Globalization: Definitions and Approaches

Definition and Approaches to Globalization

• Ake (1995) defines globalization as growing cultural differentiation, functional integration in the world economy, increasing interdependence, pressure on the nation-state from transnational phenomena, and the emergence of a global mass culture driven by mass advertising and technical advances.
• Nnoli (2000) states globalization interfaces with various elements of social life, is full of ambiguities, variations, uncertainties, and incompatibilities, and entails the inevitable expansion of capitalism worldwide, including the spread of its values.
• Manfred Steger describes globalization as the expansion and intensification of social relations and consciousness across world-time and world-space.
• Expansion involves the creation and multiplication of social networks and activities that overcome traditional boundaries.
• Intensification is the expansion and stretching of social relations, activities, and interdependencies, leading to a perceived shrinking of time and space.

Approaches to Globalization

• The key question in approaching globalization is whether globalization exists.
• If no, there is globaloney.
• If yes, there are economic, political and cultural processes
• Globaloney is defined as ridiculous ideas about globalization.
• Critics fall into three categories: rejectionists, skeptics, and modifiers.
• Rejectionists dispute the usefulness of globalization, skeptics point out the limited nature of globalizing processes, and modifiers dispute the novelty of the process.
• Globalization as an economic process involves increasing linkage of national economies through trade, financial flows, and foreign direct investment by multinational firms.
• Effects include rapid development, rise in wages, increased social services, and international trade.
• Globalization as a political process involves successful mobilization of political power.
• Globalization is a technology-driven process shaped politically by the world's most powerful nations.
• Globalization as a cultural process is a densely growing network of complex cultural interconnections and interdependencies.
• Culture is transmitted where a dominant cultural global context tends to influence local lives using international media.
• Perspectives on Global Flows of Culture involve cultural differentialism, culture hybridization, and cultural convergence.
• Cultural differentialism includes catastrophic collision among different cultures.
• Cultural hybridization is cultural borrowing.
• Cultural convergence is the convergence of cultural ideas between/among cultures.

Brief History of Globalization

• Ancient civilizations with marketplaces contributed to globalization.
• The Age of Exploration, starting in the early 15th century, was a turning point in globalization through the search for new trade routes by European superpowers.
• The Silk Road was a network connecting East Asia (China) and Europe during the Middle Ages, facilitating trade and the spread of ideas and religion.
• Spice/Trade routes/Maritime Silk Roads, saw maritime routes and improvements Europeans navigational skills; for example, Christopher Columbus voyage to the New World in 1492.
• The voyage of Ferdinand Magellan between 1519 and 1522 in search of Spice Island
• The Manila - Acapulco (Galleon Trade) during the Spanish colonization of the Philippines was an international trading system, lasting 250 years.
• The Age of Revolution (Industrial Revolution) led to growth in mass production and a global economy.
• Features of the Industrial Revolution included new energy resources like coal, steam engines, the invention of machines, and the factory system.
• There were four industrial revolutions, each representing different phases of technological and economic development.

Great Waves of Globalization

• The first age of globalization started from 1870 to World War I outbreaks during 1914.
• Great Britain geographically dominated the world with the establishment of the British Empire.
• Great Britian technologically dominated the world with innovations like steamships and railroads.
• The first industrial revolution (IR 1.0) saw steam power, mechanization, and textile production, leading to factories, railways, and urbanization.
• The second great wave of globalization rose from World War II ashes, and it was spearheaded with the help of the United States of America( 1945 – 1980).
• The wave benefited from technological breakthroughs from the Second Industrial Revolution like cars.
• Breakthroughs from the Second Industrial Revolution included jet planes, television, and communication satellites (Vanham, 2019).
• The second industrial revolution (IR 2.0) saw electricity, steel, chemicals, and mass production, which led to industries, automobiles, telephones, and consumer goods.
• The third great wave of globalization runs from the 1980s to the present.
• It brought advances in information and communications technologies (ICTs).
• The third industrial revolution (IR 3.0) saw computers, digitalization, and information technology, leading to the internet, software, biotechnology, and globalization.
• The fourth industrial revolution (IR 4.0) began in the early 21st century and is still ongoing.
• Artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology, and biotechnology are key components.
• It is predicted to lead to smart systems, cyber-physical systems, and new forms of social interaction

Regionalization

• Regionalization is societal integration and often undirected social and economic interaction among countries in the same region.
• Regionalism is the formal process of intergovernmental collaboration between states.
• Globalization is increasing interconnectedness among nations from various parts of the world.
• Globalization has faced claims that it has failed to address transnational security and political issues
• It is potentially selective with some countries that benefit while others suffer.
• To preserve stability, states have responded through regionalization or forming regional blocs.
• Regionalization has risen to address the weakness and shortcomings of globalization.

