Understanding Globalization

• Globalization involves increased global connectedness via shared ideas, products, and resources, boosting innovation and economic growth, but also poses challenges to cultural identity, jobs, and the environment.

Definitions of Globalization

• Globalization as Internationalization: Growth of transactions and interdependence between countries.
• Globalization as Liberalization: Removing restrictions on resource movements between countries to create a borderless world economy.
• Globalization as Universalization: Dispersal of objects and experiences to people across all inhabited parts of the earth.
• Globalization as Westernization: Spread of modernity's social structures like capitalism, industrialism, rationalism, and urbanism, eroding pre-existing cultures.
• General Definition: Trade and technology create a more connected and interdependent world.

Globalization and Geography

• Globalization intertwines with geography, manifesting as a 'glocalization' process, emphasizing interconnections between local, regional, national, and global scales.
• Globalization creates new geographical patterns of activity.
• The concept of globalization has stirred debate within human geography.

Brief History of Globalization

Ancient Silk Roads (1st century BC – 5th century AD, 13th – 14th centuries AD)

• Trade transitioned from local/regional to global.
• Luxury goods from China (silk and spices) reached Europe.
• Trade thrived under powerful empires like Rome and China and declined with the fall of these empires.

Spice Routes (7th – 15th centuries AD)

• Trade expanded with Islam's spread from the Arabian Peninsula.
• By the 9th century, Muslim traders dominated Mediterranean and Indian Ocean trade, reaching Indonesia and Moorish Spain.
• Medieval Islamic trade focused on spices like cloves, nutmeg, and mace from the Maluku Islands.

Age of Discovery (15th – 18th centuries)

• European explorers drove global trade, connecting East and West and discovering the Americas.
• Advances in astronomy, mechanics, physics, and navigation helped Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and England explore and colonize new territories.
• Columbus' arrival in the Americas led to the downfall of pre-Colombian civilizations.
• Magellan's circumnavigation provided direct access to the Spice Islands, reducing spice prices.
• New agricultural products like potatoes, tomatoes, coffee, and chocolate were introduced to Europe.

First Wave of Globalization (19th century – 1914)

• Great Britain became a dominant global power, expanding its empire and pioneering industrial innovations.
• The British Industrial Revolution facilitated global trade through steamships, railroads, and mass production.
• This period marked the first significant expansion of integrated global markets.

Second and Third Waves of Globalization (Post-World War II – 20th century)

• Global economic expansion surged after WWII, led by the U.S. and driven by Second Industrial Revolution technologies.
• Institutions like the EU and free trade agreements promoted international commerce.
• The Soviet Union’s economic planning increased trade within its sphere.
• By 1989, global trade returned to pre-WWI levels, accounting for 14% of global GDP, with a rise in middle-class incomes, especially in Western nations.

Globalization 4.0 (21st Century)

• Globalization 4.0 is defined by digital transformation and the dominance of the US and China.
• Key aspects include the rise of the digital economy, AI's growing influence, and cyber threats.
• Negative consequences are environmental degradation and climate change impacts, such as deforestation, pollution, and ecosystem destruction.

Global Economy

• A global network of interconnected economies influencing each other through trade, finance, policies, and technology.
• It shapes daily life, including product availability and job opportunities.

International Trade

• The exchange of goods and services across countries.
• Benefits include specialization in efficient production and access to a wider variety of goods at lower costs.

Philippines: Trade Openness

• Trade openness improved from 88.1% in the 1990s to 101.0% in the 2000s as a percentage of GDP.
• The country adopted more open trade policies starting in the 1980s.

Technology and Economics

• Technology drives economic productivity, creates new industries, and enhances communication.
• AI, e-commerce, and automation reshape global markets and employment.
• The Philippine economy experiences rapid growth in the ICT-BPO sector.

Trade Barriers

• Government-imposed restrictions such as tariffs and quotas.
• Intended to protect local industries and may reduce consumer choices and increase prices.

Currencies and Exchange Rates

• The value of one currency compared to another, fluctuating based on economic factors.
• Affects import/export costs.

Trade Agreements

• Agreements between countries to reduce trade barriers.
• Simplifies trade rules and enhances business profitability, such as the European Union.

Competition and Free Enterprise

• A business environment with minimal government interference.
• Encourages innovation and efficiency and facilitates international trade and expansion.

Economic Development

• Seeks to improve living standards, health, and education.
• Global trade and investment are crucial for developing economies.
• Globalization positively impacts economic growth and employment in the Philippines, with trade openness and foreign portfolio investments boosting per capita GDP.

The Structures of Globalization

• Global Economy.
• Market Integration.
• The Global Interstate System.
• Contemporary Global Governance.

Global Economy

• Definition: An economic system where wealth and resources move across national borders, including goods, services, people, skills, and ideas.

Economic Globalization

• Increasing integration of economies via the movement of goods, services, and capital across borders, including labor and technology.

Dimensions of Economic Globalization

• Internationalization: Increased cross-border movements of people, goods, money, investments, and ideas.
• Liberalization: Progressive removal of border controls.
• Globalization: Patterns of production, exchange, and consumption that transcend geographical boundaries.

