also affected.
• One's economy is intertwined with every other country's economy.
• When the United States almost experienced an economic meltdown, other countries became chaotic.
• Many foreign producers depend on exports to the US for economic health.
• If the US is in recession, and Americans cut back spending, the countries manufacturing those products are in trouble.
• Connectivity is felt in both economics and the music industry.
• Gangnam Style by Psy garnered 1 Billion views on YouTube in 2012.
• Political connectivity is a product of globalization.
• The Arab Spring was a series of anti-government protests and rebellions that spread across the Middle East in 2011.
• The movement was triggered by an appeal to arabs to take back their country from corrupt elites.
• It was fueled by patriotism and social message that united Arabs.
• Social media has proven a good mobilization tool by connecting people.
• The first mass protest in Egypt on Facebook convinced people to protest and spread across other Arab nations, manifesting globalization's role.
• The effects of interconnection are uneven and unequal .
• If the Arab Spring has a large impact on one country, it may not in another.
• A financial crisis may affect one nation but not others.
• Globalization is a process, and effects are not uniform and mostly unequal