Drivers of Globalization

• Knowledge flows are the spread of ideas, values, norms, and lifestyles across borders.
• Cultural flows are another driver.
• Political flows involve liberalized trading rules, deregulated markets, lowered tariffs, and foreign direct investments.
• Technological flows involve technology shaping modern globalization.

The International System

• The international system is a concept for analyzing international politics, entailing diplomatic or military action.
• The international system is formed when states have sufficient contact to affect each other's decisions.
• The international system is a collection of independent political units interacting with regularity.
• It encompasses all aspects of economic, political, social, cultural, and ecological interactions among states.
• Structure of the International System is a set of overarching principles, rules, roles, and constraints that bind actors together into a larger system
• Structure plays a role in organizing actors and influencing their interests.
• Elements of structure exist independently of any actor.
• International structures can be categorized based on the relative importance of material or ideational components, and whether they constrain behavior.

International System periods

• The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 ended the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch
• Peace of Westphilia is regarded as the foundation of the modern international order with sovereign states that do not acknowledge any superior power.
• The treaty established territorial sovereignty, granting each state exclusive control over its territory and domestic affairs.
• The Peace of Westphalia marked the end of religious wars, paved the way for secularism, led to the rise of nation-states, and contributed to international law and diplomacy.
• Post-classical Period:
• The Congress of Vienna in 1815 reorganized Europe after the Napoleonic Wars.
• The Congress of Vienna was the first series of international meetings known as the Concert of Europe.
• Congress of Vienna reorganized Europe's political boundaries and restored monarchies.
• Congress of Vienna established a balance of power among European powers.
• Congress of Vienna established the principle of legitimacy.
• Congress of Vienna established a system of international diplomacy.
• Congress of Vienna established a new system of international relations.

###Highlights of the Concert of Europe

• The Concert of Europe aimed to maintain peace and stability in Europe
• It Concert established a new system of international relations
• The Concert helped to prevent major wars in Europe for nearly a century
• The Concert established a system of international diplomacy to prevent conflicts between nations.
• Transitional Period highlights:
• World War I lasted from 1914 to 1918, between the Allied and Central Powers.
• The war was triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in 1914.
• World War I saw unprecedented destruction from new military technologies and trench warfare.
• More than 16 million people died in World War I and the war ended empires and monarchies in Europe.
• The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 imposed penalties on Germany
• World War I is seen as a cause of World War II.
• World War II lasted from 1939 to 1945, involving the Allies and the Axis powers.
• The war destruction occurred with new military technologies and trench warfare
• Over 85 million people died during World War II.
• The war ended with Allied Powers victory
• The Treaty of Versailles penalties on Germany helped lead to Word War II
• The Holocaust, was a genocide in which Nazi Germany murdered Jews during World War II.
• The United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, leading to Japan's surrender, marking World War II's end.
• The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union (1945-1991)
• The conflict was on political, economic, and propaganda fronts.
• The Cold War led to a nuclear arms race.
• The Cold War also involved proxy wars like the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Soviet-Afghan War.
• The Cold War triggered saw crises including the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
• The Cold War ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
• The Contemporary World saw several changes after World War II.
• The United States remains a superpower.
• NATO continues despite the end of the Cold War and the Warsaw Pact.
• Nuclear proliferation containment is favored.
• Neo-colonialism has come to characterize the relations.
• Several new Asian, African and Latin American actors have come.
• International integration is visible through regional cooperation, global cooperation, and South-South-South cooperation .

Characteristics of Contemporary International Relations

• Transformation of Bi-multipolarity into Unipolarity
• Increased and Ever-increasing International Interdependence
• Issue of Nuclear Proliferation vs. Non-Proliferation and Arms Control
• Stronger Role of the United Nations
• Little Progress towards Arms Control and Disarmament
• Sustainable Development, Protection of Environment and Protection of Human Rights are Key Objectives
• Nation-states are communities of people occupying territory, independent of external control, and possessing an organized government and are used interchangeably with the word country.
• The fundamental elements of states are population, territory, government, sovereignty, and recognition.
• Relationships of nation-states are governed by sovereignty
• Jean Bodin defined sovereignty as “absolute and perpetual commanding power in a state.