Components of Economic Globalization

• Global Trade: Changes in how goods and services are produced and exchanged worldwide.
• Global Finance: Changes in the valuation and trade of money, banking processes, and investments.

Interconnected Dimensions of Economic Globalization

• Globalization of trade in goods and services.
• Globalization of financial and capital markets.
• Globalization of technology and communication.
• Globalization of production.

Agglomeration

• Densification of firms, population, infrastructure, and interactions.
• Results in a larger, specialized labor pool.
• Creates knowledge spillovers.
• Encourages investment in human capital.

Five Characteristics of Agglomerations

• Legal: Basis for a regime of subsidies.
• Political: Expression of intent for horizontal cooperation.
• Problem-related: Spatial bracket for issues (traffic, transport).
• Functional: Involves commuters, linking value chains.
• Spatial: Coherent settlement area and morphology.

Trade Agreements of the Philippines

• ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) – 2010: Consolidated CEPT/AFTA commitments to establish a single market in ASEAN.
• Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA) – 2008: The Philippines' only bilateral free trade agreement, covering trade in goods and services, investments, and intellectual property.
• Philippines-European Free Trade Association Free Trade Agreement (EFTA) – 2016: Covers trade in goods and services, investment, and intellectual property.
• Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) – 2022: Includes the Philippines and 14 Asia-Pacific countries, aiming to enhance market access and investment.

RCEP Benefits for the Philippines

• Enables sourcing of raw materials from RCEP countries.
• Facilitates local processing and exporting under preferential agreements.
• Enhances market access for exports.
• Supports trade facilitation and resolution of trade barriers.
• Improves market access for services and attracts investments.
• Strengthens support for MSME development and intellectual property rights.

Market Integration

• Market integration occurs when separate markets for the same product become a single market.

Key Aspects of Market Integration

• The removal of barriers leads to closely linked prices.
• Trade liberalization contributes.
• Social benefits include broader financial services and increased competition.
• Regulatory mandates must balance financial stability, consumer protection, and international consistency.

The Global Interstate System

Definition

• Refers to international relations, world affairs, or international studies, focusing on interactions between sovereign states.

Major Global Institutions

United Nations (UN)

• Founded in 1945 with 193 member states.
• Works to maintain international peace, security, and cooperation.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

• Facilitates open trade for global benefit.
• The WTO provides a negotiating forum and ensures a level playing field for its 166 members.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

• Aims to achieve global financial stability and economic growth.
• Supports economic policies and is governed by its 191 member countries.

Contemporary Global Governance

Definition of Governance

• The process of decision-making and implementation.

Definition of Good Governance

• Exercise of economic, political, and administrative authority to manage a country’s affairs.
• Involves mechanisms for citizens to articulate interests, exercise rights, meet obligations, and mediate differences.
• Good governance enables understanding, agreement, and action, characterized by capable, responsive, inclusive, and transparent governing systems.

Characteristics of Good Governance

• Participatory
• Consensus-oriented
• Accountable
• Transparent
• Responsive
• Effective and efficient
• Equitable and inclusive
• Rule of law
• Minimization of corruption

Definition of Global Governance

• Intentional human interactions regulating global actions for the common good.
• Purposeful order emerging from institutions, processes, norms, agreements, and mechanisms.
• Based on shared expectations and intentionally designed institutions.

World-Systems Theory

Origins and Development:

• Developed by Immanuel Wallerstein in the 1970s.
• Wallerstein provided a framework to analyze the global economic system as a totality.

Core Concept:

• WST explains the capitalist world economy as a structured social system with economic and political inequalities.
• It emphasizes nations’ interconnectedness within a global hierarchy rather than independent development.

Core-Periphery Structure:

• Divides nations into three tiers: Core, Semi-Periphery, and Periphery:
• Core: Wealthy nations dominating global markets with high-profit production.
• Semi-Periphery: Intermediate economies with core and periphery characteristics, acting as a buffer.
• Periphery: Less-developed nations providing raw materials and labor, often exploited.

Economic and Political Dynamics:

• The system operates through capital accumulation, with core nations controlling global trade and technology.
• Core nations specialize in capital-intensive industries, while peripheral nations depend on resource extraction.
• Quasi-monopolies, sustained by strong states, allow core economies to maintain high profits.

World-System as an Organism:

• Wallerstein describes it as a social system with defined boundaries, structures, and rules:
• Internal conflicts exist as groups compete for control.
• The system has a lifespan with phases of stability and transformation.

Cyclical Nature of the System:

• Wallerstein used Kondratieff waves to explain economic expansions and contractions.
• Production shifts from core to semi-periphery to periphery as core industries lose profitability.

Hegemony and Systemic Crisis:

• The system experiences hegemonic shifts, with dominant core nations surpassing others.
• Capitalism's contradictions lead to systemic crises necessitating structural transformation.
• Wallerstein predicted capitalism will be replaced by a new world order.

A World of Regions

• Global Divides: The North and the South.
• Asian Regionalism.
• Globalization and Glocalization.

Key Terms:

• Glocalization fuses "local" and "global".
• Economic Globalization: Increasing integration via movement of goods, services, capital, and labor.