Concepts that affect nation-states

• Territoriality involves a state's power to affect persons, property, and conditions within its internationally recognized boundaries.
• Non-interference means states do not intervene in each other's internal affairs.
• Cooperation involves individuals or groups working together for the achievement of their individual or collective goals
• Diplomacy is the chief instrument of foreign policy and it is how a government deals with other countries.
• International Organizations (IOs) facilitate interdependent relationships among independent countries but are not global government with authority over member countries.
• IOs can become influential as independent organizations with the power to fix meanings, serve as legitimate sources of information, diffuse norms, compel governments, and promote necessary policies.
• Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) are voluntary groups not affiliated with any government.
• NGO examples Doctors, Without Borders providing healthcare, Oxfam fighting famine and diseases, Amnesty International fighting for human rights, and Save the Children helping children to access healthcare and education.
• Multinational Corporations (MNCs) are companies with business operations in at least one country other than their home country, generating at least 25% of revenue outside their home country.
• Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and social movements shape public opinion and influence policy decisions.
• They are accountable for disseminating information to the public and holding those in power accountable.
• Social movements are collective efforts by groups sharing a common goal.
• Social movements success lies in forcing change around the world
• Media outlets shape public opinion by providing accurate information and exposing corruption.
• International Relations (IR) focuses on states interacting with each other and establishing balance and peace.
• National Interest are states consider in dealing with other countries.
• Vital national interests are those that a state is willing to fight immediately or ultimately for, relating to protecting territories and their prestige.
• Secondary interests are desires that states would like to attain but for which they will not fight and act as diplomatic comprise
• Power is the ability of a state to prompt its preferred outcome and it is where states aim to protect their sovereignty.
• Power distribution in the international system involves unipolarity, bipolarity, and multipolarity.
• Unipolar means one state is superior than others
• Bipolar includes and international order in which two competing powers
• Multipolar relates to power distribution in which more than two equally powerful states contend for dominance
• Military power lets a country use its military forces to achieve its objectives.
• Military power can be measured in terms of country's military size. Economic power- Economic power measures a country's ability to use its economic resources to achieve its objectives.
• Economic power is measured in terms of a country's GDP
• Economic power is measured in a country's trade balance
• Economic power is measured in a country's access to natural resources.
• Political power involves a country's ability to influence other countries and international organizations through diplomacy, alliances, and other means.
• Soft power is the ability to co-opt countries rather than coerce involving culture, political values, and foreign policies.
• Global governance is governance minus government, "governance minus government" helps describe the international ability to provide government.
• Public goods include education, healthcare, security, human rights, development aid, and natural disaster relief.
• Global governance achieves the goal of delivering public goods by combining informal and formal values, rules, procedures, policies and various types of organizations.
• Formal measures that utilized includes international law and treaties.
• The result of global governance is stability, Ultimately, the result is order, stability, and predictability on a global scale.

Foundations of Global Governance

• Liberal Institutionalism helps foster collaboration and cooperation among IGOs to address worldwide problems.
• Institutions “provide information, reduce transaction costs, make commitments more credible, establish focal points for coordination, and in general facilitate the operation of reciprocity".
• It is need that states cooperate to main stability."stability” through “collective security” (Keohane and Martin, 1995, p. 394
• Collective security is based on the notion that an approach of “all against one provides more stability” than an approach of “each for his own,” where stability is defined as the “absence of major war
• Realism rejects the belief that a world economy has gained significance where national governments remain most important.
• Realism advocates that global governance is a tool helps serve world divided.
• Realism believe that the international system is a ruthless arena, and trust is difficult
• Realism has three components, that competition supersedes cooperation, it is hindered by competition, and that it operates under guidelines.
• Realism advocates that self-preservation is a major theme.
• Realism advocates states use military force and is for internal stability
• Marxism believes that global governance is ineffective
• Social Constructivism believes structural change is determined by altering a system of expectations
• The United Nations began in October 24, 1945, and the purpose is to unite nations
• . Currently there are 192 Members of the United Nations. The Headquarters is in New York City
• The General Assembly occupies the central position in UN
• The UN does not have its own military
• International Criminal Court are UN Principle Organs
• The UN Security Council has 5 permanent members with the power of veto with 10 non-permanent members are elected for 2-year terms
• The UNESCO is a UN specialized agency
• The General Assembly is composed of UN representatives.
• They have empowerment to discuss recommendations on any subject relating to it charter.
• Approves UN budgets together and composes other main organs, including the Security Council.
• The Security Council has 15-members where China, France, the United Kingdom, Russian Federation, and the United States are permanent members and the General Assembly elects other members
• The Security Council has the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security
• The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has members elected to three-year terms by the General Assembly and its assigned for to help economic issues
• The International Court of Justice 15 judges, elected to nine-year terms, are General Assembly and Security council voting independently.
• Trusteeship Council happened after 1975 and was composed and were made up of Security Council non-administrating powers.
• The Administrative arm of the organization is referred to as the "Secretariat", and is run by the Secretary-General.
• A "Global citizenship" is defined as the social, political, and environmental for world wide actions.
• UNICED defines global citizen's as someone with interconnectedness, that respects and values diversity, can challenge injustice, and acts in personally meaningful ways.
• The global dimension of citizenship does behavior that does justice to all. Characteristics for a "Global citizen" need respect for culture, awarness, community, lack of tolerance and responsibility
• Responsibility to respect cultural diversity.
• Economic Globalization is the increasing linkage of national economies through trade.