Glocalization: Philippine Setting

Profile of Cebu:

• Located in the Central Visayas region.
• Land Area: 4,943.72 square kilometers (1,908.78 square miles).
• Population (2010 Census): 3,325,385.

Economic Profile:

• Center of economic activities in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

Major Industries:

• Tourism, Agriculture, Fishery, Manufacturing, Information Technology (BPO), and Mining.

Agricultural Products:

• Corn, Rice, Mango, Coconut, Banana, and Peanut.

Tourism Highlights:

• Unique topography with mountains, sea, rivers, waterfalls, springs, and caves.

Glocalization in Cebu

• Cebu demonstrates glocalization in Business, Export Trade, Governance, and Transborder Diplomacy.

Impacts of Globalization

Positive Outcomes:

• Decentralization of power, improved governance, economic efficiency, and expanded communication.

Negative Outcomes:

• Persistent poverty and increasing inequalities.

Enabling Factors of Glocalization in Cebu

• Leadership: Role of public and private sectors.
• Role of Information: Importance of data, information, and ICT.
• Education: Addressing labor market demands.
• Mindset: A global orientation grounded in local realities.

Local Impact of Globalization of Knowledge and Global Civil Society

• Shared knowledge and valuing diversity are survival ethics.
• Globalization has led to a global civil society pressing for reforms in poverty reduction, environment, and social justice.

Issues Concerning Globalization

Local Government and Global Pressures

• Local governments face pressures from global corporations, financial markets, and international civic organizations.

Economic Volatility and Safety Nets

• Economic liberalization introduces volatility, requiring governments to implement protective measures for vulnerable sectors.

Government’s Role in Global Competitiveness

• The government must facilitate private sector competitiveness through policies supporting innovation, infrastructure, and workforce upskilling.

World of Ideas

Global Media Cultures

Globalization of Religion

Definition of Globalization

• Globalization is reflected in the global economy, trade, prosperity in China and India, travel, communication, immigration, films, foods, global challenges (climate change, terrorism).

Definitions of Globalization:

• "The compression of the world and the intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole."
• "A complex set of interacting human, material, and symbolic flows."
• "A product of a changing economic and political order, where technology and capital combine."
• "A rapidly developing process of complex interconnections shrinking distances."

Globalization and Its Intersections

• Identity
• Human Rights
• Culture
• Terrorism
• Media
• Globalization and media are interdependent.

Globalization and Media

• Global trade evolves through information flow on markets and it depends on steady information flow.
• Empires stretch through communication along borders. Without this they would struggle to manage territories and respond to challenges.
• Religion, music, poetry, film, fiction, cuisine, and fashion developed as they have through media-facilitated cultural exchange. Without media, cultural diversity and innovation would have been limited.

Theories of Globalization

Global Society Approach

• Emphasizes a single global society with shared concerns and possibilities.
• Global phenomena affect individuals' daily lives.
• The global media industry shapes awareness and influences.

Global Culture Approach

• Suggests cultural homogenization occurs on a global scale.
• People share similar products and a uniform culture, limiting local resistance.

World System Approach

• Divides the world into core, semi-peripheral, and peripheral societies, highlighting economic exploitation.

Global Capitalism Approach

• Capitalism drives globalization.
• Transnational corporations dominate markets and promote consumerism via media.

Media Globalization

• Dominance by transnational conglomerates.
• Use of new communication technologies.
• Deregulated media environments.
• Homogenization of media content.
• Unequal access to communication networks.
• Media as a vehicle for consumerism.

Technological Change

• Media globalization is enabled by advancements in information and communications technology.
• Cable, digitalization, satellites, and the Internet transfer information globally.
• PCs and TVs merged, leading to digitalized television and radio.
• Wireless technology enhances global communication.

Media Ownership

• The global media industry is dominated by a small number of powerful transnational media conglomerates.

Media Industry

• The media industry comprises organizations sharing media text production, publication, and distribution.
• Media organizations include BBC, ITV, Netflix, Disney, and Marvel.
• Media texts: Inform, entertain, and promote.
• New media platforms: Websites, blogs, vlogs, online games, podcasts, apps.

The Media Industry Means Business

• Media organizations aim to generate revenue through audience consumption.
• Branding establishes a recognizable identity.
• A brand identity is developed through advertising and new products.
• Large companies may acquire smaller ones to leverage branding.

Globalization and Religion

Difference Between Culture and Religion

• Religion is a subset of culture, including language, traditions, kinship systems, and values.
• "A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things... a single moral community called a Church."

Media and Religion

• Media facilitates religious engagement and conflict resolution.

Three Perspectives on Religion

Modernist Perspective

• Secularization theory suggests religions will conform to secular philosophies.

Post-Modernist Perspective

• Rejects traditional religion and Enlightenment rationalism, encouraging individual spiritual experiences.

Pre-Modernist Perspective

• Advocated by Pope John Paul II, critiquing secular ideologies.

Religion’s Influence Across Sectors

• Ethical debates on life and artificial intelligence.
• Religious values integrated into governance.
• Global technology connects religious communities.
• Economic power influences religious expansion.